Barndoors......what do you guys think about em?

What do you guys think about barndoor busses?
Are they the ultimate original Kombi,or are they just too old and scary to be driven?
If there was a paddock in the bush and there was a 65 kombi and a Barndoor bus both in good condition and you could only choose one........Which bus and why?.....Text

Barndoor for sure, i love the dash set up the way the speedo goes in reverse,3 spoke wheel and the passenger foot rest/grab rail

andy

I love barn doors too they stop the sheep shitting in the hay

The Barndoor ofcourse!!! If as you say in your senario they were both in good condition and you had the choice of either, presumably the value of each was the same, then definately the Barny. A lot of VW enthusiasts have only seen Barndoors in pics and to have the opportunity to have the first model of Kombi that was brought into Australia is definately somthing not to pass up.
I have had 5 Barndoors (pre '55), 2 Panels, 1 window van, 1 standard microbus and a single cab ute. I found another standard microbus ( turned out to be a '53) but passed it on to a bloke who bought one of the panels of me. Standard m/busses had sunroofs with the internal pressings for the roof windows but didn't have the pressings in the outer section.
Cheers, Ian.

I love the back on them ...damn tricky... and smooth😎

BArndoor, It might be older and a little harder to drive, BUT WHO CARES, ITS A BARNY!

Barny cos then u can say i own a barny !

just 4 that reason 🙂

Yeah a barny'd be cooler I reckon, but only for taking to shows.

Ultimately I want a tricked-out camper bay for camping, a late sixties split for cruisin' in town, and maybe a special barny for rare occasions.

So ultimately, I'd say get the barny given the choice of only one - it'll be easier to get a sixties split later anyway if you change your mind.

Also - in what ways are they 'harder' to drive? Starting off or what?

Barndoors are the very basics in driving comfort,Has any one here driven one around?how do they go compared to a later more advanced splitty.Alot of the parts are Barndoor only,the front doors are about the only bits the same as 55+models.
How many were imported in 1954,I have heard about 700ish.
Hey Desert Bug,If you have owned 5,have you still got any?if not where did they go and why did you sell them?Must be a few still floating around somwhere,I wonder how many are left in OZ?
I think the ones left in Australia are sacred.They are like Anzacs,I heard Steve Muller was doing a register in Aus to get an idea of how many are left here.
Barndoor.dk.is the most imformative site I have seen with some Oz barnys on the register too.
When I first saw a barndoor I could not stop shaking my head and looking all over it over and over and saying"No waaay"this is like finding a live dinosaur.
About 10 years ago I saw a 23 window barndoor at a sandblasting shop in Brisbane.....Anyone know where it is now?
Got any pics of any in OZ anyone?

post some pics of some 🙂

G'day,
Frog,
The first one I got in 1978 off a farm in north central Vic and was still owned by the original owners family and was the 10th VW sold by Innes Motors in Bendigo and had been around Australia twice. It still had 5 16" wheels with it.
The second one I picked up 2 weeks later having remembered seeing it when I was going to school in the early 60s, it was a panel owned by a painter in Bendigo so I tracked him down and he still had it at his brothers' farm near Bendigo and I could have it if I wanted to go and get it. After having them for 13 years, sold them to a couple of Kombi enthusiasts in Melbourne.
Third one I found in the bush near Bendigo 3 years ago, it was a Singlecab and totaly wrecked but I brought it home anyway. It originaly had safari screens but they were missing. It was sold to one of the guys above early this year.
Fourth one I found 2 years ago in a 10' deep gully in Bendigo where it had been for more than 28 years, it is now being restored by an enthusiast in Melbourne.
The 5th one I found on a farm in n/e Vic and this is the one Rob King is restoring (Barny)
Cheers, Ian.

That singlecab has been ressurected if its the same one...

I know who has the 23 window from Brisbane, its nearing completion...

I would definately go the barny...

Uri's barn singlecab at valla was definatly the coolest VW there...my pick of the show

Desert Bug wrote:...
Third one I found in the bush near Bendigo 3 years ago, it was a Singlecab and totaly wrecked but I brought it home anyway. It originaly had safari screens but they were missing. It was sold to one of the guys above early this year.
Fourth one I found 2 years ago in a 10' deep gully in Bendigo where it had been for more than 28 years, it is now being restored by an enthusiast in Melbourne.
The 5th one I found on a farm in n/e Vic and this is the one Rob King is restoring (Barny)
Cheers, Ian.

How do you find them? Aerial surveillance?

Just drive with one eye looking out either side and you will find them but you need to average 400ks a day as I have for the last 13 years. Whenever I went to a new area I always asked at the oldest looking servo/workshop if they new anyone who might have an old VW liying around and it's amazing what you find and the stories you hear.
Cheers, Ian.

[Edited on 16-8-2004 by Desert Bug]

Barndoor for sure. And a panel at that. Do it in period style sign writing and I reckon it would look sweet next to a new T5. More so if I can ever convince the boss to get a T5. Besides, for some reason I prefer my splitties to be '63s. Must be because of the workshop, body, manual I've got for the '63 😎

Would it be Richard in Vic who got some of your barnys?
Byron Bus....Is the 32 barn still in QLD?
My oldman had a barny ute sold it to a guy in Brisbane,looks like this below.
I like unrestored barndoors as they have all the character marks of years of fun,rat look barndoors make me drool:P

I think you had a choice in 54 of dove blue or dove blue in the commercials unless you got a microbus.

A Rat barny from europe,I think 5 speed porsche box and motor.

Yeah it is Richard, he and his mate Kevin bought the first 2 off me in '91 and Richie got the Singlecab earlier this year.
Cheers, Ian.

frog wrote:Byron Bus....Is the 32 barn still in QLD?
:P

Frog,

The 23 is still in Qld but will be heading to NSW soon...not that far from being on the road...