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The Savior of the Type II
Transporters Find Sanctuary with Rich Yost

By Ryan Lee Price
Photography: Ryan Lee Price

At the center of the operation is Rich Yost, a 36-year-old Californian who gave up a full-time flooring contractor's job to pursue his "free-time" hobby of restoring old Buses, specifically Barndoors [early Type IIs characterized by their large engine lid]. Soon word spread of a reliable source for Barndoor restoration and parts, and his "hobby" business grew until six years ago he relocated his family to the five acres in Yucaipa and went full time. Now Rich has five employees, a 5000-square-foot facility and plenty of room to expand to become one of the most respected and well-equipped restoration shops in the country.

But this is no normal restoration business, and owner Rich Yost is no normal businessman. He has big dreams to turn his property into, not only a top-quality overall VW restoration company, but to make the surrounding grounds a haven for all things Volkswagen, from Type I to Karmann-Ghia and Type IV. The five acres will soon be manicured with a few dozen pine-tree-shaded camping spots circling a gravel path and a full-size baseball field for family visits and his annual pre-OCTO meet VW campout. A second 6000-square-foot building will soon be added as well as more rotisseries, a paint booth and individual bays for each customer's Volkswagen.

That aside, the facility is impressive. As of this writing, they currently have 14 customers' cars in the shop, work on six to eight Buses a month and finish approximately one to two each month, but here's where his company is different from anywhere else. When you bring your Bus to the Old Buses shop, you don't have to bring a suitcase full of money, the deed to the house or your first born. Bring what you can afford and that's how much work they'll do for now. In the meantime, they'll hold onto your Type II until you can afford more work. Therefore, every single person who owns a Transporter can easily afford to have a 100-point restoration, provided they've got the time.

The philosophy behind Rich's company seems simple, "We save Buses." But there's more to it, a lot more. Every so often, more than a few times a year, Rich hitches up the triple-axle trailer and hits the road in search of Transporters to save. In June of this year alone, he clocked over 10,000 miles on his truck's odometer, scouring the country for available Volkswagens to bring back to his shop. "I'm pretty proud of what we've done here," Rich adds. "When I walk through an OCTO show and see that I brought back that Bus and that Bus and that one, it's quite satisfying." Rich knows of most every Bus that might be sitting within sight of any highway in the Western U.S. and the contents of most every junkyard from here to the Great Lakes, including one he just purchased, complete with 120 VWs, half of which are Ghias. "We go where no one else will," says Rich. "It doesn't matter where a Bus is, as long as it is reasonable, we're there."

But that's not all. Restoring early Buses is a finite business, as there is a limited number of them left, therefore, Rich is looking to the future by directing his company in a new way for the first time. He has slowly expanded to include Bay Window Buses, Beetles and Karmann-Ghias and has Web sites in the development to reflect these changes.

Old Buses is a different place to be, however. Maybe it's the desert air, but it's slower paced, more accurate and more patient. Everything Rich has is invested here. This is his future. This is the future of restoration. The sign out in front should read: "We save Buses."