Back in 2011, at an auction in Orange County two bidders bid up a 1963 23-window bus to an astonishing $198,000. Well, that makes this totally restored Stateside example a bit of a bargain by comparison…

It’s for sale on Oldbug.com and it’s certainly impressive. In fact, having undergone one of the most meticulous restorations we’ve seen, it’s probably in far better nick than when it left the factory. Basically, every single nut, bolt, washer, pipe and grommet has been undone, replaced and then lovingly screwed back in again by the looks of it. Moreover, it’s an ultra rare double door model which makes it even more desirable…

The bus was built on December 15 1960, painted Dove Blue, then duly delivered to New York. The original Stiftung AutoMuseum document confirms that it was indeed supplied with double doors, without a divided cab partition with seating for nine. Now that’s got to make it one of the coolest period people carriers you can buy….

It’s since been painted Mango Green and Seagull Grey – and the finish, both inside, out and underneath is truly amazing. It’s also been restored to Euro spec, hence the smooth blade bumpers and the semaphores instead of the bullet style indicators on the nose.

There’s also the addition of a number of rare accessories, namely Bosch foglights, a chrome steering wheel horn ring and period radio. There’s also a driver’s side mirror which doubles up as a foglight which is a natty addition.

The sunroof assembly is an original and has been seamlessly installed into the roof and for that reason looks totally factory. The engine itself has been fully rebuilt and the Ampco upper cylinder lubricant system is a period item.

The floors are perfect, and underneath it’s just as smooth and shiny as it is on top. Even the bottoms of the doors are properly finished.

And the price? Well, we reckon, given the level of detail, it’s possibly a bit of bargain at $135,000 – although feel free to disagree…

Ian