What is more rare than a 23 window Volkswagen Bus? Well, according to the seller, this 15 window Volkswagen Deluxe Bus. I guess less is more. Located in Grants Pass, Oregon, this Volkswagen bus is clearly a restoration project. It is listed here on eBay with two days remaining in the auction. So far, 18 bids have been placed on this rare collector’s vehicle. The bus is currently bid to $10,478 but the reserve has not been met. Still sporting its original paint (where rust has not taken over), this iconic vehicle was manufactured in 1957. The bus is listed by Sunset Classics who is a dealer that currently has a 1959 23 window Deluxe Microbus in its inventory.
The two tone Deluxe edition Volkswagen buses were painted in red and brown and can also be identified by their special bumpers. The seller has owned this vehicle since 2015 and bought it after it was discovered a few year earlier. Unfortunately, it is titled as a 1958 model, even though it was built in July 1957. Apparently, you could order a “skylight and sunroof” delete version of the 23 window bus. The VIN is rust so the title is based on the body number. The seller states that he has a list of several shops that could restore this bus to your liking. While some pieces are missing, the seller was able to buy the back seat from a previous owner. Some of the glass is broken and the rear interior panels are missing. However, the front door panels are in place.
The pictures of the frame and body panels shows a lot of rot. The floorboards and metal around several of the windows are rusted through. The frame and supports are rotted as well as the fender wells and doors. The first generation VW bus was produced from 1950-1967. The Deluxe models with sunroofs started production in 1951. There is not any information in the ad about the engine but it was originally equipped with an 1,192 cc air cold flat four cylinder engine that was mounted in the rear of the bus.
The interior of the VW bus is in shambles and will need some attention to the upholstery after the floorboards are repaired. The metal dash and steering wheel look to be in good shape. Volkswagen produced a number of variants off their bus that were available in the Type 2 body such as a panel van, crew cab and pop up camper. The split front window is a great look and this one would be fun to drive once restored.
Restored? Oh my.
Sadly, there isn’t much to work with here. There was an owner of a local PC repair shop who had the 23-window version with the same colors (not sure what year the car was) that was totally restored to factory fresh. It was beautiful, but it was t-boned at an intersection and had to be written off.
I would probably believe neither the 23 nor the 15 window version would be the rarest today – any of the ‘bus’ versions have had some sort of appeal or user-value in the air-cooled community for decades before suddenly everyone wanted one.
Though produced in way higher numbers than the above vans, the DoKas or regular pick ups were the VWs nobody cared about and considered absolutely worthless when used up back in the day
Could be original 36 hp mill, the one lousy pics of the eng shows the fuel pump on the side of the block. Good luck and stay safe.
Cheers
GPC
Wow! 57K for that 21 window van. Where is Howard when you need him? Unreal!
Hi Mike, I’m trying to properly sugar coat my response. This here is just another example of my stance,”Pa, you know that old VW bus down by the river them raccoons been a livin’ in? They’s a fetchin’ big bucks, who’s stupid for keeping it now”?( I apologize for the “Mountain Williams”,, politically correct term for Hillbillies vernacular), what the heck. As about as far fetched as it gets.
Call Mike wolf on American pickers 😏 he’s got the money and the passion to restore it.
Can not believe what these go for today. Has anyone with the mind to buy something like this, has actually driven one? A butterfly could hold it back if it had the interest to do so. Besides, back when new, these were not a status symbol or too manly. The people who drove them (at least used), were low lifes, druggies, hippies, people with no cash because of how cheap they were. Any up and comer today who buys and restores this at a huge expense, does not understand history. For what this will cost to own and restore, I can think of a whole fleet of cars I could buy cheaper for just what this one will cost, and every one of them will be better to drive, by a long shot. Heck, I would rather own a Yugo at 1/100th of just a tiny fraction of what this will eventually cost. And Steve R, yes, I would use that money saved for the greater good. Gosh, will we get banned again for saying that?
Thank you, William I can’t add a thing. It’s okay, most that have any recollection to these, don’t want one again anyway. I wouldn’t say they were all used for ill-repute, I think ANY van was fair game for that. I remember they did serve a handy purpose for any kind of local service work, but as people began to venture outside city limits, they found out real quick, that $50 dollar VW bus was just that. Most became tool sheds out back, speaking of which, I bet that’s where this one was,,,out back.
The fun to drive part ? Resto mod with disc brakes, 100 hp,rack and pinion and really good suspension maybe. Restored to original ? No thanks, horrible road manners crap brakes and turtle performance. Been there a couple of times ! The guy that bought the last one I rebuilt drive it from Washington DC to Washington State ! Brave man indeed.
