Today in Bus hunting history...

[Da TOW'D]

^^
now that's cool
_________________
'57 type 1 Blackberry
'58 SC Ruf
'62 type 3 Notch
'92 Eurovan Willy DD
and NUTS

[bally]

Looking good. Nice find on the logos. What are your plans for them?

Dave

[58euro]

Another one saved, pulled out this 1962 Turkis Standard Walkthrough.

[cdennisg]

[58euro]

[cdennisg]

[Long-roofs]

[cdennisg]

[aBeardedWeirdo]

Picked this up a few months ago and just this past week was able to finally obtain a title for it. Lots of leg work but it's mine now.
Got the birth certificate and all now also. Let the restoration begin. 1964 Mouse Grey/Pearl White
Pulled it out of a guys back yard.

[bally]

Nice score. Mouse grey is a great colour. What are your plans?

Dave

[type2rescuemaine]

Another mango saved!

About a week ago, probably at about 11pm or 12am, I was making my rounds on the local facebook marketplace and craigslist when I happened upon this:

There was no location on the ad, although it had been listed in the Maine craigslist and it said it had been listed 'less than an hour ago,' so I figured there was a good chance I was one of the first to see it. I sent the ad to my dad, who contacted the guy who placed the ad.

Two days after my dad sent the initial message, he got a message back saying that the ad was a joke, and that the guy who found the bus had been hiking and happened upon the bus near the top of a mountain in western Maine. My dad asked the guy if there was any way he could get the location of the bus, and the hiker was nice enough to send a google maps pin AND a picture of an 'x' on a map marking the bus's location. The hiker also went far enough as to find the landowner and have him get in contact with my dad. A phone call later, the bus was ours for the taking - if we could get it down off the top of the mountain.

My dad and fellow vw enthusiast Matt C. who owns the mango my dad's working on (https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=739071) took an afternoon to locate the bus. One near-heart attack later, it was located, but there were a couple of problems: 1. The bus was located about 1 mile up a hiking trail that included 3 sections of path that were so steep that they were difficult to walk up, 2. the bus had a front beam and was luckily able to be steered easily but had no rear end, and 3. The extraction process would include getting the bus across a small stream and a huge hole in the trail where a culvert had recently been taken out.

My dad and Matt formulated a plan, which included a winch, a bus tow hitch, a boat trailer axle, and Matt's four-wheeler.

On Sunday, myself, my dad, Matt and yet another vw enthusiast, JP, headed out to the Mountain, about 3 hours west of home. We brought the trailers (one for the four-wheeler and one for the bus, given we were able to get it out in a day) as far as we could and dropped them.

After loading the four-wheeler with a jack, two roller wheels for the front, a drum puller, the hitch and axle, the winch and 5 12v batteries, we started up. The foliage is absolutely beautiful this time of year in Maine, and the weather was just about as perfect as it could've been:

When we made it to the top, this is what we saw:

Matt hooked up his bluetooth speaker and the fun began. The bus was jacked up, a couple of trees were cut (not nearly as many as we've had to deal with in past extractions, thankfully), the front drums were pulled and the front wheels were replaced with two roller wheels, and the axle + hitch concoction was installed:

This being done, the bus rolled and steered surprisingly easily. About 30 feet from its resting spot, the steep decline down started, so the winching began. To do this, we chained the winch to a tree and connected the winch to the rear of the bus and slowly let the winch out. This continued for several hours (the pictures do not do the incline of the trail any justice, it was STEEP):

When the incline was over, we still had several more obstacles to conquer. First was a stream crossing, which we used Matt's four-wheeler ramps to cross:

Next, there were several 'wimpy' declines (compared to the others) that were extremely uneven and rocky, and because we needed to save what was left of the batteries, Matt opted to pull the bus down with his four-wheeler, trying not to let the bus run into the back of him. Of course, I was voted to sit in the bus and steer during this scary process, and because of the trauma caused by these events, no pictures were taken Somehow, we made it through these rocky sections (although the bus suffered a cargo floor/frame dislocation) and the bus was finally loaded onto the trailer as the sun was going down:

All in all, I think the four of us could agree that it was a great day, although slightly nerve-racking at times. I think we were all surprised that the bus made it out in just one day, but having four people on the job made it a lot smoother that it could've been.

It was somewhat sad that the middle cargo floor section/frame had to detach from the bus, but it was bound to happen at some point - obviously the entire underside is basically toast (we don't seem to be able to find buses in any better shape these days).

In conclusion, thanks to my dad, Matt and JP for a great day!

[Burlyhammer]

[hitest]

Great story !
_________________

[EverettB]

Wow, that is awesome.

I know what you mean about trying to take photos of hills, they never seem to do justice to how steep it really is in person.

This is my favorite pic:

_________________
How to Post Photos
Everett Barnes - [email protected] | My wanted ads
"Water is the only drink for a wise man" | "Communication prevents complaints"
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Da TOW'D]

epic rescue
great photos
Hank
_________________
'57 type 1 Blackberry
'58 SC Ruf
'62 type 3 Notch
'92 Eurovan Willy DD
and NUTS

[Burlyhammer]

[AS350driver]

Is it “another mango saved” or should we call them “Maine-go’s” ?

How do you think the bus got up there back in the day?

Would it have taken the same route up that you guys did bringing it down? Or was there a road back then that’s blocked by trees now?

[cdennisg]

That is so great. Love the extraction stories.
_________________
nothing

[Burlyhammer]

[Dewayne]

Great job... love the story!
_________________
"My ex-wife had a hint of a beard and she looked like a manly-girl... that made no difference..."

Drive 'em if ya got 'em, and don't brag if you didn't do the work yourself...

'64 SO34
'60 SO23