Volks,

I came across a restored 1960 SO-23 Westy yesterday, the guy is asking somewhere around $10,000 for it. Thought I'd post this to the vanagon list in case there's some folks on here w/ knowledge of this type of bus, who might not be on the VB list. (To everyone else, sorry about the bandwidth! Also, my apologies to those on both lists... :-)

It's the nicest split window bus that I've ever seen around these parts, nice enough that I'm considering trading my cherry '82 diesel westy (+ cash) for it, but I'd like some input from others who have more knowledge about the early westies before I make a move. (Not to worry though, the vanagon is the way to go for my camping needs - I'd be replacing it as soon as I could... :-)

Here's what I know - the Bus lived much of it's life on the West Coast, and was restored out there before coming back east.

The good:

It has the complete large tent and the roof rack. Not original paint, but a very nice respray. Nice straight repainted bumpers. Decent tires (not sure if proper load index though...), brakes and tranny all good. No loud whine from the redux boxes, tranny stays in gear, and shifter play is minimal. Converted to 12 volt (good and bad I guess...), 40HP (non-bastard). Runs nice, minimal play in steering box (quite nice!). I completely inspected the underside - nice and solid w/ surface rust only (best underside I've personally viewed). Has original church key and radio block off plate. The interior is complete, w/ a few exceptions noted below. Window seals have all been replaced in the last five years, as have the door seals, etc. Basically, all new seals. :-) Deluxe campbox interior, including icebox. Original upholstery on the rear camper seats still! Complete camper interior (w/ 2 exceptions - glasses and ???netting??? - see below). Tent, outside, and inside upholstery all match! (ironic, as I'm color blind and have a helluva time matching colors.....)

The bad: 1) Considerably staining on the ceiling wood. (Kind of cool in a way though, gives it a nice patina....) 2) *Considerable* bubbling from the paint on the pass. side roof - above the rain gutter - which is kind of sCaReY. My guess is that the sub-hatch leaked, and that this is coming through from the INSIDE.... :-( (This is the only rust I could find on the painted surfaces tho, and I went over them very thoroughly - didn't have a magnet for bondo though....) Will if I go back. (Respray was 5+ years ago fwiw.) 3) Incorrect front door panels and front seat upholstery, although they are nicely done. Not a huge deal to me, although I'd probably redo them at some point in the future if I bought the bus.

The missing: 1) Appears to have mid-60's mirrors on the outside (both sides)...(although I may be wrong here.) 2) No cups, no shot glasses (has breadbox and holder though. 3) Doesn't appear to have the correct wiper arms. 4) Chrome hubcaps (although these may be correct - didn't look at M-codes....) 5) Does not have the cargo net in the back, although it may not have had one (optional I've read...)

In summary, I first heard about this bus several years ago. Finally tried to track it down a few months ago, did, and found out it's for sale. Viewed the bus (it's in storage) on short notice, very clean engine (inside and underneath). Not sure when rebuilt, or original miles... But it's the nicest splitty I've ever seen outside a show, and the only thing holding me back at this point is the bubbling on the roof. Plus the fact that I really don't want to pay a whole lot more than it's worth, as there's one on the thesamba.com now (a '59) for 11K.

What do you folks think? Any and all input would be GREATLY appreciated!

Regards, ~j.

__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/