Look, I am, and always have been a “bus guy” I have over 400,000 miles on my 84 Westfalia and itching to do more. I’ve owned or driven just about every year and model of buses and YES, they are “cool” and a bit fun to drive..Notice I said ” a bit fun”..Come on, who doesn’t like a spin on a go-kart, right?This is the same idea.Take it for a drive and get out laughing. They are not a serious vehicle for today. I drove better examples than this one to the crusher! I guess that’s why they’re so popular now as I am not the only one who did that. To spend the kind of money these require to get it even back on the road? Some level of insanity. I’d love to see it restored so I can point and go “Yep! That’s what we drove!” I can’t afford to make that happen…
Looks to me like scammer bidders. Dont count the $$$ yet…
I had a ’67 back in 1979, bought it for $500.00 (it even had the gas heater option!) and sold it in 1981 for $500.00-If I’d only known. Worth more today than my ’82 Collectors Edition Corvette!!
Look, this is indeed a steaming pile of rust but with the price of these today, and the fact that this is rich in original detail, and given it’s early vintage, I have no doubt it will be restored. No word on whether it is the original engine but if it is, that’s another 10k of value.
Patina,right?
Well, at least it’s easy to get parts for. That is the only saving grace for that mess. Good luck to whoever has the guts to take that thing on.
Hey Bruce,
Nice write-up…The original paint scheme is known as Chestnut Brown and Sealing Wax Red. Contrary to what most folks on Barn Finds think, there is a strong culture of Vintage Type-II enthusiasts. The market has been kind to the sellers and not so kind to the buyers. And yes, even these rusty carcasses will draw the attention of hardcore aircooled hobbyists from all over the world. I myself drive both aircooled as well as water cooled vintage cars. I enjoy the driving experience each and everyone offers. When you step into one of these time capsules, you are reminded of a time gone by…
Thanks for the info and insight into this niche of the collector car market. I would love to take a ride in one of these aircooled classics!
I am the lucky owner of a 66 split screen single cab and love all splits..what an iconic design. This one is way beyond anything I would touch..but someone willl. I know a guy who sold a 23 window he literally pulled out of lake for $25,000. I paid a lot less than that for mine and it has tripled in value in ten years. It is amazingly practical and gets more attention than my 56 Porsche!
I sold my bus & bought a squareback with automatic transmission that is quieter/warmer/quicker/more fun to drive/cruise.
15k so far. A modern SUV could T-Bone this thing and would barely slow down.
I am so sick of these POSes . This is from a get rich quick guy selling to former hippies or wannabe hippies. They’re right up there with rusted out half missing mid sixties Ford Broncos I am so tired of these jerks.
It’s capitalism Lance. If you have something someone wants and they are willing to pay what you are asking, I can’t see this as anything but win-win. If the market thinks something is too much, you lower the price and try again and perhaps eventually a balance is found. Nothing wrong with trying to get rich.
Ward, respectfully I have to disagree. This is the American Pickers Syndrome. People who flip these vehicles have about as much interest in our hobby as Zippy the Pinhead. They are not alone. Barrett Jackson , Mecum etc etc have gotten to the point that all a lot of people are now only interested in what they can sell it for. Yes I know the marketplace is the marketplace but be honest, you know speculators have crept in and have zero interest in cars. They buy for the sheer speculative part. If the stock market isn’t getting them the return they want they move into buying and selling vehicles.It will continue I understand but I for one am so sick of non car guys getting into this hobby and distorting vehicle values
Many confuse “work/business” with “hobby”. They are polar opposites. One is to make money. The other is to NOT make money. Hobbyists are never going to be happy with others make “business” of their hobby, as it only drives prices up, up and up.
I have owned two VW’s in my life. A white 51 Beetle and a 58 23 window in these same colors. I have never been a VW guy, but knew these were special. They came and went from my hands long before values of these early ones went out of sight. Cool vehicles, but not my style. If I want to play the 20hp game, I will walk it back to pre-1930 cars.
It is indeed capitalism, and it gets regulated when the market adjusts and they get a good swift financial kick to the rear!
I can’t phantom how these are still going to carry these prices when the Boomers die off. But I guess we will see.
Hey Superdessucke, I guess when we boomers die off, the world will be a better place with rainbows and sweet scented unicorn farts, and people will just give these things away out of the love they have for their fellow man.
Dude, you all become boomers eventually.
