TheSamba.com :: View topic - Official good deal on buses or parts topic

Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:18 pm

How do you know it's a hack?

Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:45 pm

mattoreg wrote: How do you know it's a hack?

It's a hack alright. I know. I hacked one unto mine! :P

Missing part of the wood "underframe", 6 popouts, the back seat and panels are a dead giveaway that it was never a camper. Just "in the process of" becoming one. 8)

Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:55 pm

You people are all so cynical, maybe it's an original dormy that was gutted, cargo doors moved to the other side and then converted to LHD.... :wink:

Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:12 pm

i know your joking aaron,but hacked in campers is pretty controversial in an of itself. one could argue that all westies are "hacks" and if thats so then all martin walter dormys are "hacks".

buses have lived long lives,lots could have happened over time and lots couldve happened when the bus was just 1-5 yrs old that i dont necassarily consider "hacks". if things were done in the general era of the buses birth i dont consider them hacks,in fact i think that makes them cooler or more interesting personally.

belly pans of course can be a hint that the bus was ordered from the factory with a dormy top in mind,but i know of a very original well documented dormobile that has no bellypans,it was driven from the factory straight to martin walters for conversion.

anyhow my official "good deal" today was a set of hurst bumpers for an incredibly low and unmentionable price. stay positive out there folks,its amazing how that positivity can flow back when you keep yer nose clean. let the negative feelings out,dont give into the dark side like vader did!

Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:20 pm

hugheseum wrote: i know of a very original well documented dormobile that has no bellypans,it was driven from the factory straight to martin walters for conversion.

Was this the old guy at PIR last month? My wife and I talked to him for about an hour. Great story on a really neat original bus. Just a cool old guy too.

Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:14 pm

hugheseum wrote: i know your joking aaron,but hacked in campers is pretty controversial in an of itself. one could argue that all westies are "hacks" and if thats so then all martin walter dormys are "hacks".

buses have lived long lives,lots could have happened over time and lots couldve happened when the bus was just 1-5 yrs old that i dont necassarily consider "hacks". if things were done in the general era of the buses birth i dont consider them hacks,in fact i think that makes them cooler or more interesting personally.

belly pans of course can be a hint that the bus was ordered from the factory with a dormy top in mind,but i know of a very original well documented dormobile that has no bellypans,it was driven from the factory straight to martin walters for conversion.

anyhow my official "good deal" today was a set of hurst bumpers for an incredibly low and unmentionable price. stay positive out there folks,its amazing how that positivity can flow back when you keep yer nose clean. let the negative feelings out,dont give into the dark side like vader did!

I think the market dictates what is and what is not a hack. Look at campers; which are the most desired camper? Westfalia conversions which were the only factory authorized one, right? Dormies are popular because they are extremely practical, but they all the others are less desirable (read less expensive than a comparable Westy).
--Dan

Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:58 am

If you look at the M-code tag it's a plain Jane standard with US specs sold in SF. It looks like a good condition og paint standard that someone was camperising. Not as nice as a factory approved dormy, but definately a good deal for $1000.

Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:41 am

right but the m-code plate doesnt say whether a new owner had a dormy roof installed by a dealer after it was sold. just remember that vw dealers would do damn near anything to any vw to make some extra scratch.

Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:23 am

In the cases that I have seen buses converted after the sale they were European or Tourist delivery and the owner drove the bus to the factory to have it upgraded. This being delivered to SF makes it unlikely that it is a factory installed top. With this color scheme if this was an original Dorm it would most likely be European delivery.

Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:46 am

key words are "most likely" and "unlikely",but nothing is impossible,i always get a laugh from the guys that spout "they NEVER did this or that" because like i said before vw dealers would do damn near anything to sell cars.

im not saying that i think all the oddball un-mcoded buses with different options present arent recently modified,but its highly possible and been proven to be true that there are some dealer modified buses out there. i just get annoyed at close mindedness

Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:48 am

I think this is totally different from say, a gas heater install, Safari windows, side steps, A/C, or something else we knew was common for dealers to do.
If we start taking claims like "Dealer Installed Dormobile Top" seriously then we open it up to all kinds of more ridiculous claims.
Does ANYONE have any proof that there was ever a single US dealer installed dorm top? Seeing s how Dormy's weren't even "factory" vw made, they were more or less similar to a coach-built (start with a factory chassis and build to suit kind of thing, but on a large scale) and Westfalia got the tops from Martin-Walter- correct?
(If you Google 'Martin-Walter Dormobile' its an interesting history.) And Westy's were sold through VW dealerships.
I'm in the same boat though, I honestly think literally anything might be authentic, as evidenced by THIS mystery:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303164
But it either has to be VERY convincing or documented.

Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:08 pm

I picked up this Singlecab today after first finding it last winter. It was buried in about three feet of snow, and I post holed it to the door of the house and left a note. The note was lost until Thursday when I got a call from the owner. He had put up the truck on craigslist that day then remembered my note. After looking for awhile he found it and called me. He said he had about 6-8 messages from people interested in buying sight unseen, but he'd give me first go at it since I technically was the first to inquire. That was damn cool of him and I told him I'd come look closer in the morning.

So after going over and hanging out for a few hours and checking out the bus and his awesome collection of stuff (his phone was ringing with offers the whole time), we made a deal for all the following including a not pictured set of 15" rims I'd been needing, all for less than a cheap baywindow (or very cheap split!). I am really happy with the deal and stoked to meet up with such a cool guy, in my own town too!

Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:35 pm

Nice SCORE! ^^^^^

Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:45 pm

Ding Ding Ding. I think we have this weeks winner!

Sun Sep 14, 2008 11:35 pm

great score,oregon seems to be "bringin it" this fall! congrats

Sun Sep 14, 2008 11:37 pm

whoops,sorry got you confused with mattoreg,az is a hotbed of activity too,congrats

Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:55 am

Bub wrote: ... and Westfalia got the tops from Martin-Walter- correct?
(If you Google 'Martin-Walter Dormobile' its an interesting history.) And Westy's were sold through VW dealerships.

FWIW my Dormobile top came off a '69 Westfalia. 8)

Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:14 pm

great score!

Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:46 pm

I wonder how it got that sticker in the back window?

Wed Sep 17, 2008 10:03 pm

This looks like a killer deal.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=667061