SP Rides: This ‘Little Boy’ Means Business
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Name: Richard Carvalho
Age: 45
Occupation: General Manager
Hobbies: Hanging out with kids, building cars
Year/Make/Model: 1965 VW 21-Window Bus
Color: Reed Green
Engine: 1776cc, shuffle-pinned HD aluminum case, DRD4340 chromoly, 8-doweled, forged crank, DRD 4340 H-Beam 5.4-inch rods with 3/8-inch ARP bolts, Mahle 90mm pistons/cylinders, Engle 120 cam, Magnum straight-cut gears, Schadek HD 30mm oil pump, DRD L3 heads (35.5×32 stainless valve, single hi-rev springs, chromoly retainers, OEM 1.1 rockers with swivel-foot adjusters on solid shaft, copper head gaskets), JayCee pushrods, Bosch 010 distributor, doghouse cooler, custom intake for AMR supercharger with single Weber 4- DCOE sidedraft carb, Vintage Speed stainless exhaust system.
Exterior: Cust 21-window, ISP West roof conversion kit, stainlness steel window frames, emblems, light housings, mirrors, bumpers, and other pieces
Interior: Custom interior, light gray square-weave carpet, wood-rimmed MCJ Products steering wheel, Berg shifter, ISP West gauges, RetroSound stereo
Wheels/Tires/Brakes: 17-inch Rotiform Fuc alloy wheels, chrome bolts, Nankang radials at 185/35s front and 215/40R rear
As far back as he can remember, Richard Carvalho has been fabricating automobiles. Growing up, in fact, he would spend hours helping his dad (whose 1932 Roadster was featured in StreetPulse four years ago) on cars while learning everything he could about how they’re put together. As an adult, he continues putting those talents to good use in the fabrication and modification world.
Although Carvalho has worked on everything from lifted trucks to low-riders, he only recently became a Volkswagen enthusiast. In 2010, his first ’57 Oval was purchased and then restored to immaculate condition. Soon after, he got a hankering for something else to build from the VW line. By chance, his father found a multi-window 1965 VW bus that was in decent condition, and handed the ride over to Carvalho for a bit of TLC.
While working as general manager at Global Auto Repair, Carvalho would spend his free time prepping the bus for a quick flip. But circumstances changed when his daughters became severely attached to the VW — to the point that they gave it a name: Little Boy. Once that happened, Carvalho knew he was keeping the VW and should forge ahead with the restoration project.
Because the VW still had rust in all the usual places, Carvalho decided to run the automobile in that condition while accumulating the parts necessary for the build. The bus was stripped down to the shell, placed on a rotisserie and then body-worked and painted in Reed Green. Practically every chrome bit was replaced with polished stainless steel, including the bumpers, headlight housings and emblems. He then installed 17×7 Rotiform Fuchs wheels in the front and 17x8s in the rear — both of which feature custom lips that are incredibly deep.
Soon after, he installed choice components such as the 4-inch narrowed beam and 3.5-inch drop spindles, while the stock trans was replaced with a Beetle trans along with Porsche 944 brakes all around. The VW’s 11-window setup was soon upgraded to a 13-window custom job. But this wasn’t the end as Carvalho soon opted to swap to push the VW to a 21-window setup that simply screams wow!
The engine was worked over to a 1776cc piece, while a JoeBlow supercharger with all the fixings was added. A Weber 40 DCOE side-draft carb has joined a Vintage Speed stainless exhaust system to give the bus some grunt.
The interior needed a little TLC as well, so in came Bob Arkus to replace the original decor with a custom interior done in beige and light gray with an off-white headliner. In addition, the interior features a Berg shifter, ISP West Gauges, a sweet RetroSound stereo as well as the gorgeous wood-rimmed MCJ Products steering wheel.
Eventually, Carvalho wants to use this ride as a stepping-stone for a classic, straight-from-the-factory 15-window bus.
