Chris / Will at SanDiegoClassicVolkswagen .com

[fifty8]

Feedback for sandiegoclassicvolkswagen - [email protected], website at http://www.SanDiegoClassicVolkswagen.com or http://www.sdcvr.com/

I bought a 1958 Single Cab from Chris on 10/27/08. I had been specifically looking for a 58 SC driver for a while when I noticed this one featured here on thesamba. It was advertised as his daily driver with a rebuilt engine, complete brake system rebuild/replace (metal lines, wheel cylinders, and all), transmission rebuilt, carbuerator rebuilt, 12 volt conversion, new clutch, TO bearing, Reduction boxes given new seals and fluid, New shocks front and back, spindles dropped and rebuilt, new tie rods, new drag link,new shocks all around, new steering damper, springplates notched and painted, and installed a few clicks down.

Was sometimes difficult to reach Chris on the phone. This added a couple days from the shipping company picking up the 58 as the transport driver could not get in touch with him. When the SC arrived I immediately noticed it was very difficult to get into reverse and into 2nd gear. His reply was that he always removes the lockout plate on all his Buses because he is too lazy to push it down. He offered to overnight the shifter base and spring but 6 months later I still have not received them.
 It was starting to get dark when the Bus arrived in which I quickly learned that one of the headlamps was installed upside down and the other was 45 degrees from being upside down. Easy fix but not a good sign. Inspecting the truck in the daylight showed the truck was badly damaged on the drivers side at some point in its life. It will need attention. The ad failed to mention any damage and the pictures from the ad seemed to shy away from these areas. A new dogleg, B-pillar, and portions of the long wall and possibly a new door will be needed. The frame damage behind the nose was not mentioned either. Not a big deal (hopefully) but the Bus was titled under the body number, not the vin number. So far so good on that but the chance of a problem will exist.
About a week later the main wire coming from the positive battery terminal pulled out which fried the remaining wire connected to the voltage regulator. I managed to fix that but took the Bus to Monkey Nut ( http://www.monkeynutvw.com/ )for a lookover, both to give the Bus an overall inspection and to double check my repair as I tend to shy away from electrical work. Jake at Monkey Nut recommended a new wiring harness and center pin as it was very worn. He noticed a bulge in the pass side tire and that the rim was dented. I opted on a new pair of 175's for the front as the 195's tended to rub. Also had to replace the dented rim. They recommended not to drive it for safety reasons until some work could be done and definitely not to be driven on the highway at speed. I opted for the guys at Monkey Nut to remove the front beam and replace anything that needed to be replaced as well as replacing the wiring harness. A couple weeks later the brakes start getting worse, they were not that great to begin with, so I went ahead to took the SC back for work to begin. I was having to use the e-brake to stop taking it to the shop as the brakes had completely failed by this time.
You can see detailed pictures on the Monkey Nut website as to the progress, findings, and general condition of the truck. Here is a link to their page

http://www.monkeynutvw.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=7596

These pics speak louder than words. It has been 6 months since I agreed to buy. I have only been able to drive this "daily driver" a couple hundred miles at best. All in all it is a good truck with lots of potential and I probably would buy it again but knowing what I know now I DEFINITELY would not have paid near what I paid for it. I could have gotten a really nice Bus for what I have invested in this one so far, and I still have lots to do to it!

Moderator note:
Also uses [email protected] on the site
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2000 Golf TDi
1988 Scirocco 16V
1980 Scirocco S (track car) project
1951 Chevy Bel Air (project 'Mom's first car')
1948 Ford F-1 (project)
searching for May 7, 1969 Karmann Ghia (149 860 0??)

[fifty8]

Additional: Just days after CTS with maybe 300+ miles since purchasing, I have to buy two more new tires for the back due to excessive negative camber on an improperly lowered Bus, which grenaded the drivers side reduction box as it could not get proper lubrication. I've already dumped nearly $4K into this "daily driver" since purchasing and its still not roadworthy.

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2000 Golf TDi
1988 Scirocco 16V
1980 Scirocco S (track car) project
1951 Chevy Bel Air (project 'Mom's first car')
1948 Ford F-1 (project)
searching for May 7, 1969 Karmann Ghia (149 860 0??)

[fifty8]

The "rebuilt" transmission lasted 2500 miles before the bearings went out and it lost 1st, 2nd, and reverse. Couldn't get fast enough to see if 3rd or 4th was ok. Sent them an e-mail giving them a chance to buy the Bus back but they declined. Buyer beware
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2000 Golf TDi
1988 Scirocco 16V
1980 Scirocco S (track car) project
1951 Chevy Bel Air (project 'Mom's first car')
1948 Ford F-1 (project)
searching for May 7, 1969 Karmann Ghia (149 860 0??)