Reconstruction of a roof hatch for the VW T3 Bus Camper

The VW T3 Bus is becoming increasingly popular in its countless variants as a camper or Caravelle.

Many collectors appreciate the VW T3 buses, which have become more expensive in the meantime, because of their classic character and the timeless design with the round or square (facelift) headlights. In addition to the campers, the rare T3 Synchro models – with all-wheel drive – are particularly popular.

There is no shortage of spare parts for wearing parts. Alternators, starters, brakes, fuel pumps and other parts can be ordered and delivered at short notice. It is more difficult with equipment and interior parts for the VW T3. Especially for camper models such as “Joker” or “Westfalia”, spare parts are rare. If you need special parts for the interior or camper equipment, it becomes difficult. This shortage also exists for other vehicles. We as the Oldtimerparts team have already done similar projects in this area. Knobs, trims, brackets or curtain rods – we are the right partner.

The following example shows a project in more detail. It was a plastic part for the roof hatch of a T3 Joker. This part was no longer available as an original and was remanufactured by us. The defective original part was digitised and then a mould was built, as shown in the pictures.

After the mould had been built, it was recast using special casting resins and then the reproduced spare part was painted in the desired colour. The mould produced can now be used to produce a small series of roof parts to ensure availability in the future and also to supply other T3 and T2 owners with spare parts for the roof windows.

Please also visit our other articles on the topic of 3D printing and reconstruction for vintage and classic cars or send us an enquiry via our spare parts form!