Tell me the story of your first bus

[DeltaBus]

I don't have a bus...yet (still trying to find one) so I would like to hear your story.
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Delta Bus

[drscope]

1960 with a canvas pop top and a 36 horse engine.

Going down hill one time behind a big truck I think I actually felt it accellerate.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[ALLWAGONS]

Just got married, needed more income and decided to sell toys at the swap meet. My mechanic's assistant had a nice '71 walk through he wanted to get rid of and it made many successful and profitable trips with me until I gave it to my brother.
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I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

NON INFLUENCER APPROVED

[j8bug]

They were cheap and they drove me nuts


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Pitbull: You got to set-up that platform for the future
Matt Lauer: Where did you get that savy
Pitbull: From all the old school 80s guys
Matt Lauer: They taught you well
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J8Bug writes; The hunnies loved chrome so we had lots of it
VWKidd wrote; 80s LA/ELA owned by latinos were all original "slammed" on Porsche alloys. A way different look than the OC Cal look
TwinWindows wrote; The new upcomers will never know how it was back then cos as the years go by the VW scene was the best in thee 80s!!!
Alex BT2 wrote; We need to set a date to hit the streets of Los Angeles
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62 bug "Quite the Spanker" owned since 96'
64 notch "Some Sweet Day" owned since 08'

[williamM]

First bus was in 1972 Canberra, Au. Worked at the market as bag boy and bought 2 63 buses -one a window and another a panel for $300. Took all the good out of the panel and set off round Az- on the great adventure. Blew the motor in Katherine- waited 2 weeks (ya it is in the middle of nowhere!) for parts when somebody totaled a bus with a new german factory motor.- another $200 later we were off (ya- that included the camping, the motor and the install!)

we sanded it by the time we reached Dampier due to a faulty air cleaner mod- (ya I feel bad enough already)

Spent 6 mo in Darwin, visited New Guines and got a job with Bechtels camp in the ROBE river project. Trailered it to Perth sold it and bought a Holden Panel for the rest of the trip.

So YA- go for the ride- you will not be disappointed.

I had so much fun became a registered VW mechanic for 5 years before discovering how much more fun boat motors were to work on. PS I'm 65- pass it on.

See the pics

[Sidbus]

I saved my paper route money to buy a car. I wanted a daily driver that would also serve as a camper which at that time on that budget meant a VW bus or pickup w/bed cover and custom interior. It wasn't about a classic car or VW per se, more about the camping.

I landed on a 77 Westy which in 1987 was only 10 years old so by no means a classic car. In fact, most garages could do work on it and I could get all my parts at regular autoparts stores.

So I talked the guy down from $3,800 to $3,600 and had 7 great years of ownership. No heat, no defroster no problem!

In 1993 I sold it to a guy for $200 bucks. I knew it was going to a good owner and he still owns it to this day. He even wrote a book about it: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=480965

We just got back from a vacation to my home town Scranton PA in our 76 Westy. It was so cool to drive my wife and 3 year old son around my hometown streets in an exact replica of the vehicle I drove as a kid. Me and the current owner of my first bus tried to link up for pics but we couldn't get together.

He's a pic someone took this week of my first bus. Amazing that I owned it 20 years ago and my friends still send me pics when they see it:

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57 Panel http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=453943
62 so34 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=533160
76 Westy http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=520076

[Car32]

A family down the street from us in Colorado was moving back to Oregon and they couldn't take their 1970 Westy with them, so my parents bought it.

When I was 16, it became my first car but that's after "the event."

The event happened when we parked the Bus in the city park across the street from my Junior High on a band-concert night. When we came out of the school after the concert, we found that "hippies" had borrowed the Bus and had had a picnic inside, changing the interior's aroma temporarily and leaving their McDonalds wrappers behind.

I mean, that's what a Bus is for, right?
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First Car = 1970 Westfallen Typ II
Second Car = 1966 Baja
Nth Car = 2006 Cayman S

1971 Karmann Ghia Coupe

[Manfred58sc]

OK, its weird..I was living in some low-rent apartments whilst working my way through school. The complex had some garage units for rent so, I had 3 which I used for parts storage/sales. The building drug dealer rented an apartment just for dealing ( he also owned a home). He approached me wondering if I wanted an old "hippy bus" for cheap. I needed some kind of hauling machine, so I went to look at it. 1964 Kombi, homemade camper interior, one owner, running,driving,stopping. $500 later I'm down the road. Never asked how he ended up with it outside of the PO was deceased and he got it in a trade.

Fantastic Bus and good times...1985.
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Fat chick owner/operator

[Big Bill]

I dont have any before photos of my first bus a 64 Deluxe, the PO slammed it on the ground by pulling the leaves in the front and over adjusting the spring plates in the rear. It had small space saver type tires in the front and 145s on the rear it was painted with Zolatone spray which was what trunks of cars were sprayed with. But the bus was rust free and solid other wise. This was in 1989 or so and bus parts where still very easy to come by, I bought almost everything that was missing for a Deluxe at local VW swap meets../anyway this is one of the few photos I have of this bus .

