TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1977 Bay barn find

Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:49 am

So I just bought this 1977 Bay in The Netherlands, Europe. It really was a barn find by a friend of mine. However it's not the type of barn find anyone would expect... This one was already stripped down to the bare metal, welded where needed (must be the best welding work I have ever seen) and covered with primer. But the project was then abandoned, 10 years ago.

I have checked the whole bus for almost half an hour with a torch(flashlight), but rust is nowhere to be seen. The known T2 rust spots are like new... It seems to be complete enough (the whole interior was filled with windows, panels, various parts...) that I have bought it as the perfect basis for my own restoration. The underside seems to have been coated with a new layer of Tectyl or something like that.

I've already decoded the M plate: http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-24801.htm

I don't have good pictures at the moment (forgot to do that) but I will add some more later... These were made in the barn.

Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:57 am

Nice Find 8) ,and half the work is done :lol: ,LOL

Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:58 am

Thanks, but the other half of the work will take 200% of the time, I'm sure :lol:

Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:23 am

Nice find! Time to paint it and put it back together and drive it....I have some good friends that live in Zwolle.

Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:44 am

Thanks Bleyseng! Zwolle is just 10kms away from where I live. The world is small after all.

Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:19 am

74-79 engine case.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/engine_letters.php

Congrats
Tcash

Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:17 am

Thanks! In the meantime I've cleared up the contents of the bus. Lots of finds were made and everything seems to be there, except the steering wheel... :lol:

Also, it's now clear that it was fully restored by the previous owner. The lower metal parts have all been welded with new parts, so it seems...

Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:23 am

:D :D WOW- thats a great find. What engine are you putting in it? Looks like room for a T4$ in there.

Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:26 am

Thanks! T4$? Don;t know what that is.

I'm thinking to keep it all original, with the original (overhauled) 1600cc twin port AS engine. Only VW for me, no Subaru et al please ;)

Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:19 am

Sorry :oops: T4 was the original export motor for the transporter after 72 and was a big pancake design from the porsche line of sportcars. It started with a 1700 quickly went to 1800 then fuel injection and finally 2000 FI motor which was the standard till the waterboxers were introduced.

The reason I asked is because your motor compartment would accommodate one of those as a direct bolt in using carbs.

Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:47 am

Nice, it may seem like a ton of work but you are way ahead of the game in that the rust has already been repaired!

Thu Jan 29, 2015 3:03 pm

What a find! I think Id rather start with something like that and have the Mechanicals be the "big hump" rather than the Body/Rust..

Look forward to seeing your progress!!

-70

Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:48 am

Exactly. and I got it relatively relatively cheap. It was maybe 50% the price of a driving bus with lots of welding work still necessary. So I'm absolutely, completely happy with this find.

Still, many parts have to be bought new. For now I'll concentrate myself on the outside: have it spray-painted inside and out and get some new lights and handles. Maybe even new sliding windows (the windows were fixed).

This is the final picture (shot by myself) I have in my mind. Nothing fancy, no lowrider, no big wheels. I'd like whitewall tires on it however :)

My bus was made in 1976 and the first owner likely got it early 1977. So I'm happy in that I can get the old-style dark blue dutch number plate for it as in the photo above, without EU flag/country sign on it. From 1-1-1978 all number plates had to be yellow. In our country the blue plate really helps to get the 'old look".

Regarding the inside I would like to start with a clean slate. I'm thinking about an U-shaped lounge seat in the back which can be transformed into a bed. So completely custom, including the front 1+2 seats which I would like to see american style (3 seating places, so one wide seat instead of 1+2). Has this been done before?

Any more ideas? :)

Fri Jan 30, 2015 2:51 am

BTW thanks for the Type 4 engine clarification (I know the difference between type 1 and 4, I just didn't know about the T4$ abbreviation :) )

Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:56 am

After buying a few T4 parts, it will all become clear. but except for replacing the heads, they are a pretty good engin.

Sat Jan 31, 2015 7:51 am

And it's here! It was a bit difficult to get it home due to the weather with lots of rain and snow. So we've carefully protected it with 300 meters of packing plastic. And it helped! The bus arrived dry and clean.

Sorry, the photos are not in chronological order.

Wed Sep 30, 2015 4:58 am

Full ahead with the resto... :)

Wed Sep 30, 2015 4:59 am

We're almost done! :)

Wed Sep 30, 2015 7:36 am

Nice progress, it's going to look great!

Wed Sep 30, 2015 7:50 am

Spotmatic wrote: BTW thanks for the Type 4 engine clarification (I know the difference between type 1 and 4, I just didn't know about the T4$ abbreviation :) )
Perhaps it would be clearer to you after translation: T4€
:)

It is interesting to me that the bus, which is clearly a 1977 from the M-codes, has no hatch above the engine. Was that just a US spec? It was one of the best design modifications that VW came up with. Did they not put the hatch on Euro spec buses?

Great job, by the way. How wonderful to find a bus with all the hard and expensive part (metal work, for me) already done!