1977 Deluxe Canadian Westy

[Globespotter]

I finally got back into Bus ownership after almost 25 years!

Some of you may have followed my story when in May 2012 I found a nice 71 Super Beetle Survivor in CA and drove it back to Canada:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=511800&highlight=

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=513640&highlight=

The story in my signature explains how the original plan (dream) was to buy a vintage bus and drive back on Route 66, but due to the high cost of decent buses, I settled for the Bug (Which I love btw)

The Bus 'bug' was still there though, and I couldn't stop looking on the Samba in the Bay Classifieds. Every day.

The prices for buses was kind of depressing, but I found a few local ones that had some promise, so I went out and looked at three of them.

Buses in salt ravaged Ontario that are in any kind of reasonable shape are extremely rare, and people here don't tend to part with nicer ones.

I was tempted to buy a couple of times and on one even made an offer, but never found that bus that was the one for me.

I am pretty much ok to do most mechanical VW work, and love to do interior work, electrical etc, but not a fan of rust.

I lucked out when I got my 71 Super Beetle from Sacramento - it is 100% original with ZERO rust anywhere.

Spoiled by that, my budget for buying a bus kept creeping higher - from $5000 to $7000 to ???

Then, the Canadian $ started to plummet against the US $ so I saw those CA or AZ buses getting even more out of reach.

Did I give up?

Did I mention I have a terminal case of VW Bus?

I always read here to be patient, until the deal that is right comes along. So I kept looking and looking.

Then I saw a bus here on The Samba out in BC that needed work but the body was very solid. It was a great price so I got more info, told the seller I was interested and then made an offer.

Unfortunately, the seller had sold it to someone by then, so that one slipped away. I was disappointed but recalled that I had asked the seller for the name of a garage where I could have got the bus inspected, and he had given me the name of a shop not far from where he lived that specialized in old VWs.

I had actually emailed the shop and asked them if they would travel up to see that bus and inspect it for me, and the next day after I found out I had lost that deal, the shop emailed me back.

I told them I had lost that deal, but figured, nothing to lose - asked them if they knew of any other VW buses for sale in decent shape.

Yes, he said, as a matter of fact he had a nice 78 Westy in his shop that one of his customers was selling and it was in really good shape.

I tried not to get too excited, but this could be an opportunity. The seller had not even advertised it yet.

I asked the shop to do a full inspection and send me lots of photos.

Here are a few of the photos I got:

I had not seen a bus this clean in a while!
_________________
1977 Westfalia - October 2015 - Current
1971 Super Beetle - May 2012 - Current
1979 Westfalia - 1986-1991
1971 Super Beetle - 1977-1980

1971 SB Survivor Story: https://globespotter.com/
Road Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=511800&highlight=
My 77 Westy Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647114&highlight=

http://vw-mplate.com/mcode.php?lang=EN&id=30990
https://vw-type2-id.xyz/mplate/72067382

[Smushy]

Wow that's clean, won't find that in Ontario. I'm ready for the full story - I'll grab the popcorn.
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1964 Type3 Notch
1971 Type2 Dormobile
1971 Type2 Westfalia
1973 Type2 Kombi
1977 Rabbit
1961 & 1964 Heilite Single Wheel

[VWDog]

Nice find brought about by some good old fashioned "detective work". Congratulations! May I ask where in BC?
_________________

1970 Lotus White Single Cab 2015- , 1979 Sage Green 2014-2015, 1978 Dakota Beige Westy 2012-2015, 1978 Neptune Blue Riviera 2012-2017 , 1970 Neptune Blue Bus 2010-2012, 1970 Deluxe Savannah Beige 2010-2012, 1985 Iltis 2010- , 1962 Single Cab 2010-2013, 1975 Brasilia? Bay/Split Kombi from Brazil 2008-2011, 1985 DoKa 1999-2009, 1971 Bus 1999-2000, 1968 Double Cab 1991-1998, 1965 Ghia 1987-1991, 1970 Westfalia-bought by Mum and Dad in 1970, sold by me in 1993 why-oh-why :_(

[obieoberstar]

Appears to have a BA6 heater too!

Looks like a nice clean bus from the pictures.

Always nice to know people who know people.

Keep us posted.

[Tcash]

Welcome back to Bus ownership.

[Marleybus]

Let me know when you have it back in Newmarket. I'm just north of Barrie. I have a Chrome Yellow 77 Westy from California.

Sweet bus I have a special place for a white bus. My 72 was white.
_________________
1972 VW Westy (Hit by dumptruck)
1963 VW Beetle (RIP)
1974 VW Beetle (RIP)
1981 Vanagon Westfalia (Sold)
1969 VW Beetle Convertible (Wifes)
1977 VW Westy 2.0L FI Chrome Yellow
1978 VW Westy 2.0L FI (Under Restoration)
1973 VW Westy 1.7L Tourist Delivery Orange
Check out my thread!!http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=556709

[Globespotter]

[Globespotter]

[Globespotter]

I was especially pleased to see such a clean underneath.

The buses I had seen here in Ontario were so rotted underneath - on one of them I was able to push my finger through the metal on the outriggers.

This bus was amazing:

Now, it was obvious that it was not original and had been restored, but the work done was good - replacing metal:

The paint job was not perfect, but it was not awful either. It was VW Alpine White:

I decided that I did not want to lose this one.

The seller wanted $10K CDN for it, which seemed not bad to me considering the prices I had seen. I knew what Bays were going for, especially ones that were clean and rust free.

