Date:         Tue, 27 Jun 1995 13:59:06 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         jim@atcweb.atc.1dc.com (Jim Ellis)
Subject:      Re: Wash.DC(G.Dead)/Killer bus (L)

Regarding the killer bus. There are two of these puppies near me that were,
according to the old plates, imported from Minnesota. I discovered them over
a year ago from a tip that I was given at my old job. Someone thought they
found a pair of 23's in someones back yard. I was there in a flash taking
pictures of them and considered buying them but had nowhere to put them. The
fella that owns them wanted them out from behind his rental mobile home. The
buses that I saw were Mercedes 620? I forget but were '63 and '64. Simply
they look like 23 windows on steroids. Really! Corner windows, sky light
windows and sunroof. The engine in each of these were 4 cly diesels that
mounted to the front suspension. The suspension and the engine were removed
as abig 'ol unit through a hatch on the front of the bus. The driver entered
from a door the nearly size of a interior home door! The passangers entered
through the typical VW like cargo doors on the right side of the bus. Seats
were high backed and done in red leather, white piping with trays on the
back of the seats, similar to the airliner seat trays. Rear suspension was a
dually set up. It chapped my rear not to buy these as they were offered as a
pair for $200. The problem was rust, storage, parts availability, (like that
has stopped me in the past), and the funds to make 'em run. These guys were
sized like a 23 window that was increased in every size by about thirty
percent. One aspect of the buses that tickled me especially were the six to
eight little lights aross the rear roof line. VERY funky! I don't mean to
pipe into every thread but these buses were/are bitchen! I'll try to find
the photos tonight in order to identify the Merceres model number. I could
see someone dumping a 454 V8 etc into these bad boys. They begged for
someone to file bankruptcy over them! Not me, the wife and I decided that
some times it's best to just take pictures and enjoy the pleasure of the
hunt. =)
.......................................Westfalia........................
    Rusty VanBondo                       -----
 Phoenix, Arizona (AZ) USA              _|###|_
   '67 SO 42 Resto          _._________/___|___\
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