'61 corner window westy campingbox

[campingbox]

Like a lot of these threads start I figured I would start a build thread to help document the history of the bus and document the repair work. I'm also hoping this thread will help keep me motivated to work on it and update.

I'm still working on tracing back the history but I believe this bus was sold new in Germany most likely to a man in the military. It had US specs and was taken to Westfalia when new to have a Westfalia campingbox kit fitted. It's the only deluxe bus I have ever seen outfitted with this style interior. I don't know much about the history from '61 through '70 but in 1970 it was bought by a man from Iowa who was drafted into the military and sent to Germany. He was there from '70-'71 and brought the bus back with him. In the campingbox are a few German drivers handbooks, one from '64, another from 1970. There is also a USA license plate which is green, this is probably how it was registered while it was in Germany. It was owned by this man from 1970 through 2005 when he passed, spending most of his life in Minnesota, and his widow kept the bus until September 16th, 2015 when she sold it to a local car dealer named Liberty Station. The car dealer in turn called Mike Wolfe of the American Pickers fame and sold it to him on 09.29.15. Mike took it down to Rich @ J-3 restorations in Columbia, Tn. to do a quickie wash and get it running and stopping good enough to drive onto a trailer so the bus could be sold to a happy new home.

Rich's team knocked it out quick and put it up for sale on 11/03/2015. I didn't see the ad because I was traveling to Florida for the Bulli Brigade but my buddy Jake texted me about the bus and told me I had to buy it. His enthusiasm is contagious, so Clara & I deliberated for all of about 30 seconds and I sent him an email and gave him a phone call telling Rich we wanted it. Clara's favorite model is the corner window and well with my namesake the bus seemed to fit well with the collection. A few phone calls and a lot of nervous pacing back and forth in the hotel room and a deal was secured.

Here are the photos Rich had in his ad.

Halloween bus - kinda neat

[rebapuck]

Lucky you!!
_________________
Judy
1966 Camper "Hannah"
1967 SingleCab "Khady"

[campingbox]

Now I'm looking at these photos on my iphone, not even one of the big ones. I can see the rust in the roof and holes in the rockers and the Minnesota plates and I was a little worried. The price was good and I knew we'd miss it if I didn't jump in with no hesitation.

That night I was up late looking at facebook and instagram and collected some more photos.

[rebapuck]

Don't worry. You got it and that's the important part. Now, at your leisure, you can think about how crazy you were YOU CAN"T HAVE TOO MANY!
_________________
Judy
1966 Camper "Hannah"
1967 SingleCab "Khady"

[campingbox]

And after a few nervous weeks of waiting for transport the bus was finally here.

Overall the bus was a little nicer than I was expecting. The rockers were wasted but the frame looks good. The original paint is super nice and the original headliner is awesome.

[earlywesty]

This is one of the coolest buses to come along in a long time. Congratulations. Is there any model of early westy you don't own? I also thought the price was fair when it was listed. Thanks for starting a thread on it, I am very interested.

[campingbox]

The seat cushions have been recovered but the original plaid is underneath.

Seems like there is just a thin layer of burlap over the original springs, that can't be too comfortable. I would have expected horsehair, maybe they didn't have pads for this size springs?


Childs cot is all original and like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm not sure if this is specific for the campingbox or maybe for the humpback seat? I see why they changed to the later green cot, this board/plank thing was probably fairly awkward.

Rear carpet is nice too.

Panels are all pretty nice.

I was confused about the little bracket next to the dome light but after a few days I realized it was to hold the table up.

The entire roof was rattle canned white which I was pretty bummed about. The nose was also rattle canned from the beltline up to the roof. Fortunately this comes off with a bit of effort.

I'll need to do some paint touch up to the driprail. I can't see any holes at the moment but I'm sure they would not be too far off.

Rockers are also on the short list - I ordered all the metal so will get busy burning those in soon.

[andre b]

Awesome,,congrats Greg and Clara,,the bus went back into the right hands,,enjoy!

[campingbox]

[dockmaster]

Nice Greg. Congratulations!

[Big Bill]

Wow, cool find. The dash sure cleaned up nicely, and the paint under the rattle canned roof looks great where you worked it out. These one off buses like this that where done by Westy are interesting, also nice that you have the early history of its journey . The only other Delux Westy I can think of is Watermans 21. It found the correct home.

[Touch Nicks Thing]

Um, damn!

[Drew Ogden]

It pays to be aggressive when you buy something, and to have balls and throw down cash without waiting for more pics. Good for you!! Congrats on the purchase, I look forward to hanging out in the bus!! That child's cot is insane...

[campingbox]

[jjjjack]

Such and awesome bus. I remember drooling over the ad. Pretty cool how that flap for the cot lines up with the top of the cabinet making one big surface! Looking forward to following the progress. Congrats!
_________________
Jack Stenner
1959 Mango Westfalia SO-23
1953 Porsche 356 Coupe
IG:j.stenner

[srfndoc]

I saw the ad hit when it was first posted and thought "wow" that is a unique bus. Looks like it ended up in the right place, congrats.
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RPM=(MPH*336* (R&P*4th*1.26))/Tire Diameter in inches

[EverettB]

Nice! I saw that Bus pop up and knew it would sell instantly.

Glad to see it documented here, I didn't realize the kit was unique from the ad.
Even without the Westy stuff, it looks like a nice 15-Window!
_________________
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[campingbox]

[srfndoc]

Any sign of the original curtains to see what color/pattern they used? Maybe the light yellow solid pattern?
_________________
RPM=(MPH*336* (R&P*4th*1.26))/Tire Diameter in inches

[vwmike]

Very cool Greg! Can't wait to see it around the PNW. Hope to park next to it one day with our 59.