The Oldest Street Driven VW Bus! 1950 SÜDFUNK Barndoor Bus Hot VWs Magazine

Thanks, Lind Bjornsen (@ZVWBUS), our Transporter Talk column contributor, for sharing a story of this one of the earliest VW Buses.
Prototypes showed up in 1949, and production started in early 1950. By the middle of that first summer, things were rolling along nicely, with an average production of over 30 Buses per day. By the end of the first year, over 8,000 Type 2s had been produced. Less than 50 of those are known to exist today. The early 1950 models (around the first 5000 units) have a stand-up spare tire next to the engine and a rear emblem. Their late 1950 counterparts (the next approximately 3000 units) have the spare tire tray above the engine and just a blank panel on the back with no emblem. The rear window would not show until four months into ’51, which was another 4500 or so Buses. A couple dozen of these early ’51s are also known to exist, and they are pretty much the same as late ’50 models. The incredibly low survival rate of less than 1% of these early no-rear-window Buses probably has a lot to do with the fact that they were workhorses. In other words, they were mostly sold in Germany at a time when cars were in high demand and tended to live a hard life.
The known history of Bus No. 20-05909 starts with the Südfunk radio manufacturer, who had signwriting logos painted to make it a rolling billboard for their company. In 1964, a Porsche dealer named Vasek Polak from Manhattan Beach, California, made his annual trek to Stuttgart and Zuffenhausen to visit the Porsche factory. Vasek would usually buy a cheap old VW Transporter, and fill it with Porsche racing engines and race parts; then ship the improvised Bus-container to his dealership. Heavily involved in racing, Vasek was known to be a top tuner for four-cam engines in his day; even the factory team would have him tune their Spyders when racing in on the west coast. Once the Bus was in California, Vasek's shop boy, Ralph Jackson, unloaded all the parts from the packed Bus, including 4-cam flat-fours, and an early 6-cylinder engine. Ralph asked Vasek what he was going to do with the Bus and Vasek said he was going to junk it. So, Ralph bought it for $50, thereby saving the ancient VW.
For more detail about this incredible piece of VW history, check it our hotVWs Magazine Aug 2021 issue.
hotvws.com/collections/back-i...

[@scottpella7419]

Thank you for appreciating the time and dedication that goes into creating a rolling museum like Lind's bus!! I'm really happy that patina'd buses and beetles are getting some of the lime-light in HotVW's these days!! Thanks guys!

[@hotvwsmagazine]

Our pleasure!

[@christiansanden8005]

Never push, engine can strike back, best way is pulling up, just a advice, love that bus❤

[@jamesblackwell703]

My father had a 49 bus but that was back in the early 70s

[@tomsummers1137]

My friend Chad and I both got to crank start this baby at the Moxee last year. Being from Spokane and a total Bus Pilot, I love the Northwest/Boise connection. Write on, Lind.

[@scottpella7419]

We met at Moxee last year! I keep seeing you pop up on KZbin vids. You just had a cameo in Mic Bergsma's newest video. LOL

[@bustermot]

My 61 single cab maxes out at about 55, helps keep my head straight. Thank you for great video. Coooool bus.

[@TwoGloveBoxes]

Lind's bus is an amazing piece of history.

[@johnbowers688]

Very, very cool bus ! I really enjoyed the opportunity to do the interior woodwork. Thank you Lind ! John

[@zvwbus9289]

Thanks for building the beautiful camper interior.

[@toddvanwinkle7777]

Thanks Eddy! Very cool bus!! I love Panel busses!!

[@VB-bk1lh]

Nice! I had a '52 in the early 80's, which I started like that more than a few times when the old 6v battery wasn't up to the task. Mine had been a delivery van for a VW dealer in its past life and still had the outline of their info showing through what I guessed was likely an Earl Sheib respray. I sold it in '86 when I realized I could afford something with ac and heat.

