Reluctantly I’ve decided to test the water with selling my 1962 built (1963 model) 15 window deluxe walkthru bus.

The bus is a much loved member of our family and has never wanted for anything since we purchased it a 3 years ago. We were the first real owners of the bus in the UK after it had been imported from the US a few years previously and sat since. We processed the registration and the bus is 100% road legal in the UK and ready to be driven.

When we purchased the bus we had every conceivable piece of welding that it needed as it was quite rusty. There is zero rust in the bus, just the surface patina on the exterior of the body. This is protected with wax.



The list of items replaced during the restoration includes the following:

General
——
* Left and right cab floors
* Front arch inner repairs
* Front seat belt anchor repairs
* All floor supports and top hat sections
* Centre cross members
* Front and rear outriggers and jacking points
* Complete rear cargo floor
* Front floor mod to clear steering box arm

Left side
——
* Lower inner supports
* Inner B post
* Inner sill and outer long sill
* Lower bulkhead repair panel and lower rear tub section
* Rear lower tub splash plate
* Lower rear corner and gas bottle panel.
* Left side tray repairs

Right side
——
* Inner and outer lower B posts
* Lower bulkhead panel
* Inner sill
* Inner support panel and cargo door sill
* Lower short 1/4 sill
* Rear tub lower section
* Rear tub rear splash plate
* Battery tray
* Side tray repairs and lower rear corner.

After the welding was completed we had the underside of the bus sand blasted, stone chip coated and painting in the original sealing wax red for protection.




The bus was also given a complete mechanical overhaul with the following parts:

* Brand new 5” narrowed front beam with raised and shortened center pin from Airevalley Speed Shop
* Dropped Spindles built by Airevalley Speed Shop
* Straight axle kit from Transporterhaus
* 1300 beetle gearbox
* Dual circuit master cylinder conversion
* All new accelerator, clutch and handbrake cables
* All new brake hydraulics hoses and solid lines
* Porsche 944 front disk brakes with rebuilt callipers
* Brand new Porsche pattern rear drums with all new internals
* All nuts and bolts underneath (that are safe to do so) were replaced with stainless steel
* Spax adjustable shocks on all for corners
* Powder coated items such as spring plates, gearbox cradle, front beam and trailing arms
* 2x 3 point inertia seat belts in the rear
* Butty’s bits throttle linkage
* Reconditioned 1500 SP engine
* Rusty Lee full width rock ’n’ roll bed
* Westy style hammock over the front seats
* Front safari windows
* Safari dissengager spindles so they disengage from inside the bus, not the spindle extensions that go outside.
* New wiper arms and blades
* All new body to frame seals on all popout windows, butty’s seals for the safaris and new seals for the fixed windows
* Fully sound deadened with Noisekiller apart from the roof. All floors, and all panels and doors.
* MWS Gasburner style wheels. The MWS version was chosen because of its better offset





Trying to keep the buses originality has always been a major part of owning it for us with all the original door cards and panels still in place as well as the original front seat covers (currently covered with blankets as they’re quite worn). We also have the rear bench seats, however the middle seat had had its back cut off before we bought it. Both front and rear floor mats are in place too.

As you’ll see from the photos the bus is quite low. This is another area where considerable time and energy was put into making sure this was done correctly and safely with no corners cut. We had a steering box raise fitted (with the steering column shortened to match), front tubs (with modified seat frames so the slider works), front chassis notches (with strengthening plate), gearbox/rear cradle bar shortened, boxed in and smoothed. The bus was built to drive well at a low height.

The bus doesn’t have a headliner and is missing the deluxe clock.

All body work and paint blending on the bus was done by Trailer Queen Restorations in Bude, UK. This included the supply of the front tubs too.

Since being ‘finished’ the bus has been featured in Volksworld magazine and was also the cover car on that months magazine (November 2014), has taken us to a fair amount of shows and recently covered a 1000 mile trip around Northern Europe after Le Bug Show at the Spa race track in Belgium.



More pictures of the bus can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/dan.sephton.smith/media_set?set=a.10150869824927391.401400.642962390&type=3 and I’ll try to update the album with more recent ones too.

I’m happy to assist any potential buyer with getting the bus to its final destination, however all costs of transport must be covered by the purchaser in full unless agreed otherwise.

I'm asking £32,000 (was £35,000) ono for the bus.

If you'd like to discuss the bus or have questions please call me on +44 (0)7739 046 061 or PM me here in there first instance.

I guess one bump a week won't hurt.

Interested in potential part ex against something interesting.

Still here folks. Open to sensible offers/px.

Hi
Seriously nice bus and if i were a lot younger then just maybe however looking for a more stickish type 15/21 window bus.
Thanks for heads up and good luck with sale

Ron

I'm happy to assist with raising it if you like Ron. Or happy to help find an RGB transmission and front beam and swap everything back over if you don't want the brakes and narrowed beam as i'll need a beam and straight axle conversion for my next one anyway

Sorry Buddy, it's an awesome bus you have but think I have found another 15 which is new to the scene after a 5 year Resto, I'm hoping it will become mine, if it does then Vicky farm will be it's debut, thanks again and My best regards .

Ron

RON SMITH wrote:Sorry Buddy, it's an awesome bus you have but think I have found another 15 which is new to the scene after a 5 year Resto, I'm hoping it will become mine, if it does then Vicky farm will be it's debut, thanks again and My best regards .

Ron

And there was me about to offer you mine

No worries Ron. And NikC, bad form plugging your own sale on another sales ad

blistered wrote:No worries Ron. And NikC, bad form plugging your own sale on another sales ad

Idiot .

I haven't plugged anything for sale, nor do I have a for sale thread even, Ron has asked me a couple of times to sell him mine, which he knows actually I wouldn't do as it means to much to me !

Now now guys please, it's Sunday and chill day, let's all be nice, I have just watch Scotland lose in the last 2 minutes of the match, I'm more than gutted but just happy to maybe getting back in the scene.

Happy days

Ron

Stoked for you Ron, you've waited a long time, so I'm sure what you've founds is gonna pretty special

(Scotland gifted it to the Aussies !)

It's very special and quite amazing and every penny I can muster, it's not stock and done to the very highest standard by a very well known guy in the scene, maybe once it's done and dusted I will say more.

Regards to all

Ron

Still for available and for sale...

Can't believe no-one is interested in this! Not even a call to try and haggle on the price?!

I guess everyone is happier buying cheapo Brazilian buses now instead of a well built, fully sorted German 15 window.

blistered wrote:Can't believe no-one is interested in this! Not even a call to try and haggle on the price?!

I guess everyone is happier buying cheapo Brazilian buses now instead of a well built, fully sorted German 15 window.

You gotta ask yourself, and be dead honest. Would you be interested in this bus if it came up for sale? yes/no.. why.. then think would you pay the asking price.. yes/no.. why..

It's been featured in a mag and therefore known in the scene.. a lot of people care about that as people like to put their name on a certain vehicle..
The price .. it's not cheap and I can imagine it will put people off.. don't forget 35K is a lot of money. In my humble opinion for that money I would like to have proper seats instead of t-shirts..

Don't get me wrong, I hope you can sell it.. it's definitely a cool bus