TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon May 15, 2006 6:11 am

Hi All.
I am located in Tasmania, Australia. This is my first Split window bus. Love it! It has had a full on restoration & is in remarkable condition. No rust at all, interior fully re done. It has a 1600 single port, with twin carbs, L-Bug gearbox, "Indian Automotive" IRS, & a 68 Ball joint front end. Drives superb. Safaris are factory fitted, as it was a Coober Pedy car (In the middle of the desert).

Chassis number is 20-120493, which I think means it is a March 55 built bus.
Can anyone tell me what a "Wolfsburg built" bus is & how I ID it?

This is a shot of mine & a mates bus, as we were having a coffee in Salamanca, Hobart, Tas. Beautiful day.

Hope you like it.

Regards,
Rob J

Mon May 15, 2006 8:03 am

SWEET!

Mon May 15, 2006 8:53 am

nice looking bus. those colors are the best imo. :D

Mon May 15, 2006 11:52 am

Like it? Hell I love it. Post some more pics

Mon May 15, 2006 4:32 pm

Hi guys.
Thanks for that.

Here are a couple more shots. I have to take some of the interior & engine bay, as they are the best bits. Very detailed. I also scored a great set of plates for it. KOMBI was available. It had only recently been haded in & I grabbed it.

This is a photo of my bus with my bomber Kombi. A 72 Dual cab low light. It is also a very sound bus, but nowhere near as good as the 55.

This is also mine. It is a 62. Don't like the colour that much, am considering painting it & adding a little more "Bling". This one is more or less standard. Reduction box, but it has a 1600 & 12volt.

I will post some more interior shots of both busses, as soon as I can get some.

Regards,
Rob J

Mon May 15, 2006 4:35 pm

4hammers wrote: Chassis number is 20-120493, which I think means it is a March 55 built bus.
Can anyone tell me what a "Wolfsburg built" bus is & how I ID it?

Great looking Bus.

Yes, 20-120493 is March, 1955.
It's a Wolfsburg-built Bus as all Buses were until around March, 1956. Some features of a Wolfsburg Bus include:
Different front bumper (small license plate area)
Round transmission support tube (under transmission)
3-piece doglegs

Mon May 15, 2006 7:54 pm

somebody put all your cargo doors on the wrong side

Tue May 16, 2006 4:55 am

Crikey!! You're right. Steering wheels too! :shock:

Thanks for the info EverettB.
Here are some interior shots. Again, the date on camera is all stuffed up. Sorry.

This is the interior on the 62.

Regards,
Rob J

Tue May 16, 2006 7:14 am

OK, moving to OZ 8) That is a freaking sweeeeeet color combination :wink: Gunna have to get one of them RHDs some day.

Tue May 16, 2006 9:01 am

damn, i hate you. that's seriously badass

Tue May 16, 2006 9:15 am

What model is the '55? It's painted and has all the trim of a Deluxe but it's not a Deluxe.

It looks you are running dual Type 3 carburetors on the engine? I'd be interested to see how the linkage works.

Tue May 16, 2006 9:35 am

Freakin sweet bus!! Did you find that in Tasmania or did you ship it over from mainland Australia?

Tue May 16, 2006 3:48 pm

Hi Guys.
Thanks, again.....I think?
It was a South Aust bus, delivered new to Coober Pedy (Desert Mining town, Opals & such). They guy who found it did the super resto on it. It took him 8 years. He is a jeweller & was a perfectionist. Then he was too scared to drive it. Did 200Km in 12 months & sold it to another fella. This fella pulled out all the running gear & set it up perfectly, detailing it all (Bus is just as clean underneath). He put about 1,000km on it, then locked it awaay. I put an add on a forum for an excellent bus wanted & this guy replied. So I grabbed it.

I think it is just a Kombi, I just don't know. How can I ID it? The Safaris are genuine faactory though. It has genuine deluxe trim, not repo & everything on it is either NOS or original. Even the floormats are from an original bus & the front was NOS. When he was building it, he diddn't use any repo stuff. Not sure if it wasn't available or he just didn't want to use it? He was a clever bugger. He has wired little lights up to the rear reflectors & they now operate like tailights.

The motor is a single port, but I don't know what the carbies are off. I have had many people comment on how clever but simple the throttle system is, so I am assuming it is a cool set up. I will take a close up photo for you, so you can see the linkage set up.

I have a 3rd bus being built at this time. It is a genuine 59 Deluxe. This is gonna be a beast. EVERYTHING new repo or NOS. It was just a rolling shell, no windows even. It has the deluxe trim, a Remtec 1641 street power (I think that is what it is), Safaris, Popouts, polish Fuchs, IRS blah, blah, blah. This one is a Deep metaalic red with a pearl white top. Mmmmmmm, can't wait.

Rob J

Wed May 17, 2006 12:34 pm

Your collection looks great.

I am interested in the carb setup and the airfilters you have. They look like they were made to be there. Do you have any more closeups of this area?

Wed May 17, 2006 3:46 pm

very nice busses! :D um...... can i have one? :lol: please! :lol: :? i love the black and red early buses.

Wed May 17, 2006 9:40 pm

Hi.

Here are some shots of the engine bay. Bit hard with such a sunny day. makes the bay all dark at the back. I have done the full one in high resolution, so you should be able to copy & then zoom in. If not, let me know & I will be happy to either email, or direct you to my photobucket album. Or, if they don't show what you need, just let me know & I can get more detailed shots of the area you want. It was all designed to look factory.

Left carb.

Right carb

Centre pivot for linkages. Cable comes out directly behiond through the shroud thingo.

Such a beautiful day, I couldn't resist this photo op!

Regards,
Rob J

Thu May 18, 2006 10:15 am

Thanks for the additional photos. Awesome Bus!

The VIN tag in the engine compartment will say the model. Look in the upper left corner of the tag. It will probably say something like 2/23 if it's a Kombi. 23 = model # = Kombi.

Thu May 18, 2006 7:01 pm

Hi.
Yep, found it. It reads "VW 2/23".
So it is just a pretty Kombi.
Apparently, they are the original colours though. Is that strange?

Rob J

Thu May 18, 2006 7:12 pm

The original color for a '55 Kombi would normally be solid Dove Blue.

Fri May 19, 2006 12:10 am

Thanks for that Everett.
I know F/A about these busses, so would be more inclined to believe you than someone else. You seem to know a little about these vehicles :wink:

I will try & get some "Before" shots, & see what the go is. They are factory Safaris though, don't take that away form me 8)

Thanks for the input & info. Much appreciated.
Will post some more of the 62 if anyone is interested. THEN there is the 59. THAT one is the bee's Knee's!

Rob J