The Most EXPENSIVE VINTAGE Camper Van You Could Buy In 1985... Is Better Than NEW BUILDS
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 พ.ย. 2024
- This 1985 Mercedes-Benz 309D Westfalia James Cook is the pinnacle of vintage camper vans. It uses space better than today's builds and somehow has all the functionality as well, just can't quite do the speed limit.
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#Westfalia #CamperVan #MercedesBenz
New drinking game. Every time JR says, "How cool is that." 😉
The hitch 7-pin is still the norm in Europe today, I think it is the same from maybe the 70-s. There is also a 13pin one used for mainly campers.
Also, the diesel heater takes fuel from the main tank.
And the power plug is still used today in Europe, another standard thing.
The heater and water heater are run on propane, also the fridge.
Really cool to see someone reacting like this to something that was and still is something so usual to us over the pond.
Edit: the red knob in the cupboard is the gas shutoff valve.
Actually, since 1996 there has been a shift towards 13 pin Busch Jaeger, because of extra constant power, fog light and backup light demands. The 7 pin ones are still in use because its simpler on the basic smaller trailers
I have the same on my '95 Land Rover Disco. I have an adapter cable to go from that to standard crappy US 4-pin, but I re-wired my boat trailer to use the 7-pin.
Was popular in NZ but now have flat pin type
This brought back so many great memories in Greece when I was a small boy in the 80s riding in my uncles 309d cargo van. The rattles, the diesel sounds. Him struggling to steer with no power steering and no AC. Fun times 😆
That camper-van is immaculate! And fully kitted out. Was it in a museum, especially considering the low mileage. 43000 kilometres rather than miles though. The speedometer going up to 140 is a clue too ;)
I hope I pronounced it right 😂
When I was growing up in Germany, those vans were ubiquitous in plain delivery trim. Basically the sprinter van of the 1980s. A friend of mine drove one to distribute papers to paper routes in Berlin. He had the timing of all the traffic lights memorized because he HATED having to get going again after stopping at a red light.
The tag under the sink translates to "The gas system must be checked by a specialist every 2 years"
I wonder the last time it was actually checked by a professional 🤔 😂
it's fine
Last checked by a professional, (never), lol
I think many diesel heaters tap into the main fuel tank which is genius if you have plenty of fuel, lol.
The Mercedes light switch. The two left positions aren't front parking and rear parking.
They've always been sided.
So, depending on what side of the road you've parked on, it allows you to turn on the front and rear lights that are on the road side.
This allows the vehicle to be seen on dark nights without needing all the lights to be on.
Doug Demuro is probably quirking out of his mind if he’s watching this lol 😂 idk if I could handle hearing this many quirks and features in one video.
Very cool video! Keep up the varied content, love the mix. This looks like one for Euroasian Bob!
First gear is skipped in these by most drivers here in Germany and you start in second and drive it like a four speed.
I used to do deliveries in a commercial version of this...without power steering! Had arms like Popeye after a few weeks! :) A couple year later we got the new, back then, Sprinter. It was like a rocketship in comparison. Fortunately, speed cameras we quite new in the late 90s because I set several off but never had a fine. :)
With the speed limitation and comfort, this would be the perfect camper for Model A tours. Thanks for sharing.
I had one of these as a toy in the 80s. You could take of the roof and move the furniture around
In the nineties, I was working at Mildenhall England and they provided us Mercedes utility vans like this. Same driving feel except from the right side. Oh, and the rear shell just had benches on the side.
Eberspacher is definitely a diesel heater. I had a 1989 Freightliner cabover that had one in the sleeper. You could have heat in your sleeper without running the truck.
I just finished a 10.000 klm road trip in a 508 Mercedes’. 1972. Diesel . Good tuff machine if you in no rush. You should have a Granny gear for the mountains in transmission. Good luck. 👍👍
I have a 608D! Awesome machines. Drove it from the Netherlands to prague this summer
@@Vespastendert great. Easy night driving . Can be cheap vehicles in Europe. Hood luck. 👍👍
I love those things! Had one in Europe…not a James cook but other than that, the same. It drove quite well considering what it was. Years later I bought a Mercedes airstream sprinter, which was nice but considerably smaller (but faster by far) I sold it as I realized I’m just not a motor home guy in the American sense. Thanks for sharing!👍🏼👍🏼 oh and the lighting switch odd ball lights are for left side marker and right side markers not for front and rear FYI😊
That shore power connector is called a "CEEform" connector (aka "IEC 60309" by standards bodies). Specifically it's a 16 amp 230v single phase connector (You can tell from the colour and key alignment). You do get them in the US and Canada, albeit only in commercial settings (and even in those, only fairly new installs); but a fairly common sight in Europe. They're water-resistant (or waterproof, depending on the grade of connectors used).
