Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

1950s - Early 60s Volkswagen 15 Window Deluxe Transporter Micro Bus Van on 2040-cars

Year:1957 Mileage:63986
Location:

Mason City, Iowa, United States

Mason City, Iowa, United States
Advertising:

You are looking at a rare find.  A late '50s or early '60s (no newer than 1961) Volkswagen Fifteen Window Microbus.  It was purchased in package deal, and the farmer who's grove it was pulled out of is fairly sure he has the titles, but is still looking for them.  If located, a title will be provided with the vehicle, otherwise it will be sold with a bill-of-sale only.  I found what I believe to be the VIN number behind the front seat on the passenger side which is stamped into the steel divider panel.  The number reads 357988.  There may be some other numbers located in the engine compartments, but both vans are parked back-to-back on my trailer with no real way to get them loaded back up if I were to take them off.  I was hoping to leave them on the trailer until sold, then transfer them over onto the buyer's trailer at that time, or else possibly deliver each one in person.  They were gently picked up with a forklift without damage, and set onto my trailer at the location we picked them up from.  I don't have a fork-lift myself, but can carefully drag them off the trailer.  As you can see, I have hubs/drums to go onto the splined axle shafts, which can have wheels bolted up to them, although I only have 3 wheels and would have to round up a 4th in order for it to be sitting on rims. 

As you can see, the driver's front end area is damaged from an accident, but could be straightened back out with a porter-power or bottle-jack with a piece of 2x4 so you could get a door hung back on it again.  I'm told they sell the whole front body panel section aftermarket, as well as floor pans, rocker panels, and everything else that needs replacement due to rust.  As you can see in the pictures, the main 2 structural rails that run the length of the vehicle are still solid despite sitting in the dirt for years.  The outer body mounts are rough, as are a lot of other aspects of the van, but I've seen people pull rougher busses than these out of the bottom of a lake to restore.  At one time, they were totally worthless, and when people were finished driving them, they typically just junked them or abandoned them by the side of the road.  Those days are long gone, and finding a 15 window in a grove like this is completely unheard of anymore!  This is an ambitious project, but they are extremely collectible & valuable, so it's well worth restoring.  After pulling it out of the grove & getting it home, I power-washed all the moss & caked on dirt off of it to really expose everything.  It was still wet in the pictures, so it perhaps looks a little worse than it is, but you get a realistic idea of the condition it's in.

It's the more desireable Deluxe model, so it came with all the extra aluminum trim & brightwork that the standard models didn't have.  The rear curved glass is un-broken, but has some milking around the edges.  The rest of the panels are just flat glass that can be cut by any glass shop inexpensively, although many of them are okay as well.  The original round taillights are still there, and unbroken.  There's no engine, but the transaxle is still in there.  I don't have a way to know if it's good.  The vehicle steers, but is't something that can be rolled around at this point without a little more work & a 4th wheel.  If you're looking for a VW Bus project, and don't have the dough to fork out for an already restored one... here's a good start on a very desireable body style.  If you wanted to make it into a 23 window clone, you can buy those little curved roof-glass panels, and install them, as well as sliding ragtops to really make it neat!

By bidding on this vehicle, you acknowledge that it is being sold As Is with no warranty.  I require a $250 security deposit within 3 days of auction's end, and remainder of balance to be paid for in full with cash in person.  If having it shipped, a cashier's check, money order or bank wire-transfer is acceptable, and I will assist with loading.  If you have any other questions, I can be reached afternoons/evenings at (641) 512-5229, or message me through eBay.

Thanks for looking!

 

If you have any trouble viewing the slideshow at the top of this page, please be sure to go directly to:  picasaweb.google.com/oldcargeek   ...or click on the thumbnail image below to view the link to my web-album with 87 photos of this bus!:

Volkswagen Red Bus for sale

 

 

Auto Services in Iowa

Tony`s Tire Service ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tire Dealers, Transport Trailers
Address: 2207 Vail Ave, Popejoy
Phone: (866) 595-6470

Scotty`s Body Shop ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Automobile Customizing
Address: 1430 Linden St, Windsor-Heights
Phone: (515) 505-8122

Schuling Hitch Company ★★★★★

Automobile Parts & Supplies, Trailer Hitches, Automobile Accessories
Address: 5067 NW 2nd St, Mitchellville
Phone: (515) 218-1323

Rod`s Automotive and Tire Clinic Inc ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tire Dealers
Address: 104 E Main St, New-London
Phone: (319) 367-9105

