Early bus found in the weeds

[OTO X58]

[OTO X58]

Bump! 6 years later, and I haven’t moved on this bus yet. It’s still there, and now that I’m settled into my new house and have a place for the bus, the pandemic is here and I can’t go get it yet. But I will soon.

I have some more pictures, but they aren’t the greatest.

It does have the VIN plate in the back, but I don’t have the number or a better pic.

It doesn’t have a transmission, unfortunately. It’s going to be hard to drag it out of there.

I think there might be a hippy hole cut in the back to access the engine from inside, although that picture is pretty difficult to decipher. It looks warped or blurred or something. Maybe it’s clean metal, and there’s just some scrap sheet laying on top.

That looks like headlight wiring, and that might be the rubber front mat? Is that gap between the front nose and the front floor normal? Or has the nose been ripped forward away from the front floor?

That front bumper obviously isn’t VW. Although those bumper guards do remind me of the ones on my T34. And there’s bondo in the nose, so I wonder how rusty it is up there.

One positive thing, it looks like it may have been dumped on top of some old tires, which may have kept it from getting too rusty.

I’ll try and have updates when I can. Fingers crossed that it’s not so destroyed that I can’t make it into a driver.
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RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find

[brr42]

[FarmerBill]

It looks like it still has its frame, that looks like the torsion bar housing and front transaxle mount there behind that axle. I bet they just rigged some differential they had lying around to make it a roller. It looks like it might be over the frame horns? I would be prepared for some major hackage when you get it dug out

[brr42]

[OTO X58]

[karl h]

keep us posted!
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86 Caravelle
04 new beetle vert

[Blue Baron]

The rear axle with pumpkin looks concerning, but it looks like there are no hacks ahead of it. It may nave been used as a trailer of some sort.

Regarless, it looks worth salvaging, if not for you, for another talented sambanista. I'm surprised you never retrieved it.

The VIN number is stamped just below the ID tag in the engine bay, and could be read with a little effort.

Does your friend's father-in-law still have a title?
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We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.

Heinz Nordhoff

[FarmerBill]

You know, if the frame horns have been cut off, but the torsion bar housing is ok, this could be an opportunity to weld in an IRS. I believe there are a few vendors selling kits to do this. I don't know if they rely on the original frame horns, but i can't imagine welding in mounts for a moustache bar would be too difficult.

[jason]

You can see where the cradle was cut off of the torsion. No trim holes it looks like, standard.

[DubStyle]

[1970PAKombi]

Keep us posted on this beautiful girl. Quite the survivor and story too. It would make a fun restoration!

[duhbrr]

Any updates on this one?
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1958 Dove Blue DD Panel

[OTO X58]

LONG OVERDUE BUMP!

I finally made the trek out there to have a good hard look at the bus. I can't believe it's been almost 10 years now! I started this thread in 2014.

This was a scouting mission. I wanted to get a sense of the level of rust first, to make sure it's worth it and that I can actually handle what it needs. And if that looked manageable, then I wanted to figure out how to get it out of there.

Cliff's Notes:
- it's a September 1957 Kombi
- it has a beam
- it has a torsion housing
- it does not have frame horns
- it has a Studebaker rear end bolted to the spring plates
- the floor rust is minimal
- not sure if the frame rails are solid
- it has no title
- I have kind of fallen in love with it
- price is very low
- I'm coming back in a few weeks to haul it home

Long version:

The ranch is beautiful, and full of old cars that were collected for decades. I just kept staring at the hills. Totally a dream location.

On the walk down the hill towards the bus, I spotted one of its wheels! Bolted to a helicopter, of all things. That's probably where the frame horns and transaxle ended up, after they were cut out of the Bus.

video walking up to it for the first time. Notice how much stuff was inside of it:
https://youtube.com/shorts/8xmqFy6p8l4?feature=share
I found a whole vintage school desk, some tires, and a family of rats living in there. I didn't get any pictures of the massive junk pile inside- too eager to just start shoveling it out.

The bus is under that bay tree to the left, totally hidden. That unibody Ford is pointed right at it.

The same view at the end of the day, after we cleared out some limbs.
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RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find

[OTO X58]

I paused while cleaning it out to get some pictures.

I think that it was placed on a bed of old tires with wood planks on top, and eventually the wood rotted away, letting the body down into the soil. all the windows were broken out and laying around, and there's plenty of bullet holes on this driver's side.

This is the worst rust that I have found so far, but I fear that the frame rails may be in poor shape if they're sitting on the ground. Hopefully there's some tires under there.

I kicked that dent out of the nose a bit and knocked the bondo loose. I'm really happy that it's not rustier especially down low by the seam. that really looks great! That bumper creation is awesome too.

This Bay tree was super overgrown and actually had some limbs snapping due to the weight on it. Once we trimmed a few limbs, it lifted up off the roof. It's caved in, but I don't think it was only from the tree, as the inner support is also bent down. Someone probably had a dance party up there.

non-original tail light, but at least the holes aren't cut out for big lights.

