Hot Rod Baja history piece

[Air George]

Me again. Bro. I’m just saying. The barn just happened to b a barn if you want to fig out it’s roots or who built it. Your gonna hav to expand away from barn and get into tge early days of Baja. I see relation with all this stuff I’ve been expressing. Your barn is more Tgen a farm vehicle. Built as a border crosser or racer. What junkyard did they cut it up in and drive away in a barn beachbuggy that must of been a cool spot in early 60s.

[Air George]

[derRHDmeister]

[Air George]

In a van on a trip to Florida. Plan was to pick up a Hadley engineering Costa Mesa ca transvair kit. So happens in the weeds with it along side it was this bus body. Man it really got me thinking on the way home17 hrs with it.

[Air George]

RAD. Ride all Day. Radical. Ride all day in California. Figured that out myself. Lol. Peace

[Air George]

These side rails / top caps look familiar Ive seen this body before. Tgeir was a wtb add advertised 3-5 years ago. With a picture of it. I hav another imagine of it branded in my brain possibly from a Shriner parade footage in a movie. I wanna say “RAD”. But movie is too late. Put on your thinking caps guys. I can’t be tge only one who has seen it. Before now. Thanks from George.

[Air George]

Speedo date is 9/60. Fuse box holder metal what’s left of it shows OG red bus paint. So I’m saying a 60 /61 red bus was used to cast parts of this buggy body

[Air George]

[Air George]

Other reasons for keeping it bus. The fuel tank. Bus tank sits in the bus tank shelf in its straps and lines right up and out with the existing fill neck hole in body. If it were on a bug chassis. It would be back to tge drawing board. !!!! Instead of back to tge beach right quick. Feel like I’m keeping it real and Sailing right thru it’s re construction. This body was found in Quincy/Tampa Florida & Tgeirs good reason how it got their say in 1981 from west coast (punta Cana moved from costa to Tampa in 81. Punta previously Jensen marine Costa Mesa ca. Well in 68 Jack Jensen sold boat building facility to punta. 1981 punta moved entire facility to Tampa. Hey you know when u hav a good feeling about something. It’s usually true. I’m a dreamer always was. But this body is significant no if’s ands or butts about it. And if I’m wrong and it’s goofy’s bus that’s cool too. I will rock it regardless. Tge red primer on this thing proves to be guide coat. For block sanding. Once u hand make a mold using coarse woven roven fiberglass. It’s usually ruff and needs a lot of polishing and detail work before a negative casting can be pulled from it. Is what I’m learning Well it’s safe to say that never happened.

[Air George]

[Air George]

I see what your seeing. Tge way it tapers in upfront like a bug pan. But notice the rear firewall matches the bus stamped floor metal perfectley. The side rails of body also are corrugated to fit bus floor. It’s been determined that this is a proto type one off body still in plug form it’s construction is old. Tge taper upfront was necessary for front tire clearance. Like ckipy I found a split bus with no rot already cut down. It still needs to be 3 more inches shorter. Which I’m preparing to do. After designing this body. Somebody may hav also realized a bug pan is more suitable. So it’s a bus chassis. So far I added a bug steering box on bus beam so column lines up thru the dash board as tge body shows it did. I plan to use a napoleons hat and short tunnel piece at toe board in place of top hat. So that it will fit and use a bug pedal cluster. Shifter and e brake will be tge bud bracket moved back again. Lot of work this kit would of taken. Is why I bet this idea was scrapped initially. I bet. To preserve dune bug history. I’m building it on a split bus chassis as it was intended to. Besides that. It will not be grooming the sand on beach like my bug chassis buggy. Look how high it is lol I’m psyched It will be up high out of the ruts.

[derRHDmeister]

[derRHDmeister]

[Air George]

Cool is that the green machine from Arizona fixed up. Or is that another one? Mine is becoming a fiberglass bodied Baja bus. Which must of happened 50yrs ago also. Frame needs to be shortened another 3-4 inches. And it appears it used a bug steer column and box clamped to tge bus beam after some adjustments. That will clear up the foot room at pedals. While putting the steer wheel where it needs to be.

[VWsArent4Hippies]

I’m not too far from you, in NC. When you bring this to the East Coast, we’ll have to get these two together at a show!

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[Air George]

Hey where is that fruit stand farmers market. What state what route. Did it have a name. I’m tge kinda guy that will go dig em up. Think about it. Pm me if you can recall. I’ll make the call. Never know stuff could still be laying their

[Fish]

You mentioned farming and I have a farming story. Years ago a friend tells me he knows of a farm where they used old VW buses for hauling produce from the fields to the store front at the road side. None of them run any more and they want to get rid of them. Haul them off for free. I'm thinking score. We head right out there the following day. They had 4-5 buses cut down to the flat above the motor and to the floor in front of that. Even the drivers area was cut down to the top of the wheel wells. All of what was left was completely rusted out from years of sitting outside, hauling crates of fresh fruits and vegetables. Maybe the running gear was good, but I had no place to mess with any of that so I said thank anyway, bought some fresh produce and said good bye.
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Prosit!

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# 303 and #156

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

[derRHDmeister]

[Air George]

[Air George]

A few more pics. I hope I’m not bombing your thread. It’s just I feel these things could of known each other at one time. I do hav a theory on maybe how it possibly ended up adrift in Tampa Florida. Pics of Baja I bought on its way to me. I’m new to forums & uploading gallery photos. But I think I got it!