Barndoor Coachbuilders #1: Hans Kohlruss’ Buses

[AustroBus]

[djfordmanjack]

maybe there is a slight misunderstanding.
saying 'that is the Szbg shop' I meant, that the garage in that infamous b&w pic you posted - that WAS the Salzburg Kohlruss works. it was quite a spacious L shaped facility, which got extended later on( to a U shape). According to an employee they would work on 4-8 buses at the same time. and there were certain areas the buses would get into the shop ( seen on the b&w pic above) and disassembled, sheetmetal work done (often outside in the nice seasons), then coachbuilt (wood)work in the last corner and preparing for and actual paintwork in the last extension of the building.

Well, that old house in the backround with Mark and the 'Kleiner Ostiroler', is not part of the Kohlruss facility. it's their neighbor. of course the Osttiroler was parked on the KRSS property and photographed from the KRSS shop, so the neighbor's house is in the back. We were never able to confirm it, but there is a good chance that Mark's KRSS once belonged to the person in that actual building.They had a driving school and confirmed they bought and owned a KRSS converted bus. Now - our last KRSS survivor here has 'Fahrschule' lettering surviving on the engine lid and quarter panels as well.

It's always interesting meeting up with old people, and their memories becoming part of our own and this bus' legacy.
60 years ago might seem like a mighty long time for us younger people. but to the old, it is just part of their memories, which might seem like just a few days ago, when they were young and healthy and actually achieving things.
Oftentimes a VW bus provided the first means for transportation and often they were the actual foundation of decades or half a century of business success. as was the case with the guy from Griffen.

It has to be acknowledged that many, many persons, like you Alex, named and unnamed people all the same were involved in the recovery and resurrection of the KRSS survivor and each has to be thanked !
Thanx to everybody involved in saving this cool piece of VW history !!!
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52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
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62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[djfordmanjack]

this is a really really sad picture. Not only because it shows how the Kohlruss history is finally demolished.

It's because the same thing is happening all over Austria. Lots of traditional working areas and facilities diminish, getting all torn down and all those former working areas, where things could be invented, created, built and explored are getting lost.

These places of freedom and creativity are now getting replaced with stupid and concrete real estate, that is absolutely worthless in my mind. they are just concrete sleeping bags for a bored and overworked lost generation.
there is nothing going on here anymore. the place is dead.

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Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[AustroBus]

No, no - i understood quite well! I just meant the place where the former KRSS workshop was.

Wow! I guess they didn't have any old pictures of their driving school bus?
Nevertheless that's a nice anecdote. I think the chances are very high that it is Marks bus. Probably a few hundred buses have been converted by Kohlruss. And i don't think that many of them were used by driving schools.

I do absolutely agree, ven though i just reed your lines here about the old people and there memories. To me such conversations are very interesting and i can totally relate to you.

My part in Kohlruss legacy is just a very little. I'm just a fan who wants to collect information so that everybody can learn more about those great austrian buses and their history. Thank YOU for pulling the KRSS out of the woods! Otherwise i most likely wouldn't even have discovered the whole topic.

Sad picture. I sent Mark similar pictures (Google Satellite Screenshots) of the 2 KRSS locations in Vienna some years ago. But they are gone long time ago. I visited one in the second district and stood in front of a huge building of a banking company.
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Blog website:www.austrosplit.com
1967 Deluxe VW Bus - Resto Thread

Barndoor Coachbuilder Topics:
"Hans Kohlruss & Co"

[dames]

https://images.app.goo.gl/3fLfCV6eJFpV55iC7
Sorry for just posting a link! I have not seen this image on this thread.

[djfordmanjack]

Sweet pic and bus, despite the low resolution, does it read 'Posthotel H.F Waltl' appears to have Austrian license plates.
Roof appears white. no rear bumper. folding top appears light colored as well.
same paint scheme as Marks bus. lower body creme, upper body dark, roof white. typical KRSS side trim and badge in place. side sliding glass. aluminium frames. all there.

WOW !

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Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[djfordmanjack]

Hotel Post, Heiligenblut, Großglockner, Tirol- Austria.

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Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[djfordmanjack]

and yes there are still Hotels owned by family named Waltl on the northern side of the Grossglockner.
_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[ddutch]

Hello everybody! This is my first post here on The Samba. This vintage postcard shows another picture of a Kohlruss bus from Hotel Waltl. I assume it is the same bus as the one on the picture above. It could be the bus of Mark Spicer, since the colours are alike when you convert the black & white picture into colour. Dark (green) above the belt line and yellow under. Since Kohlruss busses are rare beasts, it's unlikely there were many painted in this typical colour scheme. The Waltl Hotel still exists in Krimml, Austria, it's now called Gästehaus Waltl.

[EverettB]

[djfordmanjack]

SOOOOO AWESOME !

Pretty sure it's not Marks bus. doesn't have a rear bumper and has corner trim. implying its a 53. ( Marks a 54) missing the roof antenna and the plastic ventshades on the sliding windows. But nonetheless this is one monster of a bus and the hi res pic is just as fantastic.
The KRSS-in-shop-built lower rocker trim show the same pointed torch welded ends like on Marks bus. the section of the aluminium was the same as the og VW DLX trim. so they either used the same stock or modified beltline trim.
also the porcelain KRSS badge is in place, way cool !


