Author Topic: my free 73 poptop westy project  (Read 4818 times)

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Offline beetlemania

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my free 73 poptop westy project
« on: July 25, 2011, 02:15:30 PM »
i recently responded to a "Free VW Van" ad on UsedVic, thinking it was a fake ad....turned out it wasnt :o
i sent an  email as soon as i saw the ad...then thought, no i'd better just head over there and see if its for-real.
did a drive by and saw the bus...then just took my chances and went and knocked.i'm glad i did...he hadnt even started responding to emails yet(he said later on that he got more than 100 emails in the first hour alone).
so he answered the door and next thing i knew he was out telling me about everything that needing fixing and handed me the keys.i was kinda in shock and bewildered at the same time...oh yeah and kinda excited....all i could say was "wow"...then..."wow, this is so cool man"...(but on the insided i was kinda freakin out lol) he just wanted to move on from the bus, he told me his dad had bought it for him when he was younger and he and his wife did alot of travelling in it all over north america.
 i found a travell log with fuel stops,how much they bought and where they stopped, with reciepts...pretty cool stuff. anyway, the westy is sooo solid, its in better shape than my hightop, it only needs front seat mounts (or just different seats than stock) and a brake job all around and it came with a 1.8L that needs rebuilding.has a full interrior and some extras....the poptop canvas is in good shape, just alittle mildewy from being stored in a barn for so many years (he said the PO that his dad had bought it off, stored it in his barn since new)
 at first i told him i was working on my hightop and i needed a parts bus, then after having a closer look decided against parting it out and now plan on getting it back on the road instead.
my hightop is so close to being back on the road now, i cant wait to start in on this one...




Offline bwaz

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2011, 03:08:01 PM »
Nice score!
brian waz

Offline BUSDADDY

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2011, 08:02:17 PM »
You just can't beat free, nice score!
RUST NEVER SLEEPS

Offline beetlemania

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2011, 08:22:39 PM »
thanks, it still hasnt totally sunk in, even when he was signing it over at the insurance place..i was looking for hidden cameras lol.

Offline finkmobile

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2011, 01:17:07 PM »
Wow, just saw this thread. Wicked! Any updates?

Offline beetlemania

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2011, 05:23:04 PM »
Wow, just saw this thread. Wicked! Any updates?
the bus has alot of miles on it,the PO had drivin it all up and down the coast, Mexico,NWT and partially across Canada.but its in pretty good shape for the miles it has.
well, as i mentioned before, i found that cool travel log that they kept from their journeys.i opened the sliding door (which didnt fall off, like my hightop slider) and found all types of boxes with everything from all the engine tin, to one box full brand new CIP parts totalling over 2hun for just seals alone.from what i can tell all this bus needs is a passenger rear wheel bearing (new in box) front and rear brake job and a good running engine..
oh yeah, 1 key opens all doors and 1 key works the ignition.....is that normal?????

Offline Geoff

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2011, 08:22:04 AM »
It's normal  from new but as you know most get new ignition switches thru their years, thats nice to still have just one key for all.

Offline finkmobile

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2011, 09:52:11 AM »
I like having the one key to open all the doors and ignition, when I first bought my bus I had about 3 keys. I've since re-keyed them all (with the exception of the passenger door, its on my never-ending bus to-do list).

Offline beetlemania

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Re: my free 73 poptop westy project
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2011, 09:41:16 PM »
yeah, the reason i mentioned the key thing, my hightop has 5 keys lol....."note to self....by a Dymo Label Maker".