The original color was white, the truck was owned by a distribution company and had a 24' van box on it. It appears the brown color was a "company" color for their fleet of trucks. I think it was originally painted when it was new. The plan is to paint it white and install a rollback bed. I have been trying to buy a used rollback, however the good used beds bring more money that I am willing to pay. I am strongly considering building my own rollback unit using a factory flatbed. Would just have to fab a rollback interface between the truck frame and the flatbed. Noah is very talented and a great help (see thesamba.com link below), so I know he will be very involved. Here are some links to help answer the color of tractor question.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=439103
Link to youtube tractor videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZzyJXSFvYM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RdUcBhWIWE