VW 61-63 bus middle seat with a rusty leg

I spotted this guy selling a 1961-63 bus middle seat. On close examination, the condition of the grab handles and cushion springs seemed to be fine. Alignment of the backrest flip with the rest of the backrest seemed alright. The metal frame of the springs on the seat cushion is a bit rusty but is not that bad. I asked the owner of the seat if I could lift his seat so that I could check the legs and the bottom part of the seat. He gave his consent. When I lifted the seat, I immediately spotted a major problem area—one of the legs is rusted out.

The owner tried to point out that the problem is a “quick fix” and all I need to do is to weld a portion of a metal tube to replace the rusted part. I don’t know if the owner knows it but the strength integrity of the metal leg has been compromised by the rust. For the leg to take a load and last for a long time, a metal rod has to be inserted in it that extends the whole length of the base of the leg plus part of both ends of the angles of the leg.

I am guessing that this seat was pulled out from a bus that had sat immobile for quite some time. It is possible that rain water got into the bus causing a water puddle to build around that particular leg of the middle seat causing it to rust out.

If the condition of the seat is better with no rust issues and also the cover is decent, I would say that the value would be somewhere close to the asking price of the seller. It is true that middle seats are hard vintage VW bus items to come by but condition heavily dictates the value of any rare item.

I would love to own this middle seat but only at a reasonable price. Hopefully the seller adjusts his price to a reasonable amount that truly reflects the condition of his seat.

Myron's old VW junkyard

Years ago when I was just starting to get into the vintage VW hobby, I had a chance to visit an old guy who used to own a VW shop and he operated it for years. His name is Myron and first opened his shop back in the 1950’s (I think) and he was quite successful with his business. He did every thing: assemble/restore VW engines, body work, electrical, complete VW restoration, etc. He was well known because of his skill. But as he got older, his health began to fail. He had high blood pressure and other ailments that kept him dependent on medicines.

The operation of Myron’s business began to slow down as newer cars started to dominate the market. To afford rent, Myron moved to a smaller shop that had only one bay with no hydraulic jack. He hired other mechanics to work in his shop but most of them would work for a short period of time and move to other shops.

The first time I met Myron, I went to his small shop and he was seated behind a table holding a cane. Myron was happy to see me and during our conversation, he kept on cracking jokes about his experience in the Volkswagen business during his good ol’ days. In his shop, he had, what I think, is a 1965 notchback that had just been fully painted in black and has an 1835cc engine with dual Kadrons.

After the visit, he told me that he has a small VW junkyard where he keeps “his junk”. I went to the place and saw what could be one of the very few existing vintage VW junkyards in southern California. Since Myron had a hard time walking, his daughter accompanied me while we walked around the place. One of the jewels in the junkyard was Myron’s original parts delivery truck which was a late 1950s single cab that still has Myron’s VW shop name painted on it. I asked Myron’s daughter if the single cab is for sale and she said she wants $6000 for it. Back then, that was a large amount because I can buy a single cab for about $5000 that is running. Though I thought the price was a bit high back then, had I bought Myron's single cab, it would have been worth about $12,000 now in southern California. That would have been a perfect relic in my collection.

As I continue to walk around the junk yard, I spotted a double cab pre-67 double cab. Myron’s daughter wants $3500 for that. I got excited for a moment because $3500 seemed affordable. But, when I checked inside the bus, I was disappointed because Myron installed a roll cage inside the cab. I passed on that double cab and pointed to a 1971 bus and asked for the price. She wanted $1500 for that. Since I was hunting for a pre-67 split window bus, I was not too interested to checking out bay window buses.

I was able to visit the junk yard a few more times but eventually Myron’s daughter sold everything to European buyers and local restorers because the rent of the yard was just becoming expensive.

Myron’s health deteriorated and eventually he passed away peacefully. I met a few of Myron’s close friends who told me that they visited Myron at the hospital shortly before he passed away. Myron is a legend now and will always be remembered by the pioneer VW hobbyists in southern California.