My first exposure to Schulwagens was a well-known picture of 14 1956 Schulwagens lined up in front of the first headquarters of Volkswagen of America. The picture long intrigued me. Knowing that none of these Buses were known to exist, in early 2022, I decided to build a tribute car out of an early 1957 Kombi. I posted questions on thesamba.com and got responses showing some pictures of various Schulwagens from America, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Fast forward to the summer of 2022, when my friend, “Beanie” Brian McCue, sent me some pictures of a few Barndoor Buses that he had bought from Bob Scofield in Ohio. One of them intrigued me greatly, being a highly optioned Kombi. It had “Safari” opening front windshields, six pop-out side windows, a full-width dashboard, an ambulance divider, ambulance fans and a fold down rear hatch. I thought it might have been a taxi. After a couple months of gentle prodding, and a large cash offer, Brian relented and sold it to me. At the time I bought it, I didn't know what exactly it was, but you can probably guess where this is going.
RIVIERA MOTORS
I chanced upon a picture of Riviera Motors in Portland, Oregon with the Barndoor Kombi on the
