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Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:17 am

Time to introduce my new project after selling my mango recently.

Today is my new bus' 61st Birthday :) So here is my 22nd April 1954 RHD barndoor

As you can see it is a project bus, it's a New Zealand import, has been in the UK for approx 17 years but has not been on the road here. My plans are for it to be Brown Brown and very slammed :)

Can't wait to get started now........

I'm trying to find any history I can out about it too, if anyone has any info of it in New Zealand or even its early time in the UK I'd love to know it. I bought it from Chris at MuscleBus who has it had about 10 years and he got it from Paul Machin at Bus Barn, but I don't know anything before that.

Chassis number is 20-080627

Thanks guys.

Wed Apr 22, 2015 10:54 am

must feel great to finally get a barndoor! Glad for ya mate :) Such a good project... see you in hessish 8)

Wed Apr 22, 2015 11:53 am

congrats gareth. not a bad bus to start with 8) so hurry up with the painting and slamming and see you BadCamberg this year!! ;)

Wed Apr 22, 2015 12:20 pm

btw. did you ask rikki, cause he did some early shots of it i guess..

the other question is it is listed as a Typ 21D at barndoor.dk, so is this wrong information or did you bought a Panelvan?

Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:05 pm

Cheers Jesper and Ben :) Very happy to finally have one! 😄

Have spoke to Rikki he doesn't know much more than I already know, he took the pics at the first UK barndoor meet at Karmann Konnection in 2004.

Yeh it is listed wrong on barndoor.dk, I have the birth certificate and it is a 23D, Or 234 RHD Kombi, left hand cargo doors. If you prefer :)
Colour unknown as I believe it is a CKD bus for New Zealand so could have been painted any colour.

Don't think I can get it ready for bad camberg this year haha, as u know Ben I have a wedding to pay for so can't go wild with the project until after that. We plan on being at Hessich in it but would hope it will be done before that :)

Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:48 pm

Check the glass, I don't think they were assembling buses here until later in 54, however the ckd kit could have been from april, if you know what I mean. If the glass has NZ safety in a small circle its most likely an NZ assembled ckd bus. I have some single hole slider window glass from late 54 so they were definitely using NZ glass in 54. Also the seats have different vinyl, similar texture but could be dark green, blue, red/brown or black with white piping. Paint for a kombi prob would have been NZ dove blue or green with black window frames and all white ribbed bumpers and white hubcaps. See the pic below... Kind of sad to think there were so many here and now so few but as they say _ _it happens. Oh and happy birthday...

Thu Apr 23, 2015 4:49 am

Looks a very good straight forward project man! I'll be watching here and on instagram :wink: good luck!

Fri Apr 24, 2015 3:42 am

Nice I also have a ex nz 54 barndoor 11 window which is fully nz built sister bus to the this is not scrap barndoor that gerson has

Sun Apr 26, 2015 1:09 am

Cheers guys :D

Otahuhu, I believe there is New Zealand glass in one of the door windows but the rest of the glass is big logo stuff. Chances are glass could have been changed at any point though. I believe a contact through Instagram may have found some info of my bus in New Zeland. So I'm hoping for some leads from that soon, I have a pic now which believe to be my bus, it has black window frames but the bus is Matt black and red, it is from 2001 though.
Once I know more I will share on here.
Don't think will ever really know of it was a CKD NZ built bus that sat around in kit form for half a year or if it was German built and sent to NZ in the April. Birth certificate says built 22nd, left factory on 23rd and destination of Jowett, Auckland.

Bus has been bare metalled so not going to find any trace of OG paint to work out what colour it May have been originally. But then I still plan on making it what I want either way, would just be nice to know the little details :)

Hopefully not much longer and it can go up to the workshop for the metal work to begin:)

Sun Apr 26, 2015 1:12 am

Kombiing, I recognise that bus it's a good project :)

Wonder how many RHD barndoors are still out there, not sure I can spend the time going through every page of barndoor.dk counting them haha

Sun Apr 26, 2015 4:34 am

Gareth.
Nice to see it still around,and to think no one wanted it back in 2001 when it was for sale.
I think you will find that this is a 'first delivery bus' , meaning this was brought into the country from Germany as a completely assembled bus and sold through the first importer which was Jowett Motors before the name change to VW Motors NZ Ltd.....my registry would indicate this.

