Let’s do the math here. This rusty pile, or future collectible, depending on your point of view, is out from a slumber of 38 years. That means it went to sleep in 1984. And it was already in this kind of beater shape despite being only twenty years old at the time. Who did this? We’ll probably never know, but it you want to resurrect this 1964 VW 21-window Bus, you have your chance. It’s listed on eBay at $18,700 with the reserve not met and the auction extending until next Tuesday. You’ll find the bus in Columbia, TN, should you win the auction.
VW Bus models of various spec were, a couple of years ago, the flavor of the month at auction. This somewhere wedged between the fads for the Fiat Jolly and Pontiac Trans Am. Each time, the story is the same: people bid up one or two examples to start a trend, and pretty soon, everyone’s dragging their similar model out of the barn and hoping to get ransom-level prices. Sometimes they do. Remember when Hemi-anything was commanding triple the sensible price? You don’t? Well I’ll tell you who does remember—the people who paid half a million bucks for Hemi ‘Cudas now worth a couple of hundred thousand.
I have nothing against you living out your faded hippie dreams. But you’ve got to bring some sense to this equation. The ad for this van says that you can leave it in its “OG” paint and tool around town in it. Nice romantic dream, but this thing is one parking lot bump from crumbling into a dusty pile of used-to-be. Think like a professional metal repairer, and you’ll quickly realize that to fix this is folly, unless you’re perfectly fine parting with tens of thousands of bucks to redo practically every square inch. I say this despite the seller’s words that the vehicle has “typical rust” but that the floor can be saved and the main rails are not rotted. But the rockers are gone, according to the ad, and the pictures show a bus that looks like it sat in a foot of water for years. The answer to how that can be is presented to us in one photo. According to the sticker on the vehicle, Fred Howe Motors must have been the original selling dealer, and they’re in Wisconsin. Does that change your thinking about the “easy” rust repair you were telling yourself you’d do, or have done, on this Bus? Hello, road salt?
Twenty-one windows are a lot to look out of, outdone only by the 23-windows of some VW models. I’ll leave it to the VW experts amongst you BarnFinders to educate us as needed, but from an outsider’s POV, what matters more that the holes you can see out of are the holes you can see through—big, gaping rust holes that won’t go away and will only get worse until someone gets out his or her check book and commissions a re-do.
With rust around the fabric top it can only get worse heading south.
Is that a giant wasp nest behind the right bumper overrider?
It’s a tree, it sat somewhere so long that a tree grew up through the bumper.
No, but looks like a well dried cow pie. Makes sense, this whole thing is a big turd. A big overhyped, over priced turd. I once drove one of these when helping a friend move. A sad and sorry excuse for a vehicle.
That giant wasps nest/dried cow pie is a tree trunk that grew between the bumper and body, I guess V.W. vans are an acquired taste, I drove one in my early career of working in a dealers parts dept, a ’66 single cab that we put an accessory canvas bed “cap” on and later years I owned a ‘ 83 Vanagon that I absolutely loved. The EBAY one needs help on both sides rockers.
I don’t get it. Never have, never will. And that’s a good thing…
Nope, that’s the remnants of a TREE that grew up between the body and the bumper! Yeah, that VW’s been sitting in a field for a long time!
and they haven’t even got to the drive train. I bet it’s frozen solid.
Someone could put another row of the small windows across the bottom and the rust would be gone
I bet the foolish souls that paid OVER $100,000 for one of these tubs are signing the blue now. eh?
Ha,ha,ha,ha,,( wiping tear from eye) forgive me, it’s just, wait, ha,ha,ha,ha,,, I know, just adding a little fun to this silliness. The only thing worthy of this posting, is I haven’t heard of “Fred Howe Motors” since I was a kid. Fred Howe( Howe my single syllable nickname for years) was one of the few VW dealers in a Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha and without a doubt, the most popular. Milwaukee was clearly an “American” city,( HD, AMC, A.O. Smith, B&S) and imports were naturally looked down upon. The 1st Toyota dealer in the area was Jack Safro, and located well outside city limits in case of retribution. VW had an entirely different following, but there were still lots of people , like my old man, that didn’t like them, and perhaps why the Waukesha location. I hope that took our minds off this baloney for a while, these people here should have their heads examined to possibly help others in the future that may be afflicted with this “disease”.
