1975 Volkswagen Bus - Transporter

1975 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon Vanagon/Bus Description

This bus spent most of it life in Southern California where it served as a promo vehicle/transport for a surf shop and a real estate broker. Since traveling east it has been garage kept and has never seen salt. I have owned many classic vehicles, and this is as close to a rust free vehicle as you will find that has not been restored. It was originally an orange bus, but at some point took on some color changes. The original orange paint is still visible in some spots and most likely intact throughout. The bus is not as bright pink as it appears in the pics. While you can’t pick it up in the photos, you can just barely make out where the decals were for the businesses in the paint. I am guessing this bus was painted this color in 2000. The previous owner also told me this bus went on Grateful Dead tour for about a year. While I cannot confirm that, I have no reason to believe it was a made up story since everything else checked out, so that adds to its authenticity as a lifestyle vehicle. Which as a touring Deadhead myself, suits me just fine!

Originally a Pancake motor, this has been converted and there are only about 2000 miles on a freshly rebuilt 1642 DP motor. All the correct tins are in place. I have almost 7K in receipts for mechanical work done to this bus over last several years.

Currently in PA, when this bus came here from California it was slammed and 3 inches off the ground. It has a Wagons West fully adjustable front beam so some lift was put back into it for PA roads. There was also a Bus Boys horseshoe kit on the rear which was removed. It will be included with the sale in the event you would like to lower it.

The interior was done by Sew Fine interiors, and if I had to guess, I would say it was done in the early 2000’s. It shows well but there is some slight wear on the carpet.

The roof rack was custom built and is low profile. As it sits, this bus will clear your standard height garage door. (That’s a biggie!) The rack was built with mounts on it for the Fiama awning which is also brand new. Just the rack and awning were almost 2K.

The BRM wheels are 15’s in very nice shape but the lugs do show some age. The tires are good. I also have a set of correct 14’ steel wheels for the bus that are blasted and ready for paint. Sound deadener has been installed through out to quiet it up inside.

The worst parts of this bus is under the front bra and the driver’s side butt cheek just below the tail light. It looks like at some point someone may have come a bit too close to the garage wall. There is a dent that was filled in well before the current color was applied, but the filler has shrunk so it shows crazing. I never took the bra off so it made no difference to me. There is no emblem under the bra. The driver’s side rear butt cheek also is dented. Perhaps in its life someone backed into it?

It has a current PA inspection and is road ready. I would not hesitate to throw a few tools in a box with a spare part or two and drive it across the country.

It has a completely new suspension, brakes, motor, carb, headlights, all bulbs, wheels, tires, distributor, battery. It shifts and runs pretty well.

Just a quick note on the color. You may look at it and think . . .why would anyone paint it that color. I thought the same thing but purchased it for a mobile coffee shop run by my daughters so it worked for my purposes. After driving it around for a bit, the amount of thumbs up you get from bikers to soccer moms is astounding. There is not a person that sees this bus that doesn’t smile. If I pull it out in my driveway to work on it, I get nothing done because people stop all day long to look at it, chat and take pictures of it. I have owned high dollar convertible muscle cars that didn’t get the attention this thing does!

So why am I selling it? The Coffee Shop didn’t work out, and it is just not a vehicle that makes sense for me with a family right now. If you know these buses, they are notoriously slow. It’s not a good vehicle for road trips with the kiddos, and it doesn’t make sense to keep the money tied up for the occasional trip for pizza.
I have sold many vehicles and will do whatever I can to make it easy for the winning bidder. Due to the continual amount of deadbeats and tire kickers on Ebay however, I will require a non refundable 500 dollar deposit before I make any arrangements at all. If you are serious about the bus, this won't be an issue to you. Please send any and all questions you may have. I will do my best to answer them and provide additional photos you might want.

Here is a short video of the motor running - https://youtu.be/yJC4AbRnfU8