The quest to find historically-significant vehicles isn’t bound by marque or country of origin; rather, low production-number vehicles of any kind will forever be popular among collectors. However, an early example of a particularly iconic model like the original VW Bus makes collectors’ mouths salivate even more so. This heavily rusted pallet of parts is believed to be the second “Samba” ever made; you can fid the details here on Hemmings.
As early examples of air-cooled VWs become even more scarce, it’s become common practice (particularly in Europe) for collectors to go into the hills – literally – where these old vans were workhorses for the first few years of their lives and then abandoned when the overworked motors gave out. As this is one of the earliest Sambas ever sold, the current owner speculates the original 24.5 b.h.p. engine and non-syncromesh transmission made it obsolete as soon as more powerful Buses came along.
As you can see, the roof is non-existent, rot is everywhere and all but a few of the windows are gone. The owner (yes, owner – it is not for sale) claims that the caretaker of the field in which it was found has no memory of the Bus, which tells you just how long it has been sinking into the earth. There is only one other recorded VIN ahead of this Samba, and that example hasn’t been seen in generations and is assumed to be missing.
This is how the Samba arrived – thrown in the back of two Transporters in much better nick than this one. It’s refreshing to see the owner of a find like this committed to restoring the Bus, no mater the cost. It’s just too important and fragile to see it passed around between flippers, none of whom would ever restore the Bus. The current owner is planning on a ten-year, six-figure restoration, so you can bet it won’t resemble abandoned canyon fodder for much longer.
Jeff, I have to say this reminds me of Great-great-great-great-granddaddy’s axe, the one he used to blaze a trail through the wilderness. The head has been replaced several times, and it has had a few new handles, but remains a family heirloom!
Seems to me by the time the owner is done, he will have a wonderful replica of the Second Samba; I don’t see anything that could be dusted off and reused. Six-figure restoration? I don’t doubt it in the least….
Can’t help but admire the owner’s tenacity and desire to do the job right, though. It would have been a shame to see this left to vanish.
You MIGHT BE SURPRISED! At what can be done. There is a great build thread on theSamba.com:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=463139&highlight=quality+sound
About a 1954 VW Deluxe sunroof 23 window that had been previously cut up badly for spares and many parts sold off. A dedicated guy in England put it back, keeping the ORIGINAL PAINT on much of it.
Anything is possible. The one thing the “Quality Sound” bus had going for it was it was from very dry central California and virtually rust free. But it was cut
into about 20 pieces, then some sold off.
Anything is possible. Yes, the 100 point part would be expensive.
I’m not a fan of trailer queens/ perfect restorations. It is the death of a car.
Al
Read the Samba thread…WOW
Who knows where the value of this will be in 10 years.
To me it will be worth at least 5 times as much then as it is now……………….of course to me the current value of it is zero.
How much want to bet that some people dont know what the product of any number and zero is?
There is nothing to restore here. The sheet metal is gone, gone, gone. What I find hilarious is the same VW and Porsche guys (ei: crazy) that would attempt this sort of ridiculous idea that they can restore this vehicle, are usually the same guys that see a ’60’s/’70’s muscle car with rotted floors and state it’s too far gone. This thing should be displayed as is somewhere so people can appreciate what it once was and never will be again.
The difference is what people choose to spend their money on. Some people spend thousands of dollars every year buying stuff and taking lessons to improve their golf game when they don’t play golf for a living anyway. It takes all kinds.
I think I would grind up the remaining metal ,put in jars and sell it to other idiots who might be sick enough to think that hulk would be worth the restoration money just to say you had rusty parts to smear on an aftermarket non original Samba —-Or I would put the Vin tag in my wallet to start conversations—–Or reproduce it and sell copies
Well, this has to be giving Chevy Vega and Dodge Aspen enthusiasts some hope anyway.
If Samba was not in the title I do not think I could have identified it. Its there cabbage so I wish them luck with the recreation. I never understood the Samba thing anyway.
We commented the heck out of this bus and it’s owner on Hemmings. Basically, they paid $4,000 dollars for the VIN tag. Again, if this person chooses to do this, it’s their business. Most of us can’t, which is why all the opposition. Personally, I don’t see the $100,000 dollar attraction with these. I thought they were miserable vehicles to drive, although, I highly doubt, when done, they are going to drive it anyway. Bottom line, apparently, some people do have this kind of money to spend on these things. Wow!
And some of us drove them back in the day and got flipped off by Mad Men kind of guys………….now they’re buying ’em! Hilarious. You can’t be what you never were no matter how much money you spend.
I agree that one can pay for the VIN tag. That works on Boss, Mach I, Mustangs and such but on a say a multi window or whatever the number of windows ( obviously I don’t know VW’s) you would still need the windows frames and sky light frames…to make a swap..if you already had all that you would already have a lagitimate VIN..so what is the point of buying this one for that reason?
The owner sells repro VW parts. Where do you think the money comes from? His customers. I have no problem with his reconstructing this. It’s his money and time.
