The front beam is done! With Brakes installed! The corners are coming along also. holes cut and lights test fitted, Looking good. Check out the pics

A little more work has been done on my bus this weekend. The beam has been getting some finishing touches. A few welds here and there, primer and paint. Ryan has also been working on the Spindles. He should have then flipped and ready to go in no time. I did some sandblasting on my wheels. Still have some more to do but hope to work on it more on wednesday then they can be primed and painted. I found some 2" gauges at Harbor freight. I got a Tach and Oil temp. Cheap. They should fit nicely in the spot above the driver side Sun visor.

Just found out that Bugs & Busses Invade the Village, my favorite VW show, has been canceled this is bad news. I wanted this to be the first show that i took my bus to. I knew I wasn't going to get to take it this year anyway so i guess that gives me more time to finish it. Just hope they don't cancel it in 2011. Not much going on with my bus. Money has been tight and my Honda broke down a few weeks back. It took about 1k to fix it this last week. Good news is that its all fixed. bad news is that grand would have gone a long way with my bus.

Things have been a little Slow as far as the Panel goes. So How about watching a few dirt bike Videos I recorded?!

You can fallow 56panel on Twitter @56panel.com also fallow my Photography Twitter account @bustedfilm and my regular personal account(i use this the most) @ellectronico

Well not much to update. My budget seems to have gone down to minimum due to unforeseen Dr. Bills. However i am scrounging to build it up again. I will have to start working more this next few weeks due to the busy Christmas season so i will have some extra money to use on the bus. So keep an eye out here for more updates.

Well i have my Bus back from the sand blasters! Looks good. Ryan got a coat of primer on it a few weeks back. its looking more and more like a Bus now. I got a set of repop Safari Windows on ebay awhile back as well. they are in good shape. i still need to find the seals and dash tabs though.

Sorry for the Poor video quality. for some reason my phone camera was set to the lowest setting

A few new things with my bus. Ryan pushed the bus outside so he could spray on some more por-15 undercoating. His home made bus stand works out great. Thinking about taking it to get it sand blasted. Ryan knows a place in Visallia that can do it. Not 100% sure yet if i want to have them do it. I'm sure i can do it myself. would take some time but would save some money. then again it would be great to just get that done and out of the way. once its blasted then i will look more like a bus! I went to the Sacramento Bug-O-Rama with Darrel a few weeks back. the weather was nice. not hot at all. in fact we were quite cold at night. I didnt find anything that i needed or wanted to buy. the prices were high on most eveything this time.

went to a few Shows this last month. Bakersfield and Medera. I found a 3rd Brakelight Decklid! Now all i need as paf as Metal goes is Belly Pans. Im still looking! Celest was in a car accident on our way to the Medera show last weekend. We think the guy fell asleep while he was speeding. She kept control of the car very well and no one was hurt.

Ryan did some more Metal work on my bus. Check out my new Wheel Wells

Havent updated in awhile. Not that anyone ever reads this. But just in case, here it is. Work on my bus has been a little slow because of the holidays and it being winter. I have still been collecting parts. I got Headlights, turn signals, Reserve fuel tap, headlight switch, Door handles that all lock with the same key and roof rack. I still need a bunch of other parts like, all the brakes, motor, belly pans, windows, deck lid and so on. Looks like i am not gunna make it to OCTO the weekend. Darel is busy and my uncle has to work. i dont wanna go by myself. I will however be going to the Bakersfield show and Medera. Should be a good time. I installed my CB antennas on my rack just to see what it would look like.At 102 inches They are super long. it looks crazy. Forget about the Drive through. A Few pics. Some new Metal work . CB Antennas.

Now it looks like a BUS!

I took this last night and thought it was cool

Check out this Cool new toy Ryan built. This Beach Cruiser is Fitted with an 80cc 2stroke engine! Its Soon to have a Modified frame! I would like to have one but cant find a bike frame i like. Check out the pics.

Work Continues on the Panel. Ryan has made a stand which lets him flip the bus over on its side. It works very well but is still under construction!

Just a few things to update. I got a westie tent today. I got a good deal on it i feal. Check out the pics. I also Found some(what i thought to be but turned out not) Ambulance Fan switches. It has come to my attention that Allot of people on The Samba are Douche Bags. That is all

Well I haven't done an update in awhile so i thought i would fill everyone in on whats going on. Not much to tell though. I'm still Collecting parts for my bus. I found a Dove Blue Drivers door and dove blue rear apron. I dont have them yet but they should be in the mail. I scored a Bay window westy tent off CraigsList. Got a good deal on it i think. it looks almost new and should be complete. He sent a few pics but they suck. I'm waiting to get that in the mail also. I also found a bus ladder on the samba. I am not sure what kind it is but it should work ok. Check the pics out below I got a set of Bus reflectors off the samba. the ad said that they were "55-57 German Bus Reflectors NOS" Well they look like repops to me. A friend of Ryan's was selling a Yamaha 50 and a Honda 200 3 wheeler. I went to check them out and ended up buying the 3 wheeler. I would have liked to buy the 50 but Ryan had already made a deal with the guy for it I have a few Crummy camera phone pics of them The Pink Paint has been removed to its original Yellow Its a 200cc even though the seat is from a 250 The Ladder

I didn't get to go to OCTO after all this last weekend Some things came up last min so it was a no go. Looks like I missed a bunch of cool VW's. Everyone looks like they had a good time. I missed out on some parts as well. NAES had a roof rack for sale that i would have loved to get. Oh well.

