The Bus

Last weekend Nat and I headed up to the North East to see my parents for a bit and took that chance to check the bus over. The louvered window that wouldn't budge an inch last time was fixed, the battery charged up and then the tyres were flattened in order to remove it from the my parents garage that I filled for the second time (last time it was with a 50 deg board). Removing it from the garage isn't fun at all, there is a one inch concrete lip that means the roof comes painfully close to the garage door (even after wooden panels are removed and it's pushed off its runners!) and the flattened tyres mean steering it is like wrestling a large bear. After about an hour and the help of Natalie and Dad the van was out and the tyres were re-inflated for a run out.



I'm really sad to be putting the van up for sale, it took me a long time to research and find and I've put some hard work in myself on some of the electronics.
I checked it over and everything seemed great apart from the rear hatch. The catch has always been a pain but it just wouldn't budge this time, after a while of trying we decided to drive it down to the local garage while dad booked his *cough* Volvo in for a test and mot, annoyingly the catch had rattled loose on the journey, some prying with a large screw driver (aren't old vehicles great) it was fixed and it turned out the guy (who I didn't really want to touch it as he fudged some electrics on the mini with his fat fingers) was a VW enthusiast, having a rather nice 2000cc beetle, and a buggy which was about to receive a nice shiny 1600cc lump (it was sitting on an engine stand and I couldn't help but think it would look damn nice in the bus).
Now it's on the market and interest seems high although one bloke walked away this morning, I think he was somewhat naive to expect an unpatched front cab floor on a RHD British bus, it rains in this country and we use SALT!!! It isn’t going to be the same as a Californian import. Hopefully whoever buys it will take it on a long deserved trip and take care of it.I've always liked cars, especially older ones and flicking through the VW sites today this caught my eye, its not as if someone my age can afford to insure anything head turning and fun so old might have to be the way, its a 1955 oval beetle with a 1600cc twin carb engine.

I saw some pictures of it at Santa Pod so I bet it can move. I'm currently trying to persuade Nat that we need to attend Bugjam this year, the idea of a great big camper blasting off the line on two wheels doesn't seem to have the same appeal for her.




(ps - Sorry to all the climbers who aren't interested in cars who read this, although it seems a general trend that people who climb hard like cars and drive fast, anyone else had a lift with Simon Lee recently?)