The parking lights are left/right, not front/rear. So you can leave just the road side on when parked on an unlit road. Most German cars have this, including my modern Mercedes and BMWs.
I had a '79 MB 300TD with this non-turbo OM617 but a 4spd automatic. Not fast, but top speed was cruising speed... The controls were all basically the same. That first gear is only meant for climbing trees, just like old pickups with crawler gears. :-) And this is the big engine - you could get them with the 4cyl in it too - same engine as a MB 240D, rather than the fancy 300D. 😁
That thing is pretty amazing. As a tall guy i really appreciate the height. Some Solar panels for the batteries and you could run AC in it.
Cool van! Outside outlet is called shuko. It's like secured something in Germany. And the curtains have usually mosquito net and blinds.
I like that you have a lot different kind content. Greetings from Finland!
when I was younger, I saw some of the Mercedes coming on holiday from Germany to Denmark fairly often. there were now also some in Dammark who hated them. but then most from abroad :-)

Now you can live in a van down by the river.
Can't lie, I'd live in this van by a river 😂
Crazy you bought that, I almost bought one out of a junkyard here in Detroit a couple years ago, it looked about the same but dual rear wheels with flares, it was pretty clean with some minor front end damage, non-runner. Still wish I bought it, was going to LS swap it.
A few years back I saw one of those 80s Mercedes vans (not a westfalia) at a private golf course near blowing rock NC parked in a hidden back maintenance lot. Thought it was unique enough to snap a picture of it while I was servicing some of their equipment
Hi I live in UK and used to drive a 308 Mercedes van laden and it would get up to 80 mph but took a long time it was a high to and had no power steering and I liked it
9:00 old standard european 7-pin for trailers and caravans, there's a new 13-pin standard connector but there are adapters to and from both standards. Fun fact, I've never seen electric brakes for any trailer here in europe, the trailer brakes are actuated by the towing vehicle braking and inertia pushing the hitch on the trailer/caravan forward and actuating the brakes mechanically. No brake controllers. There are also trailers without brakes, but they're small trailers and we generally avoid them here in scandinavia because we have lots of ice and snow.
That red hose hanging down by the water tank is the hot side low point drain
That makes sense, I hadn't been inside before I started shooting but the location checks out 💯
when in doubt a tour of a unicorn is always fun!
the oval plate on the front bumper is a so called "Ausfuhrkennzeichen" (Exportplate). It is for vehicles that a going to be exported. You had a set timeframe drive it to the port or the border. In Germany you could often see convoys of new Mercedes trucks on the Autobahn on the way to the middle east
Great Mercedes van, most of these are rusted to bits, but this one looks well preserved. Hi5
That's a really cool rig, how it ended up here has to be a story in itself ❤️👍
I have a set of Hella H4 headlights I found at a garage sale in my Dart.
In my opinion they were the best headlights you could get back in the day. I put 80/100 bulbs in it a few years before I retired the car and man I could see down the road with those.
I found a similar set of Zelmots much later but they weren't as good so they ended up in sisters 71 Scamp she used to drive.
My neighbor has a 1970’s German fire truck version of this Mercedes. He converted it to a camper.
We also had a few of those in our city as a fire truck
Could you imagine cross country at 40/45mph
Yes, take all the sides roads and enjoy the ride. 😀
Somebody would run you off the road within the first couple days.
I would recommend watching 6d diesels. And see how he is building a lot to convert these...and give them more power....diesel van specialist....the blue three pin...is called hook up....or 240v hook up ...and ready available over here....easy power point
To be fair I've seen portapottys that are better built than modern campers and RVs
Dang john ross popping off lots of videos all over 30 minutes long….. fantastic!!!!!!!
This was so long when I started editing it... it's just so wild to see a 40yr old camper van that goes up against today's builds 😳
In Germany and maybe much of Europe speed limit for bus and trucks is 80 KPH (50 mph) same as in much of South America, but with the newer more powerful diesel engines the small buses do push that a bit.
Those are the same identical speakers that are in my 1986 Lotus 😂. No surrounds left either!
