My Fiat 238 Weinsberg camper

[pocket.calculator]

A couple of kind shiters said this should have its own thread, so here it is...

 

My van was featured in Practical Classics a year or two ago. As far as I know, it's the only one of its kind in the UK. Bought it in Frankfurt in 2008, from an older gent who'd owned it for 15 years and had lavished care upon it. I absolutely love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cavcraft]

Wow, that's great! The interior is really nice for an elderly camper, were they the original fixtures/fittings?

Welcome along by the way.

[doug]

spotted on ebay

[Woody]

Good to see you on here Mr Kraftwerk, welcome along.

 

Think it's the first time I've seen photos of your bus up close, it's lovely

[pocket.calculator]

Wow, that's great! The interior is really nice for an elderly camper, were they the original fixtures/fittings?

Welcome along by the way.

 

Hi Cavette, yes, the van's all original, which is remarkable, really. A credit to its former keepers.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'd no idea this site existed until I searched Fiat 238 on Google. I do love a shite auto.

[pocket.calculator]

Good to see you on here Mr Kraftwerk, welcome along.

 

Think it's the first time I've seen photos of your bus up close, it's lovely

 

Thanks, Woody. Forgive me and remind me: are you an old motorforummer?

[pocket.calculator]

spotted on ebay

Oh, interesting. When do you see this, Doug? There's always a few of these coachbuilt types for sale in Europe, and there's a guy in Northern Ireland with a later model - the one with the plastic grille. I dread to think how they drive, as they'll probably have the standard 1.2 lump. Mine has the 1593 OHV from the Mirafiori, which I only discovered when I changed the head gasket and the damn thing didn't fit. I emailed the bloke I bought the van from - this is about two years later - asking if he knew it was a 1.6. He flat out refused to believe me. An Italian fellow-238 owner reckons Fiat supplied some vans to the German market with the 1.6 fitted but I've never been able to find any proper info about this.

[Woody]

Thanks, Woody. Forgive me and remind me: are you an old motorforummer?

 

Yup. I was star68 in the olden days, we met up at the Classic Car show 2 or 3 years ago - my (then) shiny red Focus estate might jog your memory, you'd just got the 500SL and were patching up the indicator light!

[CreepingJesus]

Welcome aboard. I absolutely love this camper, I went over the PC article many times, just trying to remember when the last time I saw even the plain van was. And that's really it in unrestored condition? Bloody marvellous!

[vulgalour]

That's a bit special that is, so unusual to see an interior in such good condition and for a camper to be so unmolested. What a lovely, lovely thing.

[pocket.calculator]

Thanks, Woody. Forgive me and remind me: are you an old motorforummer?

 

Yup. I was star68 in the olden days, we met up at the Classic Car show 2 or 3 years ago - my (then) shiny red Focus estate might jog your memory, you'd just got the 500SL and were patching up the indicator light!

Ah yes, Mr Morrison!

[pocket.calculator]

Welcome aboard. I absolutely love this camper, I went over the PC article many times, just trying to remember when the last time I saw even the plain van was. And that's really it in unrestored condition? Bloody marvellous!

Thanks, CJ. Yes, unrestored. It's had some paint on the bottom four inches or so, over a nice thick coating of Stoneguard, done decades ago, by the look of it. I changed the rear doors, as the previous owner had butchered the originals by adding a a pair of alu bike racks - then I backed it in to tree in France, adding a nice dent.

 

I found the replacements on eBay Italy. I asked the seller for details about their condition - any rust of any kind? Any paint damage? etc - and he gave them a clean bill. Deal done, they arrived and whaddya know, paint damage and a bit of surface rust, but no dents. PayPal gave me a refund and said there was no need to return them. Restored them on a bodyshop course at my local college and a printer mate made up new decals. They look brilliant now.

[doug]

P.C. its on ebay just now.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-CAMPERVA ... 27c535e642

[pocket.calculator]

P.C. its on ebay just now.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-CAMPERVA ... 27c535e642

Riiight. I searched Fiat 238 and Fiat camper. Weird title the guy has used.

[Pete-M]

That's epic.

 

Plans are afoot for a load of scouring Europeland for fun stuff to bring here.

[lovejoy]

PC, that is just luvverly !! And WELCOME, too. I like the way (in typical Fiat -style) the dashboard has a smorgasbord of other fiat fittings of the era -

 

fiat 500L speedo, for instance, small 500 toggle switch and ashtray (which, no doubt, has never had fag ash in it !!)

 

My 900e Pandora camper has a fiat 128 speedo (and wheelrims) and the same rear lights as the 238, and would fit right inside your 238.

 

I look forward to seeing it in the flesh sometime soon, so to speak....

 

Malcolm Fancy ("Fancy Engineering") also had one of those in the rear of his shirkshop down in deepest Buckland Newton, Dorset, I never saw it running,

 

but believe he did use it from time to time. He (sensibly) sodded off to Kerkira, but his son still runs the garage I believe;

 

maybe he drove it over with him when he left, I will do some 'finding out" when back in that neck of de woods.

[michiel]

 

That is all. What a fab camper.

[dollywobbler]

I've raided my local hotel for actual working internet, primarily so I can drool over this. What a fabulous vehicle!