1973 Wild Westerner Transporter: Jelly Bean

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Jelly Bean • A 1973 9-Seat Transporter Wild Westerner Edition

[1973 Wild Westerner Transporter]

General notes on condition

Jelly Bean is a mostly original 1973 Volkswagen 9-seat Station Wagon (aka Transporter). This one is special in that it sports the "Wild Westerner" appearance group. Until I rescued it, Jelly Bean had parked in the same spot for at least the last 10 years (verified with satellite imagery), and had suffered a bit of neglect. I am a VW bus hobbyist, and enjoy bringing a neglected bus back into service. I have spent a good deal of time and treasure restoring Jelly Bean back to running condition, and have sourced the more hard-to-find parts for a full restoration of this rare bus. According to the registry and this thread on The Samba, only 3 of these are known to exist.
The bus is powered by its original (?) Type IV CB 1.8-L dual carbureted engine, with the original Solex carburetors rebuilt by Volkzbitz. All the glass except the windshield is intact, and the original engine, radio, front seats, and interior panels are present. Matching 3-passenger middle and rear seats have been added, complete with seat belts and mounting hardware and a full set of nine headrests.
Let's face it, though, Jelly Bean needs some body work. First off, it seems to have got punched in the nose, though the tear is conveniently right along the row of spot welds at the bottom of the nose skin. The air distribution box inside is pushed in just a bit, but is essentially intact. The nose will need to be replaced, or the attention of a good metal bumping.
Jelly Bean also needs the grace of a welder's art. Localized rust has taken hold in most of the rockers, jack points, and wheel skirts. Most of this will need to be replaced, though good replacement panels exist, thanks to Klassic Fab and A H Schofield.
All seats and head rests need to be reupholstered. This would originally have been a black basketweave vinyl (per the M-codes for the WW appearance group) which I think this original material would look sharp, but like carpeting in a new house, I leave the choice of upholstery to the next owner. Black vinyl can be hot in the sun. The Westfalia blue/green plaid would not seem out of place in the Wild Westerner!

A deciphering of the M-codes:

Wherein it is revealed how this is known to be a 9-Seat Wild Westerner.

The M-code plate:

32 206 796 964350 D32 162 508 736 20 5 7236 UP 2215 41

Interpretation of the M-codes:

9643 Wild Westerner paint codes L65K Ravenna Green over L64M Apple Green, and the blue stripe at the belt line is L51P, Olympic Blue 50 interior leatherette schwarz | black D32 USA specifications (includes several subcodes) 162 rubber molding for bumpers 508 vent wings in middle windows, and driver's side rear 736 unknown 20 week 20 of the year 5 Friday 7236 temporary serial number UP delivered to Portland, USA 2 Type 2 body 21 Transporter, LHD 5 9 seats 4 engine spec 1 manual transaxle

Best Features

Running, rolling, reliable bus (except for the rotten jack points)
Original (?) Type IV 1800-cc CB engine runs strong, with the original dual Solex carburetors
Original tool kit
5 new tires (Hankook RA08 185-R14C) on powdercoated rims
Original Sapphire radio present
All Hella turn signal lenses
No rattles
Instruments work
Solid steering and handling
All glass intact except windshield
9 seats! 9 head rests!
Original front door ducts / arm rests in good shape
Original mechanical fuel pump works well

The Rolling Restoration

Parts acquired so far for restoration:
- NOS (new old stock) driver's door lock mechanism
- slider door lock parts
- middle seat, mounts, and 3 special seats belts
- a full set of 9 head rests
- rear seat, mounts, and rear seat belts
- heat diffuser and flap for under middle seat
- floor mats, front and rear
- passenger arm rests
- steering wheel
- several spray cans of color-matched automotive single-stage paint (in Ravenna Green and Apple Green)
- tail pipe
- speedometer cable
- rear marker lights
- interior dome lights
- passenger side mirror
- hubcaps
- 1973 YOM license plate - New Mexico; this can go with the bus
Parts still needed for restoration:
- replacement bumpers and rubber bumper strips
- window rubber and special trim (already have windshield trim)
- door interior panels
- complete upholstery for all 9 seats and 9 headrests
- heater control cables
- missing "sled" tin for bottom of engine
Work done so far towards restoration:
- cleaned all the junk out
- got the engine running, with a lot of instruction from Colin Kellogg
- rebuilt all door lock mechanisms
- serviced rear hatch lock mechanism
- got keys cut to code
- restored paint (by JC Knecht)
- gas tank rinsed; all fuel lines replaced
- rebuilt CV joints with new boots, grease, and proper hardware
- brake work:
- 5 new tires (Hankook RA08 185-R14C) mounted on powdercoated rims (by All Powder Coating of Santa Fe)
- cleaned engine compartment
Work needed (by you) to complete the restoration:
- stop rust progression
- lots of metal replacement (a complete set of photos documenting the undercarriage is available on request)
- rebuild and reupholster all seats
- replace windshield
- replace all window rubber with deluxe inserts
- replace heater control cables (heat otherwise works)
- replace missing engine tin
- replace speedometer cable (provided)
- debug hazard switch and horn

Current photos:

A few glamor shots

Exterior

Engine

Interior

Other stuff

last updated 19 April 2018