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Demian_S Samba Member
Joined: January 08, 2008 Posts: 82 Location: Sweden
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Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 4:28 pm Post subject: The story about my PG/SG -55 |
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Hi!
Itīs time for me to share the story about my -55 Standard Microbus.
It all began last automn. We were a couple of friends struggeling to get our barndoors ready in time for Hessisch.
But with just 9 month left to Hessisch I had a big problem. It was
possible to get my -53 panelvan out on the road, but it wasnīt possible to
take my family with me in the panelvan for a two week trip.
I also have a -54 deluxe and a 10w -50, but there was no chance to get
those out on the road in nine months.
But I got lucky. My friend, Gustaf, had found out about a -53 panelvan.
He was going to take a look at it and I followed him on the trip.
Anders, the owner of the panelvan, had been into the vw scene since the
80's and had a big barn with lot of nice cars.
I actually already visited him 16 years earlier to purchase a lowlight
ghia. But at that time I was new into the vw scene, and I was only 19 years old, so I donīt remember much.
But I remembered that he had some rusty buses outside his barn. And the buses were still there.
My friend Gustaf was going to take a look at one of them, a -53 panelvan.
But there was also this -55 microbus. Itīs been sitting outside his barn
since the late 80's and outside another barn since the mid 60's. At the
end of the 80's this bus was too rusty to restore, so he just kept it for
spare parts.
Anders and Gustaf did make a deal on the panelvan och we went back home.
But I coulnīt get the -55 of my mind. Maybe this was the solution
to my problems. It was goingt to be possible to get this one on the road to Hessisch.
It was a window bus, so I could bring my family with me. It also had some nice interior bits, that I could use for my deluxe.
So I called Anders and we had a deal
But there was another problem. My barn was already full with cars, so I
had nor space neither that much money. I had to let my baywindow
double cab go. Ok, it was just a baywindow, but I had spend more than 200 hours on it, and I really liked that bus.
I sold it to a friend a couple of days later.
Now it was time to pick up the barndoor buses!!!
When I was back home, I realized it was a good project.
As I was looking at my new bus, this little spot caught my attention, so I
started to look what colors there were underneath.
My bus was repainted several times during itīs lifetime. It was probably
delivered in primer. And got a light beige/ivory first paint inside and
outside. Then it probably was part of an accident as the right front door
was replaced. My guess is, it was repainted in Palm green/Sandgreen at that time.
Later it was painted yellow over green, and the next time they painted the whole bus green.
I really didnīt have the time to strip layers of paint of my bus. Iīve done it
before and itīs a hard job, but I was really excited to see if I was
possible to get the bus back in itīs PG/SG glory.
I started with the body at the first of january. So I had about 5
month to get it on the road.
My second boy was one year old at that time, so my plan was to stay home from work the whole winter and take care of the boy while my girlfriend was working.
And while he was sleeping dinner, I could spend some time working on the barndoor. My plan was to spend 2 hours every single day in the garage, working on the bus.
It was about 5 month left to Hessisch, so 2 hours each and every day would make about 300 hours in total. I thought it was no problem, as the plan was to do a quick fix on the bus.
But as I started working on the barndoor, I realized that it wasnīt possible to do a quick fix. It was to rusty, so I had to replace the whole chassi.
But as I have some other barndoor project cars, I almost had all the
panels and chassi parts at home.
Time flew by and now it was in the end of March.
To be countinued.... |
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busben Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2008 Posts: 527 Location: Somerset, UK
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Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Demian Good to read the story on your bus dude. Didn't realise you had to strip all that paint. I like to prioritise my work too Look forward to the next instalment. |
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Rich's 50 Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2004 Posts: 10781 Location: San Diego, CA
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Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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Very cool story and thanks for sharing, these topics make me more into restoring these vw's |
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Ian 68 Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2011 Posts: 176 Location: From Bristol UK now in Australia.