Thanx alot !!!

edit: those even appear to be the same people in both shots !!
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Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[ddutch]

Thank you! Yes, this is an awesome picture for sure!

I think a rear bumper might have been added later pretty easily at some point in its life, especially since this was a special and quite expensive bus after the conversion. The same goes for the antenna. This has been done to more early barndoor buses. The '51 barndoor De Luxe that was found in Germany a few years ago, also had a rear bumper fitted. It would have made sense they removed the corner trim when the bumper was fitted.

There also seem to be traces of (black?) sign-writing on the yellow paint visible on some pictures. The bus was repainted again at least once because there was red paint on top of the yellow. This suggest that the bus had different owners or purposes after the conversion by Kohlruss.

[djfordmanjack]

The 54 would have a rear bumper from factory and there is no reason to add the corner trim. there was evidence of the rear splash pans/ bumper mounts on Marks bus. also there was no evidence of corner trim on the KRSS Survivor.
There was not the slightest trace of such Posthotel lettering on the side panels.

Marks Krss had a 'FAHRSCHULE' signwriting/lettering under the pale yellow and some company lettering on the pale yellow on the front doors ( both still there).

I am the person who pulled it from the woods and later on sold it to Mark.

So judging from many small details I am pretty sure ( 99.9%) that this is not the survivor we know. Anyways, it's great to discuss this buses and special photos like this are really very much appreciated!!
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Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[ddutch]

Ah, that explains a lot!

Since you're the one who pulled it out of the woods you've seen this bus in real life and you'll know much of the ins and outs of this particular Kohlruss bus.
Thanx for the explanation.

I'm definitely not a specialist on split busses but I find them, the resurrections and restorations very fascinating

[djfordmanjack]

No worries. Yes I studied the bus really closely and found many interesting details, also discussing with Mark and without a doubt he found some more interesting stuff during restoration. It is indeed a very special bus! It's just fascinating how these old pics show up now and then. These coachbuilts were often used for taxis and there must have been lots of pics taken by passengers and tourists. One of these days, our survivor bus is going to show up in such a vintage pic for sure ! It's really interesting that the Posthotel Waltl bus shares a similar paint scheme to the survivor. It is also a custom paint scheme that wasn't present in the VW offerings of the time. especially the later model (1953 for the Waltl bus) combined with the white roof ( which was only available from VW in '51).
Enjoy the magic world of early Transporters !
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Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[RockStock]

Kohlruss?

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-StockRocks-

[djfordmanjack]

^
That is a fantastic pic, Chris ! Wondering if it has been colorized. Also maybe the color has shifted a bit and the lower part was actually dove blue ???

Kohlruss has converted at least one more bus without ragtop and the large windows ( including roof peak glass as seen on the second bus to the right), but personally I think these are not Kohlruss converted buses.

The flip up roof vent on the second bus is also crazy cool !

The front bus has an enamel badge below the VW front emblem, but that could very well be a coat of arms of Oberösterreich. It also has the base of an antenna on the front and a primer spot on the roof where the second antenna post was possibly mounted before. Interestingly enough the roof glass looks very dark, so they were either tinted perspex or had curtains behind them, because otherwise we should be able to see the glass on the other side. It also doesn't have a rearview mirror (base still there). Obligatory G roßglockner decal.

Both buses don't have the rectangular Kohlruss badge on the left dogleg, and , most annoying, they have oem style VW Rocker DLX trim mounted higher up on the body, but still at least 150mms lower than Kohlruss would mount their trim. Kohlruss also used a totally different sort of trim. ( different size and shape). Kohlruss knee height trim did not use any colored plastic trim.

Here is the confirmed Kohlruss bus with the tall roof windows ( while these KRSS roof windows appear somewhat smaller than those pictured in buses above).
Also remember that all Kohlruss roof windows had thin polished Aluminium trim around their perimeter. Those seem to be missing on the 2 green buses as well, just rubber.
Check out the side panel trim in comparison to buses above. When we met a former employee of KRSS, he told us firsthand, how they imported their style of aluminium trim from Italy. Also KRSS side trim was extra long and curved around the rear corners.

[djfordmanjack]

Sherlock Holmes strikes again !

Found this lettering in the back glass, mirror image says CHRISTOF, GLOCKNER.

They are still in business !

I am currently inquiring with the business if they may be able to provide a higher resolution pic of this here ( same buses in the pic).

_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[djfordmanjack]

^
I have been in touch with the current business owner and will share possible further information, as it becomes available and if he permits. Very nice guy and I want to respect his privacy and personal info, hopefully being able to meet him in person soon.
One interesting detail though, is that the bus to the right was registered in summer 1954 and the coachbuild work was finished and registered by Dec 1954.
So basically this is a small detail answer to many coachbuild questions.
This very bus here was customized when it was brand new. Given the time of only a few months before completion, it was possibly even never or only used for a few months before they took it to the coachbuilder, whoever that was.
_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[RockStock]

Good info. When is he going to take you to his storage barn? 😉
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