My dad bought one in Stuttgart in 1965. We (nine of us) rode it across Germany to the Baltic and took a ferry to Trelleborg, Sweden. What an adventure! I can only imagine what those poor people stuck behind us must have said about us 😂
Nice segment Donald, in the late 70's my wife and I would ride with her brother and his wife in their VW Bus to the N Carolina coast, that vehicle was a real workhorse, never left us stranded! Great memories, thank you sir!
So glad that I was born in Bavaria Germany in the mid '60s not far from where these were built & remember seeing them all over as they were so common, I love them & this one is just awesome! I love the camper vans PEACE LOVE n HIPPYNESS ✌💖☮
I've worked on the vanagon since the early 80"s . One thing you should have mentioned is the bus and vanagons have a very simplistic and strategic way of assembling . This make them interesting to a person with a mechanical mind. Not necessarily easy to work on, but easier to repair in the long run. Most chevy meat head mechanics will ever appreciate them. Great to see you did this review.
🎶"Feelin' Groooveee"🎶I recognized your lyrical reference Donald. Because we come from the same generation!! Great presentation of a beautiful safari...
Deluxe busses are my favourite vehicle of all time. Absolutely timeless styling, so practical, yet so much fun, and this looks like a fantastic example. Put an 1885cc engine and a thermostat-controlled oil cooler in one of these, and you can cruise all day at 65-70 mph. Thanks for showcasing this beauty! ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
Volkswagen had some of the best printed advertisements in the history of vehicles. Especially in the mid to late 50’s when the Type 1, Bus was first being produced. VW mot only had to sell a buyer on buying their car, but they had to pitch it as a station wagon as Donald had mentioned. Introducing a new silhouette of a vehicle into the market was such a tricky thing to do. The bus was almost too early for its own good. Though it was incredibly successful, you rarely see the bus shaped vehicles today being a prominent choice. I feel if it was first created during an SUV dominated era, you’d still see a bunch today.
I had a 62 Ford Econoline with a swapped 289. big power difference, also we had a Corvan which seemed to lose steering inputs on certain bumps as it was off the ground ! all these things were terribly unsafe. but fun. strange how sometimes that is the case.
Mr. Osborne, you look like a MILLION BUCKS no matter what you are driving! Even in a 21 Window I had the dubious 'privilege' of driving over 350,000 miles in three different U.S. Government owned VW Transporters (T4) over a six year period from 1996 - 2002 while stationed in Germany, from Flensburg/Hamburg in the north to Waldshut-Tiengen in the south, from Saarbrücken in the west to Berlin and Dresden in the east, and basically all points in between. The Volkswagen Transporters I drove, one SWB (2.5 liter TDI) and two long-nosed MULTIVAN (one was a 2.4 gasoline and the other remarkably sported a 2.8 liter 138 hp VR6!), were exceedingly dependable vehicles and equipped with Syncro all wheel drive! The T4 were the first to be equipped with a water-cooled, front engine and all three had sliding passenger doors on both sides, and a double 'barn door' on the rear. All three of them were painted NATO green, as expected. One of my good friends, a U.S. employed German engineer/mechanic named Wolfram, installed a Blaupunkt Stuttgart AM/FM/Cassette with 8 speakers in my last VW van, and it made all the difference in the world! Thanks, Donald, for keeping it real, and for the trip down "Erinnerungsspur"
This gentleman is always such a pleasure to see here. Some auto commentators are just plain obnoxious here on YT. This gentleman is a very pleasant relief. Great VW, too!
Back in the early 70s I drove one of these all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back again! OK, it was in Panama and it was just a daytrip. Still remember that trip and so many more.
I worked at an independent VW & Porsche shop in the early 70's and loved test driving busses after working on them. The gas pedal was almost always full on or off. My friend had one with a 356B Porsche motor in it and it made it driveable (not fast).
Donald, I appreciate your "Feeling Groovy" quote near the end of this fine presentation, a song which almost parallels the vintage of the machine you are featuring. But your spoken lyric reminds me that we are now missing the classic opera vocalization that you used to open your previous programs. I would love it if you gave us maybe 8 bars of the chorus of Vieni Sul Mar? Some may disagree with my request, but I don't mind living on the edge. Also, I think the 1964 VW engine put out 40hp from 1200cc. I once owned a 1965 cargo van and we struggled to surpass 45mph, no wind on a flat highway. Thank you man, you are a joy!
As a kid in the sixties, I rode in one of these many times, as one of my mom's best friends had one. We loved it, but we froze our butts off during the New Jersey winters in that thing.
