1973 Wild Westerner Highroof Safare' Custom Camper Raffle Bus

[rjonas]

We are extremely excited to present the Arizona Bus Club's Jerome Jamboree XXXI Raffle Bus to be raffled off in September 2022. For 28 of the last 30 years the ABC has resurrected or restored a VW bus to raffle off and the proceeds are donated to several area charities in need.

PLEASE READ THIS: Raffle tickets are ONLY sold at this 3-day event in Jerome, AZ in late September 2022 and YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!


On to the story of this fine example of German engineering coupled with American marketing and craftsmanship...This 1973 Wild Westerner Highroof Safare' Custom Camper was born on the 16th week and the first weekday in 1973 which equates to Monday, April 16, 1973. The Mcode "736" is present as well as the "9643" Special paint code of L65K Ravenna Green and L64M Apple Green with the L51P Olympic Blue Stripe. It has a Type-4 engine and 4-speed manual transaxle and delivery code UK "USA Reserve".

The "Wild Westerner Appearance Group" was a $75 dealer add on by the regional northwest importer Riverea Motors Inc in Hillsboro, OR and was exclusive to the USA market. Some people believe this special model was associated with the 1974 World Expo in Spokane, WA but there is no conclusive evidence at this time that Volkswagen, a regional VW dealer or even Riverea motors was in any way coordinating this special model bus with the 1974 Worlds Expo. Evidence suggests that this option consisted of a blue stipe body decal and black stripe decals on the bumpers. To date, only about 86 (now 87) Wild Westerners have been confirmed and it is unknown how may were produced. Much of this is discussed on the below samba thread.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=527392&highlight=paint+code+9643

The Safare' Custom Campers from Paramount, CA did the camping conversion with dinette seating, curved countertop with sink, closet, stove, hot water heater and refrigerator. The dinette converted into a bed and an upper bed slid out over the dining area. Our closet, stove, fridge and water heater are missing and much of the wood interior needs serious mending from its age plus the accident that got this bus parked in the Arizona desert.

Not much is know of the adventures this bus had between April 1973 and about 7-yeas ago but it does bear Washington state license plates that expired in August 2003. We assume sometime in 2003 it was involved in a front end collision which is why it has been sitting since then.

This bus was discovered about 7-years ago by AZ Bus Club members Lou & Glynda Pawlik of Bisbee, AZ. The bus was purchased from a lady in Gleeson, AZ near Tombstone who could not provide much information on it but the Pawliks took it home as they knew it was a rare model. After a couple years and downsizing their property they knew exactly what to do to save this poor bus and get it on the road again...so they graciously donated it to the AZ Bus Club as a future raffle bus. THANK YOU LOU & GLYNDA!

Fellow bus enthusiast Conner Langley volunteered to transport the bus from Elgin, AZ to Mesa, AZ where ABC members Scott & Connie Robb stored it until we could get working on it. THANK YOU CONNER, SCOTT & CONNIE!

This bus is very dry and has rust only in the right battery tray and corner with a couple small holes in the front floor. It needs a new nose skin and drivers door plus the drivers side A & B pillars need to be pulled back into place. The passenger door might be salvageable and everywhere else is very solid. It was undercoated very early in it's life which appears to have protected it from the northwest coast elements and is crumbling off to reveal that pristine green paint underneath.

Being fairly skilled at welding VW bus repair panels plus restoring and owning various air cooled VW's since the mid 1980's, I volunteered to head up the preservation of this very special bus. In May of 2021, ABC members Mike Baleda and Scott Robb towed the bus about 25 miles to my place in Chandler, AZ where we have commenced working on the bus and having actual "in person" work parties in an effort to get it mechanically sound and cosmetically presentable in time to show it off at the upcoming Jerome Jamboree XXX this September of 2021 where we are raffling off a restored 1968 VW Westfalia tiptop which was donated by late ABC member Paul Jaques. THANK YOU MIKE, SCOTT & PAUL!

We sat down with the handy Wolfsburg West catalog and made a wish list of everything that needs replacing on this bus. We submitted the list to Tony and Rich at WW who quickly offered to donate every item on our list which were made by WW...this totaled to over $2,200! THANK YOU WOLFSBURG WEST! You are very appreciated for the vast inventory and high quality of parts to help countless VW fans restore their loved ones. PLEASE...make sure to call WW first with any parts you may need. They have donated parts for nearly every one of the 28 buses the ABC has raffled off over the last 30 years.

