Options - Rusty 74 ' or Clean 72' ?

[Guest]

History Commands

[January 04, 2009, 07:18:08 AM] edwin .s.nathan: I live in a tropical country ie malaysia.Need to install air conditioning.Any idea on where to put the vents

[January 05, 2009, 10:21:13 AM] BusManVW70: Hello everyone Im new to the site and I have just added some pictures of my 1970 VW Camper his name is Fred enjoy..

[January 06, 2009, 10:03:55 AM] Jamesbehave: oh man

[January 06, 2009, 10:04:11 AM] Jamesbehave: talk about brain dead

[January 06, 2009, 10:04:22 AM] Jamesbehave: read my post

[January 06, 2009, 10:18:51 AM] JimmyD\'s: 1977 vw camper wont start HELP

[January 06, 2009, 10:19:09 AM] JimmyD\'s: her name is lucy

[January 06, 2009, 11:22:28 AM] Jamesbehave: whats going on

[January 06, 2009, 11:40:04 AM] JIMMYD: i have two shitty batteries I have been taking turns on trickle charges. So I put the fresh good battery in and she tries but

[January 06, 2009, 11:40:39 AM] JIMMYD: she won't flip. I've checked all the fuses.... rolled her back.

[January 06, 2009, 11:41:05 AM] JIMMYD: Found an old allman brothers ticket

[January 06, 2009, 11:42:02 AM] JIMMYD: the starter has always seemed fine.... no problems

[lemonspeed]

Well its not that simple, here is the break down and please hit me back with your thoughts!

The 74' ( Camper) 1.8L
Major Rust Issues - Sliding door Bottom, rear body behind bumper, Drivers pan, Bondo on all of the lower right side..frame rust but not to the point of safety concern (yet)...
Pop top removed and "custom" moon roof installed
Seats are really bad
Z- Bed in Good Condition
Engine Rebuilt 10K ago
Tranny rebuild 15K ago
Old Tires
Interior Door panels replaced with carpet
Head Liner Shot
No Heat Exchangers
New Brakes all around

$ 2500.00
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72 Day camper ( solid top) 1.7L
Good Condition with Paint and Body ( wheel well rust only)
Older engine, Top End Rebuilt 50K ago, rest unknown
Tranny - Unknown , but doesnt pop outta gear
Interior pretty nice but has some GM front seats and seatbelts (BLA)
Brakes need attention, hopefully just pads.....
Needs muffler
Old fuel lines
Little blue smoke at start up.....
Glass all good, seals seem good....

$ 2500.00
---------------------------------------------------------------------

i wish i had photos, i will try to get some tommorow of the 72 at least.....i read that the 72' is a bit of a mismash of old parts.....thoughts on the 2 model years in general would be helpful as well!

Cheers

[lemonspeed]

OH ! Forgot to Mention i'm new to this site and really appreciate all the work that goes into this - very helpful!

Cheers

[vdubyah73]

Would you buy a house with a crumbling foundation and a fresh coat of paint? Or the solid house that needs a bit of work? Buy the cleanest foundation you can find, everything else can be fixed. Rust repair, especially a questionable frame, is the most expensive part to fix up. Buy the '72 or keep looking, Don't just leap into it. Some states won't give you an inspection sticker with rust holes and if they see the frame rot forget it.

[rastafoo]

Everywhere I look (i.e. the samba.com, e-bay, papers) it seems there are an abundance of bay campers for sale at a decent price - you shouldn't have to settle, take your time, you will know when the right one comes along. Like vdubya said, make sure there's not rust in the wrong places (too much at the bottom edge of windshield, frame, bottom edge all around or front floors and doglegs). Also, the good thing about campers is the generally I would think that the motors would be in decent shape having mostly highway miles on them. It's fun to fix up a bus, just avoid the rust. Good luck!

