I bought a 1968 VW van in the later 70s, not much different from this 1955 model which was abandoned in the woods in France 40 years ago. Mine was almost the same, except for the color, it had windows on the side, the rear window and tail lights were bigger. Oh, and the split front seats, which allowed me to crouch walk into the back without exiting.
I have often thought of that bus since. It was the first vehicle I bought, the first engine I pulled out and partially rebuilt. I don’t even change oil any more. Cars are different now, better, but also so complicated that I rarely work on them.
But I digress. I liked this video. A guy tracked down this abandoned van on a tip, found it, bought it from the land owner, and was going to have it towed out. Then he decided to drive it out. Ordered up some parts, put in a motor, gas tank, brakes, wheels, wiring, and boom, drove it out. You couldn’t do that with the cars they make today.
Giving credit for the story, the photo above, and the video-
AirMapp is a great channel of rescued and refurbished VW vans.
They found a 1955 panel van abandoned for decades in the mountains. At first they planned to tow it to a shop, but then they decided to take the parts up the mountain. Very satisfying ending.
I can’t figure how to embed the video, so if someone can do that, I would appreciate.
Link to video.
It is quite pretty to watch, even it you aren’t that into old VWs. They must have used drones to film the forest.