I’m putting my 1971 Early Bay Tintop up for sale as I have found something else I would like to buy. My Early Bay is one of those Vdubs that I’m sure I will regret selling as I sourced it in California myself and brought it back to life but I can’t keep them all I suppose. The upside to all this is that now someone else can get to enjoy this Early Bay Tintop.
I found this Early Bay in Santa Maria in California on Craigslist. It had all the hallmarks of a low mileage, low owner, OG paint Bus and that’s what I had been searching for in California for nearly 12 months. Although it had always been a California based Bus I needed to be sure of its condition so I asked Randy Carlson of Oldbug.com to view the Bus for me and give his professional and expert opinion on it. Randy’s email was glowing and advised me to buy it ASAP as good OG metal Buses are getting extremely rare, hard to find and when they are found they don’t hang about for long. That’s all I needed to hear so I contacted the owner and bought it there and then.
Randy later stored the Bay for me until the shippers were ready to take delivery of my new Bus. Randy also took more photos to reassure me that I bought a good ‘un and was there to hand over the Bus to the shippers. The next step in this Bus’ history was its journey to the port in LA, then a cross country ride on a truck to Houston Texas before being loaded into a container and shipped across the pond to Felixstowe and then its final leg to Ireland was on a car transporter with much newer cars than the Early Bay!
Here’s a list of some of the things I’ve done on the Bus since it landed in Ireland:
• I bought a complete new headliner from Wolfsburg West which I had professionally fitted – I was too afraid to mess this one up!
• The entire Bus received a clearcoat in semi gloss so it still retains its OG paint without looking too shiny.
• New rubber seals were fitted all round including front and rear windscreen, door seals, sliding door seal, near side and off side rubber and chrome scrapper
• Bought and fitted 4 new Commercial Rated Tyres 195/R14C.
• 1600cc Twin Port engine on a single carb was fully rebuilt only 3,000 miles ago
• All fuel lines replaced and the carburettor was fully refurbished.
• Heat and sound insulation applied throughout the Bus and now it’s as quiet as it is snug!
• ¾ Rock and Roll bed complete with new upholstery
• Orignal seats shotblasted and powdercoated in black, along with new seat foam and TMI seat covers for driver and passengers seats, it sure makes it a comfy drive now!
• The cab floor had a small area of rust on each side of the floor, which was cut out and new metal welded in, the Bus is now 100% rust free
• I fitted new Double Lined Blackout curtains from VW Campers Curtains in Lincolnshire, http://www.vwcampercurtains.co.uk
• I bought new curtain rails at the Volksworld Show this year, the silent gliss type that tuck neatly into the roof
• Steering Pin replaced
• All four shocks were replaced
• New balljoints fitted all round
• Ordered new key barrel for drivers door from Baughman Locksmith in America http://www.baughmanlock.com and spare keys for the doors so one key opens
• I fitted a leisure battery and a USB socket to charge and power a cigarette lighter/Sat Nav
• All of the OG Deluxe trim is in place and was carefully removed prior to the clearcoating
• Being a 1971 US model, it has front disc brakes and servo as standard
My girlfriend and I have just returned from a month long holiday in the Bus where we toured parts of France, clocking up over 2,500 trouble free miles. This was a holiday of a lifetime and the Bus never missed a beat as it took us from Cherbourg to Mont Saint Michel, Nantes, Il de ré, Bordeaux and back up to the D Day Landing Spots.
The price I am asking for this OG paint, OG metal Early Bay Tintop with proven mechanicals is just €15,500 OVNO, I am happy to answer any questions you may have so feel free to contact me here or by PM.
http://s570.photobucket.com/user/Earlybay/profile/
I found this Early Bay in Santa Maria in California on Craigslist. It had all the hallmarks of a low mileage, low owner, OG paint Bus and that’s what I had been searching for in California for nearly 12 months. Although it had always been a California based Bus I needed to be sure of its condition so I asked Randy Carlson of Oldbug.com to view the Bus for me and give his professional and expert opinion on it. Randy’s email was glowing and advised me to buy it ASAP as good OG metal Buses are getting extremely rare, hard to find and when they are found they don’t hang about for long. That’s all I needed to hear so I contacted the owner and bought it there and then.
Randy later stored the Bay for me until the shippers were ready to take delivery of my new Bus. Randy also took more photos to reassure me that I bought a good ‘un and was there to hand over the Bus to the shippers. The next step in this Bus’ history was its journey to the port in LA, then a cross country ride on a truck to Houston Texas before being loaded into a container and shipped across the pond to Felixstowe and then its final leg to Ireland was on a car transporter with much newer cars than the Early Bay!
Here’s a list of some of the things I’ve done on the Bus since it landed in Ireland:
• I bought a complete new headliner from Wolfsburg West which I had professionally fitted – I was too afraid to mess this one up!
• The entire Bus received a clearcoat in semi gloss so it still retains its OG paint without looking too shiny.
• New rubber seals were fitted all round including front and rear windscreen, door seals, sliding door seal, near side and off side rubber and chrome scrapper
• Bought and fitted 4 new Commercial Rated Tyres 195/R14C.
• 1600cc Twin Port engine on a single carb was fully rebuilt only 3,000 miles ago
• All fuel lines replaced and the carburettor was fully refurbished.
• Heat and sound insulation applied throughout the Bus and now it’s as quiet as it is snug!
• ¾ Rock and Roll bed complete with new upholstery
• Orignal seats shotblasted and powdercoated in black, along with new seat foam and TMI seat covers for driver and passengers seats, it sure makes it a comfy drive now!
• The cab floor had a small area of rust on each side of the floor, which was cut out and new metal welded in, the Bus is now 100% rust free
• I fitted new Double Lined Blackout curtains from VW Campers Curtains in Lincolnshire, http://www.vwcampercurtains.co.uk
• I bought new curtain rails at the Volksworld Show this year, the silent gliss type that tuck neatly into the roof
• Steering Pin replaced
• All four shocks were replaced
• New balljoints fitted all round
• Ordered new key barrel for drivers door from Baughman Locksmith in America http://www.baughmanlock.com and spare keys for the doors so one key opens
• I fitted a leisure battery and a USB socket to charge and power a cigarette lighter/Sat Nav
• All of the OG Deluxe trim is in place and was carefully removed prior to the clearcoating
• Being a 1971 US model, it has front disc brakes and servo as standard
My girlfriend and I have just returned from a month long holiday in the Bus where we toured parts of France, clocking up over 2,500 trouble free miles. This was a holiday of a lifetime and the Bus never missed a beat as it took us from Cherbourg to Mont Saint Michel, Nantes, Il de ré, Bordeaux and back up to the D Day Landing Spots.
The price I am asking for this OG paint, OG metal Early Bay Tintop with proven mechanicals is just €15,500 OVNO, I am happy to answer any questions you may have so feel free to contact me here or by PM.
http://s570.photobucket.com/user/Earlybay/profile/
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