The interior is surprisingly in pretty good shape and fairly complete. Pretty cool that the dash is not cut for a radio. The seat is missing, but it seems like all the pedals, ebrake, and steering is there.

There wasn't anything in the under seat storage bin, but we did find some stuff in the package shelf.
_________________
RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find

[OTO X58]

The roof gutters are in great shape, and that was a huge surprise. I figured they would be rotted out from all those leaves.

I think there was a wood stove in here at one time, and this 6" hole was for the chimney.

The condition of the floors is also shockingly good!

This will need a little patching. but that's not too bad.

This dog leg is a bit gross, but I've seen much worse.

it had an access hole hacked into it, but it looks like they kept the section of metal that they cut out. Shouldn't be too crazy to patch back up.

This side was punched in some, but I bet it can be straightened back out to be fairly decent. I'm not trying to get into a restoration- just iron out some of the dents, strip it to original paint and get it driving, so I can go enjoy it with my family. I'll even keep the bullet holes.
_________________
RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find

[OTO X58]

To me, it looks like a lot of this rust particularly on the front floors might be bottom-up. Meaning that the moisture from the soil is eating away the bottom of the bus. So while it doesn't look bad at all from the top, the bottom might be ruined. I hope that's not the case. I couldn't dig out enough to verify that on this trip, but I will find out the next time I am out there.

My plan is to bring a pair of wide 5 wheels with tires to mount to the front end. Whether or not it rolls, those will help keep the bottom off the ground when we drag it out with a tractor.

But the rear end is a whole different story. The frame horns have been cut out, and a solid axle rear end has been bolted to the spring plates. After some internet sleuthing, it appears that the rear end is from a 50s Studebaker. I believe that means it is Ford bolt pattern. So I will bring a pair of 5x4.25" wheels with me also, and hope that the rear end stays in place long enough to drag it out.

It might be hard to tell, but the bus is on a gradual slope towards a cliff. The soil around it is very loose from years of leaves decomposing. It's not a super easy place to work, so I want to try and get it out into the field and onto a trailer where I can have a better look. I don't think I'll really know how bad the underside is until I get it to a car wash and pressure wash the bottom of it.

Here's some shots of the rear end setup:

There you can see the missing frame horns, but the torsion housing is still there! that's good news. There's a piece of angle iron on the axle which connects to a rod that is bolted to the passenger side spring plate. I believe this is acting like a panhard bar to center the axle. Between this and seeing that chimney hole, I think it was probably used as a camping trailer

It looks a lot like this 1938 Studebaker axle:

And there were a few Studebakers and Packards in the yard, so that would make sense if they did this modification here.

I actually didn't notice that the bolts and cap are missing from the spring plate. That could be a problem. I might need to just find a way to ratchet strap that in place for the extraction.

Looks like this Studebaker drum, with that flat plate on the wheel mounting surface, and square tab near the brake surface.
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RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find

[KevinAlbrecht]

following...
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Kevin Albrecht
1963 Panel


Don't forget those seat-belts!
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[OTO X58]

This is how I left it for now. We're going to come back before the winter and get it out of there before the rain and snow comes. I'll have to line up a trailer and get a couple of friends together that can help dig, pull, fight off rats, and most off all just enjoy the process. I think it'll take at least a couple of days. The property owner's family are friends of mine and they really don't want outsiders to come there and find out about the place due to past thefts and things. I absolutely don't want to be any kind of bother, so I have to balance getting enough help with being respectful. Luckily, I have a few close friends who would be cool and would absolutely love to be a part of the extraction.

My plan is to bring a set of wheels, a handful of lugnuts, a stack of 2x4s, a few 4x4 posts, sheets of plywood and screws, a chainsaw, car trailer, chains and straps, shovels, and some floor jacks. I will try and jack it up enough to get wheels under it, and dig out the dirt enough so that it's not dragging too bad. From there, we'll try and hook chains to the beam and pull it out with a tractor. If it doesn't go, then I'll make some skis out of 2x4s and plywood to help it slide out. I think one wild card will be whether or not that Studebaker rear end stays in place.

I am open to thoughts and suggestions from more experienced folks. Last thing I want to do is bend or rip the bus trying to get it out, especially if the frame is weak.

Once on the trailer, I'll need to use one of the 4x4 trucks on the ranch to get it out of there and up to the driveway. At that point, my dream is to hitch the trailer to my 62 Chevy wagon and tow it home that way.

There's a campsite nearby, so it might be cool to arrange a victory party there and then a caravan home. That way I have help when the Chevy takes a shit.
_________________
RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find

[KevinAlbrecht]

I am not sure if a come-along would be the thing to use, but some sort of winch would be helpful I think.
_________________
Kevin Albrecht
1963 Panel


Don't forget those seat-belts!
Click to view image