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Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:54 pm

Hi

My son and I are looking for a SC Split to wrench on and eventually drive. He is 12 now so this gives us plenty of time to work on it before he is able to drive. I started wrenching on cars when I was around his age. Hopefully this will keep us both out of trouble :twisted: .

We are in Cali but would be willing to drive over one state to pick up.

Any advice or leads would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Scott

Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:02 pm

Start with searching the Samba's classifieds.... plenty to choose from. Also try Craigslist and Ebay

Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:06 pm

the search function on here is your friend also read all the FAQ's at the top of this section

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search

Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:08 pm

Put up a wanted add, sometimes people who are riding the fence about selling or not will be willing to sell something thats not listed here.

Have cash in hand though before you do so you are ready to buy when somethings come up!

Good luck

Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:28 pm

1. Buy a running/driving bus if possible so you can enjoy it while you work on the rest.

2. I would spend more to get a more complete bus vs. buying a project.

3. Rust issues can be costly so if you don't know what to look for, find somebody who does and have them look it over.

4. New paint jobs can hide a lot so look for original paint buses if at all possible just so you know what your getting.

Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:57 pm

srfndoc wrote: 1. Buy a running/driving bus if possible so you can enjoy it while you work on the rest.

2. I would spend more to get a more complete bus vs. buying a project.

3. Rust issues can be costly so if you don't know what to look for, find somebody who does and have them look it over.

4. New paint jobs can hide a lot so look for original paint buses if at all possible just so you know what your getting.

I agree with all 4 points above, putting more emphasis on 1!!

Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:06 pm

Don't pay more than 75% of asking.
Of coarse this will vary from bus-to-bus.
Unless you come across what most folk would consider a "good deal", the typical advertised price is too much.

I know you got atleast 4 years before the son can drive, so feel free to wait for the "right" deal.

Also...the bottom 6" should be gone over with a fine tooth comb and look at the bottom of the gates and inside the treasure chest as these will be expensive to fix and are notorious rust areas.

Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:49 pm

Awesome thanks for all the advice!

I will keep looking.

Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:59 pm

Found a SC but the guy wants 10K for it. :shock: It does run.

Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:11 pm

Welcome to the world of buses... Hats off to your endeavor - I got my first car at almost 14, and spent the next couple years working on it, thought it needed 4 years of work, not just two!

All good advice so far. Consider what you can do yourselves, and/or what you are willing to learn, and you'll get a good idea of what condition you need the bus to be in. Read through lots of resto threads here to see buses rusty, taken apart and put back together. You'll learn a ton. Go to shows or meetings in your area, and look as closely as you can at all models, just to see what's what. There are many similarities in all bus models, and some things that make trucks more complicated than others, as mentioned above.

Spend time in the classifieds, looking at what's listed at what price, but don't avoid looking locally, as you just never know...

Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:23 pm

From the limited pics of that Single Cab above:
$10000 sounds insane.

Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:26 pm

EverettB wrote: From the limited pics of that Single Cab above:
$10000 sounds insane.

Quicker than saying not for sale?

Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:36 pm

campingbox wrote: EverettB wrote: From the limited pics of that Single Cab above:
$10000 sounds insane.

Quicker than saying not for sale?
Run away as fast as you can!

Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:52 pm

these two look like a good starter projects but I wouldn't pay asking price for either one

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1455424

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1506120

here is all the sc ad in your area to look at

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search

Thu Jul 25, 2013 7:59 pm

Here's one for comparison sake that I purchased recently. I had been looking for better than five years for the right SC. I found it through word of mouth rather than any form of advertisement. The purchase price was $6,500. It was close to home so I was able to take it home without much trouble.

On the plus side most of the parts were still there. Big plusses the gates were all functional with a little rust out in one gate that I can live with. The two year only hump back seat was there with newer upholstery covering the OG. It has an engine, a 1915cc. Way bigger than what I want so I have arranged to sell the engine to a friend which reduces my cash outlay for the bus considerably. I have a 40 hp to install sitting on my stand. Good news is the reduction gear boxes are still in place. Brakes and front suspension and steering were all new.

Bad news, primer covering the original pearl white paint. A crease in the passenger rear corner that includes the rear gate. Should be very fixable. The passenger side inner rocker is gone and the out will probably need to be replace along with it. The drivers side is rust free. The cab floor has a couple of pin holes on each end that I am willing to live with for now. The tank dividers are both missing, along with the front bumper overiders. The battery tray needs to be replaced but that is about it for rust. The bus came with a nice rear apron and engine lid that were not installed.

Sat Jul 27, 2013 9:59 am

Wow tasb that is awesome. Thanks for posting some pics.

This really helps for evaluating.

What year is your SC?

I got a line on a 1967 that I am waiting to see.

Scott

Sat Jul 27, 2013 2:33 pm

Early October 1961= 62 model year. It's been nice having a bus I can drive while I collect parts and begin restoring. The 1915 cc engine is fun to drive- I've been driving the snot out of it, but I'm a stock car guy.

Sun Jul 28, 2013 10:22 pm

Thst truck for 10k is junk. That window Chanel is shot and i bet its rusty other places just as bad.. Trucks are hard to sell.. Ask me how I know,lol if i were you I would decide what you want as an end result, stock? Lowered? OG paint? New shiny paint? It really makes a difference on what you should start with.. There is no sense in trying to find the perfect OG paint truck if your plans are to restore it and paint it red n white.. Your gonna pay more for OG paint in the first place. Pre 61 trucks are gonna pull more $ than the later ones as well. So i would come up with a plan of what you want the result to be and the style your going for and go from there.. Try to find the best one you can that fits your needs. There are always trucks for sale and alot of them are reasonably priced, just got to be patient and don't settle for a junker cause it runs.. Getting a truck running and driving are the easiest parts of the projects..brakes are simple and pretty inexpensive and you can find a decent mystery motor anywhere,tinker with some small things and have any old truck running in a week.. Look for trucks that are as close to complete and stock unmolested as possible.. Those are your best starting points.. Ideally you'd find one that broke down in the late 60s and been sitting since then.. Covered n dry of course :D

Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:04 pm

Here it is!

Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:23 pm

Congrats!! Looks like a good starter!