5,269 flawless miles covered in 29 days in a 50-year-old vehicle.  Of course, when you have a great team, it was actually expected.  Build a brick shit house of a bus that can be rock solid and dependable for extended road trips.

In hopes of someday buying a bus, I was investigating who would be capable of a project of this type.  There are good mechanics and good old bus guys out there that can work on a classic, however my list of upgrades was significant and would require a dedicated team, the passion to restore and the ability to enhance performance throughout. Further Performance http://www.fptuned.com in Minneapolis looked like the ticket.  When I thought my deal was going through, I met with Tristan, the owner.  He was dialed-in on where this project would head and I felt very comfortable with him leading.  But a business owner can only put so much time in directly since they also need to run the biz.  Once we started, I met Matt, the primary mechanic on the bus, who also happens to be Tristan’s cousin (or nephew – sorry can’t remember).

Either way, Matt got totally consumed in this project and on each visit to the shop he’s all smiles and wants to update me on where each items is at on the build.  Tristan is a tried and true bus man, having worked on them most his life, and has traveled extensively by bus so he knows them intimately.  In the most complimentary way I know, Matt is savant-like and has knowledge and experience beyond his age.  Thanks to the team at Further Performance!  And Tristan, thanks for the jar of almonds – they were great with every beer!

Some of their responsibilities on this project were:

Electrical system:  Rewire the entire vehicle, add inverter for 110 AC power, extra battery, shore power with charging system.

New disc brakes in front

All new cables

Suspension upgraded, shocks, tires and rims to 15”

New 1,800 cc engine generating 100 hp (original engine put out 40 hp)

Upgraded transmission for highway performance, added new Gene Berg shifter

Upgraded / custom fabricated many many many items

Tweaked the body a bit for better fit on doors

And much more!

It is unfortunate that I did not get to see the bus in person prior to purchasing.  Gildas did a nice job inspecting the bus in the UK, but once we started working on it, we discovered that many of the finishes of the bus were not properly put back together after the bare metal paint job 8 years ago.  This is unfortunate and resulted in Matt and Tristan finding more items that needed attention if we were staying true to the mission.

Around the same time, I also discovered a hidden gem of a father and son team in Chanhassen MN to do the interior of the bus.  The original yellow vinyl was saved and off we went in redoing the entire interior.  Bob and Paul Wichterman http://www.wichtermans.com are incredibly passionate in their craft and had great ideas for not only the surfaces that needed attention, but also how to cover some of the workmanship that was simply not up to our standards when the bus was put back together.  Some of the trim ideas by Paul are not only tasteful and cover up boo boos by the UK folks, but they enhanced the overall look and really elevated the finish.  Thanks fellows – great work!!!

My friends at Imagin Studios https://imaginstudios.com, have been colleagues for many decades and have helped build many corporate environments and trade shows, so I turned to them when I wanted to update the icebox and make it a real refrigerator / freezer.  They matched the original Westfalia paneling and laminate and integrated the new items soooo seamlessly.  People seeing the interior of the camper are typically blown away by the quality of the workmanship and attention to detail.  Thanks Imagin!!!

Steph and Jarred

The trip back from SF after visiting you guys was made so much better by the goodie bag you gave us for the return.  Steph and Jarred – THANK YOU for the great beers, wine, treats.  There were a couple of leftovers by Saturday afternoon, but those were quickly consumed!

Jim Newton

Jim provided great beverages for the outbound and it was wonderful having a some beer to go with licking my wounds from each days beating J  THANKS JIM!!!

Jim and Diane

Your vintage port was spectacular for those cold evenings with Linda.  I was tempted to drink more of it without her, but I did bring back some to share.  The open bottle was placed in my safe each evening, so if I got pulled over, there was no open container in this vehicle!!!  THANKS YOU TWO!!!

Linda and I will be heading out in the spring on another adventure…where we do not know right now, but it has been decided to continue traveling this way for the foreseeable future.  If any of this was of interest to you, click the link that will send you an update when I post again.

FYI – when I arrived in Minneapolis Saturday evening, I easily could have stopped at home, picked up Linda and headed out for another month with NO problem.  Expect one big problem – I still work for a living and need to show up!!!

One last THANK YOU – to the team at Hendlin – THANKS for allowing me the opportunity to travel and have you guys run the place as well as you did.  Big Thanks to you all!!!