[@albinklein7680]

I had a German post office '58 Bus when I was young in the 1980s. Got it at the local junkyard for 150 Deutsche Mark. Repaired it, drove it around for some months. Sold it off for 500 Mark because I managed to get a Mercedes Diesel Van for cheap. Today that thing would be worth at least 100,000 bucks. Bummer.

[@jasonmarshall7983]

Hey Linda it's Jay Rock from Calaveras County in California hopefully we can get a hold of each other so I'll just wait to hear back from you I sent you my email on one of those other responses but I'm super happy for you man and I just saw and he's 50 the radiant panel van man it is so cool to see these buses rolling around brother so cool

[@Demop_VW_garage]

Great early bus guys, love the patina :) You can add led's into the brake lenses with a set of custom dynamics leds that fit perfectly and flash red and amber.

[@Mercmad]

One day,there will be a visit to the ER for a broken wrist if that method of crank starting the engine is used too often. In the winter of 1908, a woman stalled her Cadillac in Belle Island, Michigan, and didn't have the strength to crank the car over. So she sat there. Another driver by the name of Byron Carter happened along and offered to start the stalled Cadillac. Carter was the founder of CarterCar, which was acquired by GM in 1909, largely due to the company's development work with friction transmissions. Carter was also a friend of Cadillac founder Henry Leland. When Carter turned the stalled Cadillac's crank, the engine reportedly backfired, the crank hit him in the face and broke his jaw. Tragically, gangrene set in, and, medicine being what it was at the turn of the last century, Carter died later that year. Carter's death allegedly made Leland decide that Cadillac would rid its cars of the hand starter crank. So he called on Charles Kettering and Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., or DELCO, which had already developed a high-energy spark ignition for Cadillac that debuted in 1910. DELCO was able to build the electric starter device and prepare it for introduction in Cadillac's 1912 models.

[@christopherbrown6697]

All you need to do to avoid that is incorporate a ratchet mechanism in the hand crank.

[@zvwbus9289]

Thanks for the eductation, but this is a total non-issue. The way that VW designed their crank start nut, it will push the handle out if it backfires. The way that I tune my engine, it doesn't backfire while cranking it. The way that I hold the crank handle, if it did backfire it would not catch my arm. It is a problem for tractors and old american cars. Not a problem for VWs ever.

[@leehaelters6182]

@@zvwbus9289, I appreciate how clever German engineers can be, but can you give a simple description of how that might work, with the crank handle connection? Because I cannot see how, if you are pushing that crank along with your hand, that crank is not also pushing back on your hand. You are winning the arm wrestle until a slightly advanced spark gives that piston some explosive incentive to reverse direction before reaching TDC, while pressing against your hand, and maybe breaking the thumb wrapped around the crank handle. Kick starters of large displacement motorcycles can appreciate this. The toothed sleeve on the end of your crank handle is designed to push the crank out when the mill starts up and goes faster than your hand cranking speed, so that you do not have a propeller in the rear, no? Of course, as you say, the best prevention is to maintain the ignition system so that it is retarded while cranking, and does not advance until after engine speed rises above idle. We can leave a discussion about the difference between "backfire" and "kickback" for another time. I am absolutely thrilled to see that machine of yours, sure wish I had one like it. Thanks for sharing it, with explanations and history!

[@jimmywilkinson9190]

Nice motor !

[@Mike75575]

That is the epotomy of cool

[@seanhershey3390]

Amazing... love it.

[@EduardoOliveira-ho3ll]

Amazing video, unique opportunity for those that are far away and do not have the chance to see it up close (don't mention riding it). Really cool down to earth owner and reporter. Thanks!

[@timwhite8878]

I love this bus so cool looking.

[@ferdynurhidayat7822]

Beautifull

[@a.j.walker5729]

I love everything about this and your experiences with your VW. You both are one with so much personality. Gratitude for sharing. I really appreciate it. It has been my dream to own my own VW van. Your story gives me hope that is possible. 😊

[@albinklein7680]

Damn, that thing runs sweet!

[@josseeer]

I met Lind at Red Bard , Super nice dude , The Bus is incredible .

