https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/d/1989-volkswagen-t3/6477685610.html
3 Likes
THAT is a rock solid offering!
Love the DOKA; most any year. The diesel makes it a solid transporter (unlike, in descending order of desirability, the 2.0 air cooled, the 1.8 a/c, the 1.7 a/c, the 1.6 a/c the 2.1 wasserboxer, the 1.9 w/b…)
Sadly, with the pricing, practicality of driving something that S L O W, etc. it’s mostly an exercise in imagination. But in my head, they’re GREAT!
Also, no freakin’ way I’d pay that much for one. Even a collectible (that one is NOT). Might be short sighted on my part, but…
Thank you for the post. I needed something to get through today…
1 Like
All it needs is a Tdi …or if tastefully done i.e. not a hack job, a subaru powerpant can be a good option
1 Like
1989 vehicle “garaged for the last decade.”
That’s great and all, depending on where it was the first 18 years. 
If not started regularly then cylinder walls could pitting or ridged
one would have to ask what makes a something “collectable”?
Humans will collect most anything it seems, and Americans often take that a step farther than others…“check out my nose hair trimmer collection” etc
2 Likes
I wish it had one less zero. I’d go for it. 
1 Like
Can the Subaru motor have a turbo on it?
Unfortunately (today) any decent VW Doka (crewcab truck ), regular cab, van, or camper, that is a T1,T2,T3 (1950’s through the early 1990’s) model is going to be well into a dollar range that most people would think to be absurd for what they are paying for - relative to the speed and gadgets that other forms of transportation have to offer without the character of a rear drive air cooled non air conditioned, not able to get a speeding ticket vehicle.
2 Likes
If you found a school zone with a long enough run-up…
5 Likes
Thanks - I left out school zones…although my 66 vw doka with reduction gearboxes (the off road folks now call them “portal axles”) and twin carbs gets going fairly well* until the 4th (and final) gear …
*note - fairly well = meanly relative to what the stock 1500cc single throat carb engine would have provided with it’s non earth shattering 45HP
2 Likes
I’ll just point out, the original TII “Transporter” (ca. 1949), as well as its dropside doka counterpart (ca. 1958) ran on the TI’s engine @ 1131 ccs (69 ci), 18KW (24HP), yet carried an actual 3/4 ton payload (750kg, 1653 lbs). It was designed, supposedly, to be capable of “continuously” carrying full load, at “cruise speed”, which was, roughly, top speed (kind of like airplanes), of 75kph (45mph). @ 9l/100km (26mpg), this was, really, HUGELY impressive, given the alternatives at the time, not to mention the roads.
So, Tom, you’re in the lap of luxury, with 1.8x the horsepower and today’s roads…
1 Like
How about a DOKA with a Tesla drivetrain underneath? A 480 horsepower VW pickup truck is kinda frightening.
4 Likes
Stan,
That is a waste of a practical truck ! They should have opted for an inexpensive efficient small turbo diesel engine
1 Like
The thing drives and its bed space isn’t compromised. I fail to see the “waste of a practical truck” here.
Tom doesn’t like electric vehicles… Too much diesel fumes in his youth, I think. 
I don’t like EVs either- for more reasons than I’d like to discuss here. But, if anything, I see this as the liberation of decent parts for a much more interesting toy than they were originally in.
More information on the wildly impractical DOKA Tesla hybrid here:
3 Likes
It’s good to see the hot rod spirit live on, even if I disagree with some of their bases. Maybe BECAUSE I disagree…
I watched the video - I enjoy most forms transportation!
The disappointment is not so much the tesa drive train - if you have innovation and no budget great, but the plasti-dip paint? really?? to each their own.
I’d hope the next cars they do the tesla swap would be into a 53 vette, a fleet 64 1/4 mustangs, a 1970 Plymouth superbird, a few shelby cobras and more.
3 Likes