Lots of old VW hippie have become VW yuppie buses, but there’s still at least one in my neighborhood that’s not yet been gentrified. This one has a very healthy complement of stickers of all sorts; maybe someone can figure out what the oldest one is?
Let’s start with the back, where proper bumper stickers are meant to be, Ironically, there’s only one on the actual bumper.
Here’s a closer look. Sadly, no “Visualize Whirled Peas”. Or “Coexist”.
But there’s a lot more on its sides.
A closer look shows that these are all or mostly parking passes to a particular lot at the Oregon Country Fair, Eugene’s world famous celebration of hippie culture.
More of the same, going back to 1988. This bus has made the annual trek many a time.
And even more…
It’s a bit one-pointed, eh?
Maybe that’s the only thing this bus gets used for anymore.
I’ve gotten to know its owner, Rich, who drives this elderly Ranger for his work as a neighborhood handyman specializing in small tree and brush removal and such. He lives right on the way to my rentals, and I have seen him there and on jobs around the neighborhood. And the VW bus, which looks to be a 1971, has never been gone. I’ll need to drop by next summer while the fair is on.
Need to see the wheels to discern 70/1 .
I like it, I don’t actually like stickers, bumper or other wise as they always seem to age poorly as on this nice old van .
I’m amazed the right rear corner, where the battery is located, isn’t rusted out and doesn’t even have rust bubbles in the paint .
-Nate
The wheels are quite visible to me in the photos. They have the flat hubcaps and ventilated argent paint that arrived in 1970.
70 still had drum brakes and the domed hubcaps, wide 5 bolt pattern. 71 has the flat caps with front discs
Right you are. I’m slipping…it’s a ’71.
Yup; ‘71.
Agree about the stickers. Ruins (what would be/could be/was) a decent looking vehicle.
Amazing that it’s *”only a 71″. They managed to make it look even a few decades older than that.
*(I say ‘only’ as someone who still has to think for a hot second to remember that a car made in the year 2000 is a 25-year-old car).
The oldest sticker is obviously one of the now all white tattered ones that can no longer be read. Since there are multiple such stickers on the car, I flunk the quiz. I don’t know which one came first. But I will guess it is the lowest one above the bumper on the flat rear because that is where I figure someone would put it when they only had one sticker.
I wonder how many of those stickers are covering rust holes!
I stuck this on my ancient Volvo recently – it’s deep irrationality appealed to me.
Does anyone still believe in horses?
Yep, a ’71. Mine was an originally-Colorado-based Campmobile (tin-top) that I bought, non-running, for $100 from a college friend’s sister and subsequently drove eight years before it had an engine failure far from home. Its story was the first article I wrote for CC back in 2011:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/my-ex-curbside-classic-1971-vw-bus-the-mayfield-belle/
I’m pretty sure I had removed most of the stickers adorning the rear of my bus by the time the photo (video screen cap) was made in 1991. There weren’t many political stickers, but there were several “AA”-related ones (“Take it Easy”). Lot’s of ‘hippy detritus’ was removed from the interior when I cleaned it out after fixing the engine (points were closed up). Loved that old girl!
Ah, west coast longevity.
I bought a used 1969 VW window bus in Halifax NS in 1975. The first time I had to change a tire, the jack went through the support on the rocker panel. 🙂
I love these buses and the ’71 is close to my heart as we travelled around Africa in one when I was but a wee bairn. Sitting on top of the engine cover with my cousins looking out the rear window at all the red dust we were kicking up and looking at the (very)wild life through the big sun roof. I remember my much older cousin had a T1 camper in light olive over olive, which felt very old and slow compared to the T2!
The older I get, the more I want a T2 camper – something about them is just so “right” – more usable than a T1 whilst still retaining the classic rounded looks. I can just imagine a relaxed road trip with my son, stopping at places of interest, doing some mountainbiking or exploring, cooking meals outside and drifting off to sleep to the sound of crickets…
My HS buddy had a ’76 camper in red, covered in stickers, dancing bear on the nose. This was always my favorite sticker, which sadly I don’t see on this ’71.
That’s marvelous. I must admit I prefer the unadorned look on my VW, but someone else’s go for it!
Never heard of the Oregon Country Fair, I watched a PBS program on it and although I am rather square I would attend with my VW, and put a bumper sticker on it (on the bumper)
I only once had one bumper sticker on only one of my cars, my 1970 Nova SS 396. It was 1971, I was a hippie, came home from out-of-state college to visit my parents. Dad always insisted I get my car serviced at the local dealership before returning to college out of state. So my Nova went to the dealership for a one day service. At the time my Nova had a bumper sticker ‘Stop The War Now’. When I picked my Nova up, the bumper sticker had been removed. A side note: this was at Fayetteville NC, home of Fort Bragg & Pope AFB. I am proud to say my Dad, a retired Air Force Colonel, was also pissed the dealership messed with my car. He contacted the dealership management, insisted they send me, personally, a written apology which they did.
My Dad & I didn’t always agree but when it came down to it, don’t mess with his sons.
About the same time, I was visiting home and participated in an anti-war demonstration at Fort Bragg with Jane Fonda. It was Federal property, everyone rightfully removed, except me. I still had my military dependents ID, plus officers tags on my car. Dad had to come to Fort Bragg and sort things out and didn’t talk to me for about a week after. I didn’t always have the best relationship with my Dad, but he always supported me. To this day every time I see a bumper sticker I think of my Dad and I have never put another bumper sticker on one of my cars.
Alfred I appreciate your comment because America is based on ones own beliefs and the right to freely express them freely and without any government interference. That is completely absent with the current administration and I’ll leave it at that.
The multitude of Oregon fair stickers give this old loaf the look of a much-forwarded postal package.
A mischievous part of me wants to buy such a bus only so a similar multitude of proto-fascistic stickers could be adhered, but on consideration of where we are today, the amusement would be fleeting and grim.
Had a ’71, white over orange we bought at the factory in Wolfsburg, Germany. Had the middle seat as we toured Europe in the van. Then had to wait a month while it sat in Long Beach CA. harbor during a dock strike. When we were able to get it, the battery and Blaupunkt radio were stolen. Engine cover was not lockable and a vent wind wing was forced open to unlock the car.
The thought didn’t occur to me until after we sold it, that I was so lucky not to get in a front fender bender with so little front-end protection and, of course, no airbags!