Disclosure: This site may receive compensation when you click on some links and make purchases.

Forest Find: VW Type 2 Bus

vwbus1

As we all know, the world has gone crazy for old VW Buses. Europeans are particularly fond of these former working rigs, as we’ve seen on these very pages that they’ll even drag them out of watery graves for restoration! This ancient Type 2 11-window Bus here on eBay.de had been enjoying a long slumber in the woods before some intrepid VW faithful brought it out of its resting place. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Marcus G. for the find! 

vwbus2

As you can see, the Bus is in severe need of restoration. But I don’t think that will stop an enthusiast from bringing this retired work van back to life. Check out this video here on YouTube of an old Type 2 being airlifted out of its perch on a ledge! And our cohorts at Jalopnik have previously covered another Type 2 rescue of a Bus stuck in a frozen pond. A helicopter was used in that extraction, too!

vwbus3

Fortunately, this one was a much simpler removal as it simply had to be hoisted onto a fork lift and driven out of the woods. It does make you wonder how these old Buses get to these hidden locations in the first place. Perhaps when they lived out their useful life the owners simply pushed them to the back of the property. Then the overgrowth settled in, the owners moved on and the Buses remained hidden from plain view.

vwbus4

Like so many of the others featured here, the Type 2 was loaded into a small trailer, presumably to reside in a shop or garage until a new plan was hatched. In this case, it ended up on eBay and the translated listing mentions the VW was used as a bee house before being rescued! While I’d love to see the patina preserved, that sheetmetal looks pretty thin. Add it to the list of incredible VW Bus rescues, which seem to know no end.

Comments

  1. Avatar sir mike

    Really?? this can be restored?? Great story and pictures though.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar JW

    My Thoughts !!!

    Like 0
  3. Avatar MikeG

    it could be easily ironed flat and folded up like a pair of pants.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Alan (Michigan)

      Hahaha!
      Got me laughing, thanks!

      Like 0
  4. Avatar Cassidy

    it looks like it was mere minutes from resting in pieces, there doesn’t seem to be much there left to work with.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Rando

    My grandpa used to push his old cars out in the woods. Then more trees grew up and around and through. Grandpa used them for storages. 52 stude pickup, 47 Chevrolet 2 dr , 42 ford sedan, 63 Belair wagon, 63 impala 2 dr. I remember those. There were more I’m sure. My uncle left a 65 impala SS there til it rusted out too bad to save. Tractors too. Family of hoarders.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Glen

      Is the land still in the family?

      Like 0
  6. Avatar Charles

    The next windy day will finish this off.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Bob in Bexley Member

    ‘Severe need of restoration’. Let’s throw this one away & go find another.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Matt Member

      Craigslist would say, needs some work and has minor rust damage.

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Slickimp

    I agree with JW

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Jack NW PA Member

    Sorry, can’t even save the ash tray.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Dean

    About 30 years ago my brother brought one of these home that looked like it had been parked in the sea for a year, but it was still heaps better than this one. We dumped it.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar van

    You can’t take enough LSD to make this work

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    I’ve seen the Europeans tackle some severely rotted out buses but this might just be the worst.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar ed

    If you have time ,money, and friends with talent you can bring back just about anything. read this examples of talents and skills

    http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=644090&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

    Like 0
    • Avatar Alan (Michigan)

      Speechless.

      Like 0
  14. Avatar Charles

    If one uses a vehicle in this condition for a starting point for a restoration, what will be saved from the original vehicle? The vin number? At that point is it a restoration, or a vin tag swap? It is understandable that one might want to restore a VW bus, however the idea is to save the bus in question and return it to a running driving machine. For me any candidate for restoration has to present with at least a few salvageable parts, otherwise I have assembled a vehicle, but have not restored one. This one looks to have few parts to offer. Maybe some glass? One tail lamp does not look bad.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

      There is a LOT of metal on a bus. And some of it IF available (i havent stayed up on the recent offerings) would be crazy expensive to purchase and terribly costly to ship. So I can see the value.

      Glass was laminated so it will all be crap for a newly restored bus.

      Like 0
  15. Avatar Jeff Staff

    I wonder if it breaks the boundaries of rational thoughts because old air cooled parts are still so plentiful (and cheap in some cases) that no one cares if it’s numbers matching. Chassis and drivetrain from another vehicle is likely pretty cheap to buy, along with repro interior parts I’d imagine. Then it’s just up to you and your threshold for bodywork and re-assembly.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar skloon

    KAPUT !! is there a contest among VW restorers to see who can restore a van from a rust stain ?

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Cleric

    I’ll bet the A/C works but needs charged, too!

    Like 0
  18. Avatar craZee

    Ran when parked….LOL

    Like 0
  19. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    Just watched the video with the helicopter rescue. That bus is an especially rare early model justifying the effort.

    Like 0
  20. Avatar John b

    Does anyone know what the equivalent in us dollars are for the opening bid?

    Like 0
  21. Avatar MikeH

    USD 1,650

    Like 0
  22. Avatar newfieldscarnut

    kaput

    Like 0

Leave a Reply to Bobsmyuncle Cancel reply

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Get new comment updates via email. Or subscribe without commenting.