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Mon Jun 16, 2025 10:02 am

Blue Baron posted this Vintage photo recently:

I received an email from Michael Steinke stating he had written an article abut Hubertus in the Westfalia-Register Post in April 2025 and he also include some additional information including a small booklet Hubertus published.

The materials are below.

Quote: About this blue-white ´57 de Luxe Westy (crossing the African continent between ´59 and ´62, named "Swala", Kiswaheli for "gazelle") I published a small article in our last Westfalia-Register Post in April 2025. Hubertus died in 2021.

Article:

Additional materials:
Quote: I've learned a little more about Hubertus Kanus´ solo African expedition in his ´57 Westy.
In the early 1960s, he gave illustrated lectures in Germany (he was an ethnology student) and had a small booklet printed

Mon Jun 16, 2025 11:15 am

Michael always has the best Westy finds. Hard to tell from the pics but I wonder if this bus has the same interior as Paul's 56 currently for sale. The curtains look very similar.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2744373

Tue Jun 17, 2025 4:34 am

Great photos- hard to imagine a trip of that magnitude 65 years ago sans any internet connectivity, GPS and relying on paper maps!

Didn't know that Westfalia Register was still going strong. I looked for a website for them etc but no luck.

Tue Jun 17, 2025 7:19 am

What a cool story. This is very inspiring.

Tue Jun 17, 2025 8:17 am

Thanks for sharing.

Looks like Lind needs to make a trip to Africa to find the next school wagon.

Tue Jun 17, 2025 10:34 pm

Great find. The English part said he broke 5 steering bolts. Other
worn parts did not seem at all out of line: 2 sets tires, 4 sets shock absorbers, torsion bars (Im guessing fronts?) 1 cylinder head.
Must have very slow driving, my Wolfsburg bus has a redline at 48mph, but a round trip of 1960 Africa might have been more like 3rd gear stuff.
But FIVE STEERING BOLTS?

Wed Jun 18, 2025 12:40 pm

EverettB wrote:
I received an email from Michael Steinke stating he had written an article abut Hubertus in the Westfalia-Register Post in April 2025 and he also include some additional information including a small booklet Hubertus published.

Wow, a blast from the past, i have not talked to Michael since our Bulli-Kartei trip to romania in the 90s. Happy to hear he is still around.

Wed Jun 18, 2025 6:29 pm

Alan Brase wrote: But FIVE STEERING BOLTS?

What exactly are "Steering Bolts"?

Wed Jun 18, 2025 8:10 pm

BarryL wrote: Alan Brase wrote: But FIVE STEERING BOLTS?

What exactly are "Steering Bolts"? Perhaps we need some Deutsch sprechen man to read the original text?
Actually Deutsch lesen ?

Wed Jun 18, 2025 9:18 pm

BarryL wrote: Alan Brase wrote: But FIVE STEERING BOLTS?

What exactly are "Steering Bolts"?

I was wondering that too, maybe bolts were sheared off?

Wed Jun 18, 2025 9:42 pm

Quote:
But FIVE STEERING BOLTS?

My question is, all at once?

Thu Jun 19, 2025 6:22 pm

70bus wrote: Quote:
But FIVE STEERING BOLTS?

My question is, all at once?

Same question: "all at once" what's?

Thu Jun 19, 2025 8:59 pm

My assumption: all 5 of part 16
http://oacdp.org/5867part/267.png

Fri Jun 20, 2025 8:31 am

70bus wrote: My assumption: all 5 of part 16
http://oacdp.org/5867part/267.png
Wow, that might be the ones.
I've NEVER heard of these breaking before. I wonder if it was not properly tightened at some point.

Fri Jun 20, 2025 10:13 am

Quote: I've NEVER heard of these breaking before.
Ditto. Seems unlikely, but there aren't many 'bolts' in 'steering' - lots of nuts, tho. Could be a mistranslation. What does the underside of a 57 steering box look like? Maybe he scraped off the bolts on the bottom (Part 23) a few times. Lowered buses do that all the time...

In the 70, going over the mountain behind Jerome, I once hit a rock so hard it put a nick in my steering box; I'd assume you'd break the box before you knocked it off. Ot course, rough roads loosen stuff and then all bets are off - I nearly lost 2 wheels after driving the washboard road to Rainbow Bridge. Vibration spun 3 lug nuts out of each rim; luckily, when I got back to highway, I heard them rolling around in the hubcaps!

Maybe he shook a few of #16 loose and they sheared.

I didn't see 'bolt' or 'bolzen' in any of the articles.

Fri Jun 20, 2025 6:29 pm

70bus wrote: Maybe he scraped off the bolts on the bottom (Part 23) a few times.

That's got to be it. The oil comes out when even one is gone.

Fri Jun 20, 2025 6:54 pm

I had just removed all 5 bolts from my steering box, so that may have colored my assumption. :)

But this is a 57 steering box, so Occam's Razor sorta slices towards "five steering (box) bolts"

Too bad he's no longer alive - losing 5 mounting bolts might have been quite a tale.