Single Cab Rescue South African Style

[Jdt1976]

Found this on The Samba. Looks like it was somewhere in the Karoo.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=615559

[sean]

This is just so terrible. It is so wrong that these just disappear overseas without them ever becoming available locally to save.

[Donovan D]

This is a shame, even though it looks like there is a lot of body work to be done. Should be a lot easier to just get one locally in running condition than going this route.

[CooP]

This is just so terrible. It is so wrong that these just disappear overseas without them ever becoming available locally to save.

But it was. It was parked on the same spot for thirty years.

[sean]

This is just so terrible. It is so wrong that these just disappear overseas without them ever becoming available locally to save.

But it was. It was parked on the same spot for thirty years.

Did you you know exactly where this bus was situated? Because if you didn't take it or share it with others to its availability you committed a crime in my eyes.

[CooP]

This is just so terrible. It is so wrong that these just disappear overseas without them ever becoming available locally to save.

But it was. It was parked on the same spot for thirty years.

Did you you know exactly where this bus was situated? Because if you didn't take it or share it with others to its availability you committed a crime in my eyes.

No of course not. I would have posted it here if I had ever come across such a thing. I resent the implication.

[jolas]

Nee wat - hold on both of you before the big padlock from the sky descends on us !!!!

Coop, I dont think Sean meant to "implicate" you personally, no need to defend your good self, you have posted available Kombis , etc, etc before - and Sean your record of saving these old ladies is also well recorded .... you are both bona-fide Kombi nutters

The sad reality here is that many of these farms are really way off the beaten track. It's impossible for us "locals" to know about each scrap pile on each farm, especially in such remote and vast regions. I can tell you now that one of us (here on this forum) would have paid for and rescued that particular SC if we'd known about it.
Although it has gone across the pond, I do take my hat off to that dude for his efforts in saving that truck. But that is besides the point.

Hundreds of such examples have ended up at the crushers, even busses and pickups in better condition. I have no doubt that this one would have also ended up as a knife and fork or washing machine part if this guy had'nt seen it.

I personally know of 3 single cabs in similar condition, but the owners of these farms are SO, SO, damned difficult to talk with. Sean and I have travelled hundreds of kilometres on numerous occasions and personally chatted with some of these farm owners, but f*k it is such a frustrating and expensive excercise. Not that we'll give up. And I'm sure that many more forum members also know of more hidden treasures.

Guys, if you do have leads or know of such vehicles, get cracking and make a plan to get the damned thing. If it is beyond your means - hell man, share the info with someone you trust. If the owners says "no", thats fine, just keep on his case, at least 4 or 5 times per year ......... when the time comes, he will probably phone you first.

That SC which is in the States now would probably cost at least R90k to R100k just to get it running - excluding upholstery, paint, wiring and all the cosmetics.

[Jdt1976]

This SC is on it's way to the UK. It is advertised for sale on the SSVC

The price is £8000.
If he does get his price, then it's not a bad income.

http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic. ... 1&t=107657

No wonder our busses are still getting exported.

[beetlepower]

Who is this Mark?

[sean]

No, my issue is the following. It must be local person that is in on this.

I cant imagine that this buyer from the US or UK it seems now was leisurely on holiday and just happened to stumble across this wreck in the middle of Karoo by chance..... Its highly unlikely. The Karoo spans 1000's of km's.

Just the other day I was sent an old link of an add posted on a foreign website which specifically stated the bus was standing in Cape Town waiting for an overseas buyer. This just pisses me off, because this seller only specifically advertised it on foreign websites for export. He could have easily advertised it locally and had a buyer for it. This happened to be a very original early split complete ambulance which belong to the town of Aliwal North. This was South African history and this exporter couldn't be bothered to preserve it.

[fig]

On one hand we all get upset when we see buses being recovered under our noses and exported; on the other we complain about the high and rising prices of buses.

I hate it when our classic cars leave the country, but it really doesn't surprise me when exporters advertise overseas only, since they no doubt get endless flak from locals who are not in the market anyway because of the prices.

We can't have it both ways. We either pay global market prices or we lose our classics.

I repost lots of gumtree ads here and the greatest response seems to be shock and outrage at the asking prices. I generally only repost ads for really good looking or otherwise interesting cars at what I consider reasonable prices; I don't bother with the "overpriced" stuff. I know of only two forum members who have bought cars from ads I reposted.

Is the "Mark" mentioned above Mark Sauls? I've also recently noticed (thanks Jaco) that former big-time bus and classic car exporter Rob Willison is still in the game after being under my radar for a few years. He has a storage facility near Cape Town and is currently advertising buses on the SSVC forum.