HUEY 1978 Westy Champagne special eddition

This is my bus Huey. It lived in Arizona until 2006. 1978 special eddition Champaigne II. They were brown and white with a brown dash and chrome bumpers. Although it was in very good nick when i got it, to keep it this way i stripped all the roof, doors and windows etc. and had the body painted , then put back together with new canvas and genuine rubbers.
After a lot of thought i went for a colour change which i love but who knows, next time i might go for the brown.
This is a great hobby of mine but the number one purpose of this van is to go camping with friends and family as often as possible. So far I.ve done 11,000 miles ( and only broken down once :-[ )

 

i remember you posting the pic of huey in brown when i got mine, i didn't realise you still had him but had repainted did you have any misconseptions (sp) about doing it? i know it's yours but when i found out Champagnes were limited i made a decision to keep it original even though in parts my paint is poor, i've been told original paint is more desired than respray? i'm unsure on that but i am a bit of a nerd when i find out something is original/rare and i wish i hadn't got the o.c.d then...fair play though it looks good.

 

Hi rickyrooo,
I always wanted this model of van but not a green or orange one, which 90% seem to be. When i found this one for sale i noted that all of the inside was white and just the lower outside was brown. As i was going to paint it anyway i could choose any colour and change it in the future without having to strip the whole van again. My wife works in a small bodyshop which is very handy. The origional paint was ok but all the rubbers had turned to stone or dust and surface rust was showing in a few places. I too have some OCD, this can be a pain when you use your van all the time for camping. My biggest fear is rust so i've used loads of waxoil and underseal.

 

your van sounds like mine is now, the rubbers are shot in mine and i have minor rust showing on high points but funds do not allow me to do anything with it, i'm gonna take it off the road in late oct early nov and lay it up until late feb early march and treat what i can but i think i will have to make do and mend until the loan is paid off when i can do a semi resto in a few years.

 

Very nice mate, cracking picture on the grass - St Mary's Lighthouse if im not mistaken???

 

Thanks Stu. St, Marys it is. My bro' inlaw took that shot. His camera cost almost as much as my van.

 

Its a good un like - as and when my camper finds me and i spend a shed load of dosh doing it up i hope it looks as good as yours mate.

 

Cheers for your comments.
It's taken 26 years, lots of hard work, a re-mortgage and an understanding wife to get this far and i still have to finnish the insides and rebuild the engine.

 

Luverllly Bus dude

 

Like your camping clock. Bus looks nice.

 

Cracking bus..love the colour, very nice indeed.. 8)

 

Very nice, didn't you like the brown?

 

As they say Blue is the new Brown! LOL


Love the bus Huey. If I ever do another bus, it'll be a white and brown one, as I believe it's the only one where the interior paint is white, making re-spraying a lot cheaper!

 

Is yours the Champagne micro bus ?

 

Yes sureee bob.

Not sure why I went all deep south there but yes it is.

 

It seems a shame to alter such a clean and rare original bus so dramatically. But then it's not always about the resale value is it.
You're the one driving it.
I envy you.
I stumbled upon a nearly pristine low mile barn finds and to alter it would just rub my fur the wrong way, even though it is my very least favored of bus colors. B-e-i-g-e.
I can't wait to get another bus.
Well crap. I actually have another one lined up. It has about 23,000 original miles so I can't alter that one either!
Damn my cursed luck at finding pristine buses. It is stifling my creativity!
But I swear, my 3rd bus will be whatever color I want.

 

http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=2750.0

Very wise to get rid of the brown, clearly only 4 people in the whole wide world like it...