VW bus restored after surviving Palisades Fire
A beloved vintage treasure is now a symbol of survival. A Los Angeles woman who thought her 1977 VW bus was lost forever in the Palisades Fire is now celebrating an unbelievable comeback.
LOS ANGELES – A beloved vintage treasure is now a symbol of survival.Â
A Los Angeles woman who thought her 1977 VW bus was lost forever in the Palisades Fire is now celebrating an unbelievable comeback.
Megan Weinraub fled from the flames of the Palisades Fire, leaving behind her vintage blue bus known as Azul.Â
“It’s not my getaway car so I left it and I thought it was a goner,” she told FOX 11.Â
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That is until someone posted an image of what became known on social media as ‘Magic bus’. Her vehicle was damaged, but not destroyed as it stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of a burned wasteland. Â
“We saw the photo that went viral on the news like so many people did, and in the very beginning questioned is this real enough,” said Will Gock with Volkswagen of America Product Communications. Â
They found Weinraub and put the bus in the hands of their historic vehicle repair wizards in Oxnard.Â
“We took everything apart, sent it to the body shop, dropped the engine transmission, made a long list of parts that we needed to take care of everything,” stated Gunnar Wynarski, a car specialist with Volkswagen.Â
Next thing you know, Azul was reunited with its owner, sitting next to other VW stars at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
“It’s better than when I bought it. Way better, so I am lucky, I am grateful,” Weinraub exclaimed.Â
“Knowing that you worked on a special car, hopefully this car gives a feeling of hope to many people who lost a lot of their personal belonging or whatever in the fire, it is satisfying to see,” Wynarski added.Â
The Source: Information for this story came from interviews with Megan Weinraub, Will Gock, and Gunnar Wynarski.