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Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:26 pm

Hey guys and gals. I have been into VWs for most of my life. Never owned a pre-67 bus. Never really had a chance to buy one as being on the east coast of Canada isn't going to help any 50 yr old tin.

I was talking with a friend recently about maybe trying to find one of these. He mentionned that a mutual acquaintance had picked up a really old one last year and that he might be selling it. I called to chat and went over the next day to have a look.

Serial number is #163585 which makes it a Wolfsburg bus. It's a dove blue panel with some windows installed. No seats. No motor or trans. Just a rolling shell.

I told him that if he ever wants to sell to call me. Before I got in my van to head home he said he would sell it to me. We agreed on a price and the following weekend (today) I went over to pick it up.

It needs alot of rust repair and panel beating (pun !!) but it's really not that bad. I can't wait to build a rotiserie so I can get to work on the frame and other parts underneath. Figured that starting from the bottom up is the best way to tackle these.

I'm going to try and keep as much of the original paint. Looking to build a "backroadbus.com" style with solid chassis/powertrain but keeping with the "well used" patina.

Do any of you know where I can write to get the birth certificate for this bus? I remember doing it for my 49 Split bug but i'm sure it's different for these buses. Or maybe i'm wrong.

I will be investing in many of Gerson's funky green panels over the next few months and will also be following many of the stories on this forum to see how things are done.

Here's a few pictures of the bus going to a new home and some I took this afternoon.

Best regards,

Terry Gaudet

Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:33 pm

Terry
welcome!
nice bus!
keep us updated

Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:02 pm

Here's the link for getting your bus's birth certificate:

http://automuseum.volkswagen.de/index.php?id=12&L=1

Nice bus for a project, enjoy the journey and keep us posted on progress!

Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:51 pm

I hope that you are going to weld wheel well panels on the body. I put them on two of my old bus bodies and they sure make them look better.
Good find.

Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:26 am

HECK YEAH! congrats on the bus...it's a very worthwhile project, and you will have a blast. Dove Blue just rules...keep us posted.

Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:31 am

Thanks guys. I am going to enjoy this project. Spent most of the afternoon just walking around it and making lists of required items.

My kids are very happy that we have another VW bus to cruise in. My wife thinks i'm crazy, as usual.

With some help from all of you on this forum and some patience on my part this bus will be cruisin' the roads of life very soon !!!

Thanks again,

Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:56 am

Terry,

I see you found a bus! Congrats. I guess you purshased it with some of my hard earned money :) .

It is easy to get a birth cerificate, I got one for the car you sold me. I will send you a email.

Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:48 am

NICE FIND! it doesn't look bad. Keep us posted.

Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:19 am

Did you find it locally? Too bad the dove blue '57 up in Florenceville just got crushed. There might have been some stuff on it you could have used. Nice find though. They're getting few and far between around here now.

Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:27 am

Super exciting--love to see this one come together!!!!

Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:30 am

Are those bullet holes on the back...or just paint that's popped off? My bus came from Canada as well...and I have one bullet hole through the rear corner. Guess they were trying to "pop" off hippies as they crossed the border?? :shock:

Scott

Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:37 am

The 59/60? panel I acquired this weekend has a bullet hole too right behind the driver's door.

We're a bunch of trigger happy crazies up in this area. :D

Sat Sep 12, 2009 6:42 am

Terry Gaudet wrote:

Like its so hard to pull the bumper to pull the motor!! What were people thinking back then! (or smoking).

Are you going to keep it a 'kombi' or make i back into a panel?

Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:28 am

Lucky!

Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:29 am

i like it as a kombi,those fixed 50s windows are the shiznit

Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:52 pm

Terry Gaudet wrote:

This is way cool!

Tue Sep 22, 2009 3:26 am

Hey guys, thanks for the positive feedback. I am very excited to have found this bus so close to home. Hey Ed, yes I did use some of your hard earned money to buy this one... :0)

I have sent off a request to VW for the birth certificate. Did it online in german. Fun stuff. Hope it makes it here.

Hey bvolks, I see you are in New Brunswick. Where exactly? Was that 57 Panel for sale? Too bad it's been recycled. The 59/60 panel that you just picked up looks cool. Would you sell the front seat from it?

I am going to keep the funky side windows as my kids will want to ride in it and if it's a panel they will have limited views.

My bus had a few bullet holes on the back. The paint chips are from a buck shot. In fact there is still one bullet still lodged into a crease on the decklid. I guess driving these vans up here in Canada are a hazard to your life. Get used to ducking bullets.

Yeah, sniff on the rear bumper. I guess torches were much easier to operate than a set of wrenches. I know I can get just the center section of these bumpers so I can weld on the ends.

I feel like I have joined a new fraternity of VW brothers and sisters. Like I said before, i've been into VWs for over 20 yrs now and have owned over 30 of them. But never a pre-67 bus. What a feeling !!!

But wait, there's more. I'm going to Texas in November for business and may have found another early bus. This one is a driver and would be good to go right away. Will keep you all posted on the progress.

Tue Sep 22, 2009 3:48 am

The 57 wasn't a panel but it had been for sale for years. He offered it to me for $100 back in the early 90's when I first found it. Apparently he had a 60-ish panel down over the hill but I never got a chance to look at it. He was asking $200 for it when Tim MacDonald looked at it last year.
There are some pics of it in this thread. I'm trying to track down the salvage yard he sold it to in case it hasn't been crushed yet.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2...p;start=20

When I was in a couple weeks ago he said he was sick of people looking at it but never coming back to buy it so he sent it to the crusher along with a bunch of other old non-VW stuff he had there. Living right on the highway he had many people inquiring about it.
I'm not sure what I'm doing with my Panel yet. I'll know more once I get it hauled out and get a good look at the underside of it. There are several pics of it in my gallery if you want to have a look at it though.

Tue Sep 22, 2009 4:18 am

Hey bvolks just keep me posted if you want to sell some parts from that bus. I am also looking for a parcel tray.

Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:40 am

Terry Gaudet wrote: Yeah, sniff on the rear bumper. I guess torches were much easier to operate than a set of wrenches. I know I can get just the center section of these bumpers so I can weld on the ends.
They are... From a '57 I found: