Dutch, as his friends called him, had extensive connections to the Valley, having moved his wife and two daughters to Scottsdale in an old 1950 GMC bus in 1971. The bus had been converted into a workshop for Dutch, and in his later years it was his home when he returned to California.

Dutch died in 1992, and the bus sat in a field in Santa Paula, Calif. for 12 years until the Brucker family, who owned the property it was on, decided to sell the bus and its contents to the highest bidder.

In 2007, the old bus created quite a stir when it was offered for sale at the famed Barrett‑Jackson auction in Scottsdale.

Expected to bring six figures, the bus was inadvertently sold for the bargain price of $40,000 to a group of Cave Creekers who entered the bidding on a lark.

World‑renowned pinstriper Steve Kafka, a friend of Dutch’s, got wind of the bus’ whereabouts and contacted the new owners about buying it for restoration. After negotiations, the bus was purchased for an undisclosed sum.

Flash forward to Nov. 30 in front of Gallagher’s sports bar on Carefree Highway. A group of die‑hard rodders gathered under rainy skies to escort the bus to its new home in Kafka’s shop.

Dutch’s daughter Lisa and ex‑wife were on hand to reminisce about the old days.

“The reason I have the bus is I want to see it done right,” Kafka said. “I’ve got some of the best restorers in the industry coming to give me a hand restoring it. They’re coming on their own time and their own dime. That’s how much Dutch meant to them.

“I’ve had people ask me, ‘Do you know what you have?’ To anybody involved in the genre, it’s an icon. It’s the Holy Grail and the tomb of King Tut rolled into one. The old thing runs good. I did pick up a little water in the bullet holes driving it over here.”

Paul Schiloski, a lifelong friend of Kafka’s from the Boston area, immigrated to Phoenix to lend a hand in the restoration.

“Steve’s been trying to get me out here for 30 years,” Schiloski said. “I decided to come out and rewire the bus. I wanted to be a part of the restoration.”

Kafka related that he feels privileged to own the bus.

“A lot of people don’t have a clue as to who Von Dutch was,” he said. “They think it’s just a line of clothing. Dutch was the father of modern pinstriping. It’s going to take a while. It’s going to be an interesting project.”

Sheila Harland, Dutch’s former wife, called him a genius and an extremist.

“I was married to him for 18 years,” she said. “He was an artist above all. I used to be amazed when I was watching him work. He was the best fabricator. He could make things out of nothing.

“You couldn’t mistake his genius. He was really out there. I loved that bus. When he was in there, he could do anything with his hands. I’m glad somebody got it who’s going to take care of it.”

Richard Kordylas brought his ’27 Ford Model T roadster pickup to the event.

“We used to get all the magazine articles and features that would show Von Dutch’s work,” Kordylas said. “I never met the man but certainly feel like I grew up with him, like a lot of other people.”

Dock Odette and Butch Tucker laughed about the Dutch days in Scottsdale.

“He lived in that bus when we knew him,” Odette, 86, said. “Dutch deserves a certain amount of respect, and this is the best way to show it. I thought the bus was still in California.”

“Everybody who knew him was in there at one time or another,” Tucker added.

Lisa Howard, Dutch’s youngest daughter, came to see a part of her past.

“This is very emotional for me,” she said. “I rode here in that bus with my father in 1971 when I was 11 years old. I was shocked it made it back to California. It brings back a lot of memories, almost to the point where I can’t breathe. He lived in that bus for 15 years.

“When I heard about it being here, it was the most exciting thing I ever heard of. I’m thrilled to see it sitting there. Isn’t that weird? He brought us here in it and now it’s back. I’m just glad it made it into the right hands.”