TheSamba.com :: View topic - L'ATELIER RENARD

Tue May 02, 2023 12:53 pm

Hello,
I present to you my new barndoor restoration project of January 1954.
It was delivered to the Porsche dealership in February 1954 in Austria.
I have no further information until 2014, when it was rescued from the woods in Austria and then sold in England. The English owner then changed his life and decided to sell this barndoor.

I did this transaction in the middle of the COVID pandemic and I haven't been able to see the combi before. I called on Phil Unsworth, a great guy who specializes in transporting vintage VW vehicles in Europe. After 3 days of stress the barndoor arrived home ready for a new adventure with me.

It is such a prestigious model for me. It's a real dream that I realize. I have been in the VW movement in FRANCE since 1999. I also restore a 1958 Beetle convertible model that I restore in my workshop. You can watch the different restorations on my channel you tube L'ATELIER RENARD 🦊

Tue May 02, 2023 1:03 pm

Wed May 03, 2023 9:48 am

Congratulations sir! Good luck with the project. 8)

Thu May 04, 2023 12:13 am

cool, i remember the pics from the extraction

Thu May 04, 2023 11:11 am

Tres bien mon ami!!! :thumbsup: Looking forward to the build.

Thu May 04, 2023 5:19 pm

So sick gotta love the process! :popcorn: :popcorn:

Fri May 05, 2023 10:33 am

Hello 😌

If you have more information about this barndoor, I am interested

Thank you 😉

Sun May 07, 2023 1:02 pm

So happy to finally see this old ride getting some love !!! :D We had a real great time saving this from the woods. Unfortunately I had to let it go back in 2014 and have been thinking about it many times since.
bon voyage mon ami ! :wink:

Günter, d'Autriche

Tue May 09, 2023 10:30 am

Wow! 2014! Where did those 9 years go? :shock:

I’m also glad this old panel is about to get some love. After travelling all the way to Austria and back in a particularly sleep deprived 3 day weekend; including collecting parts from France, Germany and Switzerland; she didn’t stay with me long in the end before a lovely couple over here in the UK took her on. Seems they didn’t really get started either in the end. Sometimes life, or other projects, just take over.

I always felt a bit bad that Günter was such a great guy to buy from and then I was a bit of a useless buyer and didn’t do anything with the panel. I look forward to seeing some progress now though.

Good luck dude 8)

And I hope you’re doing well too G :wink:

Thu May 11, 2023 11:12 am

djfordmanjack wrote: So happy to finally see this old ride getting some love !!! :D We had a real great time saving this from the woods. Unfortunately I had to let it go back in 2014 and have been thinking about it many times since.
bon voyage mon ami ! :wink:

Günter, d'Autriche

You are great thank you for sharing so many photos with me. I am very happy, and you can count on me I will take the necessary care

Thu May 11, 2023 11:23 am

busben wrote: Wow! 2014! Where did those 9 years go? :shock:

I’m also glad this old panel is about to get some love. After travelling all the way to Austria and back in a particularly sleep deprived 3 day weekend; including collecting parts from France, Germany and Switzerland; she didn’t stay with me long in the end before a lovely couple over here in the UK took her on. Seems they didn’t really get started either in the end. Sometimes life, or other projects, just take over.

I always felt a bit bad that Günter was such a great guy to buy from and then I was a bit of a useless buyer and didn’t do anything with the panel. I look forward to seeing some progress now though.

Good luck dude 8)

And I hope you’re doing well too G :wink:

Thank you for your comments it makes me happy to find a little history on this barndoor. I finish my 1958 Volkswagen convertible first and then I tackle the serious stuff... I will equip myself even more with body equipment to redo some sheet metal.

Sorry for m'y Bad english

Thu May 11, 2023 11:29 am

You know what is written on the door
and if I understood that in 1954 it was bought by the Porsche dealership or garage in Austria to sell it

Fri May 12, 2023 1:11 am

nice project enjoy ..if you need some reference how some parts of body and chassis should look like just ping me on [email protected]

Fri May 12, 2023 1:34 pm

no worries, Ben ! you were always a great guy to deal with, and we are all just short time caretakers of these old things anyways. looking forward that this old Transporter is now getting some love finally. it has a cool vibe to it and it will be interesting to see it being brought back! Imagine this bus probably spent half of its lifetime near, or part - in a stream. it's a miracle it is still here and I feel proud that my trusty friend J. and me were able to retrieve it that day. It was one of those events, when checking local classified ads with your Sunday morning coffee, reach out to the seller. then
call your close bus afficionado bloke, saddle the horse ( ie get a trailer), and dig out another Barndoor by noon time...hahaha....and that is exactly what happened that day !
We are both in the video as well (actually it was me who took some of the stills ).
The reason I wanted this panel is that at the time I still owned the Kohlruss coachbuild BD and both were early 1954 ( I believe April or May), so I was thinking about using parts of the panel chassis to repair KRSS, but - LUCKILY (for both buses)- non of that ever happened.
I was coping with the recovery of a bad spine injury (motorcycle accident) at the time, which was the ultimate reason that lead to selling. In the end when Mark ( Spicer) saved the KRSS, I was really happy for him and the bus, as he put it back on the road in very short time, and kept the patina and personality as well. Now even the Hohenecker panel is getting resurrected, and that fills my old Barndoor heart with joy ! C'est magnifique ! :D

busben wrote: Wow! 2014! Where did those 9 years go? :shock:

I’m also glad this old panel is about to get some love. After travelling all the way to Austria and back in a particularly sleep deprived 3 day weekend; including collecting parts from France, Germany and Switzerland; she didn’t stay with me long in the end before a lovely couple over here in the UK took her on. Seems they didn’t really get started either in the end. Sometimes life, or other projects, just take over.