Simple way to confirm this, is there a five or six figure number stamped into the bulkhead behind the drivers set...should be close to the chassis number, and then the last three digits will be on the door top frame as well....if there is a number stamped its a German bus.....the later CKD buses never had this number stamping.
The glass can be replaced over time but the body number is a certainty.

I have all the contact details here for a previous owner if you want to flick me a PM.

Sun Apr 26, 2015 9:47 am

That's great dude, I will fire u a PM later. Thank you :)

To make it more confusing, my bus does not have a stamping in the bulkhead, I haven't checked the door tops yet but I shall take a look. I believe all the glass was NZ glass and that it was Chris who has changed it. So signs are that it is a CKD bus but a very early one maybe??
birth certificate def says build day 22nd April, left factory on 23rd, destination Jowett.
I'm not home at the moment but I'll get a pic of the birth certificate later and check the door tops.
The pic I have seen Which I thought could be my bus shows it in 2001 at a show, it's matt black with red above the swage and then a black roof again. Black door tops and some interesting artwork, flames above the headlights etc.
Does that sound like the bus you reckon it is?

Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:33 pm

Wolfsburg Classics wrote: Gareth.
I think you will find that this is a 'first delivery bus' , meaning this was brought into the country from Germany as a completely assembled bus and sold through the first importer which was Jowett Motors before the name change to VW Motors NZ Ltd.....my registry would indicate this.

Hi, Wolfsburg Classics would your registry show any info on my barndoor, chassis 20-106513. Unfortunately it has no bulkhead so no six figure number there.

Cheers Tedz.

Tue Apr 28, 2015 2:08 am

I have managed to find some info on my bus from New Zealand, I have been able to get in touch with the former owner, who found it abandoned and saved it.

My bus was found by a man named Dave Hermanns back in 2000ish in a field full of abandoned cars including another barndoor right next to it. This was in Dannevirke in Manawatu - Wanganui region in New Zealand.

It was white with a funky brown stripe. But looking at where the badge was I would say it was NZ dove blue originally.

Dave did some very quick repairs and got it running. Painted it Matt black and red and put artwork all over it. Must have been a crazy time back the. Going by the artwork :) haha!
He then drove it to the Auckland VW Nationals in 2001 or 2002 where he gave it to a friend who was going to restore it. That guy then sold it on, presumably to the UK.

This is how it looked in 2001/2002, Tedz I believe it was you who posted this on the thread on NZ vee-dub nutz forum. I've been trying to register on there to say thank you but struggling to register from a phone haha. So thank you for posting it up it was the key to the puzzle.

And an early photo from Chris who I got it from showing the artwork and remains of red and black

Hoping to be able to find out more from Dave, but very happy to have found so much out within a week of picking the bus up :)

Tue Apr 28, 2015 5:16 am

its always nice to have some informations about a bd.. nice you got some shots too. 8)

Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:33 am

Happy days! ;-)

Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:22 am

Originally dove blue eh?

Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:17 am

Would appear it was originally NZ Dove Blue, nothing left of that now though. If it had saveable original dove blue I probably wouldn't have bought it, not a dove blue fan and wouldn't destroy original paint. I can paint this one however I want haha

Sat May 30, 2015 6:47 am

Well this morning i got up bright and early to get the bus moved from its temporary home of my dads garage and get it over to Martin's workshop for work to commence.

Mine and Martin's 54's together

Mine is now tucked up into its spot in the workshop ready for work to commence today on the cargo doors. Parked up next to Martin's 51.

Sat May 30, 2015 12:33 pm

Martin has begun work, starting with the cargo doors.

Slight adaptation to the funky green needed but seems pretty good...

Spot welders make things a lot quicker and neater.....

Lots more work to do on this door but it's not looking too bad so far, gaps are even good, needs some adjusting and further metal work but pleased with how it's going

Finally 3 barndoors tucked up for the night :)