highslice
Well-Known Member
- Mar 28, 2008
- 6,157
- Boat Info
- 270 SLX
2013 Sea Doo 155 Wake
- Engines
- 496 Mag
Bravo III
Corsa
If that last picture is an indication of what it looks like now, not much body work to do...A Bus is a commercial vehicle in CA so maybe it belongs here. This is the Cliff notes version. I had a 1959 23 window deluxe bus in the late 80s that I had to sell and always wanted another one. We have built up several VWs over the years (Bugs, Bajas, a Ghia and a couple of Things) but the prices of buses have gone through the roof. I decided to try the difficult route and keep costs down. About 6 years ago I found the rear 2/3rd of a 1959 panel bus in Yuma AZ. A few months later I picked up the front 1/3rd, a 1962 hack. Our twin boys went off to college later that year and the wife asked me to slow down on VW purchases as the college bills started to rack up. Fast forward to 2020 and they were ready to graduate and she let me continue with the project. After a lot of new sheet metal humpty dumpty was back together again in 2021 and she went from a panel bus to a 11 window. Now we are working on the drivetrain in 2022. I have a pro street 68 Bug transaxle with a Kennedy adaptor to the 2.5 Subaru to increase the HP from 40 in a typical bus to 200. The stock front suspension was replaced with an air ride beam and the drums replaced with drilled and slotted rotors and Wilwood brakes. The stock Subaru computer and harness were modified and trimmed down to the basics to run in the bus. I’m hoping it is running and driving by next summer and then it will be on to the body work. Here are a few thumbnail pictures of the journey.
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Here is what it looks like now and what I am shooting for:
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