Date:         95-10-10 12:58:06 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Claralw
Subject:      

hello.  There seem to be barndoor busses out there, hiding out on the farm.
  these are the ones with engine compartments that reach all the way to thye
beltline, the sare tire lies on a tray above the engine, and you have to open
the engine compartment to put in gas.  Does the one you found have turn
signals on the fron?  It shouldn't, but they are sometimes added.  The
chassis number is in the engine compartment, to the right of the engine, on
the bulkhead.   My 58 dealer parts list for type 2  lists 

   year                          chassis number
Oct 1952                 20-035 112
1952                       20-041 712
march 1953            20-047 102
Jan 1954                 20-069 409
1954                        20-110 604
march 1955             20-117 902         end of 'barndoor' production

The engine should be a 36hp or 25hp with a 20-  engine number.   the front
suspension is different to a later bus,  it has one very long tie rod and one
very short one.   The cargo doors are flimsier.   Does it have pop-out
windows on the sides?   Where the latches are screwed to the frame, are there
two horizontal screws,  or three in a triangle?  Is it a passenger model with
seats and panneling on the walls and a cloth headliner?  What do the
taillights look like? Are they red plastic lenses with a chrome ring around
them,which has a vw logo on them?  One or two wires to them in the
back?(should be one) Are the glass reflectors below the taillights whole,
cracked, or missing?  What does the speedo look like?  Do the vent wings on
the front doors  look normal or are they hinged differently?

       I'm interested,  but it is a long way away.  let me know anything you
can.  I love to revive old splitties.  Is this one even savable?   I hear the
rust is terrible in Michigan, or was it parked in a barn 20 years ago?

Clara Williams

!961 non-sunroof deluxe, 1969 bug,  1954 kombi  (regularly driven)