Buried Treasure
February 2, 2014 4:36 AM   Subscribe

Jeremy Cutts of Idaho, his wife Stacey and their two little girls age 10 and 11 are all big Volkswagen fans. So when they spotted a VW pickup truck that had been abandoned for 45 years and gradually buried in the foothills outside of Idaho Falls, they weren't just going to leave it there...
posted by the latin mouse (14 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
That's a Type-2 flatbed. Same chassis as more familiar bus. the Pretty damned rare find in the US. It looks to be in amazing condition, considering its age and where it's been left sitting.

Hope they plan to restore it.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:15 AM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


Thanks for all the phone calls and emails about Forgotten VW's that we have received. This video has helped rescue several abandoned and otherwise forgotten VW's that may have been left for dead including a very cool 1960 VW Double Cab that we got out of Missouri that had been sitting since 1965. We also recently returned from Mission Viejo California where we picked up a 1961 SO-23 Westfalia. This bus had been sitting since 1980. We got a tip on that bus after someone saw the Forgotten Single Cab video. Give us a call today if you know of one. Thanks again. Skeeters

Looks like they restored it. ;)
posted by ambrosen at 5:44 AM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm surprised it didn't rust away. Must be really dry in Idaho.
posted by Halogenhat at 6:11 AM on February 2, 2014


I drove a 6 volt T1 Panel Van in the 70's. It apparently made it in just before the Chicken War...
posted by jim in austin at 6:27 AM on February 2, 2014


That was pretty cool but as they were digging out from under the bus while the backhoe's hydraulics slowly bled down I was like NOOOOOO block it UP!!!!!!
posted by localroger at 6:49 AM on February 2, 2014 [3 favorites]


I'm surprised it didn't rust away. Must be really dry in Idaho.

About 11 inches a year in Idaho Falls itself; the farm where the VW was dug up could be in a lower or higher rain band than that, of course.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:49 AM on February 2, 2014


I've always loved the shape of those vans. Would love to see it restored.
posted by arcticseal at 6:53 AM on February 2, 2014


I had a sweet 1970 bus that I drove from '78 to '84. I loved that quirky beast; many, many good times were had. I know that sitting right behind the flimsy front wall was dangerous ( and chilly in the winter), but there's nothing like sitting right over the front wheels for control. Plus, it was an amateur wrencher's dream - I could change/adjust the points, plugs and condenser in 10 minutes, adjust the timing statically with a lightbulb, and balance the carbs with two orange juice cans. I support anyone who keeps the busses that are left rolling.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 6:55 AM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]


I've love to have a single (or double cab) VW but they're even more dear than busses these days.

New years resolution to get my '73 Super back on the road this year (and maybe take it to a show).
posted by octothorpe at 7:05 AM on February 2, 2014


Every time I see an old VW bus I cannot help but to think of Benny. Benny lived down the street from us when I was about 12. He would come rolling down the street in his van, windows open, music blaring, long hair flowing, girlfriend smiling and smoke billowing. I never could tell if the smoke was coming from under the van or in the van, but I suspect a little of both. I actually suspect a lot from inside and a little from the engine, but I could be wrong about the engine. What I never could understand as a 12 year old was the loud screams that would emanate from the van at night. Even, especially, while it was parked.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:20 AM on February 2, 2014 [9 favorites]


I didn't get to the end of it. Great. Now there is a VW pickup AND a caterpillar backhoe buried in the foothills outside of Idaho Falls.
posted by Colonel Panic at 8:00 AM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


I grew up in a VW family. My first car was a '72 bus (shared as needed with my brother and an Opel GT) and the last car I loved was my near-mint '84 Westy that I stupidly sold when I incorrectly assumed I couldn't afford the repair when I tore the side open on a fire hydrant. To buy that bus back now would set me back $10,000. But, like Sokka shot first, the Syncro Westy is also my dream car.
posted by sourwookie at 9:34 AM on February 2, 2014


That 23 window carcass was worth at least 30 grand. Well worth "rescuing".
posted by Gungho at 10:21 AM on February 2, 2014


I have always been afraid of VW buses, despite never having had my hands on any plutonium.
posted by lauranesson at 7:58 PM on February 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


« Older Need something to read?   |   When to Separate the Art From the Artist Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments