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Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:58 pm

Gerson wrote: The way we get them into shape here at the shop it to put a plasma torch to them, throw the bad shit away, save what we can, and start all over again, with a rear tortion housing, and a VIN plate....... :D :D :D I am not saying there are not good ones to be found, I have personally found 3 or 4 of them, but most are FUCKED in a BIG WAY, there is no fucking fixing them, unless you start all over again.... :D :D :D.....we have been thru this before here on the samba, about 40 times, be realistic about your "BD dreams".... buyer beware!!!!!!!!

Good boy Gerson, nice hearing from you the other day.

Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:09 pm

Hey Brendan, what's up man??? :D :D :D :D

most of the BDs we find now end up like this... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=468776

Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:14 pm

That looks like a South Disney See-Saw, you know what I mean right?

Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:28 pm

please keep the info coming......its seems as though the general opinion here is that this bus is nothing more than a huge hunk of shit!!!!!!!.......with a small possibility of being a keeper...so at this point,purely from an opinion stand point would the public call this a go or no go? Thank you JUSTIN

Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:47 pm

I do not think that bus is a hunk of shit, actually, I think it looks ok from the distance the pictures were taken at, you just might luck out and get a descent bus.......the bottom line is: you need to get on a plane, Spirit Airlines will get you here and back from Ft Lauderdale for about $350.00 round trip....take a good look at the bus, and make sure it's a project that you want to take on, it's not alot of money to spend for some peace of mind.....otherwise shit can get real UGLY!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:13 pm

Definitely good advice from Gerson about seeing it in person. I think you ought to bring a couple extra pairs of calzones in case you shit them when you lay eyes on it. Good luck and if you don't have high expectations you won't be bummed if you find it to be typical.

Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:53 pm

Here is one you might want to consider, (if you want a panel)it came out of Mexico, it's in Miami right now, I saw it in person last week, it's actually not that bad of a bus, the rear end needs to be sorted, but hey, it's already in the U.S., talk to the guy, try to work out a deal, jump on a plane to sunny Miami, and take a look at it.....

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=664318

Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:08 pm

BUCIOBATISTI wrote: streetwagens wrote: maddriverman wrote: yes this is the bus I am on the brink of buying!!!!!! What do you guys think?

Before you take on a Columbian barndoor, try to see one in the flesh before buying one so you can see what you are getting yourself in to. They are a very diferent kind of project compared to a rusty bus, but as long as your eyes are wide open before you buy, you know what the score is. Are there any more pics of this particular bus? Difficult to tell from 3 pics if its distorted.

btw, the 'Good Kombi' advertised by Sander looks to have started life as a panel van too...

For example, take the rear window on the blue panel. Any thoughts on the cost of an OG rear window section, or a Gerson panel and also replacement glass to just sort that panel out? :wink:

OK, I'm not going to beat around the bush here. Some Columbian Barndoors are FUCKING HORRIBLE so be very careful and don't have dreams of a good deal when you are actually getting what you pay for. I'm not saying that there is any misrepresentation at all and I know that Gerson goes way out of his way to be very clear in his descriptions but just understand that there is good reason why you see so many of them getting passed around from one owner to another with little or nothing done to them in between. They can be so overwhelmingly bad that you can't get a strategy together as to what to do in order to get them into shape.
Go see it for yourself. Thats if you dont mind 20 bag checks, chest xrays and doggs sniffing your ass the whole way back. The ticket is cheap and I dont think you'll get kid napped.

Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:12 pm

bubba wrote: silkyimpala wrote:
You should go down there and check things out for yourself. You might find something like this. I was going to keep it a secret but here's a picture. It is almost to the states. Thanks Sander for your help. Just goes to show that you can find good ones in colombia.

(El secreto) 1953 kombi
Silky, you have been there and seen some for these buses in person. If you need a second OP, ask Ronnie (splitpile). These are the guys that have been in the war zone. From what i have seen, It is hit or miss. I know people that have gotten out of VW's because they got fuck, But i know people that got a good bus at good market value. Just don't go in with a blind eye. Good Luck!
Thanks bubba ,If you get a chance check out the 55 I'm building

Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:36 pm

I would GO see the bus, been down there 5 times, was with Gerson on a few finds and seen LOTS OF JUNK. Of all the buses I have seen there (BD's) only 2 were really sellable AS IS that could be made driveable with-out MAJOR reconstruction. The others were either CUT up or reconstructed .
After being and seeing what I've seen there I would NEVER buy a BD site unseen unless I had REALLY DEEP pockets and I still don't have one and should of bought one of the 2 good ones.
Shipping to the U S, as much as you would pay for the bus.

Tue Sep 30, 2008 5:23 am

silkyimpala wrote: bubba wrote: silkyimpala wrote:
You should go down there and check things out for yourself. You might find something like this. I was going to keep it a secret but here's a picture. It is almost to the states. Thanks Sander for your help. Just goes to show that you can find good ones in colombia.