I always felt a bit bad that Günter was such a great guy to buy from and then I was a bit of a useless buyer and didn’t do anything with the panel. I look forward to seeing some progress now though.

Good luck dude 8)

And I hope you’re doing well too G :wink:

Fri May 12, 2023 1:35 pm

splitface wrote: nice project enjoy ..if you need some reference how some parts of body and chassis should look like just ping me on [email protected]

Thank you for your answer👍But I didn't understand the principle

Fri May 12, 2023 1:46 pm

Renard ( I take it this is your first name ?), the van was registered to a company that was in the steel business in Vienna. They have gone out of business long before and the company shop has long since been demolished.
The door lettering says

Ernst Hohenecker, Goldschlagstrasse 201, Vienna.

One of the cargo doors is NOT original to the car, It has og paint but has some different kind of logos/lettering on it, that does not go with the van's heritage.

We retrieved the bus form the woods in 2013 and the property owner said it had been there, used as a hunting shack, for at least 30 years, so it had been in the woods near Vienna since ca. 1980.

No, the bus has not been delivered TO Porsche Austria, but maybe BY Porsche Austria ( VW wholesale dealer) and it has been sold by Austria's largest dealership in Vienna, VW Liewers.

I saved the original brass/porcelain dealership badge from the engine lid
( look at where the original screw holes are on top of the brake light).
Ben may know about the whereabouts of this badge.... :wink: .... it should be reunited with the bus. That'd be 8)

L’ATELIER RENARD wrote:

You know what is written on the door
and if I understood that in 1954 it was bought by the Porsche dealership or garage in Austria to sell it

Fri May 12, 2023 1:53 pm

BTW, there is some pretty strong graffity and lettering inside the bus. Probably when the bus was used as a love shack in hot summer nights, who knows.... maybe it's just my dirty old mind making up things...:lol:

djfordmanjack wrote:

Fri May 12, 2023 11:23 pm

djfordmanjack wrote: BTW, there is some pretty strong graffity and lettering inside the bus. Probably when the bus was used as a love shack in hot summer nights, who knows.... maybe it's just my dirty old mind making up things...:lol:

djfordmanjack wrote:

It's funny I say the same things in my video we must have the same spirit in France even if I seem less old 🤭. It's really great to give me all these details about the bus I will be able to rebuild this beautiful project with all the information... Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Actualy i working hard on m'y convertible 1958 euro

Sat May 13, 2023 12:00 pm

Seeing the pics of your Kabriolett build, I have no doubts that the Barndoor will come out better than new ! :shock:

btw, the Hohenecker lettering on the passenger (right) door , it has no Postal code with the capitol city Vienna (Wien). Postal codes were introduced in Austria somewhere around 1965, so this means the original lettering is older than that.
Also the address had been painted over once, suggesting that the bus was either used privately after business use, or sold on to another owner.
Another very interesting detail is, that the bus does not have any signs of additional turn signal lights mounted, ever. it also still has the original taillight holes, without any modification for larger tail light units or aftermarket stuff.

Turn signals became mandatory in Austria in about 1963 or so, and most split and oval window bugs and pre 1961 buses had lights and turn signals added because of that.
Your panel van doesn't show ANY signs at all of such things ever added, which may be a hint that the van was retired or in an accident before ca 1964.
It is an extremely rare thing to find an Austrian bus WITHOUT turn signal modification. My 1955 Wolfsburg panel van also does not have ANY screw holes or such. it was in a wreck and retired into the woods very early in its life.
These are very minor details, but may be interesting to you. Not much is known of the history of this van, but small things like that still give away some history. Personally, I just love the history and story that comes with old cars.

Sat May 13, 2023 12:15 pm

djfordmanjack wrote: Seeing the pics of your Kabriolett build, I have no doubts that the Barndoor will come out better than new ! :shock:

btw, the Hohenecker lettering on the passenger (right) door , it has no Postal code with the capitol city Vienna (Wien). Postal codes were introduced in Austria somewhere around 1965, so this means the original lettering is older than that.
Also the address had been painted over once, suggesting that the bus was either used privately after business use, or sold on to another owner.
Another very interesting detail is, that the bus does not have any signs of additional turn signal lights mounted, ever. it also still has the original taillight holes, without any modification for larger tail light units or aftermarket stuff.

Turn signals became mandatory in Austria in about 1963 or so, and most split and oval window bugs and pre 1961 buses had lights and turn signals added because of that.
Your panel van doesn't show ANY signs at all of such things ever added, which may be a hint that the van was retired or in an accident before ca 1964.
It is an extremely rare thing to find an Austrian bus WITHOUT turn signal modification. My 1955 Wolfsburg panel van also does not have ANY screw holes or such. it was in a wreck and retired into the woods very early in its life.
These are very minor details, but may be interesting to you. Not much is known of the history of this van, but small things like that still give away some history. Personally, I just love the history and story that comes with old cars.

You are a gold mine of information and I like it!👍
I think your analysis is good and I thank you for sharing it is very enriching because I did not have much information.

This site the samba is still magical 🤩