1963 Vw Bus 15 Window Deluxe on 2040-cars

1963 15 window deluxe turkis bus

Up for auction is my beloved 15 window. History= The bus was built in December of '62 according to birth certificate and originally sold in Texas according to the dealer sticker still located on the back. Fast forward many, many years it has been located in the Chicago area at least since the mid 90's to my knowledge, when I first seen and fell in love with it. A friend of mine purchased it in 2005 or 06 ,brought it home, put it in the garage and totally disassembled it with intentions to restore/repaint (a different color). Here it sat for several years, in pieces, while he had lack of interest/time to finish. Finally knowing my interest and intentions for the bus he gave me a call and asked if I would be interested in it. After many weeks of scrounging and saving and convincing (my wife) I pulled together the funds and picked it up. Arriving home I was met with disbelief as my complete bus was not completely assembled. So I assured her I would have it in one piece in no time and spend many all nighters in the garage and in a little over a week had it all together for her maiden voyage. The next day ,the big day, she started up first turn, rolled down the driveway into the street and ----tranny locks up! in the middle of the street. After the help of friends and neighbors we got it back in the garage were I decided an entire mechanical overhaul was in order and my project was begun. Condition= First and foremost,  the bus is an original turkis bus with its ORIGINAL O-G PAINT! The body has some minor scratches, dings and paint defects, which can be expected for a 50 year old vehicle but has NO !! Rust,Rot or Bondo ! What you see in the pics is what you get. It does have some superficial surface rust associated with its patina, but nothing that can't be rubbed off or lightly sanded. This bus is 90-95% og metal also. The doglegs, doors, and even battery tray are in great original condition.  I only replaced front floor corners/quarters, parts of cargo floor that needed replacing, and cargo rocker. All was done using green Gerson panals and done with extreme attention to detail. I'm a straight up guy and admit I have a case of O C D when it comes to my work, what might take someone hours to do took me weeks of test fitting, drilling out spotwelds, fit and finish. In the end though it is worth the compliments I get from everyone who sees it. To help preserve and protect the floors I had my paint shop custom mix a truck bedliner material made by ppg in the blue white (top of bus) color and applied a thin coating to all the interior floors. The front nose of the bus has a few slight dents, not sure what they were from, they were there when I bought it. They seem to be more cosmetic, and I'm sure they can be finessed out buy someone with experience as I am not so I have not delt with them. Its something I was going to deal with when I was going to do an exterior resto and paint, but felt it adds to the patina now. All the window frames,rubber seals, sliding window seals and hardware were purchased from Bustoration, powder coated and installed. I had my powdercoater custom mix a batch of powder also in the blue white (bus top) color and coated all the frames, tray, Issy's safari window frames and other misc. parts to match. The Interior, was mostly complete with all the seats present and some of the interior panals badly worn (still have what panels were there and will include with sale) After a month of driving ,sitting on 8 layers of duck tape with springs popping through I decided it was time to do the interior. All seats were stripped, blasted, painted black and re-upholstered with new horse hair pads, and covers from Wolfsburg West. Wanting an Island look I installed customized panels and grass carpet from Bamboomwagens. New seatbelts were purchased in turquoise from retrobelt and are included in sale but not yet installed. There is no headliner, wanted to do custom headliner but never got time to do it. I did purchase lahala fabric to do so and will include in sale upon request only. I installed retro radio and speaker in dash (like stock no dash cutting) but have not wired in feed . Bus was converted to 12v, all lights and turn and horn works but light switch worn (new one included) and wipers still 6v and not connected (I don't drive it in the rain)  Mechanical= The locking up of the trans was the start of it all. I already had a bug trans and liked the lowered look so I removed the old rgb tranny cut 2 inches out of rear torsion tube on each side, cleaned and coated underside of bus with silver chassis paint(far superior to por paint) and installed bug trans. I cut the tubes about 6 months before someone came out with a modified springplate ,I did however keep the cutout material so in the future it could be welded back in and raised to stock hight if desired and will also include them in sale. While trans was out I installed new cables and shift rod bushings. In the front I removed beam, narrowed it 5 inches ,welded adjusters installed new tie rods and ends, new center bushing and sent spindles out to get rebuilt and flipped. I raised steering box 1.5 inches for clearance, and cleaned and coated underneath front floor with chassis paint. Front and rear brakes were rebuilt/replaced and new front bearings installed .Rims are empi sprint stars with continental tires mounted like new with about 2500 miles on them. Also have 2 new rims included still in boxes because front 2 rims had gotten small dings in shipping but didn't notice till after they were mounted and haven't really needed to change them out. Motor is a reliable 40hp that I must admit has been very good to me. I've taken many 500 mile trips with it and usually drive bus to work 2 to 3 times a week in the summer, a 125 mile round trip. That being said I don't know if I would trust it any farther, I passed up a 3300 mile round trip to the keys, maybe its just an excuse in my head for renting an air conditioned rent a car with cruise. Just seemed like a lot for the little guy :0 The flywheel and starter are still 6v, and the flywheel has 1 tooth slightly ground down .It doesn't effect starting but it is there and I am including a 12v starter, new clutch and clean used flywheel in sale. If time and weather allows I will address it before sale otherwise will be sold as is. Roof rack is not original, I bought kit from guy in Florida as a kit and built it myself. I feel it is much stronger and had it powdercoated a metallic grey and it will also be included in this sale along with the Gene Berg shifter. Sale= The bus is being sold "as is" with no warranties of any kind. No refunds, no exchanges, and no returns.  Buyer is responsible for all shipping costs and liability, but I will gladly help on my end to make it a smooth pick up for the shipping company. A $1000 non refundable deposit is due within 24 hr of final winning bid via paypal and balance paid in full within 7 days of auction close. All funds must clear my bank before the bus is released . If you have any questions, you need to ask them before you place your bid, feel free to email or call Nick at 708-259-8529. Please have all your finances in order before committing to enter into a binding contract with me for the purchase of this vehicle. Please DO NOT BID! on this auction unless you are serious about owning this vehicle. All non-paying high bidders will be reported to eBay, and negative feedback posted. The reserve price is realistic to current value however, If the reserve is not met, I may consider and contact the high bidder's offer. I reserve the right to end auction at any time.
 Clear Illinois title, registered in my name.