(El secreto) 1953 kombi
Silky, you have been there and seen some for these buses in person. If you need a second OP, ask Ronnie (splitpile). These are the guys that have been in the war zone. From what i have seen, It is hit or miss. I know people that have gotten out of VW's because they got fuck, But i know people that got a good bus at good market value. Just don't go in with a blind eye. Good Luck!
Thanks bubba ,If you get a chance check out the 55 I'm building
Silky, I have seen the pics of you going to town on your 55. That is a very cool bus. Love the logo look. Keep up with the cool finds. BTW Gerson told me you missed seeing my bus (singlecab) by two days. You are a brave man.

Tue Sep 30, 2008 5:46 am

Gerson wrote: Here is one you might want to consider, (if you want a panel)it came out of Mexico, it's in Miami right now, I saw it in person last week, it's actually not that bad of a bus, the rear end needs to be sorted, but hey, it's already in the U.S., talk to the guy, try to work out a deal, jump on a plane to sunny Miami, and take a look at it.....

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=664318

I've wondered about that BD- that ass-end in f'd up..Why would one reduced the hatch opening? Seems to be a lot more work to have less space to work in.

Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:14 am

SERIOUSLY!!!! woke up this morning & decided Im gonna make a decision today sight unseen,& decided barn doors suck & Id never own 1.......in all seriousness though I dont think Id bother with a bus from there with all the negative feed back I appreciate all the info,now somebody shoot me.JUSTIN

Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:58 am

UZI wrote: Niels - AirMighty.com wrote:
2x

3x

Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:45 am

Looks to me that this bus has cab doors and front nose panel from a later split bus. Easy fix if thats the only issues :?: :wink:

Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:09 pm

I have a columbian bd- a '53 deluxe,it was a 'Gerson find', yes it needs lots of time,money and effort put into it but dont they all in one way or another! If you want a bd then you've got to jump in somewhere because that bd bargain thats all complete and straight with lots of patina and interesting history in reality isnt going to happen,we all dream of that!! There only becoming rarer and more popular which pushes the prices up more-look at what bd's are being 'rescued' from the swedish forest's because of the rarity of them,respect to the guy's that take them on but i'd rather have my columbian bd than tackle the resto's that are coming out of there.You may think there will be a better deal turn up and you'll buy that one- but will there .......! :wink:

Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:49 pm

i have one of those 'rescued' wreks (not sweden tho :wink: ) but im willing to;

Big up the South American barny’s! :wink:

thesamba forums have never hidden the fact they have a real dislike for South American buses. Steer clear of the ‘guacamoles’ :lol:
But everyone deserves a good defence :D
Sure there’s crap on offer, but remember there is everywhere, just maybe more down there.
The buses have there fare share of warped and incorrect and missing parts, but they are often drivers and you can still get that Wolfsburg birth certificate, often with a few unusual M-codes. 8)
And of course built in Germany like all other BD’s.
With some of the 'famous euro shells’ going for £7K+ before shipping and ending up with a LARGE amount of South American metal :wink: (Gerson’s awesome green panels are made in Columbia). I think the predigest against South American buses has got a little OTT.
With some restored deluxes pushing the $100K mark, you can spend $90K on restoring it without loss :wink:
well a good penny anyway, if you make sure you do it right.

Dont diss it simply because it spent the last 50 years on the ‘wrong’ continent?! Diss it cause its sh!t.

So if you are looking for a good way into the pricy BD market don’t discount the South American buses. Shop carefully as ever, but with all the repair panels and the skilled body shops now available, even if they require a bit more work they are much more reasonably priced (atleast in the uk). Project cars are becoming rarer everyday as more and more buses get restored. Remember BD’s are a non-renewable resource. Sooner or latter the market WILL dry up. Then there won’t be any cheap options.

couple of South American nice ones;

Rust box’s BD23 from Columbia. Guarantee this will look awesome when its finished

This 52 came from south America with a tiny bit of rust but no ‘mods’ at all. I know cause I tried to buy it but was beaten to it. :evil:

Tue Sep 30, 2008 2:37 pm

49barndoor wrote: Looks to me that this bus has cab doors and front nose panel from a later split bus. Easy fix if thats the only issues :?: :wink:

There are some issues but for the most part its not a bad bus.

Tue Sep 30, 2008 2:55 pm

silkyimpala wrote: 49barndoor wrote: Looks to me that this bus has cab doors and front nose panel from a later split bus. Easy fix if thats the only issues :?: :wink:

There are some issues but for the most part its not a bad bus.

Yep looks like a good project 8)

Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:45 pm

silkyimpala wrote: 49barndoor wrote: Looks to me that this bus has cab doors and front nose panel from a later split bus. Easy fix if thats the only issues :?: :wink:

There are some issues but for the most part its not a bad bus.

Screw the restore Silky...just get that bitch runnin' and drive it! Still be one only a few in the 209! :)