Bundesfinanzverwaltung-Bundenswanwanwaldington...
Dude, you nailed it! 😂🤣
you should do semi-trucks. An old school custom semi-truck with a stretched frame. it will be epic.
I’m pretty sure the nob turn switch is for the front and rear speakers. Probably a two channel stereo that is hooked up to that switch and change it between the front and rear speakers. 😊
I seen one in a pick a part yard in Detroit that I go to.I definitely took pictures of it.I was like what the heck is that!
While it wouldn't hit the market for four model years after this Mercedes Westfalia was produced, the Airstream B190 built in the Ford E350 Van with raised roof offered a similar level of amenities including both gray and black water tanks with a permanent RV/Marine toilet. Dash and Roof air conditioners were virtually standard equipment on the Airstream B190.
Cool. I plan on a trip to europe next year. Going to buy a 25 old or older James Cook, drive it around for a month or so, then import it back to the USA.
My father had a van version that he used for everything, he was once pulled over at a vehicle check and the guy said can you open the rear doors please, so he opened one door and the guy looks in and said what the? There was 14 of my fathers young sheep staring back at him 😂 he then told him to take the sheep to where he was going and clean out the van and come back for an inspection which he did and got a five day ticket to have some welding done which I did and then he took to the inspection station where it passed. It was one of, if not the slowest vehicles I’ve ever driven, also I think my father had no sense of smell as I was nearly sick in my welding mask when doing the repairs 👍🏻🏴
Fun fact, did you know that the radio power is always hot on Mercedes and Saabs? You also do not need to depress the clutch pedal to start the car on this thing since it’s an import car. That was only in the US they had clutch interlock and that began sometime around the early to mid 90s
The marking 309 means that it is a 3 ton chasis whit 90 horsepower. We used to have a 312D that had a little more power (120 horse)
John Ross you need to watch 6d Diesels. It's a British guy called Al who is a Mercedes Benz specialist. He has one of those camper vans which he is about to convert to his taste and with a more modern drivetrain!!! They are also really funny!
I am going to guess that the odometer is in km not miles. 43,000 km is about 26,000 miles.
And the speedometer is also in km/h so it is even slower than he thinks
Westfalia returns to the North American market with the 2024 Westfalia Wave built on a RAM platform. Now produced in Ontario, Canada.
I have a 5Mars Imagine, built in Québec on a 118" RAM Promaster chassis with a pop-top and classic Westphalia interior layout. It has plenty of power, DC fridge/freezer, and all USA/Canadian fittings, except for small things that are sourced from China.
That thing is rad! Would really suck to only go 45-50 mph though. Really limits where you could take this. Would be cool to modernize all the wiring and change to US connections too.
That speedometer is likely in kilometers. 50kph is closer to 30mph. The orange mark is the speed limit in German cities and suburbs. The limit in city centers is more like 30kph and lower in some places.
The passenger-side door clanged shut just like my parent's 1978 VW Rabbit.
We need Westfalia James Cook Camper Van shirts change my mind
With that logo on them it would be a very cool shirt!! 💯
Love to see a review of a new one to compare.
That’s a straight up pimp wagon! The only thing that I see missing is a disco ball! Good Times!!😬
You could join the 8' high club in it! 🤣
The instructions for this platform state that 1st gear is for towing and hill ascent only. It is basically a 4 gear box with a "creep" extra. On flat roads without a tow, you drive off in 2nd, not 1st.
The 3 in 309 stands for a 3 metric tonne chassis. the 09 for 90 horsepower. They went all the way to 518 which was a 5 metric tonne chassis with 180 horsepower engine.
This is clearly a Euro (guessing Austria) vehicle that requires 230V to operate, it looks like nothing is converted to 110V, so anyone buying this needs either an expensive transformer or needs to do a lot of conversion/retrofitting.
Imagine how awesome it aould be to slap a vintage cassette deck or turntable and speaker setup in it to blast some RATT or Cinderella at the campground
I was just looking into getting a Toyota Huntsman class C RV. They’re pretty cool.
Reminds me of 90s Ford Econoline headlights and front turn signals
That would look so much better without that lone Dodge hubcap! Especially add the colour-matched Mercedes hubcaps of the 60's-80s
That's a cool camper van but a little austere, typical German design. I'm surprised how tall it is, I bet it would be difficult to locate parts for the German appliances. Noticed there was no screens on the windows, that would not work in the US with all the bugs we have in the summer here. Airstream had a model on the Benz diesel chassis and it was called the Westfalia around 2006 , I think. Airstream still uses the Benz chassis and it can retail up to 285k, the Tommy Bahama edition, that's a nice chunk of change. JR, you are 5'9, always thought you were taller. I'm 6'3.
