TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:21 pm

Have been e-mailing the owner back and forth for a few weeks trying to coordinate, finally made it up with the truck and trailer. Was sort of a blind buy, since when I looked at it a month ago it was completely buried in snow, and I couldn't see underneath at all.

Guy drove it back from California in '05, Bus was originally from there. It was his daily until the rear engine harness shorted out and he said he had it in the shop for a year and no one could find a new harness. I sourced a used one (since no one makes them) off of the wonderful classifieds here, and it matches perfectly! So hopefully it'll run, it turns over fine.

More surprises. I get it home, scrape off the snow, and it has a freakin solar panel on the roof! Looked some more and it has a monitor under the dash with a battery meter and also a charging meter for the panel. It does not seem to have a seperate circuit for the panel, meaning that I think it charges the battery that starts the engine. Is this normal? It looks to be professionally installed.

Came with a clean title (from Cali) and the original owners manual, along with a bunch of service records (almost $3000 worth) from between 2000 and 2005.

All electronics work inside, ventilation fan under dash is VERY LOUD!

It is basically rust-free, has rust under the battery which is expected.

Ugly repaint, primer sprayed in all of the spots where the crappy paint came off. There really is not much rust at all though. For east-coast standards of course :)

It looks like it has rust on the rockers in the pictures, but it does not. The primer makes it look really rough.

That's me in the blue coat, winching her up the old fashioned way :)

On with the pics!

The Rescue...

Upon arrival....
Exterior:

Top Up!

Interior..

The mystery solar panel...

And lastly, the engine bay...

Here are some things of interest....

-Could not get the ?child's cot? to fit across the front seats. It was like 3/4 of an inch short to fit into the pegs. Did they change them at all over the years? I thought perhaps I had the wrong one.

-Stool is out of another year Westy, correct?

-Aftermarket gauges. Is the temp gauge oil temp or cylinder head temp? Any way to know without looking at the engine?

-Distributor cap was left off while it was stored outside for 3 years, looks pretty bad. Looks like a new dizzy is in her future.

-Slider was bumped and covered up with bondo, so that'll need to be fixed. The slider also closes hard (the latch has a hard time lining up, I have to put pressure on the front of the door when I close it). I tried to adjust it, but it didn't help. Do you guys think the door is tweaked from being hit, affecting the closure?

I'm hoping to go through the engine bay in the next few weeks and put on all new hoses, fuel lines, etc. I went through all that with my Bug so no biggie there. Then, after I do that, I will hook up my new harness and try to start it up. I don't want any fires!

Thanks for looking everyone!
Mitch

P.S. I have named her Lucy.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:28 pm

Congrats! It looks like a great find. I'm in Maine as well...was this listed on Craigslist fairly recently? I think I may have sent an email about this very bus if so as well, never received a reply though. If it's the same one, I think you got a very good deal if I remember the price right.

Anyways...looks like a very fun project! Good luck.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:29 pm

dang dude you even have the stool, thats a nice bus, is that solar panels on the roof, i love the interior colors, the inside is in great shape. NICE!

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:30 pm

brotha bran wrote: Congrats! It looks like a great find. I'm in Maine as well...was this listed on Craigslist fairly recently? I think I may have sent an email about this very bus if so as well, never received a reply though. If it's the same one, I think you got a very good deal if I remember the price right.

Anyways...looks like a very fun project! Good luck.

Was on Craigslist a few months ago.

He was asking $1500, but I was able to shave $1000 off of the price... :lol:

Mitch

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:30 pm

dude i want a bus with the plaid color of your stool thats awesome

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:34 pm

I knew it! That's a steal and a half for $1k IMO. :D

That VDO gauge looks like it's Oil Temp, since I'd assume the CHT gauge would go a lot higher than 300F.

My sliding door does the exact same thing, you've really really gotta push in and up on it as you close it. Haven't gotten around to diagnosing the problem, but go here and have a look:

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/SlidingDoor.html

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:43 pm

brotha bran wrote: I knew it! That's a steal and a half for $1k IMO. :D

That VDO gauge looks like it's Oil Temp, since I'd assume the CHT gauge would go a lot higher than 300F.

My sliding door does the exact same thing, you've really really gotta push in and up on it as you close it. Haven't gotten around to diagnosing the problem, but go here and have a look:

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/SlidingDoor.html

I actually only paid $500.

Thanks for the link. I've been looking around on there, good stuff!

Mitch

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:49 pm

Nice find and even nicer that you talked him down so much. I'll bet the childs cot and camping stool came out of the same '74 Westy. The childs cot brackets were up a little higher on the A and B pillars in the earlier models, so the childs cot was shorter. You could move the brackets up, or maybe trade child cots with someone if you don't want to drill holes. Good luck!

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:52 pm

Late bays should have extendable cot poles. You have incorrect poles.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:53 pm

:shock: Wow...guess I read that too quick. For $500, that's just great. Enjoy it!

And yes...Ratwell's site will give you a VERY solid foundation for most of the info you'll want right off.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:11 pm

nice score! welcome to the forum.

i have learned alot using the search function. i get lost in the threads sometimes just reading and reading and then tinkering.
ratwells site is one of the bests here.
you'll find alot of help in this forum.
good luck!

Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:16 pm

73superb wrote:

He was asking $1500, but I was able to shave $1000 off of the price... :lol:

I think I did OK..

Mitch

OK? :shock: you did amazing! i am jealous.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:25 pm

yeah what someone said above is true about the childs cot, the later bays are wider so maybe they picked one up hoping it would work and left it in there or never tried it ???

Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:30 pm

MOX wrote: yeah what someone said above is true about the childs cot, the later bays are wider so maybe they picked one up hoping it would work and left it in there or never tried it ???

OK, cool. Is the fabric the same? i.e. can I just try and find new poles and use the fabric that I have?

Thanks!
Mitch

Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:18 pm

I would be checkin out the window for the cops cause you stole that mutha. That solar setup, the guages, the table, and that precious stool. Your never gonna lose on that deal. Thats an interesting color too, very minty fresh.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:19 pm

Nice score. I'd paint it back the original color, but that is an awsome deal.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:59 pm

with the green and yellow...it reminds me of the old school Ninja Turtles van!

nice find though!

Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:59 pm

Heck, those solar panels are worth nearly that! For proper Karma for finding a bus of that caliber for that asking price, you should have talked him UP a thousand bucks! :P

Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:02 am

Thats a awesome set up for only 500 bucks. jeezzzz..you pretty much stole the thing :)
Next on the list is to get the motor going, does it even turn over..
I would want to get a nice engine like a camper special to put in it and then your set.

Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:49 am

Bay Window Steve wrote: Nice score. I'd paint it back the original color, but that is an awsome deal.

I plan on it eventually. For now, it's fixing the mechanics and rolling her as is!

Mitch