1965 westfalia so-35 flipseat

[oakman]

Found by my Dad last summer in the California high desert. August 64' Westfalia so-35 flipseat:

I posted this in the bus hunting thread last year. I always seem to forget to take lots of pictures of buses before I start cleaning etc. I really enjoy seeing all the finds and builds here so I thought I would share this.

My first view:

Check out the fender flares!

I have been within a couple hundred feet of this bus many times over the years on my motorcycle having no idea it was there. It was well hidden from the masses. Timing is everything. Back home in the garage:

I had to air it out for awhile, pretty stinky being outside closed up for years.

[oakman]

This bus was last registered in 1996. I found old registration slips dating back to 1978. She's been sitting for the last twenty years. I cleaned up the distributor a bit, it looks like new inside.

I think the engine is original to the bus, let me know what you think:

Still has the wiring for the gas heater and for the chandelier socket.

Spare tire cover:

The only remaining toilet piece is the lid.

Still has the spare tire nut:

Cleaned it up a bit:

[oakman]

Bus was missing some parts like the main table, emka tumblers, booze bottle holder, chandelier, folding chair, water bottles, enders stove, foyer tent etc etc. Luckily all the privvy tent poles and child cot poles are present. I have the complete privvy tent although it is extremely sun-rotted unfortunately. I'm glad at least all the cabinets are still here. So I started collecting some items:

I know it's a bay table so-69 (i think). The formica matches well and they use the same table mount. Until I find a nice original....

Enders Stove:

[Pinetops]

Very nice find, congratulations. At least someone cut the fenders with precision!
_________________
"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[oakman]

[oakman]

In these pictures you can see how sun baked the cabinets are:

compared to the inside where the sun did not reach:

The clear coat is checked and flakes off very easily in most places. I carefully stripped a few of the cabinet doors using a couple different scrapers. I learned about the scraper method reading Sled's thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5...efinishing

It is amazing how the pearwood veneer comes back to life. This is after scraping and 3 coats of polyurethane semi-gloss clear, sanded between coats. This door was one of the worst as it got direct sunlight for many years. A huge thanks goes out to Greg (campingbox) for the cabinet knobs, they are perfect!

Ice box door came out really nice too:

I used a hair dryer to warm up the molding and carefully stretched out the wrinkles.

[EverettB]

First, nice score!!

[campingbox]

Killer bus. Very jealous!

[Tyler 5447]

That is an awesome find. I don't believe how nice and complete that interior is.

[Big Bill]

Great find, cant wait to see what you do to it.

[Clara]

[velvetgreen]

^^^^^^^ looking more original by the minute!

[oakman]

[oakman]

[quote="oakman"]

[oakman]

[crofty]

Sweet Bus!
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Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.

[jjjjack]

Very nice. Love it. Congrats!!!!
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Jack Stenner
1959 Mango Westfalia SO-23
1953 Porsche 356 Coupe
IG:j.stenner

[srfndoc]

Awesome bus! Get that thing on the road as its begging to be camped in.
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RPM=(MPH*336* (R&P*4th*1.26))/Tire Diameter in inches

[oakman]

^^^^Thanks guys!^^^ I'm really looking forward to camping in this bus. After an awesome meal prepared by someone other than myself and not on my Enders, a few drinks in the Emka tumblers of course, and a late night smoke before bed with the subhatch open, pure bliss!

Nevermind the guy in the suit, he's just the designated driver.

[oakman]

Here are a few more parts found in the bus.
Folding chair hold down bracket:

Spare tire table mount:

Tool roll:

The day we picked up the bus, the po's sister handed this to me. The writing on the cover says "Bowman and Sons Campers Kearny Mesa". Maybe this bus was traded in for a new camper? The bus lived down in this area before coming up to the high desert.

In the earlier pictures you can see a small hackage where the chandelier socket was replaced with a camper light. I was happy to find the og socket in one of the cabinets. Here you can really see how bleached the interior is after years of sunlight exposure.

My boy Gordon checks out the new arrival:

The keys were still in the ignition. Steering lock seems to function nicely too.

I removed the linoleum in the back hoping the marble mat was still there, no luck. There is one small piece left in the closet. On the plus side the og formica cleaned up great on the rear seat/storage cover. Corners need to be re-glued: