This bus was purchased from Sam the AussieKombiHunter from his property in Bathurst, NSW.
Sam found this bus in a small town called Carinda, approximately 150kilometres South of Lightning Ridge in the NSW Far Northern region. It was found in the tip of the property, situated 30 minutes from the nearest access point and gravel road.
Once Sam sighted the Bus, it was found to be on its side with the roof cut off and missing several parts, including the top half of hump seat, rear beam, engine, and gearbox. After searching the property's other tips, he located the drivers' side door, one headlight bucket, engine tinware, bumpers, engine lid, and bottom half of hump seat. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the Cargo Doors could not be ascertained.
Sam, with the assistance of a farm tractor and the owner of the property, successfully loaded the bus onto a trailer for transportation to Bathurst, where I could view and pick up the bus. (Link to Video of this process is located below.)
On Wednesday 27 December 2017, Dad and I made the trip from Castle Hill to Bathurst in the '61 single-cab for the purchase of the bus. We met up with our mate in Bathurst who had arranged for a car trailer to transport the bus from Bathurst home to Sydney.
We met Sam at his residence, then cruised to his property where the van was located.
When the bus came into my view, I was elated with joy and overcome with sheer emotion at the sight of such a fantastic van.
The beast was loaded onto the car trailer.
After a search of Sam's property, several parts caught my eye which was purchased for 'Douglas'.
The return-trip to Sydney was uneventful, and the van made it home in one piece.
The major concern of my father was the issue of how the van would be unloaded into our carport, seeing as the driveway is a fairly tight fit, and due to the fact that the van does not have a rear beam, and the two front rims were seized.
After a lengthy challenge unloading the van from the trailer, the van was finally under the carport. Having previously purchased four hydraulic vehicle positioning jacks, the van was able to be maneuvered with ease, once finally disembarked from the trailer.
After an eventful and gratifying day, it was time for rest.
It will be a long and tedious operation to restore Douglas to a 'Rat'.
If any of you DSK'ers have any spare parts that would be suitable for the van, please get in contact with me by sending a message to 0459 415 896. Open to negotiations and the possibility of trades. I do have several rare splitty parts in my back shed.
I will be posting on this thread all the work carried out on the van, so keep an eye out.
Please enjoy the selection of images of 'Douglas'.
Link for Video of Rescue: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcxn0s6BBVq ... ombihunter
Regards,
Noah.
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