Eric Miner had never seen a VW bus in person until he bought this one about 10 years ago. It took him nine long years, in between multiple Air Force deployments, to rebuild his pride and joy, but he is loving every minute of driving and showing his dream ride.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Miner is painstakingly recreating the '72 bus as a `Campmobile,' complete with sleeping and dining facilities and, eventually, a functional tent that attaches to the sliding door opening.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The owner says the 4,200-pound bus is remarkably speedy, considering it came equipped with a 78 horsepower air-cooled engine. He rebuilt the power plant and switched it from a single carb setup to the dual carburetors seen here, improving the power picture.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
You would never guess it now, but the entire nose assembly of the bus has been replaced, taking it back to factory stock configuration. When Miner began repairing heavy rust under the windshield wipers, he found two old beach towels stuffed behind the sheet metal, covered with bondo.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Camping amenities include a sink and self-contained water supply, all rebuilt to function like new by the owner. An ice box is tucked beneath the sink.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A `must-have' option for Miner's bus was this roof top rack made of polished aluminum and wood; it's perfect for displaying vintage suitcases and a Coleman cooler at car shows.
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Miner refuses to put larger wheels on his bus, saying he wants to keep everything as original as possible. So he has kept the original 14-inch wheels and stock hub caps; he has upgraded to thin-line whitewall Uniroyal Tiger Paw radials, for safety's sake.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The ice box has been spruced up with some fresh wood; the swing-out table supports a camp stove at camp grounds, with the door hinging down to cover a spice rack on the road.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Temporary seat covers cloak the front bucket seats, which will be reupholstered to original specs. Miner added period-correct shoulder harnesses.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The front bumper sweeps around and tucks under the front doors, where it acts as a handy rubber-clad step.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Campsite ventilate is provided by crank-open windows on both sides of the bus.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The seats fold down into a bed and the rear lift gate can be left open, thanks to the rare snap-in screen that keeps the interior bug-free for campground sleeping.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The only original door remaining on Miner's bus is the big slide-back door on the passenger side. He said the driver's door was so full of body putty that it weighed nearly 100 pounds, so it had to be replaced.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The dashboard and steering column are virtually stock, except for the small tachometer added to the right instrument bezel. The bus uses a combination lever/handle parking brake to keep it firmly in place when in camping mode.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A set of Empi exhaust extractors give the bus a distinctive rumble. Miner is still on the hunt for the correct rear bumper, having already tried four that were not right for the one-year '72 VW bus.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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