Excited to see what this beast sells for on BAT
I have a feeling not as high as he thinks. It's retro and cool, but good luck trying to find parts for it. And it's not really a good long distance road trip RV.
Has the aerodynamics of a brick and a small non turbo diesel. So no doubt it's slow, but it sure is cool!
"I hope I pronounced it right"
Nope. But it was glorious to hear you try.😂
I had yelow mb 207 van with 2.3 diesel back in nineties…
Driving an Old Mercedes Van on a Highway is like sitting next to a Metal Drummer while an continuous earthquake is crushing your spine to bits.
Even the first Sprinters are awful.
Something tells me that a cross wind would tip it over
lol 7 Celsius is 44 Fahrenheit
Lol, that got me too. I'm guessing it's a fan speed dial anyway and not temp
An expensive Merc with VW Bay window bus tail lights....Oh, and that is an oval German Tourist plate. The customer could pick up the van from the factory, and drive around Europe on that plate until they could ship it back home.
"It's so tall!" Yeah, so during the high winds on the American Plains, it can get blown right over.
Basically a $60,000 grocery getter at this point
But you can leave the groceries in it, saves a step 💪
my 1999 VW LT II 2.5sdi have 75hp and 118 ft lb. Same size but it is a duble cab pickup. And it carry more than than f150.
M-B T1...
Unbreakable...
Drives like a tank...
1985 Mercedes camper. Majority of this camper is the power of rust until now.
i cant believe how good of shape that thing is in. i imagine driving in kansas the wind would catch this thing something terrible
Very clean
It's definitely a museum piece.
Unless theres a 2nd 1 in town, i actually just saw this randonly on the road today!
Looks nice.
Whip ? JR's a little behind the times. The jack looks like an old Ford Model T jack LOL.
JR good call on keeping your girlfriend and other personal information off the channel. Unfortunately folks will post inappropriate comments.
Based on this video you are unfamiliar with Europe.
I recommend you make a couple of road trips in Europe. Fly into Munich, hire a car and road trip north or south. Coordinate your trip with a car show or other automotive events.
You will have a great time and learn a lot.
In Europe we've got lots of this. Unfortunately last decade junkies and technomusic people purchased most of these and turned them to the 'vanslife' with crazy grafitti art sprayed by all over the vans. But I've got to admitt, vans still roal coals and drives. Those in worst conditions are being shipped to Africa for 'new life'..
Initially I was gonna say that's a KPH speedo/odo but that was definitely going more than 40kph no matter how slow.
Very cool Jeff from PA
Diesel night heaters... Run out your main fuel tank...blown air I in the cab etc...door vents plus floor as,called gas,drop outs. Etc.
I just looked at that, yesterday. Cool rig. Will benz hub caps fit?
Bundesfinanzverwaltung - federal finance administration
The shown plate is an old export licence plate (until 1988)
The shown power adapter is a CEE adapter, very common on German campsites for powerlines. 220-240 Volts is the European standard, 3-pin (ground-neutral-phase).
That 7-pin adapter still is used on trailer hitches today, besides a 13-pin. Connections are (clockwise from above) left blinker-foglight-ground-right blinker-taillight right-brake lights-taillight left
The speedo ist in km/h, so the mileage is about 27000mi (except the gears had been changed to mi/h
The German license plate is referred to as a z plate that was the plate you when you were going to export the car we had one on a 380 AMG Mercedes my dad brought back in 85
"Oh that sounds good.....right there" 🤪
It's a neat van....and commentary with next to no information, but thanks for showing it.
Hi JR great video as usual :)
I would never poop in that toilet lmao
Not that it would be cheap but put a grey or black wrap on that and it could pass as somewhat modern.
Good morning JR!
Good morning! ☀️
If they ever do a reboot for Napoleon Dynamite - this would have to be Uncle Rico's new ride....
It definitely gives Volkswagen Westfalia vibes....
A little optimistic on the speedo. Max'd out at 55 but speedo goes to 140.
What the Gas mileage that cool whip can get? How big is the gas tank?
It seems like if it had a transmission upgrade it would be the perfect camper.