TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:20 pm

First off, The title is a bit of a joke....I'm not starting another build, just yet. I just figured rather than have a "found" thread, and then later a build thread, I would just start this one now. It's going to be a couple years before this beast gets any real attention.

Last year, a customer walks into my shop on a relatively slow Saturday, Looks around a bit, and then comes to the counter "How hard is it to get parts for those old barn-door buses?" He asks my co-worker. And so it started. He initially thought it was a '51, with all the windows... Well he was right about the windows part.

He and a buddy pulled her out of a river 15 years or so ago, where she had been laying on her passenger side. We kept in contact for many months, as he had visions of restoring this monster, but after a while he realized the only smart thing to do was to sell her to me. :lol:

A few people noticed her pop up on Barndoor.dk and got a hold of me asking if she was for sale and looking for more pics.

So here she is, in all her glory, Daphne. A Canadian delivered Jan '53 deluxe.

Where she was sitting for the last 15 years or so.

The first pics I saw.

An old one...

And some from last Dec. Yes, I saw these, and still decided to buy the bus...

This is why he thought she was a '51

Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:26 pm

:shock: Nice!
In your first pic I had a good time trying to spot the bus before scrolling down.

Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:34 pm

Trevor lives a lot closer to where she had been sitting for the last 15 years or so, and was kind enough to pick her up in August this summer and transport her the 1200km here. The frame is almost completely rotted away, and he says it was quite a challenge to load. I believe him, as it took a few hours to unload, and we even had the help of a forklift! The best quote from his trip here;
"It's like transporting a Faberge egg on a car trailer"

Making her trip out west.

At the shop.

Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:57 pm

Why wait a couple of years to start on her?
Just take a week off and you'll have it done! :lol:

Great score Ken! Good to know that the internet is gonna have some
nice builds to follow in the comming years.

Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:01 am

Fantastic! I always wondered where this bus had ended up, I remember seeing the old pic a long time ago. Really glad to see it's in your hands ken :D

Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:56 am

Very COOL!! 8)
This ones a keeper.
Must have come off the production line with Marks. And both sent to north America.
You need to prioritise this bus over the others.

Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:59 am

that is one of my dream buses

Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:06 am

[quote]

looks like another candidate for one f those miracle before and after bumper shots! :D

Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:01 am

Ken, you we have it finished by OCTO next year!!! :lol:

Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:07 am

Lowdown Dirty Rat wrote: You need to prioritise this bus over the others.

Hahaha typical statement from a deluxe owner! You think a deluxe is better than a 52 sunroof standard, or a 54 sunroof kombi? Don't get me wrong, an early deluxe is way cool, but not better! :wink:

Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:19 am

Congrats Ken and with all your talent this will be a no brainer for you. I'm a fan for sure...

Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:16 am

Rich's 50 wrote: Congrats Ken and with all your talent this will be a no brainer for you. I'm a fan for sure...

X2 :D

Tue Oct 18, 2011 11:41 am

Scotty wrote: Lowdown Dirty Rat wrote: You need to prioritise this bus over the others.

Hahaha typical statement from a deluxe owner! You think a deluxe is better than a 52 sunroof standard, or a 54 sunroof kombi? Don't get me wrong, an early deluxe is way cool, but not better! :wink:

Hey I never said it was better.
I mean it's not even signwritten how's he going to cope :lol:

I just selfishly want to see it done ASAP! :wink:

Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:00 pm

Thanks for sharing.

Anyone want to guess how may deluxes were delivered to Canada in 53?....crazy.

Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:33 pm

cool bus, Ken. cool aerial shots. an early 53 Canadian dlx shades the sunroofs. especially the Columbian one.
white engine bay looks odd/unusual, esp as the swr/cb is original?

Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:12 pm

looks like the person that owns the place has a few other busses

Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:35 pm

Jake Martinez wrote: looks like the person that owns the place has a few other busses

This true, is the one close to the building a BD ambulance?

Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:35 pm

Jake Martinez wrote: looks like the person that owns the place has a few other busses

Good eye. Not anymore BDs there but he had a couple other buses I had to check while I was there.

There's no words to describe how rusty Dahpne is and even I was taken back a bit when I arrived to load her up. However, I think this sums it up. When I hooked up to the beam it decided to move about 6 inches forward of it's original location. When hooked up to the torsion housing in the rear it also tried the same thing but some how managed to stay put long enough for the trip.
At any rate she's now in a safe place waiting patiently with a good cross section of her Canadian BD family from back in the day. :wink:

Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:17 pm

It's in the best hands it could have found! I look forward to following this one as all your other builds.

Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:51 pm

If you'd like...I think I have some video of the EPIC unloading ceremony.

It's the rustiest bus I think I've ever seen...and yes, I saw the Columbian BD before Ken started working his magic on it.

Thanks for making this thread Ken.

- DP

On second thought... it's 965mb of video...over 16 minutes long...and in the end..we don't actually get to the part where the bus gets completely unloaded from the trailer....so, maybe not.