crack me up mate - love the extremes! must admit i do keep seeing standard height westy's recently and find myself liking the look :? given that we bought our bus to use I am tempted to go back to std and just slam the bug to get my low down fix!
1969 Arctic Explorer
- Thread starter snow_pikey
- Start date
Help Support Early Bay Forum:
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2007
- Messages
- 478
- Reaction score
- 26
- Location
- Berkshire
- Year of Your Van(s)
- 1972
- Van Type
- Danbury
snow_pikey said:Thats Crazy COOL!!!
I always wondered how many holiday snaps I would be in, I was working in the ski shop which is independent of the hotel and the head of hotel security would always be on my case for parking out the front, of (as you know) a very swanky hotel.
How funny..... I must admit that it was the last thing I expected to see parked out front... but so glad it was! I went in that ski shop, so who knows we may have actually spoke without you knowing I'd just been stalking your bus!
Dan
Ps. Can't seem to view the pictures you've posted today... Might just be me though?
snow_pikey
Well-known member
Dan we probably did chat I would have been in the shop,
Glad you liked the pictures
I have not made much new progress with the bus, still just filling and flatting, flatting and filling.
But I thought I might share a few pictures and a quick condensed story on how I came to be in Canada and how I ended up with Missy..........
It all started with a broken arm over looking the L&D Hospital....... (now skip a couple of winters in the Alps and a couple of buses and road trips) ........I spent best part of a year living in or out of my much loved T25 van...
..... when I came up with a 4 part plan: 1-fly to Canada, 2-buy a bus, 3-do another winter season, 4-drive to the Arctic.
It was suposed to be a 8month trip which turned into 3years
So I flew to Canada and hung out in Vancouver searching for a bus.....
It took nearly 2weeks, after a lot of wasted bus rides and nearly loosing my foot when a sliding door fell off one rotten bus, I found Missy on http://www.kijiji.ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (a great website if you want to window shop for projects) I was pretty fed up and not really feeling it. I am not big on cities and they are even less fun on your own with loads of rain.
But I knew as soon as I saw this bus it was the one, so I waited for the guy selling the bus to turn up at the address. There were some sweet cars to keep me busy .....
......the guy who turns up to sell his sisters bus is Geoff Peterson, kinda crazy as I had a poster of his Heb-Rod on my wall when I left the UK...
So omens good (small world), he was super sound and helped me get insurance and gave me an address to register the bus as I had no clue at all, so we part ways and I head off to CIP (californian import parts) which is just outside Vancouver :?
I brought a few tools on the way there and a new carb, dizzy and inlet manifold boots from CIP to stop the air leak.
I only had the car park to service and fix up Missy (thanks CIP sorry about the oil), I finally get her running sweet and head off to find a Motel for the night and I am thinking 'sweet! phase two' plans going well.
Enroute after a couple of miles (or Kms) I hear a nasty noise :shock: then banging, loss of power limping to the nearest motel I get a room and sleep on it. Next day I am looking at my bus and I get chatting to an old guy who is walking his dog (as you do) about busses etc.... and my problem he tells me about a garage round the corner so I check out and check it out and right enough I find Duane's German Autohaus.
I just turned up with a knackered bus I know no one there or in Canada for that matter and they are proper nice and let me borrow a jack to pull out my engine in the yard then strip it in the workshop.
(It turned out to be a tinware screw fallen into the head and jammed a valve open)
I ended up living in Duane's yard for nearly a week whilst I rebuilt my engine and sorted out the rest of my bus. It was great!! in the evening we drove about and collected old Bugs and buses even a split screen Binz (didn't have my camera :roll: )
I got Missy all ship shape and the engine built up with a bit of help from a Dutch guy who served his apprenticship with vw in in the late 50s/60s
All the people at the garage helped me out, I was even lent a car to collect parts. It's good to know we are all part of a VW community and there are still people who will help a stranger out.
I headed east towards Fernie, missed the turning and ended up in Banff for 3years, I spent a summer in the Western Arctic and Missy never let me down again
Glad you liked the pictures
I have not made much new progress with the bus, still just filling and flatting, flatting and filling.