[Fish]

My first bus came into my life in 1982. Wasn't even looking for a bus at the time. I was a Karmann Ghia guy and had been for four years. I had my cal look convertible and had built and wreaked my Baja Ghia. I bought a street legal single seat rail that I played around in for about a year, but was hell to drive in the winter even in San Diego so I decided to sell it. I took it down to the beach one afternoon to play around in the sand and this guy saw it. Oh boy he wanted it, bad, but couldn't come up with what I was asking. Over the next few days he offered and I would counter offer. We ended up with I'll keep the wheels, tires, off road lights and the motor. In exchange I will get some of the cash I wanted and his buddies motorless beat up old 1963 bus. I put the buggie motor in it and fell in love with my bus. Over the next four years fixed it up into a great looking, well running bus. That's how I got my first bus. Some pictures here.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47633
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Prosit!

.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>
.·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><((((º>

# 303 and #156

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Blue Baron]

When I was 15, my dad dragged home my future first car, a '66 bus. We repaired, rebuilt and painted it in the driveway, and
it served me well through high school.

My favorite story is when my buddy and I took it to off-road races in Zoar Vally, a rural area of Western New York. Everyone would parade up and down a
dirt road alongside the course in their jeeps and 4x4s, and we had the only VW truck. We got lots of nods of respect from those guys.

I recently reconnected with that old friend, and sent pictures of our '59, the first Type 2 in over 30 years. Hopefully we will relive past glories at some point.
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We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.

Heinz Nordhoff

[Jonah888]

My only regret in LIFE.
Back when split window buses were affordable in 1995, I bought one for $1200.
Started to paint very cool looking hippie artwork all over it. A year and a half later I sold it because I did want to learn to fix it when it wouldn't start. How STUPID I was back then.

I was not ready to be the loving parent to a VW like I should have been. So for a easy $1500 dollars in 1996 I sold it. My stupid actions back then still haunts me to this day, but I've sense learned from my mistakes and I'm now ready to be a loving parent to a VW it deserves

[VWVagabonds]

Second bus.....

A 1975 Westy purchased in 1993 in London on the infamous Market Road where Australians, Kiwis and Canadians slept in their overlanders until they sold. Paid about US$3000. We lived in it for 14 months and got to most of Eastern & Western Europe. Sold it just before Christmas to a guy who worked at Thames House and restored it to excellent condition.


We free camped at this spot on the island of Naxos, Greece for a month...

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www.VWVagabonds.com
Mexico, Central America, South America & Africa in a Volkswagen

[AZ68slow]

In '79 I bought a '67 bus that wouldn't go into 3rd. gear for $300. The nose was bashed in a bit from a crash and the owner had sworn off VW's.

The engine had been rebuilt and was a gem. I searched around for a used transaxle but finally paid a shadetree VW guy $150 to rebuild what I had. I put it back in and left on a 500 mile trip. Found out the reduction box on the PS leaked like a sieve.

I got up to Kansas City and found a '70 bus with a primo interior, new tires and a blown engine for $150. I put the '67 engine in and junked the '67.

Drove that '70 all over the Southwest and Midwest for the next 3 years. On the return trip from the '82 World's Fair in Knoxville, it sucked a valve. I bought a '71 Datsun 510 wagon for $75 for the trip home.

[cellobus1]

Speaking of Knoxville, I live there now but I grew up in Conn. My dad bought a new '73 transporter in '74, I was 12. $5 down payment. It was my car through HS and college. I remember my buddies and I getting two dirt bikes in the back (we compressed the shocks). Had a great time but somehow I didn't get the message that my sister needed the bus that night. I really caught hell for that, actually I still do. It sucked a valve guide in 1984, and we parted ways.

I'd lived in Knoxville two years when I bought a '76 transporter in 1988. That vehicle currently is my daily driver, it's basically been in use since it was new. Although I drove it to 23 states and 2 provinces, blissfully ignorant of how poorly it was driving when I bought it, I'd have to say that (thanks to thesamba) it runs and FUNCTIONS better now than when I bought it. I mean it SCREAMS. I'm itching to drive it everywhere again but as a musician, decibel-wise, there isn't much worse of a ride across Kansas than a bus.

Telling you about two buses in case there is a dilemma about what bus I first USED or first BOUGHT.

