Just drove my '63 Deluxe for the first time.  I bought it a while 
ago from a guy who towed it with him from Arizona and then ran out 
of money to restore it. Totally solid, but butt-ugly - spray 
painted out of a can, wheel wells cut, no interior to speak of, no 
chrome, a few dents. When I got it, it was pretty much a rolling 
chassis. Got a 1600 d/p motor in it, did some wiring, and it 
actually drives pretty well - as long as you keep your hand on the 
shifter for the first couple of minutes that you're in 4th (it 
likes to jump back into neutral.) Next order of business is wipers, 
mirrors, horn, and turn signals, none of which are exist yet.  Then 
a new transaxle, a little body work and paint and ... well, I 
figure it may be summer '97 before it even resembles a Deluxe 
Microbus, but it makes a cool parts- runner in the meantime.

Meanwhile, if anyone has the following at a reasonable price I'd be 
very happy:  rear view mirror, side mirrors, white turn signal 
lever, one jailbar for the curved window area, four jailbar mounts, 
the frontmost cover plate for the fresh air vent (just behind the 
knob), and the piece of metal that the engine lid latches onto (not 
just the striker but the whole piece).

By the way, I registered the bus as a Historic Vehicle (antique) at 
tremendous cost savings.  I'm paying $59/yr. for Comp, Collision, 
AND Liability Insurance with NO deductable, plus no state 
inspection!  Catch is that I can't drive it more than 3000 miles a 
year  - supposedly just to and from club meetings, shows (they 
think to display the bus, but I plan on filling it with parts to 
vend), etc.  I had to send pictures of it to both the state and the 
insurance company to qualify it for Historic status.  I couldn't 
believe they approved it - guess they have no clue what a '63 
Deluxe is _supposed_ to look like!

Well, at least now when my water-cooled Westy breaks down, I'll 
have a trusty air-cooled bus to drive around in. :)

-Ron Salmon