But I thought I might share a few pictures and a quick condensed story on how I came to be in Canada and how I ended up with Missy..........
It all started with a broken arm over looking the L&D Hospital....... (now skip a couple of winters in the Alps and a couple of buses and road trips) ........I spent best part of a year living in or out of my much loved T25 van...
..... when I came up with a 4 part plan: 1-fly to Canada, 2-buy a bus, 3-do another winter season, 4-drive to the Arctic.
It was suposed to be a 8month trip which turned into 3years
So I flew to Canada and hung out in Vancouver searching for a bus.....
It took nearly 2weeks, after a lot of wasted bus rides and nearly loosing my foot when a sliding door fell off one rotten bus, I found Missy on http://www.kijiji.ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (a great website if you want to window shop for projects) I was pretty fed up and not really feeling it. I am not big on cities and they are even less fun on your own with loads of rain.
But I knew as soon as I saw this bus it was the one, so I waited for the guy selling the bus to turn up at the address. There were some sweet cars to keep me busy
.....
......the guy who turns up to sell his sisters bus is Geoff Peterson, kinda crazy as I had a poster of his Heb-Rod on my wall when I left the UK...
So omens good (small world), he was super sound and helped me get insurance and gave me an address to register the bus as I had no clue at all, so we part ways and I head off to CIP (californian import parts) which is just outside Vancouver :?
I brought a few tools on the way there and a new carb, dizzy and inlet manifold boots from CIP to stop the air leak.
I only had the car park to service and fix up Missy (thanks CIP sorry about the oil), I finally get her running sweet and head off to find a Motel for the night and I am thinking 'sweet! phase two' plans going well.
Enroute after a couple of miles (or Kms) I hear a nasty noise :shock: then banging, loss of power
limping to the nearest motel I get a room and sleep on it. Next day I am looking at my bus and I get chatting to an old guy who is walking his dog (as you do) about busses etc.... and my problem he tells me about a garage round the corner so I check out and check it out and right enough I find Duane's German Autohaus.
I just turned up with a knackered bus I know no one there or in Canada for that matter and they are proper nice and let me borrow a jack to pull out my engine in the yard then strip it in the workshop.
(It turned out to be a tinware screw fallen into the head and jammed a valve open)
I ended up living in Duane's yard for nearly a week whilst I rebuilt my engine and sorted out the rest of my bus. It was great!! in the evening we drove about and collected old Bugs and buses even a split screen Binz (didn't have my camera :roll: )
I got Missy all ship shape and the engine built up with a bit of help from a Dutch guy who served his apprenticship with vw in in the late 50s/60s
All the people at the garage helped me out, I was even lent a car to collect parts. It's good to know we are all part of a VW community and there are still people who will help a stranger out.
I headed east towards Fernie, missed the turning and ended up in Banff for 3years, I spent a summer in the Western Arctic and Missy never let me down again
snow_pikey
Well-known member
Andy I am sure your life isn't boring, coming home every night and rubbing down filler thats boring :lol:
I have borrowed a new air-tool to help ......
I am not finnished yet but it's getting better
The replacement lower front panel turned up from Just Campers. I am really happy they exchanged the last one but this is still not very good and I wouldn't recommend it :|
There must be better one's what are other people using :?:
I have borrowed a new air-tool to help
......
I am not finnished yet but it's getting better
The replacement lower front panel turned up from Just Campers. I am really happy they exchanged the last one but this is still not very good and I wouldn't recommend it :|
There must be better one's what are other people using :?:
snow_pikey
Well-known member
Bit more done......
snow_pikey
Well-known member
More flatting tomorrow....... woop woop!
Airtime
Well-known member
Impressive work! And great thread. 8)
snow_pikey
Well-known member
Thanks everyone
Man those indicators were a real pain but another bit done (tick!) I spent today on the Bus and have turned a corner, all the welding is done... hip hop hooray!!!! and the lower half is straight to a point where I can start with the filler primer and fine paper.
