67 split bus L62 ambulance? yes, but no

[nicolas]

allright!

i just came to buy a 67 bus from a friend.

i was looking p the M codes and it seems to have had quite a few, but most of it is gone, it has had a repaint and served a few owners in it's years of existence.
but from what i have found out it was equiped with a few ambulance accessories like the red light, the front emblem delete, the step at the cargo door and so on. but it is a regular 231 bus and not an ambulance as such.
a bit weird to me, but like i said most of the parts are gone.
even worse (well kinda…) it has a pop top roof cut in it at one point.

so what am i going to do with it… for me it was a bus, not an ambulance. so no point in restoring it like one. i want to take my family on trips and holidays. so that will be the main focus. at first i was looking to repaint it (it is in primer now) in a color i like, now i must admit the L62 ivory is growing on me. i can't find many pictures even after searching a few evenings to find some as kombi's and not ambulances. it seems to be a not too common choice.
as for the interior i saw in the technical section that ivory buses from 67 had a different colorway for the seats as opposed to other kombi colors. again i did some searching and only early 60's and 50's busses come up and it isn't like that in a 67.

so for now i will try and do some of the last welding. and find out a good way to fit back the roof section (tips are very welcome, and i do have a part donor roof for it) and redo this bus in a decent way

hope you are all chiming in and i will take some pictures and post them up.

thanks for looking!

[nicolas]

allright,

here are the codes that are on the M-plate tag. i managed to find out about most of them, but the paintcode numbers and the 779 code are still not clear to me.

does anyone know if the towhooks behind the bumpers came standard on 67 busses or was this maybe an option? or a backuplight for euro model busses?

06D

623 718 779
381 019 100 119 160 530
2312 523143 7068078

please help me find out more, especially if there are more busses like this and the color codes are puzzling me. i still haven't found a interior shot of a bus. mine has 'regular' kombi seats in front, but i want to be sure what the bus came with originally, as the ivory L62 busses did come with a different interior option. i also haven't found much info or pictures so far of how it looked.

[oakman]

[BarryL]

[mandraks]

[EverettB]

[mandraks]

tow hooks like this?
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[nicolas]

[nicolas]

allright i uploaded a few pictures that i took today in the garage of the various parts on this bus like the window frames which are ivory the wheels that are white on the inside and ivory on the outside, the dashboard which has some holes in it that may or may not be original and tell someone something about what was fitted to the bus.
i also took some pictures of original painted parts of the bus like the engine bay, the inner rear arches to show you that it is indeed a ivory bus for sure.
the M-plate is also there and the chassis number. also the hooks, the rear one is shown, the front one isn't, but it is located at the passenger side underneath the bumper bracket.

maybe i missed a few things and maybe someone spots some oddities here and there. let me know.

one more thing, there was a radio antenna or something mounted on the roof at some point as there is a square plate spotwelded on it just behind the bow behind the drivers seat.

if you haven't noticed, i am aware of what a split bus is and have been around them for 15 years (i am a type3 owner), but honestly this is all new to me. i have learned a lot in the last few weeks since i bought the bus. it is interesting and a bit odd, but if i want to know as much as i can about how this bus came from the factory and hopefully not deviate too much from its original form.

i was going to repaint it in a color i really liked, but it seems ivory is growing on me, but it is hard to find pictures of regular kombis in this color.

thanks!

[nicolas]

here is the M-plate

[Clara]

[nicolas]

the front one looks just like the one in the picture here above. the picture i took was too bad to post.

as for the M-plate and options, most of them are gone… no step, no lights, no heating, no mud flaps,…

it will be hard and very expensive to find these options again, i am willing to look into it and see what can be done non the less.

it is maybe a slightly different road of thought, but could this bus have been a red cross bus insted of an ambulance? seems that the red cross had vehicules that have more similarities with regular kombis?

[nicolas]

here is what i found out about all the M-codes and their signification. i also will mention what is still found as part of the bus and what i can't find pictures or info about.

