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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:48 pm Post subject: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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I recently went to PA to pick up a parts bus and while I was there, the owner was kind enough to show me some of the other VW's he had around. It was kinda late when I got there and was raining, but we ventured out into the night on a mission. Long and behold sat this Orange beauty. It was night time so I was looking at it with the flash light on my phone. I remember seeing it awhile back for sale in the classifeds and thinking the logos were really cool, but the damage was to extensive. Im a sucker for cheap rusted buses and having the bus in front of me to really see the damage, I got excited and convinced myself that I could do this Bus justice and put it back on the road where it belongs!!! Ive had better buses that ive passed along simply because of the amount of work needed. Ive also built my share of buses and lately my ambition to revive these lost cause ones has been gone. Something inside said I have to have it!! So with that being said.. heres my new bus. The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus!!!
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vwjetboat Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2017 Posts: 1732 Location: Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:54 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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I always wondered why someone would take on such a challenge.. I have done my share of metal work.. few bug restorations many dune buggies.. but never something this far gone.. to me.. Im like.. find a shell in better shape and go from there.. part things like this out right down to the last square foot of good metal..
Now.. if you do restore it.. I will follow.. but neat ol bus ... just sad its so rusty.. |
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vwjetboat Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2017 Posts: 1732 Location: Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:59 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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P/S: Born and reared in Florida.. I know Rust well.. |
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:00 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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The bus was delivered to me on my birthday. 8/26. and right away I started having second doubts. I almost traded it for a sweet 61 bug. The deal didnt go down though. So giving the bus the benefit of the doubt, i slapped some axles on it, went and got it titled and ran thru the car wash!
It looks alittle better with all the mold sprayed off. _________________ Leroux's Autowerks “like us on fb”
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:02 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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vwjetboat wrote: |
I always wondered why someone would take on such a challenge.. I have done my share of metal work.. few bug restorations many dune buggies.. but never something this far gone.. to me.. Im like.. find a shell in better shape and go from there.. part things like this out right down to the last square foot of good metal..
Now.. if you do restore it.. I will follow.. but neat ol bus ... just sad its so rusty.. |
You're gonna want to stay tuned on this one! Also I love Florida. I'll be down there in a few weeks. South Beach. _________________ Leroux's Autowerks “like us on fb”
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vwjetboat Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2017 Posts: 1732 Location: Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:08 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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St. Aug here.. |
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:11 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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I couldn't even wait to get it off the trailer. I had to buff out the only non damaged panel on the whole thing. The drivers door LOL. Perhaps having one shiny door would help motive me. No, not really. It did take the logos right off the bus the second I ran the buffer across it. I was a little disappointed. The paint buffed out nice tho.
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vwjetboat Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2017 Posts: 1732 Location: Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:16 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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Yea.. she will buff right out.. lol .. only air cooled I ever owned was a camper.. 70 .. buses are cool.. bugs.. top 10 ugliest cars ever made.. but i love the design in itself.. I am more an engineer then mechanic.. fixing shit is easy.. figuring out how and why is the fun part to me.. |
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:19 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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It got slammed hard on the passenger side. It twisted the roof and frame. The buckling in the roof made the paint flake off. Then it started to rust. A big ole pile of leaves and pine needles collected and just rusted the crap out of it. I started to have panic attacks looking at it "What the hell am I doing?"and "I need more solid metal in my life" were running rampant thru my head. The "A" pillars are gone, it needs a roof, it needs a frame, it needs a non-walkthru section, it needs a donor nose. It by far the worst bus ive ever owned haha.
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:33 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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I had a 67 parts bus that was way worse then this one. I put it in the classifieds here and ended up making a trade deal. I got a complete roof, short wall and front frame and non walkthru section in the deal. The best part was he delivered it to me. So I began my magic...
Got the section I needed cut out
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western auto Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2013 Posts: 293 Location: yuma,az
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:33 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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id cut the long side and hang the whole thing on my wall, that would be sweet |
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vwjetboat Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2017 Posts: 1732 Location: Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:36 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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ya know the torsion springs in front.. ? make real nice sword and knife blades.. German spring steel ? good shit.. lol |
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:39 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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I forgot to takes pics, but i cut the bad sections off the bus. I welded a couple angle iron braces and had ratchet straps pulling and twisting the roof every which way. The frames still twisted so the roof wasn't really wanting to fall back into place. Once I got it where I needed it to be, i started fitting the donor section in. Thankfully, I have a really nice 66 westy here to take measurements from.
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:44 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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After a little bit of welding and sanding. Ive got a nice and straight roof. Now we're cooking with fire. Theres a tiny bit of rust in the corner. Easy fix.
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:51 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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vwjetboat wrote: |
Yea.. she will buff right out.. lol .. only air cooled I ever owned was a camper.. 70 .. buses are cool.. bugs.. top 10 ugliest cars ever made.. but i love the design in itself.. I am more an engineer then mechanic.. fixing shit is easy.. figuring out how and why is the fun part to me.. |
I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and I work hands on with everything I do. I dont really think "fixing shit is easy" something that looks good on paper to a engineer might not look so good to someone in the field who has to fix it. You see it all to often with todays cars. _________________ Leroux's Autowerks “like us on fb”
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:53 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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western auto wrote: |
id cut the long side and hang the whole thing on my wall, that would be sweet |
Yes, but it'll look a lot sweeter rolling down the road as a complete bus!! _________________ Leroux's Autowerks “like us on fb”
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vwjetboat Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2017 Posts: 1732 Location: Florida
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:58 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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BusJunky wrote: |
vwjetboat wrote: |
Yea.. she will buff right out.. lol .. only air cooled I ever owned was a camper.. 70 .. buses are cool.. bugs.. top 10 ugliest cars ever made.. but i love the design in itself.. I am more an engineer then mechanic.. fixing shit is easy.. figuring out how and why is the fun part to me.. |
I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and I work hands on with everything I do. I dont really think "fixing shit is easy" something that looks good on paper to a engineer might not look so good to someone in the field who has to fix it. You see it all to often with todays cars. |
to me.. Fixing shit is easy.. as in.. taking a car apart and repairing it is easy.. has been for 40 years for me.. the reason why it was designed and engineered that way is what I try to figure out.. and Ferdinand Porsche was a genius out of the box thinker |
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:10 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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I got a short wall in my trade deal and hopped on over to the "C" pillar that was crushed in. I dont really care about the bumps and bruises. I intend to keep this buses logos and all of its surface rust, but repair all the rust-thru. Overspray wasn't really a concern, either. I had paint mixed at the local auto paint store and was excited to see how well it blended. After i had that wall sorted out, i masked off the logos and shot a little paint on it. When everything is welded and fixed I plan to do the proper prepping and body work. I just had to see
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:20 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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Although they were no longer visable, the bus had a logo'd nose. Under the right lighting angle you could see the outlines in the orange paint. I stayed up till 3am last weekend going back over these. My girlfriend loves VW's and everything I do. She wanted the duty of preserving the logo's. So she went and bought her own set of paint brushes and has been going back over them all by hand. I really couldn't ask for more!! Not only is she good looking, she also welds and helps me with every project we get. Not bad for a nurse.
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BusJunky Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2009 Posts: 568 Location: Norwalk, ohio
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:28 pm Post subject: Re: The Typewriter Business Pumpkin Bus |
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After she redid the hatch logos, I buffed out the rest of paint and put the hatch back on to have a look. Now that the roof and C pillar is fixed, combined with a little paint cleaning, my thought process has changed dramatically. Cutting up or trading this bus would of been a huge mistake. Im certain its worth my efforts to save it.
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