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Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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Thats a great story, looking forward to reading more. |
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BulletBus Samba Member
Joined: August 17, 2005 Posts: 1276 Location: Panama City Beach
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 5:34 am Post subject: |
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Crazy I tell ya. I think my favorite part is the idea of a couple guys in Sweden that have a few barndoors just hanging around. You know my friend has a few, I have a few. You know? Normal. _________________ 53 Hatch Barndoor
_______________________________________
If it's not a bus, it's bus money waiting to happen. |
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TurboedWestie Samba Member
Joined: March 04, 2004 Posts: 131 Location: UK
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:46 am Post subject: |
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Cool saw this bus at EBI and loved the roof good to see the story behind it _________________ 54 RHD Genuine British Kombi one of only 7 known to exist and I might add 1 of only 3 on the road : ) |
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Scotty Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2003 Posts: 1531 Location: Northampton - Uk
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 8:38 am Post subject: |
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Superb story, and great work! _________________
EverettB wrote: |
I'd be curious to know the length of his tip.
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http://scottys-stuff.blogspot.com/ |
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Demian_S Samba Member
Joined: January 08, 2008 Posts: 82 Location: Sweden
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Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:29 am Post subject: |
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Thank all of you!!
The story continues...
So, it was in the end of March. There was absolutly no chance to get the bus on the road to Hessisch, so I decided to do a very proper job with the cargo area and to do a quick fix with the rest. Itīs easy to go back and fix the rest later on.
My friends were also struggling with their buses, way ahead of me, but there was no chance I was going to Hessisch with another car than a barndoor
So I finished the left side of the bus and did a quick job on the rest.
I manage to get the MOT the same time as Masen and his -53. And finally I
got a licenceplate.
But there was still a long time to get it ready for the trip. I had to
put in a 1600 engine, a type 3 tranny, type 1 spindels and built an
interior, and besides that a whole lot of minor work.
My girlfriend found a old sofa in a secondhand store. I was perfect for my
barndoor. It had westfalia style colors and the size was almost perfect to
fit in a bus.
And my boys already enjoyed it.
But time flew by, and I worked almost all my time with the bus.
We had all booked the ferry from Gothenburg, Sweden to Denmark, and my
friends with finished buses drove off the day before, as there was seven
hours drive to get there. My family left earlier, knowing that I had to
work on the bus constantly in order to finish in time.
So I was still at home working on my bus Monday, while the others had
started their trip. The ferry was leaving 15.00 on Tuesday, meaning that I
had to leave home at latest 8.00 in the morning.
It was 4 pm and suddenly a barndoor singel cab turned up. It was Bengt,
one of the two owners of the swedish -50 barndoor being restored.
He knew my situation and did a almost 2 hours one way drive to help me
with the final work of the bus. So I REALLY appreciate his unexpected
visit. I owe him a big one.
He stayed until 12 oīclock and I realized that there was no chance for me
toget some sleep. I had to work the whole night...
It was very frustrating not having the time to fix the paint of the bus. I
hate driving around in a bus with all those big primer areas.
I had already boughtPG/SG paint, and at 3am I almost start blending in the primed areas of the bus.
But I realised I had more important work to do, the shocks e.g. where more important.
At 6 am I was finally ready to start the trip to Europe. I ate some
breakfast and took a shower, and packed my stuf for the trip. 7.30 I
went of.
It was a strange feeling leaving home. I had a 3600km (2200 miles) long
trip ahead of me and I only had a 10km (6 miles) test drive. And the bus
has been sitting outside since the mid 60's.
I had been working really hard for the last 24 hours, so I was a little
worried about my 7 hours drive. But I was high on adrenaline, getting the bus on the road, so there were no problem.
The bus drove wounderful with those type 1 spindels. The result of putting
type 1 spindels on a lowered bus is more caster. There were no problem
passing big trucks with one hand on the steering wheel by 110 km/h (70
mph).
After two hours drive, I hook up with two friends in a -54 singel cab.
They were also on the way to the ferry to hook up with the others who left
on Monday.
Then I was going to pick up my family in Gothenburg, but my GPS Navigator didnīt find the way. So we almost missed the ferry. I was the last car
driving on board with only one minute left... But I did it....
In Denmark, we went to Lokken.
We stayed at a camping for the night, and all of us were very happy. We had planned this trip for a long time, and all of us had worked very hard to get the cars on the road.
Stefan, with the split beetle got his car back on the road just a few days earlier. It had also been off the road since the mid 60īs.
Brors singel cab had been off the road for about 8 years and the same with Jocke and Dennis baywindow.
Gustafs barndoor had been sitting still since the mid 60īs. It was great finally go to bed after being awake for 40 hours.
The next day we took the wonderful beachroad to the next village.