A story: Back in the 70s there was a lovely little place in the north of Brazil called Arraial d’Ajuda that was a blissful
hippie haven full of love, peace and flowers. Today it is a thriving multi million dollar exclusive tourist destination. Guess who the financial movers and shakers are that own many of the exclusive hotels and shops ? Can you guess? 10 points if you guessed the hippies. They stayed and became capitalists. I’m 60 dude. I’ve seen it all.
Well I don’t know about all of that Ward. But the van probably will be cheaper!
Well the Cynicism and attacks are sure completely misplaced and prejudiced. I paid $20k for it and pretty much broke even after owning it for over 5 years. I’m a collector and Enthusiest and have saved many buses from rotting away and being lost to history. I’m sad to see some view the world with such distain but I hope this is a good lesson that negative views can be completely wrong and should be adjusted to a more positive outlook. My hope was to restore it but the shop I used stopped working on customer vehicles / couldn’t paint any longer. The buyer got it on his birthday and is super happy with it. He drove it for the first time last month after a year or so of work on it and turned down $100k already (it’s among the oldest version of this model known in the World). Everyone is very happy with the deal so there is zero reason for your hatred here (& probably in other areas where people know nothing about a situation but presume you know it all). An ancient proverb states ‘Improve your attitude and the situation will follow’. Wishing you all the best in positivity and support going forward. And I’m probably the biggest VW Bus enthusiast you’ll find as if anyone else would own such a valuable, needy vehicle like this.
Is it numbers matching? What’s the original miles? Let’s be consistent here.
Most of the 15 window w/curved glass corner windows were built in Brazil.
German Buses had curved rear corner windows through ’63 on the deluxe versions only. They are a completely different class than the ’70s Brazilian split windows seen popping up for sale. The value between the two can vary by 4x in favor of the older, German examples so it’s important to learn the difference.
And there are still lots of the 15 window buses here too. Many of them were originally school buses. It’s a government regulated franchise business. But they have all now been relegated to bottom of the service heap. Most are owned by dirt poor tradesmen who are happy with only 3 cylinders working at any one time, or guys who sell chlorine and detergent/cleaning products in bulk directly to the consumer out of big plastic barrels. They just chug around suburbia in first gear until one day the bottom drops out because all the cleaning stuff has eaten the butt out of the floors. LMAO
The owner is dreaming on the price
It just continues too amaze me what some people think is a “find” and the stupid $$ they are willing to shell out for this crap. I’ve been a “car guy” my entire life….I love cars, fixing them, modifying them, polishing them, etc. etc.,
I just can imagine spending hard earned $$ on a complete pile of crap and them spending tons more $$ to “restore” it for something with a 33 HP engine…..I don’t care if it has a 100 windows!! End of sermon!
It’s either love for the brand, or love of an almost insurmountable challenge. This car has so much rust that at best you might be able to use it for a pattern to manufacture replacement pieces out of new metal, but there have to be better ways to do that. Now if it was a one of a kind (which it most certainly is not) I could see big bucks for the carcass.
I owned a 1962 vw bus back in th 80’s. It was the regular model without all the windows. We loved it! Drove coast to coast once and So. Cal to Canada on hwy 1. Did hwy 1 on the east coast as well. Yes, it wasn’t peppy, but it was a lot of fun to drive. I would give just about anything to have a split window vw bus again. But the one offered for sale here would cost more to restore than I would be able to afford. I’ve seen better. I will keep looking.
Classic Fab makes every body panel for it brand new in Columbia, so it’s fixable. Complete new bare bodies & complete new split window buses are ‘built to order’ in Thailand.
Just throw another $100000. at it and you will have a keeper
Very nicely put by the seller..hate all the negativity from some (jealous?) folks. I love old VW’s and Porsches..others dont..Different strokes for different folks. I believe all old cars lovers should enjoy the ride whatever it is and enjoy the smiles from folks who see us out on the open road. Rant over.
Thanks for the comments everyone. The bus was sold for twice what everyone claimed was a dream, and the new owner replaced the lower sections and blended the paint keeping it mostly original! He drove it for the first time already and immediately had an offer of $100k which he turned down even though it would have likely doubled his $. Most of us do this for the love after all. It’s likely worth more than that due to rarity and desirability anyway. I hope this is a good lesson for the haters. The few of us that love and appreciate these very old, early buses will keep on saving them so even the skeptics and critics can appreciate them at shows in the future. There are more common buses out there for those who prefer something more economical and who don’t understand nor appreciate the rarity of these early deluxe versions. But for the few of us that do, we are grateful for and appreciate any piece of VW Bus history saved. Enjoy! See you at the shows!