Air-cooled Volkswagens have long fascinated Steven McNalley. He bought his first – a 1972 VW Westfalia bus – in the late-Eighties when he was 17.
“I just loved that Volkswagen, even though it didn’t have a reliable heater,” McNalley recalls from his Calgary home. “I took it lots of places, on climbing trips in the mountains, out to the West Coast, and as far as Joshua Tree Park in Southern California on a couple of occasions.”
The VW was also a daily commuter, as McNalley lived in Bragg Creek at the time and drove it to the University of Calgary. In the winter, he’d park it at home overnight in the heated garage.
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“In the morning, I’d dress up in my snow pants, parka and toque and drive it to school and would be just warm enough,” he says. “It had a gas-fired auxiliary heater, but I didn’t use it much because it was often more of a problem than not.”
McNalley was handy and tinkered with the VW’s mechanicals to keep it on the road. He had something of a mentor, he says, as he’d visit an old German mechanic who was sympathetic towards both McNalley and the bus. After driving the VW for a number of years, McNalley decided to sell it and bought a Nissan Frontier pickup truck, “Something with a heater and working windshield wipers,” he says. Other vehicles have come and gone, but McNalley never forgot his affinity for air-cooled VWs. In the late 1990s he’d scour the early days of the Internet in search of another bus. In 2000, he found a 1967 11-window bus for sale on TheSamba.com.
“I always looked there but most of those buses were for sale in the U.S.,” McNalley explains. “This one was in Vancouver, and my wife and I bought it sight unseen.”
They drove out from Calgary, and McNalley bravely piloted his new-to-him VW back across the Rocky Mountains. He describes the bus as being “a lot of painted over bondo and rust, plus the previous owner had done some funky things with the engine and suspension.” After getting it to Alberta, McNalley took the VW for an Out of Province inspection so it could be registered. It failed on multiple counts.
McNalley had to address engine, brake and suspension issues and gather parts to rectify the problems. At the same time, he knew he’d have to tackle many of the rusted panels. Without a permanent garage at his disposal, he set up a portable car shelter and began dismantling the bus. He took a MIG welding course at SAIT and had enough confidence to cut away rotten metal such as the cargo floors, lower portion of the front nose, and dog legs (front wheel arches). Many of the replacement panels were purchased aftermarket, while McNalley made some himself. His welds were accurate enough that very little plastic filler had to be used.
By this time, the bus project had been moved into a garage, and McNalley simply used spray cans to repaint the lower section of the VW the British racing green it had been when he bought it. He did however paint the top section a cream colour. After three years of work many of the mechanical issues were sorted and the body was mostly restored. His wife created new interior panels and upholstery, and this time McNalley’s bus passed its Out of Province inspection and was soon back on the road taking the family on many adventures.
But it wasn’t the end of the rust issues. By 2019, the bus’s rear corners and lower sections of the cargo doors were beginning to bubble. McNalley had every intention of tackling this work and doing his own paint job, but he’d heard about the auto body program at the Central Memorial High School Career and Technology Centre. He approached the team there and they agreed to take on the project. Instructors Jason Budd, Francesco Fulgitini and Gennaro Mautone worked with students, and rust issues were addressed before the bus was completely repainted with a cream top and gloss black lower section – McNalley is “super happy with the result.” McNalley had earlier installed a stronger transmission, and when the bus came back from the school in the spring of 2020, he opted to fit a new 2.0-litre powerplant from Concept-1 VW.
The family of four has since added 7,000 kilometres to this engine, often driving the rig, with a pop up tent on top for their two teenaged sons, to Tofino for surfing trips. McNalley says the bus is not a pampered ride.
“I’ll drive it daily, and it’s just a vehicle to me,” he says, and adds, “But just like my first bus, I do love it.”
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca
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