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campingbox 
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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 Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:06 pm Post subject: Re: Yellow & Tan '56 Subhatch Westy - 20-147419 |
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| buseric wrote: |
Love the motor, Okrasa? I am running the same muffler, I absolutely love the sound.... |
Yes, that is the original engine to the bus, #20-1186151. Joe Ruiz re-built the engine several years ago. It features an original Okrasa TS-1300 kit and an Original Abarth exhaust. The NOS Abarth exhaust pictured has been since sold and I have a good used Abarth I plan to modify & restore to clear the rear apron.
Here are some more pictures of the motor:
I had initially thought about running a Berg sump on it but decided against it because I did not like the look and thought I might want to run a Westy trailer hitch at some point.
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npbusguy
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2006
Posts: 1658
Location: Budapest, Hungary
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:30 pm Post subject: Re: Yellow & Tan '56 Subhatch Westy - 20-147419 |
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| campingbox wrote: |
Neil, this thread is dedicated to you.
I have recently been getting an itch to finish the restoration, and with pressure from npbusguy I have decided to start this thread to serve as a restoration diary.
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Greg,
Thanks for the kind words and dedication. I look forward to seeing the updates. Let me know if I can assist in any way with this cool build.
Neil |
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campingbox
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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I plan to redo a few things like the heater box pipes and plan to change out some of the hardware. |
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One eyed duck
Samba Member
Joined: January 29, 2001
Posts: 69
Location: Malvern Hills..........UK
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| House wrote: |
| Thanks for the thread Greg, I have been waiting for this one for quite some time... |
As above - I've got my April '56 westfalia in the workshop right now........there's not going to a better reference for me anywhere than this thread! 
| campingbox wrote: |
| I have recently been getting an itch to finish the restoration |
Thanks for posting Greg......and way to go with the restoration on this one!! Not that you haven't got enough early westfalia work ongoing at the moment......!! 
Steve |
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earlywesty
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2004
Posts: 2358
Location: In the woods, Ontario
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:43 pm Post subject: Re: Yellow & Tan '56 Subhatch Westy - 20-147419 |
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| campingbox wrote: |
| buseric wrote: |
Love the motor, Okrasa? I am running the same muffler, I absolutely love the sound.... |
Yes, that is the original engine to the bus, #20-1186151. Joe Ruiz re-built the engine several years ago. It features an original Okrasa TS-1300 kit and an Original Abarth exhaust. The NOS Abarth exhaust pictured has been since sold and I have a good used Abarth I plan to modify & restore to clear the rear apron. |
Yes, mine is the flat-4 repro on an 1800 stroker, and I had to remove the tailpipes, fill the holes and re-position them lower to clear the early apron... |
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bloovw
Samba Member
Joined: April 21, 2007
Posts: 459
Location: Hereford England
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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| what a wonderful thread .. thanks for posting this up.. it made a cold sunday night a little more enjoyable reading this... |
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gizmo
Samba Member
Joined: August 02, 2003
Posts: 142
Location: Amersham and South Coast UK.
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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| What an excellent thread. The detailing on that engine is wonderful |
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quartermilecamel
Samba Member
Joined: April 16, 2008
Posts: 3929
Location: ohio
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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Absolutely amazing work on that engine. Ive never seen a copper coil behind the blower before. Is that for the fuel?
_________________
Waiting for santa to drop off funky green. I can wish can't I???? |
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campingbox
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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| quartermilecamel wrote: |
| Absolutely amazing work on that engine. Ive never seen a copper coil behind the blower before. Is that for the fuel? |
That is an okrasa oil cooler. |
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campingbox
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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When I bought the bus in 2000, the first thing I did was to clean the whole bus out. I saved scraps of paper, greenstamps, notes, trash, etc. and sorted through it carefully. It was below the headlight buckets inbetween the kick plate and the nose that I came up with these two gems:
They are credit card receipts dated '62 & '63 with imprints of the Hutts credit cards at the time. When I found these, I started searching through Google trying to see if the people were still around. I found only one listing for the Hutt family in Boise, and they were very surprised to hear that the bus was still around. Dale thought he sold the bus in 1962 but these receipts proove otherwise. |
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chrome
Samba Member
Joined: March 21, 2003
Posts: 746
Location: back in NorCal
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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SOOO very sweet !!!
cant wait to see it on a future SST run !! 
just kidding
Beautiful job from every corner, slow restos are always so rewarding once you finally turn the key for the first time
_________________
65 21 window
57 T1 ragtop
58 ghia vert
68 fastback
73 Thing
74 Thing
54 chevy 210
63 mercury meteor wagon |
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mattcuddy
Samba Member
Joined: October 22, 2003
Posts: 2036
Location: Philly, PA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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| campingbox wrote: |
| I do not know how many they painted in this exact color scheme, but there are two other survivors. One is owned by Jim Phillips who resides in Massachussets, and the second is owned by someone who would likely prefer not to be named in California. |
Yours, Jim's or the other guy's?