 Rich has a rear hatch for me in fresno. I guess i should just drive up there an get it. the price is right. I'm still looking for a driver door. I had a guy call me and say he had one i could have. the only problem is he is down in northern Cali. He was going to figure a way to get it up here to me but never called me back. I have lost his number. There is an early Dove Blue door for sale on the Samba right now for $225. It looks like it is in ok shape. I'm just not sure if its worth 225. Yes it is the color i need. but that just seems a little bit high. Maybe not, i dont know.

finding good deals on parts is tuff let me tell you! I did get those repop tail lights at Medara for a good price though. One thing is for sure you will almost never find a good deal on Ebay as far as old VW parts go. All the parts sharks watch that place like a hawk!

 I burned out my CB Radio the other day while i was hooking it up to my car(not my fault, the wires were labeled incorrectly) So i went online to find something new. I found this cool radio for 10 bucks! Vintage 60's 23 channel  Midland! How cool is that?

I dont think i will be using this one though. Maybe just for show. SO i decided to get this one also! Check out this Bad Boy! Its a Magnum s-9.
 
I'll be able to enjoy this while my bus gets fixed. Then i will mount it in that permanently with Dual whip antennas!



 OH! I saw this bike for sale. I WANT IT SOOO BAD. Its So sweet. But the guy wouldnt give me a price. He said he is still looking for a value for it. He told me to come back in a few days. Its a mid 60's Honda cb77. 305cc street bike! Sorry for the bad camera phone pic.

Well it looks like the metal for my panel is almost here. Thats good.

Looks like i am gunna miss Bug-O-Rama this year. The drive up to Sacramento is just so crappy. It makes it hard to get up there.
I think i am going to to go The Pamona Swap Meet on June 1st and then O.C.T.O on the 7th. See you there!!

A Few More Pics of my Panel thanks to Ryan at The Dub Shop HERE

Madera was ok this year. TubDub was the only person there that i knew. Ryan, Darel, Peter, Brian and Mary didn't make it this year. There were only a few cool vw's that i liked. The swap area sucked this year. They had a tun of bug parts but almost no bus parts. I did pick up a set of 55-57 repop tail lights for my bus. Turns out that they are an extra set for me so i will be selling them soon. A Cool BarnDoor I dont know why this truck was at a VW show, but its kinda cool anyway.

So I came across this 58 Kombi the other day. This thing is in BAD shape. It has a spare gas tank hacked in by the bulkhead and the PO trued to fix the rust with fiberglass and bondo. They were asking 2k! Yikes. they said that the motor runs but who knows. It had a few hundred in parts on it. A gas heater, the doors, some glass, a shifter extension and a church key were a few of the parts that could be saved. no middle seat or bumpers though. Its a 500 bus max. I have the telephone number of the place that has it for sale if anyone wants it. Its a shame that its in such bad shape. would have been a nice find.

Its been awhile. I have been collecting some parts that i need for the bus. I didn't wanna spend 1k+ for orignal tail lights so i just got some repops for $150. Got the door seals(cab and cargo) and mirrors. I got a new used Driver Door thanks to Lawson Down in So California! Now we just need to work out how to get it up here. I got a few other little things like black interior knobs. I think i have some of them already but they are cheap and will look better than the old ones. I have a wanted ad up on the samba for a Deck lid and rear apron. Got a few calls so far. The Spring Fling in Medera is this weekend. My uncle and i are going to head up tomorrow morning. Darel cant make it this year and i dont know if Ryan, Brian, mary, or peter are going to make it ether. So i may be by myself this year. TubDub(bob) is going to bring me 2 crows foot wheels at the show. I have 2 now and this will complete my set. I will be looking for parts in the swap area for my bus. Maybe i will find a deck lid and apron. I need to make a list of the parts i need. I might even make a "wanted" cardboard sign to take. I'll put it up on Brian/mary's swap space if they make it. I'll take some pics while i am at the show and will post them up here. Bryan is working on getting the metal i need. it sounds like the parts are back ordered. thats ok though because i am in no hurry and it gives me more time to find missing parts.

So after i make a deal for the Cleaners 56 panel, Another 56 comes up for sale! Ugg. Its allot straighter, just about the same money and its HALF the travel distance. It sure does suck that i cant get that bus. I would have to give up my deposit. But on the other hand i would save on travel expenses and the cost of repair panels. So in the long run it would be better for me to get the 2nd bus. BUT I like the Logos on this first bus soooo much better. Most of the paint can be saved(i thing)and I dont want to brake the first deal So even thought it will cost more in the long run, i will enjoy it better.

We (Ryan and I) are going to head up to Santa Cruz on Friday the 11th to pick up the Bus! We are going to leave out of porterville in the morning. Google Maps says that it should take about 4hrs and 17min. But thats at normal speed. we will be pulling a trailer so i am sure it will take us a little longer. Plus i am sure we will be making a few stops along the way go get food and gas. OH and i have a nice pic of the passenger side of the bus. Doesnt look to bad on this side.

Well looks like i struck a deal with the guy to buy the Panel. I sent him a deposit today. Now i just have to go get it. Ryan from The DubShop is going to Help me pick it up. He has a nice new trailer so it should be no problem. Once we get it over to The Dub Shop we will be able to get a better idea on what it is going to take to fix the body. So now i need to look for the bumper and decklid. They will be the most hard to find parts. I guess i could get re pop parts but would like original.

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P.S Ryan You most likely will never read this but you should get your website going!

This is the Bus that i am interested in buying. Its a 1956 Double DoorPanel. It needs ALLOT of work and is missing a few Key parts like the rear pressed bumper and the deck lid.I like this bus because it had the Oringnal Dove Blue paint and cleaner logos under the white respray.

If i do decide to buy it this is what i would like it to look like after its done. This is a newer model but you get the picture

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