All it needs to fix her is everything…Good luck with the rebuild.
Thanks for the honest evaluation. Very refreshing, ‘one speed bump away from a dusty pile of used to be’, hahaha!
This will probably bring in $50k plus. Easy. With a high level of restoration no problem being a $200k bus. Plenty of room to make this happen. Love how VW/Porsches bring the ignorant haters/trolls out of the woodwork. GLWTA!
Agree with Dougie..dont get the anti Porsche/VW thing that always springs up here. I have seen much worse than this go for more..would I buy it…no( I have a very nice 66 single cab thanks…that drives great at highway speeds BTW haters). He says the frame rails are solid so I doubt it will dissolve:”into a pile of dust” and could be driven as is. He says the engine runs and it stops ( read the ad). Someone will definitely buy this and, if they can do much of the work themselves, have a lovely fun investment to drive.
Scary in every way!
“One speed bump away from a dusty pile of used to be” is a great line!! Worthy of Jeremy Clarkson. Good job on the write up. Loved it.
Much appreciated!
These look great fully restored but they are very under powered. Watch out for heavy cross winds when landing!
What a great modification, normally you are limited to only 2 windows, in this case you have unlimited opportunities to see outside….and inside. I love the pride in ownership this represents. If you pay me 4,000 I would take it away.
Run away.
HA HA
The people that can afford these “Samba” never spent any time driving them.
60mph is often only hopeful.
The noise level is impressive; think of a tin can with loose parts and a metal woodpecker banging on it.
GREAT DEVICE,
if you use it pick up your champagne drinking friends at the Hamptons airport and take them the three miles to your $100,000 a month beachfront rental. THEY WILL SAY “So Cute”
the $100,000 restored ones often get sold back to the dealer at a loss after the dream becomes the reality nightmare.
A similar thing happens to the dream buy of a $100,000 older Land Rover; the dream wears out and gets sold back to the dealer at a loss.
YET
someone will buy this thing and spend a considerable sum to re-construct this it.
Restoration of an Aston Martin or a Ferrari costs the same labor wise.
JUST A THOUGHT
21 bottles of beer on the wall
21 bottles of beer – – – –
I wonder what the reserve must be. Some one has already bid $18,900. Seems like way more than this rusty money pit is worth to me but what do I know. At least the seat cover blankets are color coordinated! Briank the author of this Barn Finds posting is spot on about how folks can pay crazy money for certain fad vehicles and when the “Ponzi” scheme crashes the investment don’t look so good. Also I want to thank him for the speed bump vs rust observation. I actually LOL.
I’ve had 3 split window buses and vans. I just love them and I’m currently looking for my next one. This one, however, isn’t in my wheelhouse.
Way too much rust.
I see this as a deserted beer wagon in a desert diorama oasis in someone’s yard. Rustic tap handles of Hamms & Olympia sticking out of the side panels. Working spigots of course!!
yup, great esp w/the “sun roof”, but…
I’d get rid of the 11 rear windows & put a lill box where the top opening is, so as to B able to stand up (cloth &/or solid) and the subie motor (WXR) so as to keep up w/traffic (some discs to stop, suspension, yetah, yetah).
Thanks to the functional design of the bus clutch pedal, my 68 bus, in 1983, saved my life! My left foot was pinned to the floor from a side impact(estimated impact speed, based on skid marks, from Pontiac Lemans was 35mph. My head hit the passenger door frame and snapped my neck ( C2, C3, hangman’s fracture). If the pedal pivot point was from above the floor, thank you designers/engineers, I would not be writing this.