My new '70 Deluxe

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Kirk

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Joined
Feb 1, 2008
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Location
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Figured I'd post this in case I accidentally keep this bus. Its in better shape than my red one by far, so it might end up wearing the red buses suspension. Who knows. And since one of you on that side of the pond talked me out of my beige 68, I had a hole in my shop. :)

So, a friend of mine mentioned a man he knew died and his family was selling off "junk" cars. Turns out the "junk" was a rotted 15 window, a logo'd 11 window a patina'd black beetle and a "vanagon". I asked about the 15 window, and was told the lower 6" were rotted, the wheels were stolen, and its missing a door.

Yeah, but its a 15 window.

Oh and its sold. All we have left is the vanagon.

Figures.

More calls were made, pics exchanged, and I decided to buy it. One problem? Its in Nebraska. Okee Doke, I've never been to Nebraska, why not. So, funyuns were bought, ice chest was stocked and tow bars were loaded. Nebraska. Go Big Red. I head out, and its a long ass drive. Luckily, the speed limit up there is 75, which means everyone does 90. I make it in record time. It was either the tail wind or the 37 red bulls, but it sure seemed quick. I even had time to stop for a road side dinner at Chez Taco Taco. Say it fast. TACOTACO. It was tasty tasty.

When I meet the family the next day, they are very cool, probably more cool than I would be to a guy sleeping in an f150 covered in bugs with Texas tags and a bed full of energy drink cans and beef jerky wrappers asleep in my pasture, but I digress.

So we ride out, waaaaaaaaaaaaay out into the pasture, behind some trees to the cars. I hand his GF the camera, who more than happily takes pictures for me.

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Oddly, its super straight. No floor rust, no rocker rust, nothing. Surface rust here and there, but really pretty good shape. The family apologizes for the fact that its in such bad shape, and "has that old crummy paint".

*sigh*

It is such a damn shame, aint it? Then they apologize for the crappy condition the interior is in, and I sadfully agree. Its in pretty bad shape. Yeah. Bad. Man. The. Horror.

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So after a little while pondering:

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I figure I'll take it off their hands. I mean honestly. Its the least I could do. This next picture is quite hilarious, actually. It shows me laying in a nest of ticks. Nest. Of. Ticks. Thats right. They nest. Under "vanagons". How do I know? Little did I realize that I would spend the next 13 hours driving and picking ticks off me while freaking out and nearly causing major traffic accidents with a red ford and 2000lbs of free rolling bus when my skin would crawl unexpectedly and I would swat at nothing instead of steering.

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So other than one blow out that took me an hour and a half to fix, and my continual swatting (could that have been me coming down off red bull? Naah) I had a pretty smooth trip home, with the exception of:

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The dude was not impressed when I explained the basics of price gouging 101, however.
 
Well I do finally make it home, and instead of passing out into a deep coma like sleep, I decide to play with it. I mean really, who can resist? So I nabbed my buffer, just for a quick peek, ya know?

BOOM

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Its gonna be purty I thinks. I meant to stop at the door. Promise.

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And while I'm cleaning, I might as well dig out my seat hard ware and put the seats in right? Right?!?!

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Nine seaters are the cats meeeee-ow, btw. Speaking of cats...

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Anywhoo, dunno what I'll do with it, but here she be. I think I'll buff it out a few more times, and see what I have. Next plan tho, pull the motor and see what im working with.

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outstanding (all bar the nest of ticks :shock:) - looove the colour, it's always been the best patina'd colour IMO - look forward to some more buffing :)
 
Awesome, love the colour, no chance of finding a bus like that in a field somewhere in the uk!
 
Thanks guys! I need a creative wheel color for green bays too. ;)
 

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