South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

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jolas
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South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by jolas » Sun Mar 18, 2012 7:44 pm

Greetings from the Western Cape in South Africa ! I've been having a great time going through your EVW forum, really great articles and pics. I recently bought a 1956 ambulance which needs a complete restoration - it was last used as "accomodation" for a sheep herder in a remote part of South Africa, sadly it was pulled around from grazing camp to grazing camp by a tractor, and it appears that the tow rope was permanent fixture on the front bumper e:(
It really is a huge project, it has absolutley no equipment and other related kit left. It has also been vandalized over the years, probably by kids with stones, rocks, etc, etc.
I have a few other split screen and bay window busses which are regularly used on my smallholding and on road trips, to school, etc, etc 8-)
I'll try to upload some pics, not too skilled in that department, will imageshack work here ?
Regards
Paul

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rolandrat
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by rolandrat » Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:43 am

Hi Paul,

welcome aboard! We are getting more and more international, that's great!

I can imagine, that your project ain't the average one, I hold it in high regard.

Once saw a stationary Bay Window sheep shack i.e. used by the sheep themselves, just a small flock, hence no herder needed, frightful. Sitting in a field all sills were gone, hopefully the rust problem ain't as bad in ZA!?

lmpd
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by lmpd » Mon Mar 19, 2012 1:26 pm

Hi Paul and welcome to the site. I have just returned from holiday in South Africa - my father-in-law lives in Durban and we go and visit every couple of years.
Looking forward to seeing some pics of your fleet - if you keep struggling with posting pics, let us know and we'll talk you through it, I use photobucket, but I think imageshack should be fine!!!

jolas
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by jolas » Mon Mar 19, 2012 5:07 pm

Hi guys, thanks for the great welcome. Sheep in a bus, what ever were they thinking %( - I have a 1959 resto project (VW Bus) which was also used for transporting sheep. That one's sills have'nt fared to well, but at least it is safe for now. Rust in ZA can be just as the worst rust anywhere else on the planet, especially on our coastal areas. Inland and in the drier regions, cars can live forever 8-)

Durban is my hometown - but I've been living in the Cape for almost 10 years now. My last employer in Durban was the Durban Metro Fire and Emergency Services (as it was called then - now it is Ethekweni Fire Department). I worked in the communications centre (call taking and dispatching) - really loved my time there and still miss it - but we move on .........
Where do your inlaws stay in Durban? Are they also VW nutters ?

Excuse my ignorance, but what is KaTS - almost every post here refers to this ? Is it a reference to a catastrophy, disaster, etc ?

Cheers guys, will post a pic asap

Paul

lmpd
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by lmpd » Mon Mar 19, 2012 8:08 pm

My father-in-law lives in La Lucia - just off Forest Drive. However, for this visit, we stayed in an apartment in Ulmhlanga. We also done a few days up the coast and stayed in St Lucia while we done the game parks and Cape Vidal.
We have visited Cape Town on previous visits - even walking up Table Mountain, bypassing the cable-car the last time we were there.


Oh and a VW nut he is not, not even nearly - though I do my best to educate him!!! :lol:

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rolandrat
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by rolandrat » Tue Mar 20, 2012 11:09 am

Well spotted! KatS is the official abbr. for Katastrophenschutz = Disaster Control. Literally it translates to 'catastrophes protection'.

jolas
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by jolas » Tue Mar 20, 2012 6:49 pm

Thanks for that ! So, correct me if I am wrong, you chaps with the orange busses live in the UK but have a "thing" ( 8-) ) for these German Katastrophenschuz VW busses?
Are you radio hams, I see quite a bit of equipment in one of those busses ?
Cheers :)

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Dubmatix
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by Dubmatix » Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:00 pm

Hi Paul and welcome aboard! Your ambulance is in good shape up top and still has some of the semi frosted windows too! I bet they are pretty hard to find these days too. looking forward to seeing more pics as you progress with it. Will also keep an eye out for parts for you if you need anything particular. Forum members will help you out to get stuff from their local shows if they see it and know what you want.
Yeah some of us have KatS buses and yes we have shipped them to the UK and yes you could say some of us have a bit of a thing for them! :lol: 8-) They originally had 1 or 2 radio sets in them so i've put one back in as a non transmitting accessory though it can power up and has the ability to transmit.
The great thing with these buses apart from the interesting history is their great condition having been well looked after and covering few miles.
Also you have guessed right about radio ham, i am but i don't think anyone else is on here (well they won't admit it if they are! :lol: ) though Mike (Spikeymikey) does use one of unlicenced bands over here (PMR446). I have only done the first bit of the licence so far so can only transmit on 10 Watts max but can use all of the Amateur bands. I do plan to do the level 2 and 3 to get full licence and unrestricted operation as time permits. It would be a shame to have a bus with a telescopic mast but not use it! Do you have a licence?

As Roland said, it's good to have a more international membership and glad you enjoyed having a read through. How did you find the forum by the way? We are a pretty small group but pretty widely (and now very widely!) spread. If you want an Emergency VW Gruppe sticker (same as the forum banner) then PM me your address and i'll post one out...it would be great to see a pic of it on one of your VWs out there!

John

@Pete, your trip sounded good, did you take any pics?

jolas
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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by jolas » Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:30 am

Hi John, thanks for the welcome and reply ........

Sadly all the semi-frosted windows have been broken, I will probably have to cut new glass and make a "plan" with the white section of the glass.

All noted on the orange bus "attraction", it makes a lot of sense pursuing those busses considering their low milage. Of course having an interest in radios is a bonus indeed. I do have an operating licence, but never ended up doing the morse code test to get my "ZS" licence, so I currently have a ZR licence for local TX/RX - My call sign for interest sake is ZR1ZUN - and yours ? I'm not really very active anymore, but still have a mobile rig.
I'm trying to remember how I found this forum, it was the word "gruppe" and I wondered what is was, I think it was a post on the Samba.com or somewhere similar.
I have found Baron's 1956 Krankenwagen thread and his web pics an invaluable source of info, inspiration and motivation. I have'nt come across another '56 ambulance on my google searches - so if you do know of any others ................

John, I have a few busses, would love a few stickers, will gladly pay for them - thanks ! I will see if I can organize you a few ACVWSA stickers. My postal address is PO Box 144, Elsenburg, 7607, Western Cape, South Africa.

I am also building/constructing a little fire truck out of a Single Cab pick-up, it will be used for a few different purposes, namely, for fighting grass and bush fires on my smallholding (bad news for us in the summer in the Western Cape), Childrens birthday parties, Father Christmas runs, photo shoots, etc, etc. I have'nt started on it yet but have already collected most of the "fire appliance" bits and bobs. For this I will definetly need input from your guys. The pick-up itself is a split screen Brazilian model, it had already been butchered and stripped of it's widebed, etc, etc, before I rescued it, so I am just having a bit of fun with it. At the moment it sports wooden dropgates which were made by a blacksmith friend of mine, Pieter Hammersma. No part of the body will be "cut", everything will be able to bolt on and off.

Anyways enough waffling from my side - tut tut - cheers !

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Re: South Africa - 1956 Krankenwagen

Post by VW T25 Feuerwehr » Thu Mar 22, 2012 7:50 pm

Great looking bus, looking forward to see the progress, you have definitely stumbled across a great reference point for you project with this forum.

Oh and....
Dubmatix wrote: If you want an Emergency VW Gruppe sticker (same as the forum banner) then PM me your address and i'll post one out...it would be great to see a pic of it on one of your VWs out there!
Stickers........ is that only for our esteemed international members :D il need to get me one of these at a show at some point!

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