Introducing Susie the Wonderbus

So it’s not a big secret that I’ve always harbored a love of Volkswagen busses. I especially like the Westfalia campers. Recently I needed to get a new car to drive every day, so I started earnestly looking for a good reliable vehicle that I could also work on myself as well as treat as a project car. Thanks to my new friend Triana found on Craigslist, I am now the proud owner of a 1973 VW Riviera camper bus :D

Riviera’s at first glance look quite a bit like a Westfalia however the fiberglass poptop functions quite differently. Produced by Riviera Motors (right here in the Portland Metro area) via the excellent work of ASI the campers are unique and vary quite a bit over the years. However this post isn’t about all those other Rivi’s. This post is about my Susie. She’s not in perfect shape currently but I’m working on that in what spare time I do have (beats video games or tv any day of the week).

So Saturday I called on 6 different busses and the only person that answered was Triana a nice woman who loved Susie but had to part with her (interestingly enough due to very similar circumstances to Zoe & I) and a meeting was setup for me to come take a look at her. I grabbed a ride from my friend Chris and made the 25 mile trek in what seemed like years of travel time. Pulling into the driveway I was immediately in love. Clean lines, very little rust and that simple understated beauty that the VW bus design had..

Anyhow my current worklist for her is:

Get the heater repaired (it’s a bit cold driving her without heat).
Rebuild the engine.
Strip and replace all of the seals on doors and windows.
Repair and refinish the fiberglass poptop to the correct shininess
Replace the canvas on the poptop (it’s 36 years old after all).
Repair the spots where there is rust damage (windshield area).
Strip and paint her a different color (most likely “Sumatra Green” which was an actual color from back in the day, though I might go with “element hoody green” as well depending ;) Regardless will also be doing some pinstriping using a tribal frog logo I’ve been working on for a few years for this precise sort of project.
Full rewiring of all interior features
Install a tachometer
Replace the upholstery and refinish the entire interior (carpeting, curtains, paneling, kickpanels).
Soundproof and insulate the entire interior
Find and/or build interior cabinets for a 73 Riviera or Westfalia (haven’t really decided yet which I’d prefer).
Get a new stereo for her
Replace the door locks
Replace the original seat belts with 3 point spooled belts.

Yeah that’s a pretty hefty list off the top of my head and there’s probably a lot more she needs. She’s a big project but she deserves it and more importantly I do too. It’s a task that doesn’t involve shortcuts or intangible results the way the majority of my computer related hobbies do. I’m already planning on buying a non camper bus to use for parts though would probably start with it being my daily driver while I strip Susie bare to paint/seal the interior and exterior. All in all while I love the idea of putting her back to factory original look so I can show her off at autoshows and VW meetups I think I’m going to focus on a 80% factory original 20% updated look for her.

Anyways since I promised some folks over on various sites that I’d do the mugshot style pictures of her during each step of the restoration process here are the first “raw” pics of her before I have done anything. My goal is to have the majority of the list crossed off by the time that next summer arrives. I want to take the family camping in her so badly. I also want to make sure that Susie is a good stable longterm investment since we’ve always had the goal of sending Zandr off to college in a bus. Is this that bus? I hope so :D