-Andy
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1976 unrestored daily driver Standard bus, "Stella"
formerly, 1959 Standard bus
formerly, 1973 transporter which was 4 years old when it taught me to drive

[streamr]

My first car was a '61 Bug that I bought in '68 for $100, it was the Summer between High School and College. I was an art student and needed more room so sold the Beetle for $350 and bought a '58 Bus for $150. That was the start of owning more than I can remember. That's basically how I paid for College, I'd buy a cheap Bus, fix it, drive it all semester, sell it for enough to buy another and pay my bills for another semester. Back then they were a dime a dozen and were my daily drivers so never really thought of them in any other way.
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'03 MV

[16CVs]

1984, traded a Windshield replacement in a Fiat 124 for a 64 camper conversion(converter unknown) but popular at the time. Van started as a panel with windows cut in and bench front seat. Lightly tapped in RF corner, found a an NOS door for it and pushed into out with a neighbors port o power.
Had a 40 Hp in it, rust free Ca car, had a quickee match to the door and nose and built a1776 for it and went through the brakes and a 12V conversion, caught a oily rag on fire while grinding the bell housing for a 12V flywheel.

Drove it from Ca to La to the Worlds fair and then on the Fl and then to AZ and then back to Florida and in to NY for a year. Blew up the engine because I had too thick of an oil in and spun the oil pump and then drive it for a month with oil light on like an idiot because I thought I’d just messes up the sending unit.

While in York found a shop parting out a rusty 72 beetle and bought the engine and stuck it in the van with my 1776 in the back and drove it home towing a 72 SB back to AZ and then back home to Ca. Sold it after I returned, I put the 40 HP back in it. Saw the new owner about 2mo later and it broke a King Pin and be rolled it on the left side and skidded down the pavement.

I had a great time in that Bus, lots of great memories, I would do it again but in a newer Vanagon.

Stacy
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1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread.

[Chinaclipper]

.. wasn't mine, it was dad's. It was a 1960 bus , I believe. It was that "olive green" color, and it had those round knobs for heating and ventilation.
I was only maybe 4 or 5, so I don't remember too much about that one. The brake handle button, the weird gas door key, the "barn door" back doors-funny what ya remember...heheh my first memory of "the smell" too.

My very first bus of my own was a 1971. Front disc brakes, the whole deal. I loved it!
Got it back in maybe 1981. I used to to haul my drums and music stuff around.
I loved that bus! It was a California bus, so almost no rust. Heck, when I got it it only had maybe what, 10 years on it.

One of the first major renovations I did was to procure that elusive center seat. Found one at the local VW "vehicle recycling centers" (we called them junkyards in those days) That seat and of course, the little "T" bolts that are used to bolt 'em down; bus owners know what I mean.

Then mom made a neat little set of curtains for me. That was cool. I put "one way mirror" coverings on all the rear windows, kept it cool.

I did a major "top end" rebuild on the engine, found a genuine air cleaner from the same previously mentioned junkyard, (Roscoe's Auto Salvage-it was named after his dog, Roscoe) and that was pretty much it for the engine work. Always ran like a champ.

I remember once I lost the little bolt that held the accelerator cable in its place early one Sunday morning when I was driving up Conejo grade to get to the 1984 Rose Bowl. Son of a gun! Yeah, cars blazin' by, scary.

I had to be there early. ( I worked for UCLA at the time-worked with the football team as an athletic trainer, another story another time! ) I remember I said a little prayer for help, and I swear, by some amazing twist of fate (Providence??) I found the little bolt with the screw head inside the engine compartment, on the tin.

So, I thanked God, got out my handy tool kit, and was back in business in about 10 minutes, chuggin' up the grade at about 40 MPH and on to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl. Yeah, we beat up a good Illinois team pretty good, 45-9 I think, with quarterback that was sicker than a dog most of the game (food poisoning), Rick Neuheisel, remember him?

In 1984 (the next year) I took that same bus into San Diego to play the San Diego State Aztecs.

Well, that night before (Friday) several of my students and my sister wanted to go to get fish tacos across the border in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. Maybe 40 miles, about an hour, we were told. What could go wrong, right?

It was myself, my head student Marc, and my two female students and my sister Rose. (who the next year asked if she could take my bus for her college days down in San Diego-go figure!)

Anyway, we drove down, had a great time eating fish tacos and cervesas, and of course, having to listen to one of my female student making the classic "ugly American" mistake when we received the bill. "50,000 pesos" (or whatever it was)

"So what is that in real money?" she innocently asked the waitress. Argh!
Sigh.. Yeah, just wow..

So, on the way back, it was dark, no street/hiway lights, no lines on the road. I just KNEW we were gonna get "way-layed" by some "Policia" who would request some ugly bribe of money from us, or worse!

Well, we bumped and skittered and got back, and to this day, I think somewhere there is a picture of me kissing the ground after we made it past the boarder checkpoint back into the ol' USA.

Hehe, yeah, we beat the Aztecs the next day, so that was fun too. Drove the bus back to Ventura that night, made it home around 4 am the next day IIRC.

But the bus she drove like a champ! She followed us up to the Bay area when I went back to PT school, then we had to sell her when we moved out to the Mid-West back in '97.

My bus stories..

Gosh I loved that bus!
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China Clippers Official 1971 Super Beetle Project!
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728089&highlight=