The mechanic said that the transmission was a bit loud, but sound and the steering needed adjusted, as well as a few other minor things, but he said it was one of the cleanest buses he had seen.

I called the seller and offered him $9K CDN. He said that if I paid his outstanding bill at the mechanic for the work it had been in for (installing new brake master cylinder) He would take the 9K.

I agreed, since the bill was only a couple of hundred.

I had done it, and I had got a clean bus for a very fair price IMHO.

I arranged for a complete professional appraisal for insurance purposes, and got the mechanic to fix up the things that needed done, intending to fly out to BC and drive it back, like I had done with the Super Beetle in California back in 2012.

The problem was that this was October 2015 and the prospect of driving all the way back at that time of year was not that attractive. (Did I mention that the gas heater was not working and the regular heater didn't work either?)

So I ended up deciding to fly out to Kelowna from Toronto and driving the Bus from Vernon down to Vancouver and getting it shipped by rail back to Toronto for $1200 and flying back.

That started the next part of my adventure...
_________________
1977 Westfalia - October 2015 - Current
1971 Super Beetle - May 2012 - Current
1979 Westfalia - 1986-1991
1971 Super Beetle - 1977-1980

1971 SB Survivor Story: https://globespotter.com/
Road Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=511800&highlight=
My 77 Westy Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647114&highlight=

http://vw-mplate.com/mcode.php?lang=EN&id=30990
https://vw-type2-id.xyz/mplate/72067382

[Globespotter]

I flew out to Kelowna, and got a taxi from the airport to Vernon - about a 40 minute drive north of Kelowna.

I got a hotel for the night and the next morning got up and walked up through beautiful Vernon to the mechanic to pick up the Bus.

Now, you BC folk know that life does not move the same pace in BC that it does back east

I got to the garage at 8:30am as I had agreed, but didn't get out of there until around 9:30 or so due to the relaxed pace of getting all the bill calculated and printed

So far, so good - only a little behind schedule. I had to get down to Vancouver - which was about a 4-5 hour drive in time to drop off the bus at the rail terminal, get a taxi to the airport and catch my flight back to Toronto.

I stopped for gas in Vernon and filled it up.

As I continued I smelled gas, but chalked it up to filling the tank so full.

I had asked the mechanic to check all the fuel lines and he had said they looked ok.

As I continued, the gas smell got stronger instead of less.

I decided to stop off in Kelowna at my cousin's restaurant (which is right on the highway) and I did, and checked the engine.

There was gas squirting out of one of the injector hoses all over the very hot engine, and I had not yet bought a fire extinguisher.

My only thought was - "This bus I just bought is going to go up in flames an hour after I picked it up."

I called CAA and a tow truck came, and we ended up towing it back to Vernon, where the mechanic said that one of the injector hoses had split on the bottom and he would replace it.

Actually, I said - you can replace all the fuel hoses please.

That meant another hotel stay and a missed flight, but at least the Bus was not a BBQ.

They replaced all the fuel hoses in the engine. (Well I found out later that they did not replace that 'tricky little devil' one behind the spare tire well).

I knew that I still would need to do the filler hose and behind the firewall lines when I got home.

The next day went pretty much without a hitch, although it was fun crossing the mountains where there was already snow!
_________________
1977 Westfalia - October 2015 - Current
1971 Super Beetle - May 2012 - Current
1979 Westfalia - 1986-1991
1971 Super Beetle - 1977-1980

1971 SB Survivor Story: https://globespotter.com/
Road Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=511800&highlight=
My 77 Westy Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647114&highlight=

http://vw-mplate.com/mcode.php?lang=EN&id=30990
https://vw-type2-id.xyz/mplate/72067382

[rottenkid]

Very nice Westy. Hope to see you at some shows. Mine is a 1978 VW Bus.

[captincanuck]

Loving the story so far. I had a similar experience trying to find an unrotted bus several years ago. I ended up flying to Arizona and driving my 79 back to southern Ontario. Lucky for me the dealer that sold it to me gave me a jug a coolant in case I overheated in the desert
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1979 Westfalia "FireFly" Subaru 2.2 with Subaru gears 5spd.
Build Thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=634777&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Hoody]

If you are going to buy a Bus I am a huge fan of the Late Bays. Do not waste a second of your time unless the under carriage looks good. These vehicles are Unibody construction.....if the undercarriage is compromised in any way.....walk away. I am hugely passionate about these cars. They are becoming extremely rare in unmolested condition that are not toast. I wish you all the best! I searched for 3 years....7 years ago and found one that was garage kept for 25 years. I then bought every NOS German part I could find....years ago. Congratulations on your find! PM if I can help.

[Hoody]

Pay very close attention...Gates Barricade fuel injected hose.....with the correct Swedish ABA clamps.

[Marleybus]

Put the first weekend of June on your Calendar. Busfusion is a great weekend in Almonte Just SW of Ottawa. Ive been there the last 3 years. Over 200 Busses, most all Westys.
_________________
1972 VW Westy (Hit by dumptruck)
1963 VW Beetle (RIP)
1974 VW Beetle (RIP)
1981 Vanagon Westfalia (Sold)
1969 VW Beetle Convertible (Wifes)
1977 VW Westy 2.0L FI Chrome Yellow
1978 VW Westy 2.0L FI (Under Restoration)
1973 VW Westy 1.7L Tourist Delivery Orange
Check out my thread!!http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=556709

[ccpalmer]

[hoagy86]

Is that ryno bed liner on the bottom along the bottom, then painted over?

[Globespotter]

[Globespotter]

[Globespotter]