The bus is still at the shop – and probably will be for a while more.
They are going to make a few adjustments to the brakes, and have re-greased everything they can. More importantly, we are working out the details on swapping my current transmission and running gear for another ’67 bus’s gear. That bus has the stock setup with reduction gear boxes and all – mine is a bug transmission with lowered spring plates and drop spindles. I’m hoping to take my bus back up to stock height w/ stock gear, and he’s hoping to lower his bus – we might have a deal!
I also got the quote on bodywork – with that number still ringing in my ears, I signed up for a welding class – if I can only do part of the metal work/ sheet metal work, I’ll save a ton!
I also found this old photo:
While its impossible to tell if this is my bus, it has the right features, is in the right place at the right time, and given the fact that it sat neglected in a field for multiple decades, i’m sure it was owned by a bunch of Florida hippies – I’m cool with that!
So much fun to read because it’s like reading an autobiography about me and my ’71 Beetle that I bought in June of 2012. We are both at very similar stages right now and I also am in the mental debate of teaching myself to weld and bring my bug for a professional assessment at Midwest Auto Savers in the next few weeks. Maybe we can get the bug and bus together someday. We’ll have to chat and share stories soon!
As of now (April 5th) the bus is still sitting outside the shop – I’ll let you know how my experience with them goes. It has been worth it to get the professional opinion, but its really hard to fork over cash for labor after spending so much time on it myself – Good luck w/ the bug!