Date:         Wed, 30 Nov 1994 15:45:14 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         wabbott@townshend.Corp.Megatest.COM (William Abbott)
Subject:      Re: Interesting Bus conversions


	I've seen and admired the 1.33 Stretch in Palo Alto- I thought
it was blue, with natural aluminum top, but I may be wrong.

	The Transporter guy in DB&HVW ran a column on butchery, which
I responded to by telling him about the Palo Alto stretch, and two
others I've seen. I never have gotten the Tee Shirt or the SOTO 
membership I requested in the same letter- wonder if these events
are related?? I should see if he's cashed my check!
	Does the SOTO guy have an email address?

	When I was a kid, there was a split-window shortie in Los Gatos.
This would have been in the 60s. Just a front seat and engine compartment-
I recall it was painted white with black spots, like one of a pair of dice.
I liked it so much I used the Revell 1:25 Transporter kit to build a 
replica of it in plastic, and it sure was easy! Since it was about 1970,
I painted my model blue with white stars on the lower half and red and
white stripes on the upper half.

	In the 70s, a Porsche shop in the Soquel/Aptos area south of
Santa Cruz had a bread-loaf pickup truck with tandem rear axles as a 
flat-bed-hauler for injured sportscars. It was light blue and I dearly
wish I'd taken a picture of it! I never climbed under it to figure out
which of the rear wheel pairs were powered- it was like:

	  ======
	 //   ||
	//---- |
	|  ___ |________/======\_______
	#=//o\\_________//o\ /o\\______\
	   \_/           \_/ \_/

	As far as I could tell, the front to middle-wheel spacing was
stock, and the rear pair was an extension. The fenders over the rear
wheels were higher than the bed, so I conclude it had a type III or
type IV pancake rather than a type II upright.

	I wish I had the time and talent to do such work. I'd only
use donors that were utterly unremarkable and not collectors items. I've
always imagined a sporty runabout opentop built by channeling the middle
two feet of a bus-series vehicle and lowering the seats:

	      ////
	     (o.o)
	  =   \w/
	 //____________________
	|  ___           ___   |
	#=//o\\_________//o\\_=#
	   \_/           \_/ 

	For sunny days with lots of friends!

	Cheers!
	Bill