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Splitty Shame: 1967 VW Bus

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One of the hardest parts of being an automotive enthusiast is wondering if you’re screwing up a car that will potentially be cherished some day. I freely admit that I treat my ’95 M3 like a workhorse – it is a daily driver, after all – but I do wonder if someday I’ll feel like a fool for not keeping it out of winter slush and grime. This 1967 VW Bus here on eBay is a desirable split window model, but that didn’t stop a previous owner from converting it into a shorty van, a modification that was all the rage back in the day. 

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While I don’t know if the current seller did the conversion, it’s still tough to stomach the changes made to this once-longer Bus. It appears to have been stuck in project stage for quite some time, given the amount of dust and unfinished metal that is visible. Whether what we can see is graded well-done or crude is up to our readers with an eye for bodywork as it simply looks rough to my eyes. The seller does say there is minimal rust on the body, but an in-person inspection would be wise on a custom like this.

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While the engine does turn over by hand, there is no carb, generator or starter included. To me, this says that the shorty van has been in a perpetual state of disassembly and being moved from place to place – that’s a great way for parts to go missing or to be harvested for other vehicles closer to the proverbial finish line. Who knows if it’s numbers matching, but I doubt it. The crew at Gas Monkey Garage bought one of these custom short vans and hopped it up with go-fast parts, but it didn’t do very well at auction, if I recall.

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While the fender flares may look cool, that roof spoiler is atrocious. My concern with conversions like these is if the structural integrity is ever anything approaching appropriate for daily driving. As I recall with the Gas Monkey Garage project, handling was always suspect. More than the poor driving dynamics, I just wish this Bus was its original length as it’d look fantastic in that faded shade of yellow with some equally rough shop-truck graphics still visible on the sides. But given the volume of bidding so far (with the reserve unmet), the unfinished conversion isn’t stopping shoppers from taking a chance on this shortened splitty.

Comments

  1. Avatar Frankie

    We have a meth problem here to.

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  2. Avatar grant

    Ick. Why? Crush it and erase it from our collective memory.

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  3. Avatar sir mike

    just proves drugs are bad for you….I pity the poor bus.

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  4. Avatar Dolphin Member

    Yes! I wish I could be there when some stoned dude gets in this thing and puts the pedal to the metal and gets, well, at least a few HP out of the engine. And then when he gets up to speed and starts taking corners it’ll be donuts all the way even if the dude is trying to keep the thing going straight.

    A track that’s wider than the wheelbase will do that to you.

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  5. Avatar jim s

    the photo of the motor is upside down but i do see an alternator. i think the bidding is at about 10% of what it would be if it had not been shortend. spare parts and good title is what i see. 41 bids but a lot of bids were just $1 more then prior bid. interesting find.

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  6. Avatar Alan Brase

    You might be right about the meth. One would hope a person needed to be tweeking to do something this stupid. On a good day with good tires a swing axle bus is a little skittish. This would be downright dangerous and useless. It WOULD be more appealing if the remains still existed. To fix a rusty bus needs a lot of disassembly. Not much more work to unshorten one if the parts still exist.
    Al

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  7. Avatar Chebby

    What’s the opposite of a Smart car?

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  8. Avatar Chebby

    I changed my mind. This thing needs tank treads, then it would be rad!

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  9. Avatar James

    would be perfect for a clown to own… apart from that im lost for words

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  10. Avatar Chris In Australia

    Two endcaps for a restoration !

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  11. Avatar scott

    Hey, just buy an untitled bus with a good middle section and voila, instant profit!

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  12. Avatar craZee

    This is harder than it looks. I tried to do this once and ended up hauling the whole thing to the junkyard!

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  13. Avatar jaygryph

    I dunno. It’s already butchered, I say finish it out in full 70’s flare, aztek mural, turbine wheels, shag interior, bubble windows, sun visor. Just beat it senseless with a 70’s era J.C.Whitey catalogue and call it a day.

    There’s enough over restored split windows, this’d get more attention than those anyway. Besides, kids think this stuff is amazing, and if we’re not getting the younger generation interested in the hobby we hold so dear then we may as well start pushing our rigs into the ocean as replacement reefs because nobody but fish are going to appreciate what we enjoy after we’re gone.

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  14. Avatar Jay

    Wow…why?
    Must have the handling prowess of a shopping cart…
    I don’t get it.

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  15. Avatar Casey D

    There are too many overwrought veedub restos in this world. This thing is great, it’s totally all about the spectacle . A big LS1 hanging out the back and some wheelie bars would complete the effect. So what if the maximum safe speed is 0 mph??

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  16. Avatar Truman L

    That is just sad and I feel a waste of work.

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  17. Avatar twilliams1797

    this one was started with a hulk headed for the scrapyard.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_a4wMibd6c

    check it out cool.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEGZlY4InaQ

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  18. Avatar Tricky

    Another splitty gone to ruin – what f*&king moron would do this??

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  19. Avatar AMX Brian

    I’d say either a parts car or stretch it back out. If you could find another van with at least either the front or rear smashed and put the middle back in or even make it longer than original. It’s dumb to cut it this short. A total hazard to drive if anyone actually spend the time to finish it.

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