M623

12V electrics suitable for short wave radio units (not sure what that included, i know of the plugs or plug wires, but what else is there included)

M718

red cross (the one on the front of the roof) not there, but i do have the rubber grommet where it was installed and know how it must have looked

M779

still not found what this included or is

M381

a package including M-codes:
M29 (tow hooks front and rear) present,
M56 (steering/ingnition lock) present as this is a 67 model,
M181 (chrome hubcaps) two are indeed present,
M194 (big mirrors) i have found two brackets that seem to go on the upper hinges of the doors and that have hella mirrors fitted. the arms are double arms that end into one. the glass is broken, but those can be reproduced, the arms and backs are grey, no chrome,
M502 (board door panels) missing and no info, i would like to know more or see pictures, i only have a small painted cardboard in a box which i think can be correct.
M503 (board headliner panels) see above.

M013

middle and rear seat plus wood trim in load area. i have seats, but they are wrong, and i see no wood trim and can't really find out what it must have looked like.

M100

supplied without vw badge

M119

eberspächerheater BN4 (of course gone, the exhaust or tailpipe is there i think in the left side of the engine compartment, i really would like one fitted again, but split 12V… not sure where to get that.

M160

blue light and bosch siren. i know what it is, but there is a single hole at the very front of the roof ( i think it is for the red cross light) and there is a square plate of about 7cm by 7cm spotwelded to the roof (right behind the front compartment on the left side 15- 20 cms from the sill) with 4 treaded holes in the corners and a bigger hole in the middle. this could have been for a siren or horns, but also a braket for a light, no other holes are found.

M530

step to load area. missing.


i also found that maybe the package of M381 may have included mudflaps and this could be true as it looks like there must have been fitted some on this bus by the look of the holes drilled in the rear arches both left and right.

thanks for reading and i hope someone can help a hand filling in the gaps and blanks.

[EverettB]

Can you tell me where you got the details for M-code 381?

I would like to add this information to the M-code listing on this site but would like to know the source.
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[nicolas]

i found the info on this dutch site.

http://www.keversite.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=14270

BUT i may not be conclusive as there are options on the bus that are covered in the topic but not confirmed in the package. they do mention M381 being a 'safety package' which i think could be true as i have those options as well.

and i also had it mentioned on this site so you know what is up with the package or not

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=190839&start=0

[Clara]

genuine M194 mirror & arm:

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[Clara]

M503 is grey cargo area roof panels.
M502 is the grey interior panels with wood bump strips:
vintage picture:

2001 pic of 64 kombi with og M502 and M503:

I make new repro M502 interior panels sets, you can check my ads for more pics, and check your bus to see if panels were screwed in. It would include a rear deck panel above the engine.
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[nicolas]

yes those are the mirrors i have with this bus. so that makes sense at last.
and i have found your panels in other posts.
there isn't a panel fitted to the bus anymore… i do have felt (spelling) strips that are fitted between the ribs of the engine deck panel.
i will look at the possibility to find the holes for the screws.
it would be good to have those panels again as i was actually looking at making it as bare and empty as an earlier kombi bus (50's), but this is right up my alley.

i'll have a look at your adds and feel free to mail me about them.

[nicolas]

more and more questions…

but this is a good thing in my opinion.

regarding the interior upholstery i need a combination of L62 (ivory) with 94 grey interior…

i do find pictures of older models with grey interior (80) but nothing comes up in my searches for a 94 coded interior. is there a difference? is this still available. if you look in one of my above pictures i posted, you can see the front seat, which is just the more common upholstery in kombis of that age.
i will refit the M503 panels (my friend seems to have dug up a rear engine cover but i haven't seen it yet) and this is grey painted.

the more i think about a L62 paint with a grey panneled interior and grey seats, the more i think this is a great combination.

i always imagined a ruby red kombi, so this is no quite the same, but this bus is growing on me and as much this will be a practical useable bus, it would feel wrong to change it too much.

this said the kids will need a hammock or camping bed over the from bench, but who makes these and where can i get one (preferably europe)