Gifted a '73 412 - How can I proactively take care of her?

[smp88]

Hey guys,

As I mentioned in the summary, we were gifted a '73 412 a few months ago after not owning a car for 8 years. I have a few tools, a jack, and a haynes manual in the mail. What next?

RayG mentioned "front suspension, brakes and fuel lines" - As a novice, how can I get started checking these things? Just take them apart according to the manual and put them back together?

Any advice for a newbie would be much appreciated!

-Shawn

[raygreenwood]

Search forcand read my front strut document. It mentions a great many things of the whole front suspension rehab.

In very short words.....only a few parts are readily available. The rest is fairly easily made.

Because of the design...very, very long struts and control arms....if any key bushings are bad....and they partly die from age....and partly die from the comparatively poor materials they were made from in the era.....the leverage from the long arms and struts wears out everything else.

Things that are not readily available for the front end.....but we have complete answers for:

Strut cartridges
radius arm bushings
control arm bushings
radius arm centering rings
Sway bar bushings
strut bushings....and there are better options

Things that are available....but with some limitations:

Centerlink (dont spend the money. A rebuild document is out and its better than stock and cheaper)
Bronze idler arm bushings....better than the original and same price
Outer tie rod ends....no problem
Inner tie rod ends without the correct 9° bend.....readily available and usable if necessary.
correct inner tie rod ends......largely unavailable in any quality. I have a soloution that works excellent and allows using straight tie rod ends.....you need a drill press and a little skill.

Things in very limited supply:

Ball joints.

I have an answer for the ball joints.....fully rebuildable...readily available....but will require machine work for new brackets for them.....and to havr your control arms reamed to fit the taper.....but when you have them. ....you have replacements for life. This is coming by mid august.
For now if yours are servicable.....we can teach you how to keep them that way if they are not rusted....and I finally found some ball joint boots of high quality that should fit. I ordered them last week and they should be in any day.

You need to research some of the issues. There is a lot to read here. The front end is very reliable....but had some minor design and material issues. We have solutions for all of it....better than factory.....but it will require some minor fabrication.....and very little is expensive. In fact...outside of the ball joint mod....restoring the whole front end can be done for about $250....but your labor will be key.
Ray

[smp88]

Thanks ray, I'll start reading your guide and looking for the warning signs regarding the front suspension.

What about Fuel lines? Brakes?

[kirk knighton]

FUEL LINES!!! They are probably original, and if so it's a miracle they haven't cracked and set your car on fire yet.
It is THE most important thing to do right now - have ALL your fuel lines - every inch of them - replaced.
A guy I knew who used to live in Portland had a 1972 411 sedan. He loved the car, spent a small fortune restoring it, but then one day it burst into flames. Old fuel lines split right above the engine. The HOT engine. KA-BOOM!
All was lost.
Replace fuel lines, before you drive another mile.

[smp88]

[Lars S]

[raygreenwood]

Exactly...what Kirk and Lars noted.

Really since the car is 40+ years old......Unless you have a really good history list from the previous owner with dated receipts of important things that have been done......its safe to say that most everything should be gone through and at least cleaned and inspected.

We (and other 411/412 people on the STF) go through this all the time with new type 4 owners. Many new owners get these cars in a similar manner as you did......and many get them on a whim.
Many unknowing new type 4 owners get these cars and expect that they will be like owning an aircooled beetle, bus or type 3. They are similar in some very basic ways....aircooled.....well built....similar electronics. ....but the similatity ends there.

They cars were nicer, better handling, better power.....than any of the other ACVWs.....and share very few parts....use different chassis technology (these are early all welded unibody cars so rust is a worry)......have fairly unique suspension (so only a few parts are still available)......and totally unique body and interior parts.

So.....personally I think the type 4 cars are the aboslute best of all the ACVWs. You are starting out in an excellent position....you car is complete and relatively straight.

In order to keep it this way and make it better you need to go through everything. Its a 41 year old car.

Ok. Personally with brakes....I dont screw around. The master cylinders had rust issues becauze they were mounted under the dash and could not air dry from high humidity as well as an externally mounted MC. With age and non-use...they always get weak or go bad.

As long as it does not have major rust pits anywhere in it...a few small ones are fine as long as they are not more than about .003" deep max.....you can rebuild it yourself from kits available on Rockauto. A bottle brush style hone for cleaning and hand lapping with a wooden dowel and 800+ grit paper....and you can do this.

Replace all 4 rubber brake lines. They go bad with age and are a major issue with all cars. They are readily available for about $18 each or less.
Rebuild the calipers. You can get good kits for about $20 per side. Its actually rare that most calipers cannot be rebuilt. You can even get new pistons from Rockauto.

I have new caliper centerline seals if you need a set. New rear wheel cylinders of acceptable quality are available for about $20 each....as are hardware kits.

New rotors are available if needed. Ray