A
Anonymous
Guest
While looking for a early bay westy a few years ago I happened to look in the SW Auto trader and found this little gem. It was only about 2 hours away so I contacted the seller and off I went.
When I got there I couldn’t belive my eyes…….. A peach of a 68/69 with all the paper work back to the bill of sale, 5 boxes of odds and ends and a brand new JK awning.
I had a good look around and had a test drive and then very much out of character offered him the full asking price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s how good a deal it seemed.
The bus was originally ordered on 21/8/68 by a Ethel McCredie of 15732 Marlinton Drive, Whittier, CA for $3813.45. This included the freight and prep charge of $58.95, the optional ¼ lights at $15, the D67 Campmobile conversion, inc tent at $1075 and a Stereo 8 track/radio costing $149.95. It was delivered on 11/10/68 and off little Ethel went to clock up nearly 200,000 miles before laying the bus up in 1983 until selling it in 1990. The paper work needs more looking at for this period but basically it was bought by an guy from the UK to travel the states in and he imported it back to England and it arrived in Liverpool on the M.V Companion Bay on 3/1/92. I think it had a little tlc then and was laid up for quite a while in Portsmouth before the guy I got it off bought it. He had it for about 18 months before his wife got in the family way and it needed to be sold, and this is where I come in.
Well the bus needed nothing doing to it and a few months down the line sailed through its mot before developing an ideling problem that saw me replacing the Carb, fuel pump, dizzy and loads of other little bits which after about a months head scratching solved the problem.
I decided to lower it slightly to help with motorway driving etc (and it looks better) and fitted BRMs at the same time. Ive slowly been collecting the few missing bits like the stool and a couple of missing odds and sods and adding some other original options like the deluxe clock, US style overriders which along with the bumpers ive had blasted and powder coated white as they were originally. Ive restored both the cab and the upper cot and have now sorced a odometer which was also an original option.
I managed to get some original dealer plates that I saw the bus had in some old photos and ive got states style plates made up to fit. (ive still got the original black Cali plate the bus came with). The bus gets used as my daily driver when im not at work (I work away on ships) so gets used as it should and ive just returned from a trip to France/Cornwall and Devon with my wife and Daughter without a single problem, apart from I broke the sliding door handel. I go to as many shows as I can in it and since I sorted the little problem its been faultless
I was going to give it a full resto next year but ive been talked out of this by friends who think it looks fine as it is with the odd flaw here and there, but I will need to repair the scratch/dent I put down the RHS while driving up a narrow drive and hitting a low wall (how mad was i?)
Splittys look nice but aren’t for me, Late bays just don’t have the charm for me and T25s, don’t even go there. But Early Bays for me have it all and im just trying to convince the wife we need another…………………….Ratty Panel, or Pick up of some kind or even a Deluxe with a steel sunroof, either way the earlier the better and definitely pre cross over.
When I got there I couldn’t belive my eyes…….. A peach of a 68/69 with all the paper work back to the bill of sale, 5 boxes of odds and ends and a brand new JK awning.
I had a good look around and had a test drive and then very much out of character offered him the full asking price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s how good a deal it seemed.
The bus was originally ordered on 21/8/68 by a Ethel McCredie of 15732 Marlinton Drive, Whittier, CA for $3813.45. This included the freight and prep charge of $58.95, the optional ¼ lights at $15, the D67 Campmobile conversion, inc tent at $1075 and a Stereo 8 track/radio costing $149.95. It was delivered on 11/10/68 and off little Ethel went to clock up nearly 200,000 miles before laying the bus up in 1983 until selling it in 1990. The paper work needs more looking at for this period but basically it was bought by an guy from the UK to travel the states in and he imported it back to England and it arrived in Liverpool on the M.V Companion Bay on 3/1/92. I think it had a little tlc then and was laid up for quite a while in Portsmouth before the guy I got it off bought it. He had it for about 18 months before his wife got in the family way and it needed to be sold, and this is where I come in.
Well the bus needed nothing doing to it and a few months down the line sailed through its mot before developing an ideling problem that saw me replacing the Carb, fuel pump, dizzy and loads of other little bits which after about a months head scratching solved the problem.
I decided to lower it slightly to help with motorway driving etc (and it looks better) and fitted BRMs at the same time. Ive slowly been collecting the few missing bits like the stool and a couple of missing odds and sods and adding some other original options like the deluxe clock, US style overriders which along with the bumpers ive had blasted and powder coated white as they were originally. Ive restored both the cab and the upper cot and have now sorced a odometer which was also an original option.
I managed to get some original dealer plates that I saw the bus had in some old photos and ive got states style plates made up to fit. (ive still got the original black Cali plate the bus came with). The bus gets used as my daily driver when im not at work (I work away on ships) so gets used as it should and ive just returned from a trip to France/Cornwall and Devon with my wife and Daughter without a single problem, apart from I broke the sliding door handel. I go to as many shows as I can in it and since I sorted the little problem its been faultless
I was going to give it a full resto next year but ive been talked out of this by friends who think it looks fine as it is with the odd flaw here and there, but I will need to repair the scratch/dent I put down the RHS while driving up a narrow drive and hitting a low wall (how mad was i?)
Splittys look nice but aren’t for me, Late bays just don’t have the charm for me and T25s, don’t even go there. But Early Bays for me have it all and im just trying to convince the wife we need another…………………….Ratty Panel, or Pick up of some kind or even a Deluxe with a steel sunroof, either way the earlier the better and definitely pre cross over.