[@jensschroder8214]

The bus still has Wavers. I mean the things that fold out from the side as turn signals. In addition to blinking, these waved up and down. This technique was used in Germany until the 1950s, after which regular flashing lights were used. But this bus still has these things, even if they are no longer active.

[@boostedmaniac]

Wow didn’t know this magazine still existed. Nice Bus.

[@christopherbrown6697]

The LED upgrade for the lights is a good idea, but you need to use red LEDs behind red lenses for visibility. It's a magnificent Transporter, keep it safe!

[@zvwbus9289]

It was pretty difficult finding any LED bulb that I could fit into the reflector. Most LED bulbs are meant to fit into a much larger/deeper housing. If you know of any red LEDs that have a super thin depth, I would love to find them.

[@hunglikeahorski]

Could you share a link for the led used? Also, how did you mount it? Thx. T

[@Vikingdescendent]

It has a modern look to it. Very futuristic. Perfect for the next Blade Runner movie!

[@andrigtmiller]

I'm assuming that the engine is the 356 60 hp engine, since it is the very first, based on the serial number? Or is it a 356 1600 Super, which had 75 hp?

[@zvwbus9289]

The Generator stand is from the first 1600 super engine. The rest of the engine is from 1958, and built to super specs.

[@andrigtmiller]

@@zvwbus9289 Ah, okay. That explains it. How well does it stay cool?

[@breizizel3256]

Philosophie ..... why we love the rust nostalgie ? Now ? In the seventeen ist juste for the trash ! Now , it' s worth a fortune ! For the sociologue , is't juste one " no futur" ( clima ... polution etc .... ) and réaction : we idolize all the old thing . But i like it

[@kleinerbremer-de]

Fantastic - respect! - Other Volkswagens were built in Bremen kleinerbremerPUNKTde greetings 🖖

[@herrunsinn774]

The number one rule for hand-cranking an engine is to NEVER wrap your thumb around he crank handle. If the engine backfires and "kicks back" you can easily break your thumb. That is hand-cranking 101. 😱

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Very cool!!!! ☮ 👍 🙂

[@junioaraujo8998]

Está é antiga

[@Alvakiko123]

Favernuggen😁

[@iamnoone5478]

The oldest German VW drives in the States. 😍

[@WillyPark]

Hello, fantastic video! I would love to own ANY VW pre 1963. A question on the cab interior, thanks, what is the blue in red triangle above the split windshields inside the cab? Thank you. FOLLOWED on Instagram.

[@williammc3183]

ADJUST THE VALVES !!!!?

[@IAm1InTheIAm]

Hey, help me out here, im going into brain lock: Vasek Polak had a Porsche dealership in Hermosa Beach on PCH and 2nd Street when i was growing up there in the early 70's...was this bus from the Manhattan Beach dealership? Forgot there was one also in MB. ✌️

[@conceptalfa]

👍👍👍!

[@kjweissl54]

Check the Variant (Brasilia) at 21:02-07.

[@douro20]

Probably came up from Mexico.

[@thesussestgroup]

Can anybody tell me what cc this is including engine type and model with the history of it plz

[@williamdubay2125]

Never saw one before! Doesn’t sound like a hill climber…

[@kevinsmith9420]

I thought that looked like a 356 oil filter and intakes!

[@peteremmanuel2762]

Twin carbs?? Not original. Runs well anyway.

[@kevinbrennan6546]

VW 412 at 21:03

[@alexandrebolan3454]

🇧🇷👍👏👏😄

[@eddielane9569]

That wasn't a good design to put that fuel tank in with the engine. If you ever got run into on that left side and it ruptured the fuel tank the hot engine exhaust would cause an instant fire. It's a shame that he doesn't totally rebuild that vehicle to make it look like new to give it many more years of life. At the very least if you don't clear coat the paint it would just continue to rust.

[@breizizel3256]

No ! It's simply the life ... live and died ...

[@breizizel3256]

Nobody clash the bus here !