'67 Split Panel Van

There's long been a bumper sticker available that reads ‘This is not an abandoned vehicle', and how we've all laughed when we've seen them plastered across the back of Buses and Beetles that do indeed look like they should be making up local council landfill, rather than something you'd entrust your life to out on the open road. But not every one of these Buses is as it at first seems. Joe Average in the street will probably never get what's going on with this kind of vehicle, but increasingly we're seeing people undertaking what could loosely be described as ‘sympathetic restorations', both in an attempt to preserve some of the history of the vehicle (and that much overused word, patina) and also, truth be told, to keep the restoration costs down and the useability of the vehicle up. With the cost of a good, professional paintjob these days well into the thousands, it's a stretch too far for some people, especially as it can mean ending up with a car that you're actually afraid to leave out on the street or worry about when parking in a car park. When it comes to ratty-looking Buses, it also just so happens to be rather fashionable right now to have one that looks like it's been dragged out of a barn (or a skip) and put back on the road without even so much as a cursory clean. And while there are seemingly more of this kind of Bus out there these days than fully restored ones, there are a few in particular that people always remember. Of those, the so-called ‘Linde Bus' is probably the best known among European VW fans, and long-time readers will undoubtedly remember the photoshoot we ran on it several years ago, showing its builder and then owner Walter Jelinek being pulled at speed behind it on a mechanic's creeper.

For the full story on this car make sure you pick up a copy of the May 2009 issue of VolksWorld 

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