[itlives]

I agree with Rastafoo. Take your time , you can find a better deal than either one of thase. I got mine for $450 with a complete working interior. I found an engine/tranny for $300. Sure, it took a little work and 11 months spare time, but I've got a pretty good camper now.

[itlives]

Oh, and

[lemonspeed]

Cheers everyone, I am going back tonite to spend time with both and make a decision....( think i have already decided on the 72 ' but we shall see)

This has been a 6 Month Search- Here in BC Canada the Busses go for much higher dollars than anywhere else ( Excluding Europe...),....2000- 3000 usually gets u a barley running and very rusty bus- High demand up here!

Another question i have regarding the 72 - it has only middle back(side) windows and is a full panel from middle to rear??? Cant seem to find any pics like this as they are Bay or Panel and no "in betweens".....thoughts?

cheers

[Dj:Eep]

Some conversions were based on panels, as opposed to Kombi's.  The company that converted it just cut in windows.

I still say keep looking.  I don't know what the deal is with importing, but if it's not a huge hassle or chunk of change, go south of the border.  Don't pay $2,500CAD for what you could pay $1000USD with just a little road trip. 

[itlives]

 :038:What he said X2.
I know when the "bus bug" bites, you just gotta have one.
Try some patience in looking. It may pay off with some bargaining power with the current seller too. If he sees you're not desperate to get one, he may come down in price.

[lemonspeed]

Thanks again guys, last nite was interesting indeed!-

I had 2hrs with the 72 and was glad i did, it was a conversion from a straight panel, very poor job on the windows....leaks everywhere once i got some of the interior panels out to look!
As it turns out- more rust on the 72' than i previously could see....and nothing lest of the drivers floor pan....
CV Boots are gone..engine missing ( possibly only 3 cylinders firing)..and tonnes of play in both front wheels......things were not "feeling" right to me at all...

...so, off to look at the 74 for the 3rd time----- every time i show up she is sitting smiling there ...the "feeling" is all good with this one, i really want to rescue her and start on that cancer right away!!!!!

Started up like a dream , drives great , but i made the mistake of bringing the wife....she was not impressed as the bus smells like hippie!! ( patcholli)..and the rust made here turn the other way..( she wants a eurovan !)    anyway,...i was set on buying it last nite but she convinced to to sleep on it......i have and still want it!!! ( i did manage to get the price to 2300, very fair i feel as the PO has receipts from Brakes ( 650.00), Tune up ( 125.00) , 2 rear windows and seals ( 225.00) ---all from last week.

The worst of the rust is behind the back bumper,,,, i know i can cut it and replace, drivers pan can be sanded and patched and really the wheels wells are very fixable as well ( not through rot)

If i buy it , i am not allowed ( wife) to spend more than 300 on the few things i need to do so i'll be cutting it close, i have a great savage yard here in the Kootenays ( Organic Mechanix) with over 170 Busses to grab parts from at pretty good prices.....i'll get some photos of that place too- amazing it is.......

I have an hour to decide......time to grab a coffee and make a decision!!!!!

Cheers all!

[Coilette]

Tell the wife patchoulli is great and EuroVans are garbage.

[SILLYSTUNT]

always say NO to alot of Rust and Bondo! Go with the cleaner body,forsure!

[rastafoo]

A friend of mine is a vw mechanic and owns his own shop (Wagen Haus). He recommends to steer clear of eurovans as they are quite $$ to repair, if you must, definately get one of the last few years made, the earlier eurovan motors were problematic. He would suggest a late model vanagon. I personally would stick with a bay, if nothing else just for the price issue. Tell the wife that parts are much cheaper for a bay and that you can fix almost all things yourself instead of having to take it in to a shop. I had a similar altimatum with 700$ to spend at the beginning, but I have managed to sneak in $20 here, 40$ there as I go along.........

[vdubyah73]

I got a part time job to pay for my Bug build, couple nights a week clerking in a convenience store. 4 years later I was back at the same store to pay for turning said bug into a buggy.

[itlives]

The things we do for our VW's!!!