Organ Donor
A term that has taken on new meaning to us after surgically harvesting the vital components from this abandoned VW Bus for an organ transplant. So, the story goes that this beautiful blue ’77 Bus was sadly left behind several years ago on a private property in Cordova, Alaska. Exposed to the temperate rainforest of Cordova where it rains more than just about anywhere in the entire USA (~150 inches precipitation annually), the elements were rapidly taking their toll. Rust was eating away at her underside. Soggy and damp conditions created a media for mold in the interior. That said, the engine compartment had protected her essential constituents, and many components were still in good condition. We parked Valentina next to her, and they quickly made friends! Eliana recognized her human qualities and happy demeanor and dubbed her “Sunshine”. Upon talking to the property owner, we learned they were getting ready to tow Sunshine to the local dump where she would be lost forever. STOP! Our brain gears started turning — we could make good use of many of these parts for Valentina that would only be lost forever.
After spending several days in Cordova, the torrential rains finally stopped and we turned our focus back to “Sunshine”, the abandoned ’77 Bus. With permission from the property owner, Eliana and I whipped out our tool bag, threw on some coveralls, and got to work unplugging, unscrewing, disconnecting, and collecting hard-to-find original VW parts. A find like this is like stumbling on buried treasure for VW owners! With ratchet and screwdriver in hand, we stripped away what we could in the few hours that we had. Eliana took charge in the interior and Marc took the engine compartment. We retrieved the distributor, wiring harness, S-boot, AFM box, electronic brain, various relays, heater fan, fuel pump, dashboard components, front grill, heater tree, the center stool, and lots more. Both of us couldn’t help but feel sad for this helpless forsaken soul that must have lived a good life at some point. But we wanted to make sure her working parts did not go to waste. While we amputated a number of good parts — there were so many more pieces here that we could have kept at this for days! The engine block and the transmission alone would have been great to have but were just too big to transport and we did not have the time or necessary equipment to take larger components. What we did manage to remove will be put to great use or stored for Valentina’s future years. We said a little prayer and patted Sunshine on her head as Eliana shed a few tears. Rest in peace, ’77 VW.
Dream. Discover. Roll on.
-Marc & Eliana