Florian is just the guy to do this. I think he will keep SOME of the original metal. True, a great deal will have to be total replacement. Luckily there are Klassic Fab and others making new sheet metal. Amazing how much HATE these bring out. It’s his money. I’m rooting for him.Many of these whiners drive $50k pickup trucks. Choose your battles.
Here’s my Wolfsburg single cab, 4 years newer than the 1951, but quite a bit more intact.
I could afford it and not think twice but I’m not opposed because of cost, I’m opposed because it’s fraud. There isn’t enough of that vehicle to legitimately call it a restoration or revival or anything else besides a re-body or clone and if that guy attaches that VIN to it (and I don’t give a rat’s ass who he is), I’ll be the first one to send the authorities his way. Hope he’s reading this thread.
My thought is that a 6 figure restoration job could mean anywhere between $100,000 and $999,999. I can imagine needing a whole new custom fabricated body. ( Or find a regular 23 window van and transfer the VIN tag. ) Looking at that plie of rust I would think the best thing to do is compress it into a nice cube, about 18″ on all sides, place it in a suitable bucket, pour in clear epoxy resin, and embed the VIN tag on the top surface so it can be seen. Then get a nice thick glass table top, and place it on that block of hermetically sealed rust. Voila! Instant coffee table for some rich and famous guy with excentric tastes.
Setting cost aside as people will spend money on what they like and I have no gripe with that. The difference is that this vehicle will never “be” again as there will never be anything original to the car (maybe a small artifact or two) thus making it just another donor VIN and thereby destroying any authenticity of it’s pedigree which is to be known as #2. Anyone who brings this Samba back and then claims it to be #2, is just another charlatan who is only fooling himself. Rust is much different than a car that was cut up and later put together. You would have to of worked on rusty cars to understand this.
This would have been the perfect time for BFs to have posted the first picture shown and run one of those guess what the heck this is listings.
In the end no matter how much money the owner spends to restore the samba it will still just be an under powered portable road block.
Someone will buy that…even if it’s just to get the numbers… VW guys are nuts!
Why is this rust bucket on Barn Finds? Scrap! Waste of time and space!
Is there a rule on how much of an original car much be used to call it original and not a replacement or replica? Is it like having a house burn down and all you have is half the front wall and one corner and the original front door and one window and frame and the original address plate and you build a house around that and claim this was the house that was from 1672 all restored. Would it then be that house?
Everyone: Read the owners’ blog. He says he is building a “reconstruction” to original specs. He’s not calling the final outcome “original”.
as it should be. full disclosure of what they started with.
He can reconstruct and call it whatever he wants but if he removes that VIN and attaches it to another body, it’s fraud.
Junk. Scrap it out. Forget about it. Miserable vehicles even in pristeen condition.
No, just no, this is scrap, send it to a recycling plant and make some nice cans out of it.
Cans? You’d be lucky to get enough decent steel for a one small cat food can.
I love it. Looks like fun, and I wish I was doing it. Best of fortune to them!
I wouldn’t give a 100 grand if it was found in a lost VW dealership, still on the show room floor. ( If I had a extra 100 lying around)
I have the money and the time as well but what’s the point when it’s deteriorated to this status. There is literally NO sheet metal that is viable on this pile of junk. I’m a big fan of resurrecting anything and everything but at this point, it would only be a clone with a couple of scrap sheet metal parts from the original thrown in (maybe). It’s no longer the #2 Samba, it’s gone and should be preserved AS-IS. Even if you can do it, doesn’t always mean you should.
Where was this found, under the barn?
When its finished having the vin and no title it should carry the Assembled Title brand or #2 phony with an illegal Vin
i’m glad the license plates of the haulers are exposed so when the rightful owner of the Samba and the field it was in can stop by for his valued share and or report it Stolen- Maybe he will wait until its restored for his claim
Good point. Sometimes there’s a downside to free crap, no matter how crappy it is. They should have left it in it’s final resting spot.
Maybe a better use for it is to build a special frame to hold all the parts together in their respective places and show it as art just like the Bugatti in a Swiss lake.
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2011/02/The-Bugatti-from-the-Lake—1925-Bugatti-Type-22-Brescia/3695551.html
I’m sorry for those that like this vehicle I have to agree with JC I have done restorations professionally for 37 years whatever method is used to clean up what is left of the Rice paper thin existing sheet metal whether it’s dipped or media blasted there will be nothing left at all to Restore whatsoever
Doing restorations professionally is probably the reason this old car hobby has priced itself out of the reach of nearly everybody. A restored car is way too expensive to drive or have any use whatsoever except as an investment vessel for extremely rich people. So, this 1950 23 window bus pile of remnants is not for sale, and likely will not be flipped. Whatever Florian does to preserve or display what is left is HIS DECISION. I agree that there is precious little left. It will certainly be interesting to see how he handles it. There is not much chance he can just find another 1950-51 deluxe and hang the VIN tag on it. The “Quality Sound” restoration turned out great, but they started with about 4 times as much metal, so it can hardly be compared.