My VW Elektro-Bus Was the Predecessor to the ID. Buzz
In 2017, I was helping an elderly family friend clean out her home after her husband passed away. There was a 1979 VW Bus in her garage that her husband had imported from Germany. It looked to be all-original and was in great shape, except for a few scrapes from the snowblower and lawn mowers parked against it. Apparently, it was never registered and had been sitting since the 1980s. When I opened the rear engine hatch, I was surprised to find an electric motor and controller.
The Bus didn’t run, and I thought the conversion was DIY, so I bought it with the intent to swap in a diesel Subaru boxer engine. Then my son found some information on a German website that made me reconsider.
Starting in 1972, Volkswagen built around 100 electric T2 Buses and Transporters. The model, known as an Elektro-Bus (or Elektro-Bulli in German), utilized a 32-kW (43 horsepower) motor from Siemens attached to a Bus manual transmission. Twenty-four lead-acid batteries provided electricity. Due to the high cost and technical limitations of the Elektro-Bus—over $60,000 for about 25 miles of range—Volkswagen ended production in 1979, but VW still used them for testing and promotions until the mid 1980s. We found out this exact bus was the pace vehicle for the 1981 Boston Marathon.
I don’t have a background in EVs, but after learning the history of my Bus, I was determined to get it working again. It was difficult to find any information, but I have had help along the way. I was able to contact the lead engineer of the Elektro-Bus program through a connection on a German-language VW forum. He has been very helpful; however, he did not have any schematics. However, with help from Jozef Verespej, a retired Czechoslovakian electrical engineer, I was able to wrap my head around the electronics. My wife and I spent many evenings chasing wires and sketching what goes where.
Sourcing parts was also an issue. Many of the electronic components I needed had been obsolete for decades and had to be purchased used. For example, just last week I found two little resistors had failed, and I had to buy them from a guy in Switzerland. It was a challenge finding replacement batteries, too. The ones currently in the car are a European DIN spec six-volt, almost like a golf cart battery. It’s a stupid size and that’s impossible to get. Even then, I still had to offset the batteries one inch with foam and modify the battery cases to make them fit.
But after a lot of research and money, I had what I needed and got the Elektro-Bus running again. I guarantee it’s the only one in Canada, and it’s probably the only working one in North America.