R J Automotive ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Glass-Auto, Plate, Window, Etc
Address: 900 Highway 965 NE, Oxford
Phone: (319) 665-2636

Pat McGrath Dodge Country ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, New Car Dealers, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting
Address: 4610 Center Point Rd NE, Robins
Phone: (319) 393-4610

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: Volkswagen adopts CCS Combo plug, Tesla adds Trip Energy Prediction

Thu, Jan 22 2015

Volkswagen plans to use CCS Combo plugs as standard for all future plug-in vehicles. The CCS fast-charging allows cars to charge to 80-percent capacity in as little as 15 minutes for cars like the Cross Coupe GTE. This could be a boon to prospective customers, as studies have found plug-in hybrid drivers plug in more frequently than originally expected. Plug-in drivers seem to want to perform as much driving as possible using electricity alone, and VW's plan to adopt the CCS Combo plug could help drivers achieve that. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla's 6.1 Firmware update for the Model S includes a Trip Energy Prediction feature. The new feature takes into account things like elevation, speed and predicted driving behavior to estimate the amount of energy used and how much range will be left in the battery after a route is programmed into the navigation system. It can let the driver know if a round trip can be made, and if the driver will need to charge before heading out. The feature updates itself in realtime throughout the drive as well, responding to how much energy is actually being used. Read a rundown of Trip Energy Prediction at Teslarati. The dates for National Drive Electric Week have been set for Saturday, September 12 through Sunday, September 20, 2015. The grassroots celebration of EVs is organized by Plug In America, The Electric Auto Association and the Sierra Club. "We're revved up for National Drive Electric Week 2015, which will offer the public, the media, and policymakers a great opportunity to come check out many of the 20-plus plug-in vehicles on the market," says Sierra Club EV Initiative Director Gina Coplon-Newfield. Last year, more than 90,000 people participated in 152 cities worldwide. Read more in the press release below. National Drive Electric Week 2015-DATES ARE SET SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan., 20, 2015-Dates have been set for the fifth annual National Drive Electric Week: Sat., Sept. 12 through Sun., Sept. 20, 2015. Events will encompass two weekends to give planners maximum flexibility and consumers plenty of opportunity to attend. "This promises to be an exciting year for plug-in vehicles," said Tom Saxton, Plug In America's chief science officer. "The BMW i3 will be on the road for the first full year, we expect deliveries of the Tesla Model X, an updated Chevy Volt, and greater overall sales growth than we saw last year.

VW Beetle R is one mean bug

Wed, 02 Oct 2013

Volkswagen's R lineup currently consists of the Golf R in North America, and the too-cool-for-school Scirocco R in Europe. It hasn't exactly been a secret as to which VW would next get the R treatment; the German manufacturer reportedly confirmed that a hotter Beetle would be coming to the US. That announcement, in August 2011, was followed up by a production-ready Beetle R Concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.
After some wait, we're finally seeing spy shots of the Beetle R in Germany. The mule shown in the images here is wearing the R-Line bodykit, which adds sportier front and rear fascias, side skirts, dual exhausts and a not-so-subtle spoiler. Topped off with Volkswagen's traditional, five-spoke R wheels, we'd be just fine with the Beetle R coming to market as is.
Our spy photographer, though, seems to think that the production R will get even sportier sheetmetal, which we take to mean the more assertive look shown on the Frankfurt show car. Larger intakes on the front fascia, a bigger rear spoiler and vertical vents on the rear bumper could all be upcoming. Whether a production model will include the concept's polished wheels (R cars haven't traditionally embraced that look), vented hood and the quad-tipped exhausts remains to be seen.

Autoblog Podcast #389

Wed, Jul 16 2014

Episode #389 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, and Mark Pereira from Autoblog Canada talk about Johan deNysschen's move to Cadillac, rumors of more BMW nomenclature changes, a second generation for the Subaru BRZ, and cars from 2004 that we miss. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #389: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Johan de Nysschen moves to Cadillac BMW model designations changing even more Subaru BRZ getting second generation Cars We Miss In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale 2015 Hyundai Sonata 2015 Volkswagen GTI 2015 Chevrolet Silverato 2500 Diesel Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Mark Pereira Runtime: 01:59:10 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Johan deNysschen - 36:12 BMW Nomenclature - 53:58 BRZ - 56:27 Cars We Miss - 01:05:07 Q&A - 01:30:09 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Podcasts BMW Cadillac Chevrolet Hyundai Subaru Volkswagen