Salsa Samba

These days it's hard to do something different with a VW that hasn't either been done before or doesn't cause people to turn their noses up and question why. And such is the expense of fully restoring a Split that the currently fashionable trend of simply slamming and driving them in original paint and patina is getting ever more popular by the day - in fact so much so that it's now almost uncool to have one fully restored and in fresh paint, but there are still some for whom that is the ultimate goal, and Kevin Arsoneau of Alaska is definitely one of those. Not only did he rescue his Bus from a fate worse than death - yep, this is another one of those heart warming ‘not a rust-free California Bus' stories to cheer up those of us who live in the UK - he also chose to go all out on the restoration, and to throw a few New Beetle elements into the mix to give it a modern twist.
For a start, there are the wheels - they're 17-inch American Eagles, in late 5-stud Golf/New Beetle bolt pattern, more commonly sold as an aftermarket accessory for the water-cooled crowd. These are backed up with a two-tone paint scheme composed of two 2006 New Beetle colours - Harvest Moon and the jauntily entitled Salsa Red - and a stunning full custom interior all done by Kevin himself (you'll see why in a minute) that has more than its fair share of nods to the more modern cars in VW's model range. It's clear then where Kevin's inspiration came from, for the revamp of his '65 Microbus, the most recent in a line of air-cooled VWs he and his wife Fran have owned. Though they live in the breathtaking wilderness of Alaska these days, Kevin actually grew up in the Sunshine State of Florida in the '60s, so it was almost a given that he'd have a Split Screen Bus as his first car. Back then he was just beginning a career in automotive, marine and aeroplane trimming and so decided to practise on his own Bus - a '61 Kombi. 30-odd years later, he's honed his stitching skills to a fine art and has built up an enviable reputation for his work in and around the town of Chugiak in Alaska, where the couple now live. Having done the business/children (three) thing he decided to tackle another Bus, this time a desirable Samba model, though it sounds as if it was far from desirable when he located the battered and abandoned vehicle in a supermarket car park in 2005. The reason for its initial abandonment was a busted gearbox, but this it seems was the least of its troubles as, sometime after that, something big and heavy had fallen on its roof and done considerable damage. Not so much as to render the vehicle unusable, but certainly enough to make you question the $2000 price tag it came with - still, that's the price you pay for all those windows, eh?

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

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