Additional items donated so far for the efforts are:
Drivers door donated by Ted & Sara Morris in honor of the "Missouri Micros" St Louis, MO based bus club. THANK YOU TED, Sara and the MISSOURI MICROS!

Passenger door donated by Jan Blair of Blair & Son VW salvage in Phoenix, AZ. THANKS JAN!

Fresh air grill donated by Jeremiah Polynone of "Modern Relix" of Mesa, AZ. THANKS JEREMIAH!

Set of Dellorto 34's and intakes donated by yours truly.

The ABC raffle bus crew typically get together on Saturdays and sometimes on a week night to work on the bus. We have many local club members who are eager to help and seem to have plenty of labor so I'll do my best to share the build on this thread and update it every week or so for your viewing pleasure. We are missing some pieces which I'll be posting needs for soon so please stay tuned.

At the last work party 2-weeks ago, we got the engine running which had good oil pressure and no knocking plus checked that the transaxle was working correctly. The engine is a GD code from a 1977 2000cc engine and we performed a leak down test after we ran it which revealed 30-60% leakage through the valves, head gasket and rings on all 4 cylinders so we plan to pull the heads and cylinders to see what is going on in there. It has a Weber progressive carburetor that we plan to swap out with dual carbs to keep it appearing stock. The crew started restoring the front seats and began removing the dash and damaged nose skin. So much more on our to do list so we are getting together in the morning to thrash some more.

To be continued...

Meanwhile...drool over some fresh pics of this fine beast:

_________________
1979 Type-2 Westfalia “Sandy”
1973 Type-181 Thing "Velma"
1956 Type-1 Beetle Patina Project “Rosie”

www.azbusclub.org

[Alan Brase]

A good reason to go to Jerome Jamboree. (Fix my brakes before I climb that grade!)
_________________
Al Brase
Projects: 67 sunroof bug, 67 Porsche 912 Targa, 70 Westy
Dec 1955 Single Cab pickup WANT 15" BUS RIMS dated 8/55, thru 12/55
To New owners: 1969 doublecab, 1971 Dormobile
Vanagons:
80 P27 Westy JUL 1979, 3rd oldest known US
83 1.6TD Vanagon, 87 Wolfie Westy daily driver, swap meet home

[sconnieco]

Nice

[Alan Brase]

I would hope that Ev will let you advertise its availability in the "cars for sale" section at some point.
Not actually a sale but that's where people will be looking.
_________________
Al Brase
Projects: 67 sunroof bug, 67 Porsche 912 Targa, 70 Westy
Dec 1955 Single Cab pickup WANT 15" BUS RIMS dated 8/55, thru 12/55
To New owners: 1969 doublecab, 1971 Dormobile
Vanagons:
80 P27 Westy JUL 1979, 3rd oldest known US
83 1.6TD Vanagon, 87 Wolfie Westy daily driver, swap meet home

[greg240]

Any updates on this?

[metahacker]

jerome jamboree is the best

the vibe is so good there

AZ bus club is the best

[rjonas]

Time for an update. Here are a few pics of the progress over the past year and it has really come together over the last month. Huge thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors and contributors for getting this bus on the road again. As I post this morning…the Raffle Bus is being driven from Scottsdale, AZ to Jerome, AZ for the Jerome Jamboree this weekend. Some lucky person will get to take this beauty home this Sunday 9/25/22.

_________________
1979 Type-2 Westfalia “Sandy”
1973 Type-181 Thing "Velma"
1956 Type-1 Beetle Patina Project “Rosie”

www.azbusclub.org

[vwwestyman]

That thing is beautiful!

I was looking at ways to get out for the show, but unfortunately it just won't work out.

Does the bus have a set of official Wild Westerner Club stickers?
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[rjonas]

And the winner is Chance Pederson from Sedona, AZ! Congrats and we hope you enjoy your new bus

_________________
1979 Type-2 Westfalia “Sandy”
1973 Type-181 Thing "Velma"
1956 Type-1 Beetle Patina Project “Rosie”

www.azbusclub.org