Fany Bourbon - 1959 15 Window SPlit Screen Deluxe


 


For some people, like Buster Dooley, the owner of this 15-window Deluxe patina preservation is everything 


 


I’m probably going out on a bit of a limb here, but I don’t think the owner of this too cool for school 15-window, the splendidly named Buster Dooley, will mind if I bust out my favourite Dolly Parton quote for his intro: “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.” What Dolly and I am getting at is that to you and I, the vehicle you see before you is a highly desirable 15-window Deluxe with character and all the right ingredients to make it a super-cool ride. But, to the average man on the street, and I daresay Mr Dooley’s neighbours, it looks like it's been dragged out of a swamp and the suspension’s collapsed. Like I say, we know the difference and Buster knows how much time and money he’s invested in this project to get it looking just so. 


I’ll let Buster tell you how this Bus came about, though. “Ever since I was a kid I wanted a Split. My parents were never into VWs or camping but being a scout and a keen adventurer, the idea of owning one grew more and more appealing. 
“After working on friends’ VWs it was time to take the plunge and buy my first Bus. I bought a right-hand drive ’67 Kombi in yellow and white. It was all very shiny and aesthetically pleasing but after 18 months of ownership I realised my tastes had changed and I needed one of those rusty Buses.


“The hunt for this Bus, Fany Bourbon, began and after months of searching the internet I found what I was looking for – a beat up, original paint ’59 Microbus. Brilliant. Well, most people thought I’d lost the plot when I showed them the pictures but I could see the potential. 


“The guys at MCJ Imports in Oxford had brought it in a few months earlier after finding it in a scrapyard in Alabama. It had been in a crash at some point in its life and was looking very much worse for wear. The good news was that all the Deluxe trim was there, including the coat hooks, long spoon window catches, bumper trim and all the door locks. So, after checking it out and the deal struck it was loaded onto a trailer and was on its way to North Wales.
“When the Bus arrived it had no floors, huge holes in the front and rear arches, a long side panel that looked like the surface of the moon, a dash that had been hacked out, running gear that hardly turned and no engine.”


Keen as mustard, Mr Dooley steamed into the project, stripping what was left off the Bus and rolling it on its side with a dolly frame. His first lesson in welding began with the chassis. He told us, “It’s easy on heavy-gauge box section, but 1mm rusty tin, not so. I started on the small repairs the chassis needed and with my friend Ched on hand to teach me the skills and check my progress, the chassis was soon repaired. 


“With that done it was time to break out my cheque book and order some panels".


Buster had to repair about 18 inches on either side of the cargo floor, replace six out of the four outriggers and top-hat sections before moving on to the cab floor, which was in a very bad way. 


After trying to save it, Buster ended up replacing the whole shebang with one from Klassic Fab. But before welding it in he took advantage of the situation and raised the steering box for the planned lowering job that was to follow. 


Many, many more repairs followed, including replacement front arches, the long side panel, front valance, B and C post, rear arches, rear corners and battery trays. 


“At some point the dash had been chewed out by an angry dog. Someone clearly wanted the speedo so took to the dash with a tin opener. I welded in a replacement, but one night I was flicking through a mag when I noticed a ’59 Deluxe, but the dash pod had square corners. Mine was a later one! Out came the grinder and welder again and the correct one took its place.


I decided to have the underside, engine bay and floors sandblasted! I’d explained the term ‘Rat Look’ twice and that the rust and paint had lasted for 50 years but it clearly fell on deaf ears! The shot blaster had stripped both rear corners of their beautiful OG paint. He said, ‘It was rusty so I thought I was doing you a favour!’ My heart almost stopped, especially when he said he was going to do the whole lot after he’d finished his lunch! After a quick and frank discussion the Bus was taken back to my place.”


Once all of the shot had been cleaned out, the bare metal was given two coats of etch primer, two-pack high build primer, stone chip [underneath] and a thick coat of L53 Sealing-Wax Red over the top.” 


With the body ‘done’, Buster began bolting up the parts he’d amassed for the ’59. These included a four-inch narrowed beam from Franklin’s VW Werks in the US. They also supplied the dropped spindles, track rods, gas shocks and four-pot Wilwood disc brakes. 


Rancho Performance built Buster a gearbox to his spec and Wolfsburg West sent over a ton of parts in the form of a headlining, seals, switches, lenses, handles and so on. By now the Bus was starting to resemble something that might actually make the road and Buster says, “bolting on the Fuchs and letting it off the jack for the first time was an amazing achievement.


“With it looking hard as nails on the outside I turned my attention to the interior. After struggling with the rock ’n’ roll bed in my old Bus I wanted something different and this is where The Captain stepped in. I took him to see a friend’s Devon and with a handful of drawings and a sketch on the back of a fag packet he built me a replica.


“Me and Nia spent two days putting the headlining in – twice – but the results speak for themselves. With all the fresh paint and new headlining I really had to tone it down a bit so I bought a load of coffee bean sacks off eBay and Dave at DB Car Trim in Blackpool stitched them into seat covers for me. Far cheaper than leather and it’s certainly different.”





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