Last edited by Demian_S on Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:15 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Barndoor Mafia Il Capo
Joined: August 23, 2001 Posts: 6194 Location: EUSKAL HERRIA
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Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 10:02 am Post subject: |
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Cool story and awesome bus!!! And great pictures. |
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djfordmanjack Samba Member
Joined: June 15, 2009 Posts: 2175 Location: Graz, Austria, Europe
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low54 Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2004 Posts: 424 Location: cotswolds-england
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Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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Great story Demian |
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50 split Samba Member
Joined: January 23, 2006 Posts: 102 Location: Skellefteå (Sweden)
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Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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Nice pictures from the beach of Lökken! _________________ Insta: 50_split
#Sawmillcollection
Kübel: 43 (Ho 2022)
type 1: 50, 51 (kabrio), 51, 52(zwitter), 56, 57, 58, 60, 60, 61, 63, 63, 64, 65, 72
type 2: 51, 54 Taxi (H-O 2026), 54, 56, 58, 65 (Fridge van), 67(bay) 68, 68, 70, 70 (Burnt westy), 71 (westy) 72, 73, 73, 75, 96 (Kombi)
type 3: variant 62 (october), 66 fasty: 66 (Teak), 67
Tempo: Matador 50(worldīs oldest)
DKW: Schnellast 52, E300 29
Porsche: 356 65
Eriba: Puck 65
Alfredo (tent trailer) 59
Wheelīs and partīs |
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Scotty Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2003 Posts: 1531 Location: Northampton - Uk
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 1:51 am Post subject: |
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I had no dea you were working on your bus right until the last minute. Well done for getting it ready to go on your amazing trip! _________________
EverettB wrote: |
I'd be curious to know the length of his tip.
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http://scottys-stuff.blogspot.com/ |
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Ian 68 Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2011 Posts: 176 Location: From Bristol UK now in Australia.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 3:52 am Post subject: |
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Some real dedication shown to get it done on time, well done to you !
Great set of photo's as well, thanks for sharing.
Ian |
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fuchs lee Samba Member
Joined: March 20, 2007 Posts: 26
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:26 am Post subject: |
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that's a great looking ride. I really love that roof! |
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j.pickens Samba Member
Joined: December 03, 2002 Posts: 9791 Location: Exit 7, New Jersey
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for sharing, I can't wait for more updates on your Barndoor.
I'd also like to see more details on that couch. Do you have photos of it installed? _________________ Founder and Chairman Emeritus, ECMSAS
BBX BBXII and BBXXI Long Distance Award Winner
BeaterBarndoor wrote: |
i wish more people would actually drive their vws rather than just talking about what they have in the garage. |
Red Fau Veh wrote: |
If you've seen one sunroof swivel seat kombi, you've seen them all! |
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brad2thabone Samba Member
Joined: February 06, 2011 Posts: 111 Location: Midland MI
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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j.pickens wrote: |
Thanks for sharing, I can't wait for more updates on your Barndoor.
I'd also like to see more details on that couch. Do you have photos of it installed? |
X2 lets see some pics of that sweet couch, in the bus! _________________ 1960 W/T Kombi
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6992647&highlight=#6992647 |
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Demian_S Samba Member
Joined: January 08, 2008 Posts: 82 Location: Sweden
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 3:15 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for all kind comments!!
Oh, sorry. I have no pictures.
I finished the interior a few hours before I left home, and the bus was always packed with stuff, so there was no opportunity to take a good picture.
I replaced it with my original interior when I was back home, so I canīt take a picture now. |
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Demian_S Samba Member
Joined: January 08, 2008 Posts: 82 Location: Sweden
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 3:34 am Post subject: |
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fuchs lee wrote: |
that's a great looking ride. I really love that roof! |
Thanks!
But I donīt really like the roof. I did not have the time to strip off the color. I just kept the moss to camouflage the green color. The roof isnīt palm green as the rest of the bus.
Iīm a patina guy, but the moss make the bus into a rat ride. Thatīs a big difference
But maybe I'll keep the moss for a while. There are so many people loving it.
I also like moss on cars. Itīs nice to look at, but I donīt like it on my cars. |
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Demian_S Samba Member
Joined: January 08, 2008 Posts: 82 Location: Sweden
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 3:39 am Post subject: |
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The story about the bus will countinue, but it take some time to write in a different language... |
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