Do you ever wonder if a seller is hiding some other treasure on their property – and when they list an item for sale, he or she gets turned off by inquiries into items beyond what’s pictured? I have a feeling that’s what’s happening here or some other phenomenon that is causing this listing to appear and be taken down (at the moment, it’s been removed again) again and again. It was here on craigslist but you’ll have to go here since the ad disappeared. This has happened a few times since I’ve tried to write up these project Buses, but we’re damning the torpedos and going straight ahead with it this time. Thanks to Barn Finds reader B. Walters for the find.
Carmel, Maine is way up there, relatively speaking, directly west of Bangor. There’s still snow on the ground in these photos, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s still a coating on the ground. The photos show two Buses, among a few other vehicles. The seller notes they are both 70s-era Buses and the windshields are missing in both of them – but it’s clearly visible here. The floors are “…not too bad,” which I find shocking considering the first photo shows one of the two VWs buried up to its doors.
The other Bus gets most of the glory, with the remaining photos dedicated to providing a thorough walk-around. Surface rust is evident, and unfortunately, it looks bad enough that the metal behind is compromised. Still, I’m encouraged by the relative completeness, with matching hubcaps still attached and the interior not appearing to have been a homeless encampment at some point in the recent past. It does look like someone plucked off one of the side-view mirrors, however.
The green exterior and white roof is a pleasing combo, but not much of it will be left if rust repair is attempted. The lone door panel we can see in the photos appears tired, but it’s nice to see this chrome trim strip not painted over. One tail light is shot, as is one reverse lamp, but there’s still plenty of good parts to pick if this Bus and its snow-covered partner aren’t destined for road use. The seller mentions having lots of “…Bug engines/transmission parts,” so there could be a treasure trove in Maine for air-cooled fanatics.
My sister had a ’68 with a white top over beige, hence it was forever known as the “tan van”. She bought it to go camping near Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula. Surprisingly fun to drive and Really Useful in most applications, except in the dead of a Michigan winter when the alleged heat was turned on. That heating system was more like someone blowing over a candle from across the room at you.
The two-tone shown on the white-topped version here was available in 1968 & ’69 only, if I recall. In 1970 the two-tone extended down to the beltline. Definitely not as collectible as the 1967 & down buses, but a nice design nonetheless. Either of these is going to be an expensive heartache to restore. Probably not worth the money but a nice thought…
Oh where they RUST….The one with the sliding door off likely means that the lower door track is rotted out. We USED to cut out and weld in tracks from wrecked buses..There’s no more of those out there! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve really liked driving all the buses I’ve owned but seeing what people will pay for what was a goofy vehicle when it was new and now is’t an OLD goofy vehicle? I suspect they never spent much time behind the wheel of one of these…Even more the older “split window” vans…Oye….
I know BF readers don’t come here for geography lessons, but it’s important to me that the mods know that the *capital (correct spelling) of Maine is Augusta. Hahah
my guess would be that the front axle beam on this thing will fold up like a venetian blind the first time you step on the brakes while traveling at anything over 5 mph. Many of them of this era have a big problem with rust in that area and its hard to spot. On the other hand they are great vehicles, and parts aren’t hard to find or particularly expensive. A fair bit of work though.
Yes, rust is an issue on these buses, but damn – they are reliable as hell.
Exactly the same model as I have got since 22 years, best vehicle I ever had!