Denis:
Every time I do one the original intent is to make a nice driver........But
then I get carried away......Some of them I do drive, like the Aussie and
the Baja. Baja has been driven more than 100,000 miles and is still ticking.
At 12:01 PM 7/27/2006, you wrote:
Well, Sammy, your quest for the absolute exact duplication is admirable but it is a sickness that I hope you get relief for soon. Think of how much happier you would be if you didn't worry about the exactitude of the material and the screws and the widgets. You should take the bus you are finishing and put it in a big glass case, then build a bus for fun, modify everything. Make it the Sammymobile.
One time I was driving Murray in Dallas and while waiting at a light 4 beautiful showroom quality busses crossed in front of me. I followed them to The Starplex music thing at the Fairgrounds. Turns out they belong to John Amend, a nice guy, but he lives in the former Hunt mansion on White Rock Lake. He showed me all the busses and I inspected them probably better than he knew how to and I found a tiny bit of rust way up under the front mat. He said that he would "Get my guys on that right away". And told me to come by and see his Ghias and his Porsches. Of course, when I did come by he talked to me through the iron bars of the 10 foot fence and said he was really busy.
Anyway, whenever I hear somebody talk about having the perfect repro bus, I think of those 4 busses, perfect and sitting in a big garage with the perfect Ghias and the perfect Porches, prisoners rarely seen. (sob)
----- Original Message ----- From: "Sammie Smith" <slsmith@xxxxxxxxx> To: <tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 11:27 AM Subject: [tcb] Re: Dan is so full of crap. Not really. Dan is a swell guy
Denis: After this bus I may never do another one. This one has about killed me. Note on the true tent: How about some photos posted somewhere, and a true tent for what year. My tent is a true Westy tent for the 65-67 pop top SO-42. But earlier and later tents I don't know much about. The drive-away tents for the bubble window westy are essentially the same as the tent for the split pop tops (same material) except they have the poles on the exterior and they have a floor. They would be possible to repop but the correct material would be another matter. Kind of like the correct curtains for a 65-67 Westy. Fairly easy to make but impossible to duplicate the material.
If you go to this link there is a photo of my 65 Westy with the tent in place at Paul's show in 04.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=91444
At 09:46 AM 7/27/2006, you wrote:Cool, Sammy. Are you going to sell it while you are here? That is your plan of retirement, to build busses full time, for sale?
I was at Andrew and Debbie Barnes' home last night and he has a true vintage side tent. The top part is pretty rotted. I told him that you knew all about them. Does the top have pockets at the corners or is it all tied into place? I think that I will take what he has and make a pattern and make some replicas.
By the way, Andrew is a hell of a tool maker. He showed me several that he makes from scratch. Like a Torquemiester. Made by himself. Thick heavy major tools.
And they have a hedgehog.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Sammie Smith" <slsmith@xxxxxxxxx> To: <tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 8:57 AM Subject: [tcb] Re: Dan is so full of crap
Hey Denis, I am. Bringing the "new" panel van, I hope.
At 12:50 PM 7/26/2006, you wrote:So, Dan says that he and Kat are not coming to the Eureka Springs show. I still believe that it is a primo show, one of the best in the country. So, instead of talking about who is coming, let's talk about who is not.