Maryland, 1957. Bumpers look two tone though. |
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campingbox
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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| mattcuddy wrote: |
| campingbox wrote: |
| I do not know how many they painted in this exact color scheme, but there are two other survivors. One is owned by Jim Phillips who resides in Massachussets, and the second is owned by someone who would likely prefer not to be named in California. |
Yours, Jim's or the other guy's? ;)
Maryland, 1957. Bumpers look two tone though. |
Really cool shot. What is the source of that image? |
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mattcuddy
Samba Member
Joined: October 22, 2003
Posts: 2036
Location: Philly, PA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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| campingbox wrote: |
Really cool shot. What is the source of that image? |
It's a picture of my TV paused from a show chronicling the finding of a '57 airbox Corvette. I don't remember the channel, but I think it was Discovery or Discovery HDT. The westy was in the background of a shot or two or a race in Maryland, only shown for a second or two. |
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campingbox
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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More history.
Dale O. Hutt passed away in October 2007, and Dorothy passed away a year or two ago. They were in their 90'ies. R.I.P..
They sold the bus sometime inbetween November 27th 1963 and February 14th 1968. The next piece of information I have is an old Idaho title.
The title number is E 71275. "E" means that this was the 7th title issued by the state of Idaho, so it either passed through a number of hands inbetween those dates, or the person who owned it kept loosing his paperwork and requesting new documents.
Charles R. Reeder was a pilot, and owned Reeder Air service based out of Twin Falls, Id.. He is ofcourse retired now.
http://www.reederflying.com/
Here is the original key and keychain which came with the bus when I bought it:
You can see the Reeder air service keyfob.
I have tried to make contact with Charles several times over the last ten years, but have never actually spoken with him. Supposedly at one point he owned alot of Volkswagen busses and would stage them at various airports as cheap lodging accomidations. This bus was staged outside the Reeder hanger in Twin Falls for decades. I have also been told that he was a volunteer fire fighter at one point and he would tow this bus around to various spots so he could rest while he helped the fire fighters. When I found the bus, it had a big towbar assembly welded to the front frame, so the story fits. |
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campingbox
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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Even though Charles won't return my calls, he has been in recent contact with another local VW person. A couple of months ago KJ of Twin Falls managed to buy from him the original cabinet set from my bus.
KJ offered the cabinet set up, and we came to a trade agreement.
Apparently Charles used it as a wardrobe in one of his kids bedrooms, and when he grew out of it he moved it out into the garage where it sat collecting dust for decades. It is in really nice shape considering it has been seperated from the bus for 20-40 years. |
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quartermilecamel
Samba Member
Joined: April 16, 2008
Posts: 3929
Location: ohio
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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Ok finally followed the hose in the pics. Oil cooler huh, hmmm is that stock or your personal touch cooler?
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Waiting for santa to drop off funky green. I can wish can't I???? |
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quartermilecamel
Samba Member
Joined: April 16, 2008
Posts: 3929
Location: ohio
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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always wondered how you got your campingbox name, now I know
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Waiting for santa to drop off funky green. I can wish can't I???? |
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campingbox
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10198
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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In June of 1992 Charles Reeder sold the bus to Kris Kussee who was a VW enthusiast based out of Twin Falls.
According to Kris he had seen the bus for years parked out at the airport but it took him a while to track the owner down and talk him out of it.
Kris moved to Salt Lake City later that year and drove it around for a bit. Supposedly it was parked outside the Parts is Parts store for sale for a while and then later it was advertised in the Soto newsletter for sale.
I have a video that Kris sent to interested parties to show the bus. If anyone knows how to convert a VHS tape and get it on You Tube I would appreciate.
Scott Mcwilliams of San Diego bought it in June of 1994 and someone from PIP delivered it on the VW Classic weekend. |
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quartermilecamel
Samba Member
Joined: April 16, 2008
Posts: 3929
Location: ohio
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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I only wish I had your detail of history. When I bought my bus I found a marriage invitation behind my headlight to a wedding in wisconson. Of course, I lost it. Very cool you actually spoke with the original owners and can trace its history. Copied and printed the engine photos. Hanging on my wall now.
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Waiting for santa to drop off funky green. I can wish can't I???? |
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