I made a start on the front doors as well.......
Forgot I had a dent in my roof
Tomorrow night I will give the lower half a shoot over with primer and carry on with the cab doors.
To do list for the week:
*Finnish cab doors
*Clear out the back and remove the interior
*Get inside ready for paint
*Sort out dent and prep roof for paint....
Might be a bit optimistic but aim high, if I get the first two done I will be happy
Man those indicators were a real pain but another bit done (tick!) I spent today on the Bus and have turned a corner, all the welding is done... hip hop hooray!!!! and the lower half is straight to a point where I can start with the filler primer and fine paper.
I made a start on the front doors as well.......
Forgot I had a dent in my roof
Tomorrow night I will give the lower half a shoot over with primer and carry on with the cab doors.
To do list for the week:
*Finnish cab doors
*Clear out the back and remove the interior
*Get inside ready for paint
*Sort out dent and prep roof for paint....
Might be a bit optimistic but aim high, if I get the first two done I will be happy
Nick-Rackham
Well-known member
Looking good
snow_pikey
Well-known member
Cheers
Here are a few more pictures from Missy's travels round and about in Canada.........
Here are a few more pictures from Missy's travels round and about in Canada.........
snow_pikey
Well-known member
Oh!...... and this one
This here is Porcupine protection in action, if you dont do it they have a taste for rubber and will chew on you tires as well as your brake hoses :shock: could be fun when you head home back down the mountain :lol:
This here is Porcupine protection in action, if you dont do it they have a taste for rubber and will chew on you tires as well as your brake hoses :shock: could be fun when you head home back down the mountain :lol:
snow_pikey
Well-known member
This is me actually keeping hens :lol:
These were taken at my club show and shine about ten years ago now. I put up chicken wire and lined the back with a tarp, me and my two hens Betty and Claudette won best in show working with a barn find theme, I have seen pictures in volksworld a few years after this of live chickens in a bus/bug but I am sure I was the first
This was my first driving bus a 1967 RHD devon walk through with original paint, interior, a 1200 beetle swing axle and a cut and turned front beam :shock: the rear spring plates weren't offset they were early bay I think but just bent in to match the shorter axles.
I drove bumpy old Mindy from 1998-2004 she cost me 1800quid with a years MOT (that makes me sound old)
As a side note it was so bumpy with such little suspension travel if you hit a couple of good bumps in the road it would bang the chassis and bounce passengers out of the seat and into the walk through :lol: and another time because of the poor ride quality the cap on the brake fluid came loose bounced off. All the brake fluid shook out and me and my mates nearly had a very bad but very lucky escape/experience on the way from the Detling Vw show in Kent to Minis Vs Beetles at York Raceway (never made it got recovered )
Anyway moral of the story, adjustable beam, dropped spindles and a notched chassis it where its at. FACT
These were taken at my club show and shine about ten years ago now. I put up chicken wire and lined the back with a tarp, me and my two hens Betty and Claudette won best in show
working with a barn find theme, I have seen pictures in volksworld a few years after this of live chickens in a bus/bug but I am sure I was the first
This was my first driving bus a 1967 RHD devon walk through with original paint, interior, a 1200 beetle swing axle and a cut and turned front beam :shock: the rear spring plates weren't offset they were early bay I think but just bent in to match the shorter axles.
I drove bumpy old Mindy from 1998-2004 she cost me 1800quid with a years MOT (that makes me sound old)
As a side note it was so bumpy with such little suspension travel if you hit a couple of good bumps in the road it would bang the chassis and bounce passengers out of the seat and into the walk through :lol: and another time because of the poor ride quality the cap on the brake fluid came loose bounced off. All the brake fluid shook out and me and my mates nearly had a very bad but very lucky escape/experience on the way from the Detling Vw show in Kent to Minis Vs Beetles at York Raceway (never made it got recovered
)Anyway moral of the story, adjustable beam, dropped spindles and a notched chassis it where its at. FACT
