Once in a while, it’s nice to see some truth in advertising. The seller of this rare Volkswagen single-cab pickup doesn’t pull any punches when he tells us that the rare pickup-bodied Bus is quite rusty. In fact, he claims it has rust everywhere: inside, outside, all over. While most sellers will at the very least acknowledge the presence of rust, relatively few highlight the fact that yes, it is rustier than you probably even imagine. Vintage air-cooled Volkswagens are loved the world over, and the significance of the “patina look” in this community of enthusiasts means this pickup-bodied VW will likely be saved in one piece. Find it here on eBay with bids to $3,050 and no reserve.
The good news is – well, good news if you love these old things – is that we will see this VW again in slightly more solid form in the near future. Air-cooled enthusiasts are one of the larger groups of fanatics out there, and the user base transcends all age and income brackets. Whether there’s a fierce DIYer out there who will nurse this pickup back to good health while spending years of their life welding, or a well-capitalized caretaker who will throw caution to the wind and put his feet to the fire while writing check after check to his body shop, rare VWs like this don’t die. But whether it comes back to life with a paint job or continues to look like this with solid floors inside is the question.
It’s hard to say just how bad it is. The bed, for example, looks somewhat solid. That could very well be an illusion, however, given the prodigious amounts of rust visible in the body. The rear bumper is gone but the front bumper is still present; overall, while the corrosion is a downer, the pickup actually looks more complete than you might otherwise expect. There is a bench seat in the cab with no cushion (so is it just a bench “frame,” at that point?) and both windshield panes are present. The bullet-style turn signals are still attached to the front panel. And the truck is sitting on four tires that hold air. Not bad for a vehicle that looks like it was pulled out of a horse stall not too long ago.
There’s no engine but a core motor is included. Shockingly, it comes with a clean title. The world of air-cooled Volkswagen Buses and their numerous variations is a wild place these days with some insane numbers recorded at major auctions. There’s seemingly no limit to the opportunities for a shrewd seller to make a few bucks off of what otherwise amounts to a reached-out pickup, because even if it isn’t restored, someone will use it as a heavily patina’d shop truck or park it it front of a tiki bar with a $5,000 paint job and no rust repair done. Of course, we hope the next owner does the right thing and fixes the rust, but no matter what happens, it will live again in some form.
Truth in advertising? It would be hard for the seller to bluff his way out of this one. “Has minor surface rust but it’s all there”. I am surprised it still has its transaxle, and for the insane money these in passable condition are getting, I have no doubt someone will make this a project.
That is the rustiest VW I have ever seen.Like to see it after someone restores her.
This is the rustiest VW you have ever seen Mike? I guess you don’t explore the interwebs much. There’s a guy in Germany painstakingly rebuilding one from what looks like it had both feet in the grave and saved a lot of the original paint as well. The patience this man has is off the charts.
https://blog.entfallteiledienst.de/
Wow. I followed that link. Amazing!
In German they call this ‘ein rostlaube’ (rustbucket)
In America, it’s called a piece of crap. With as mishigosh as this hobby is, I’d bet someone will plop a motor in there, I hear a Subaru makes a decent swap, and leave it like this. Perhaps as a giant middle finger to the auto world today, we don’t know, but,( directing this to anyone over 60) did you ever think stuff like this would have any attraction at all? Well, for 50 years, it clearly had no attraction. Fast forward to now,,,see the silliness?
I can only imagine if it looks like this after sitting in CA. for decades what it would look like here on the East Coast for the same amount of time.
It would look like this:
#
:&@
<=‘(&”
+€<*£?<~
(My rendition of a pile of rust!)
What can I say, but I love it! I am over 60 and would make it drive and take it to a Porsche show and attract more lookers than a trailer queen.
Rust bucket is an apt description
If you want to see just how far some people are willing to go to save these old buses, check out the following website. The installments on this website show you the latest update first so you have to go to the bottom to see the first posting.
https://blog.entfallteiledienst.de/
Some truth in the advertising. When do you reach the point when you can honestly say: enough is enough!
Hard times flush the rust buckets into the open. But enough is enough. Let them rest and rust in peace
Iron oxide Swiss cheese. I want to thank you for avoiding the word “PATINA” within the content of the listing.
What no it will buff right out?
We’ve seen worse on these here pages. Someone that has been made extremely wealthy by the same speculator guys that have them “restore” rusted hulks of Porches, Mopars and Mustangs. Will turn this thing into gold. Leaving the regular working stiffs, who just want a decent, old VW, looking at pictures on the interweb. Oh well…
What does a restored back to stock go for?
Someone may buy it just for the VIN tags. There’s a company that will sell you a complete aftermarket body for the bus..many parts are the same.
classicsteelbody.com sells one hundred and eleven(!) aftermarket body pieces for the 23 window bus, or a complete kit for only $27K