1963 VW 23-window Microbus
1963 VW 23-window Microbus
I wouldn’t have one of those hippy mobiles as a gift!
They are pure crap!
You can be sure that some anti-American bought this.
Only worth it if it was red and full of garbage from Thanksgiving dinner.
(Highly Obscure 1967 Musical Reference.)
2 Questions:
1. Was it purchased by 11 long haired friends of Jesus?
2. Is it chartreuse?
I’ve driven a few VW buses and found them a rare bit of fun to drive. The old ones weren’t good for the interstates but otherwise a person just needed to work the gearshift a lot and keep the gas pedal down.
VW back then was far more innovative and interesting company then any today.
It’s a lot for a microbus, but someone obviously feel in love with it.
One must also remember that this was not the yearly auction B-J holds in Scottsdale, Arizona which is always filled with the best items to go to bid that year. That’s the auction where B-J will handpick everything and the primetime items (usually saturday evening) can hit mid 6 figures or higher.
B-J holds smaller auctions in cities like OC, Palm Beach - FL, and Las Vegas. These usually have only a few true bidding war items that will got way over true market value.
And if you watched last years auction in scottsdale, you really got a taste of how bad the economy is. Prices have really returned to reality as many would not reach the sellers minimum bid and would leave unsold, compared to Barrett’s golden years right before the credit crisis kicked in. Years like 2005-2007 when mint baracudas and old school concept cars from the 50’s and 60’s were hitting over 1 million, some going multi-million.
During that time, the Cobra “super snake” hit the all time record for a B-J auction for 5 mill. It was Carol Shelby’s prototype Cobra that he had built and kept for himself. During these years, all the biggest names were clearing out their collections because soo many deep pockets were around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPES8hxU4dM&feature=player_embedded#at=23
And if you want to see what was probably the peak of the Barrett-Jackson years, it was the 2005 auction for the F-88 concept car built in 1954 by Harley Earl at Oldsmobile. The bidding got soo out of hand, it’s the stuff of legend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm5RqBZ7XqU
I think he should build another few of those ASAP to the same high standard (and, you can't argue, the darned thing did look absolutely immaculate) to sell at future auctions. He could really rake it in.
One of the announcers did opine that we're undoubtedly going to see some copycat builds in the future. I don't know how big the market will be in the end, but we know there were at least two guys willing to spend pretty close to $200K.
I gotta admit, for $200k, I might let my dream vehicle go also. I had a 1967 Camero I bought new in 67 and kept all the way through my younger days and into the Army. I had to sell it for $400 when I went broke after I got out of the military. If I could find it and get it restored by Foose, it would take some bucks to get it away from me again. $200k might get it.
Keeping my money for the right mint restored AMC Pacer.
I had a 63 microbus when I was in college. A great traveling party.
I watched the Indy car race but during the cautions and commercials flipped over to the auction.
Fortunately at the right moment to see the green ‘40 Pontiac.
Oh Man!! That was my show stopper.
Maybe the most dangerous vehicle ever on American roads. Very little between the front seat and anything running into the front end. No heater. Waaaay underpowered. No, not every owner was a hippie. My Dad is a Korean War Veteran and he bought one. The poor man’s rv at the time. I learned to drive in one. Me and my buddy John took it to a parking lot, parked on some gravel, revved the engine to the max, dropped the clutch, and the old red and white beast chugged away with nary a rock flying.
More of the story here with many more pictures:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1155981