Thank you for the highlights. NEVER EVER, heard of a gas heater burning down a bus. BUT PLEASE change out all fuel line made for new gas blends. Lack of proper fuel lines are melting busses down. I have a bay window. No issues on freeway or mountains. Tune the right . Drive them correct and smile often
The guy who ran our local VW dealer was killed in 1959 while driving one of these things. Another driver crossed the center line and hit him and his family on Xmas day. He died after one of his legs was amputated and his wife was nearly killed. The kids in the back lived. As a kid, my dad always pointed these VW vans out saying that's what his friend died in.
One of the best parts about driving a slow car "quickly". You are engaged and feel as though you are driving at much higher speeds, but there is little to no risk of breaking speed limits!
Hate them. Did a long road trip with a buddy in one. A ten hour drive takes two days. I drove him up to his parents house, a trip that would take him 12 hours, essentially. Now I do have a propensity for speed, in all honesty, but he couldn't believe we did it in 7 hours in my old Alfa GTV. Fun drive...
It’s pretty awesome even as an underpowered car, but yes, as evident by the many different engine swaps performed on VW busses over the years, many people agree.
I had one for 6 months in 1975…I loved it! It was my traveling cottage, in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Every day I woke up somewhere different
I've had 3 Busses. A 73, 74 campmobile and a 67 split window. I miss the split so much it hurts.
That bus has the world's largest "hood" ornament.
We had a ‘70 camper VW. When we had several trailing cars we called them our” loyal followers “
My best friend had a VW camper van with the pop top, hammocks, a refrigerator and sink...it was awesome.
My dad bought one in Stuttgart in 1965. We (nine of us) rode it across Germany to the Baltic and took a ferry to Trelleborg, Sweden. What an adventure!
I can only imagine what those poor people stuck behind us must have said about us 😂
That's a great story! Thank you so much for sharing
That gas heater would have you sweaty in minutes. Mine worked perfectly.
They could help you sleep also. zzzzz huh what?
Nice segment Donald, in the late 70's my wife and I would ride with her brother and his wife in their VW Bus to the N Carolina coast, that vehicle was a real workhorse, never left us stranded! Great memories, thank you sir!
So glad that I was born in Bavaria Germany in the mid '60s not far from where these were built & remember seeing them all over as they were so common, I love them & this one is just awesome! I love the camper vans PEACE LOVE n HIPPYNESS ✌💖☮
Feelin' Groovy!
I've worked on the vanagon since the early 80"s . One thing you should have mentioned is the bus and vanagons have a very simplistic and strategic way of assembling . This make them interesting to a person with a mechanical mind. Not necessarily easy to work on, but easier to repair in the long run. Most chevy meat head mechanics will ever appreciate them. Great to see you did this review.
I learned how to shift gears using one of these, it was a 1970 model back in 1973.
This is wonderful!! So glad you did a segment on such a fun vehicle!!
Donnie Osborn, feelin’ groovy!
Thanks for covering this real classic to millions of people.
Thanks for the support!
“Feelin’ Groovie” with this one. Another car I’ve lusted after.
🎶"Feelin' Groooveee"🎶I recognized your lyrical reference Donald. Because we come from the same generation!! Great presentation of a beautiful safari...
I'm 34 and I recognized it instantly. I'm probably unusual though, I don't know anyone else my age who has Simon & Garfunkel LPs in the collection
1st car was a Bug, 2nd a '72 Bus. Loved it, caught speeding in it, (56mph) & much young guy fun....
Boy do I wish I had that bus ! Worth well over $100k ! And to think my 70’ bug was $1995 delivered to the house….the best car ever…that I miss.
Deluxe busses are my favourite vehicle of all time. Absolutely timeless styling, so practical, yet so much fun, and this looks like a fantastic example. Put an 1885cc engine and a thermostat-controlled oil cooler in one of these, and you can cruise all day at 65-70 mph. Thanks for showcasing this beauty! ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
Thanks for watching!
I've had several VWs one of my favs was a 68 non-pop top camper. I rebuilt the engine with
dual Webers and an Extractor which made all the difference.
Volkswagen had some of the best printed advertisements in the history of vehicles. Especially in the mid to late 50’s when the Type 1, Bus was first being produced. VW mot only had to sell a buyer on buying their car, but they had to pitch it as a station wagon as Donald had mentioned. Introducing a new silhouette of a vehicle into the market was such a tricky thing to do. The bus was almost too early for its own good. Though it was incredibly successful, you rarely see the bus shaped vehicles today being a prominent choice. I feel if it was first created during an SUV dominated era, you’d still see a bunch today.
I had a 62 Ford Econoline with a swapped 289. big power difference, also we had a Corvan which seemed to lose steering inputs on certain bumps as it was off the ground ! all these things were terribly unsafe. but fun. strange how sometimes that is the case.
