21 window roof graft

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I have a 66 13 window in great un restored condition. No rust (well maybe a little), no bondo and original paint. I want a 21 window and am thinking of having a roof section welded in at the rain gutters. Is this the best way to do it or should I leave it alone and try to find an original 21 window with rust and fix it. Will I ruin my bus if I cut into the roof. I think the fatory weld is in the rain gutter right. Have you seen many complete roof sections for sale. What is a good price.

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Well when I say great I mean great for 36 years old. It looks 36 years old. I have to paint it and if you can't tell If swaped the roof at the welds is the consensus still not to cut it. I would never cut an old VW unless you couldn't tell from the original.

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O' and go here to see what happens to people that cut wheel wells and Dashes on buses.

www.deaddude.com

[ripplewaver.com]

Heres the deal. I bought a 21 window sight unseen from MI. When I got it it was completely beyond repair (really). The frame and all the crossmembers were GONE rusted away along with everything else, but the roof was ok. I bought another bus with a chopped up roof and pillars and did the switch. I made a fake 21 and I hate myself for it, but I did it to two junk busses that no one would fix. I would never cut up ANY good buses, it's not right. If you want to see the bus now go to http://www.ripplewaver.com

Mike
(fake)'67 21 Window

[UZI]

you bus sounds fine the way it is. lately, after spending tons of cake on making some clean straight rides i'm into just leaving them alone. especially original paint. i have a 66 double door kombi that has its original paint on about 70%. otherwise the body line is green, it has coroless primer, some rattlecan grey, a schmear of bondo and it is beautiful. i will not paint that bus. as for the 21 window roof clip see above. i know it gets done, some people try to pass them off as real ones. there is this website called 23window.com with great crusty buses on it. it reintroduced me to my love of untouched buses. no trailer queens there!

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Well thats it I won't be a cutin on my bus. I may not paint it now either. It would probably look ok if I had it buffed out. Peace.

[23window]

Earlyman3,
I take your comments as quite a compliment :)

Thanks for the interest in my site. You are correct, no trailer queens. My '65 was pulled straight out of a cow pasture and driven that way for months before it finally got painted. The interior is still a piece-meal of seats and panels I have found over the years. I drive it everyday and on all long trips/car shows/whatever. Stay tuned for updates on the 23, which will be getting the much needed attention it deserves. I hope to have it running in less than 3 months, leaving the paint and rust intact.

[UZI]

it's sometimes a tough call what direction any given vehicle should go in. here on the east coast, even at shows there are very few buses. i own more buses than usually show up (5 currently). it kinda makes me sad. i just got a tip on a 60 double door standard in a barn thru the samba which i was able to make a successful deal on (thanks everett and the tipster who asked to remain anonymous) it needs alot of work on the frame, but the rest of the bus is all there, original paint which i will probably just clean off all the bat s*=+ and buff it out BY HAND!. it will be a conservation effort, not a restoration. BIG difference. i going thru this phase of just leave it alone and maintain it.

[UZI]

oh yeah, in the name of all things that RULE i most humbly recommend 23windows website. thanks for putting it out there. it helped me see beyond 2 stage paint and a huge restoration spending habit. my mantra is "drive it. maintain it. protect it. and life is beautiful."

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dude, cut the 21 roof section off the car at the belt line and save it for a POS that will eventually come your way. Then graft on that one instead. Save the original paint car. Your car is only original once.NAES