Stolen '65 VW Microbus found after 35 years

[OvenMaster]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/06/california.stolen.vw/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

 

[ehoove]

Wow it is in wonderful shape. The owner should have the right to buy it back for the settlement. IMHO
Regards,
Jim

 

[kcollins4]

Very cool, and in my favorite color too.:thmbsp:

 

[hatrack71]

I used to have a '68, two '70s, and two '72s. The '68 wasn't a split window but still had the upright 1600. I would love to own another one of those, especially the 24 window 1964 micro with the rollback rag top in red of course!:yes: Oh, you know what, I wouldn't mind having a '58 barn door either, you could practically crawl inside the engine compartment to work on it. A little more work every oil change though, you also had to readjust the valves at the same time.

 

[Ohighway]

The owner should have the right to buy it back for the settlement. IMHO

I think so too. However they'd probably have to spend $50k suing the insurance company before that would ever happen.... if at all..

 

[wajobu]

Wow

 

[Sandy G]

Wow it is in wonderful shape. The owner should have the right to buy it back for the settlement. IMHO
Regards,
Jim

Yep. That would gain the Insurance Co. all sorts of great publicity & goodwill, which is precisely why they more than likely WON'T do it...

 

[clydeselsor]

Beautiful!

 

[jayk]

way back in '65 when i was 13, my dad took a sabbatical from his work, bought a '63 m'bus, rented out our house in n.h. for the summer, and we took off on a 3 month, ~9,000 mile trip around the u.s.

around about fresno, it needed a valve job, then made it the rest of the trip.

 

[teknofossil]

I think so too. However they'd probably have to spend $50k suing the insurance company before that would ever happen.... if at all..

They are probably in a rest home or worse...

-T

 

[kaplang]

Nice restore but I doubt it has a value of $27,000. I've had a 64, 71 and still have my 84 vanagon. The 71 with the dual port 1600 was the best. I should have kept it. Hind sight is always 20/20.

 

[ekmanning5]

We had one stolen as well. Must have been around 1972. wonder why they were so hot?

 

[dgwojo]

Jack Kevorkian I think used a van like that for his assisted suicides, they're making a movie in Detroit about him, maybe the VW will be in it?? :sigh:

 

[vtomike]

I have 2 buses. A 1958 westfalia and a 1965 kombi. I am VP of Vintage Transporter Owners. I have had about 25 over the years. The barndoor buses stopped production in 1955. I drive them all over the western states on club trips. Would love to see that bus go to a VW enthusiast.

 

[hatrack71]

Vtomike, thanks for the correction on the barn doors. I spent many a year drooling over '50s buses but could never find one. The only splitty I found from the '50s was a truck with the folding side panels. The owner wouldn't sell it even though he never did anything with it. I remember walking by it a least once a week and imagining it in my garage going through a complete restore. It actually had the larger engine compartment door and would've been a real beauty had I ever gotten my hands on it. I really wanted to save it and still wonder to this day whatever happened to it.:tears:

 

[hypertone]

I had a 76 Westfalia camper, with a 79 hydraulic lifter 2 liter. It was a lot of fun, I wish I still had it.

 

[Mark W.]

The original owners were paid for the Van when it was stolen the van belongs to the insurance company just like gold found on the bottom of the Ocean 100-200 yeara after the ship wreck. You make a deal with the insurance company to make you whole after a loss. They take the risk and if they loose they pay and then it's up to them to recover anything from the loss if they can.

The original owners of the van have no rights to it nor do they have the right to buy it back once they have excepted the settlement.

 

[OvenMaster]

The owner wants it back!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125790137076542665.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel

She's hoping to pay maybe $5,000. :lmao:

Good luck fighting Allstate on that one, lady!

 

[chillwolf]

When we lived in Germany in the 60s my Dad bought a 63 VW bus. I think he paid like $1600 for it brand new. We sure needed it as I had 3 brothers and 3 sisters!