Mr. Osborne, you look like a MILLION BUCKS no matter what you are driving! Even in a 21 Window
I had the dubious 'privilege' of driving over 350,000 miles in three different U.S. Government owned VW Transporters (T4) over a six year period from 1996 - 2002 while stationed in Germany, from Flensburg/Hamburg in the north to Waldshut-Tiengen in the south, from Saarbrücken in the west to Berlin and Dresden in the east, and basically all points in between.
The Volkswagen Transporters I drove, one SWB (2.5 liter TDI) and two long-nosed MULTIVAN (one was a 2.4 gasoline and the other remarkably sported a 2.8 liter 138 hp VR6!), were exceedingly dependable vehicles and equipped with Syncro all wheel drive! The T4 were the first to be equipped with a water-cooled, front engine and all three had sliding passenger doors on both sides, and a double 'barn door' on the rear.
All three of them were painted NATO green, as expected. One of my good friends, a U.S. employed German engineer/mechanic named Wolfram, installed a Blaupunkt Stuttgart AM/FM/Cassette with 8 speakers in my last VW van, and it made all the difference in the world!
Thanks, Donald, for keeping it real, and for the trip down "Erinnerungsspur"
This gentleman is always such a pleasure to see here. Some auto commentators are just plain obnoxious here on YT. This gentleman is a very pleasant relief. Great VW, too!
Back in the early 70s I drove one of these all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back again! OK, it was in Panama and it was just a daytrip. Still remember that trip and so many more.
🎶If you love classic cars.. then Donald loves you 🎶 Took note of a comment on your singing and wanted to chime in too.
I worked at an independent VW & Porsche shop in the early 70's and loved test driving busses after working on them. The gas pedal was almost always full on or off. My friend had one with a 356B Porsche motor in it and it made it driveable (not fast).
In later life made great greenhouses.
Shhh this is a PG channel!
Donald, I appreciate your "Feeling Groovy" quote near the end of this fine presentation, a song which almost parallels the vintage of the machine you are featuring. But your spoken lyric reminds me that we are now missing the classic opera vocalization that you used to open your previous programs. I would love it if you gave us maybe 8 bars of the chorus of Vieni Sul Mar? Some may disagree with my request, but I don't mind living on the edge. Also, I think the 1964 VW engine put out 40hp from 1200cc. I once owned a 1965 cargo van and we struggled to surpass 45mph, no wind on a flat highway. Thank you man, you are a joy!
Share the channel! Help us get to 50k subscribers and maybe for our celebration video we can get Donald to sing some opera....
As a kid in the sixties, I rode in one of these many times, as one of my mom's best friends had one. We loved it, but we froze our butts off during the New Jersey winters in that thing.
Should have opened up the front glass and let the wind blow through your hair..er....eyebrows?... um... never mind. Have a pleasant day Sir.
Ooof... that was cold!
I never knew about the VW pickup! Donald, I am new to your channel and have learned so much! You have a great talent for teaching. Thank you❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much for watching our videos! So glad that you've been able to learn/enjoy!
A few years ago, these fetched six digit sums at prestigious auctions like pebble beach or Monterey! 😲
Thank you for the highlights. NEVER EVER, heard of a gas heater burning down a bus. BUT PLEASE
change out all fuel line made for new gas blends. Lack of proper fuel lines are melting busses down. I have a bay window. No issues on freeway or mountains. Tune the right . Drive them correct and smile often
As a teen in the seventies I did ride in a few. They literally lacked power to the point of sometimes impeding traffic flow.
The guy who ran our local VW dealer was killed in 1959 while driving one of these things. Another driver crossed the center line and hit him and his family on Xmas day. He died after one of his legs was amputated and his wife was nearly killed. The kids in the back lived. As a kid, my dad always pointed these VW vans out saying that's what his friend died in.
My favorite variant is the transporter. I admire vw's station wagon range but I like being able to get where I'm going.
Hello Donald . You'd be unlikey to get aa speeding ticket in this in standard tune and that's without passengers and luggage ! Thanks Donald
One of the best parts about driving a slow car "quickly". You are engaged and feel as though you are driving at much higher speeds, but there is little to no risk of breaking speed limits!
Hate them. Did a long road trip with a buddy in one. A ten hour drive takes two days. I drove him up to his parents house, a trip that would take him 12 hours, essentially. Now I do have a propensity for speed, in all honesty, but he couldn't believe we did it in 7 hours in my old Alfa GTV. Fun drive...
Both of those drives sound like a lot of fun!
Hello.
Hello, Chris! How was your Christmas? 🎅 🎄
Perfect. Thank you. Hope you and yours had a nice Christmas.@@AudrainMuseumNetwork
Ya'know,,with all the upgrades available,,,200-220 horsepower would make this vehicle awesome. That's just my opinion.
It’s pretty awesome even as an underpowered car, but yes, as evident by the many different engine swaps performed on VW busses over the years, many people agree.