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That Blue and White Bus - Owner: Brandon Yavas
I was first introduced to VWs in 2017 by a YouTube Channel called Kombi Life. Every week I tuned in to Ben's adventures with his bus Co'Pito as he traveled the Pan American Highway in the "Hasta Alaska" series. For him, driving an old VW was a way to spark conversations with strangers and it ultimately led to him finding many off-the-beaten-path adventures. As a young adventurer myself, I was hooked, and a VW Bus made its way to the top of my list of dream cars. After 5 years of saving and daydreaming, I was ready to start shopping. One sunny day in 2022, I found myself driving around Long Beach, CA, not really having a destination in mind, just driving to clear my head. Down a dead-end road that I don't usually drive on, I found this 1972 Tin Top Westfalia Camper with a "For Sale" sticker in the window. I initially brushed it off because I was really in the market for a pop top camper but something about this one made me reconsider. .
It was nice, but not so nice that I would be afraid to take it camping.
The owner, a nice fellow named Tony, explained that he rescued the Bus
from a backyard where it had been sitting for years. He brought it to
his shop, cleaned it up, refreshed the engine and the interior, and painted
it. I didn't know how to drive a manual at the time and Tony was very
helpful in offering me some advice and was very patient with me as I learned.
We agreed on a price and within 24 hours of seeing this Bus for the first
time, I bought it. I named it "Zephyr" after a Red Hot Chili
Peppers song. On the drive home, I stalled it three times. I had no clue
what surprises I was in for. When I filled up the gas tank for the first
time, the interior reeked of gasoline, making it hard to drive with the
windows up.
All the doors had different locks on them and the only one that I could
lock from the outside was the slider door. It had Chrysler steel wheels,
and the alignment was so bad that the front tires were showing their steel
belts. The list goes on and I learned a lot of new skills over the past
two years as I fixed it up and made it my own. The engine is the stock
1700cc "pancake" with a single Weber Progressive Carb and Pertronix
SVDA distributor. I floored the interior with vinyl planks and added a
custom storage cabinet and storage rack. The stereo is a Custom Autosound
unit with one speaker in the dashboard and two speakers in the front kick
panels. I restored a set of VW 14" wheels and put General Grabber
All-Terrain tires on them, white lettering facing out. The roof racks
are Thule 387s with square cross bars. They hold my surfboard, a DIY road
shower, and an awning. I have plans to put solar panels on the roof rack
and install a refrigerator and camping battery in the storage cabinet.
.
Zephyr has taken me camping in Big Bear, Big Sur, Sequoia National Park,
Joshua Tree National Park, Santa Cruz, Lake Havasu, the list goes on.
He's a dependable bus despite his age and history. When you travel in
a VW Bus, it feels like you have a friend everywhere you go. People want
to take pictures, ask about it, and tell me their VW stories. I feel so
much joy every time someone gives me a thumbs up or a peace sign. We put
a lot of work into our VWs so when we meet people who recognize that and
want to talk about it, it makes us feel great. Happy trails!
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