Was it a mistake buying this?

[Johnnybentwrench]

I guess i should have researched the availability of parts before buying a 412. I am not sure what to do with it. I need a manual. I no nothing about these cars except you can not just walk down to kragan and buy parts. I have restored and brought enough motorcycles and old trucks back from dead. I need a car and want a vw. I just sold a gas guzzling 1967 Dodge truck, my friend suggested a vw and samba, I am not having luck with either, JBW

[Wildthings]

Type 4's will try your patience getting the front end right. Most everything to do a front end rebuild is available somewhere, but it takes a lot of searching. Most all the mechanicals outside of the front suspension and the manual transmission will interchange with some other VW, Audi, or Porsche product so aren't that hard to come up with.

[Johnnybentwrench]

[Mike Fisher]

I told you yesterday where to find 412 manuals. I came up with 6 listings for 412's below in 2 minutes!

http://www.books4cars.com/listings.php?findmake=Volkswagen&model=412&year=3000&type=%
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http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u236/mr_bojangles500/
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,71,71,71 AT,72,72 AT Parts
56 & 57 oval ragtop $2,500

[Wildthings]

[3nero]

If you do need to use a bus engine you will have to keep your 412 fanhouse so you can time it later.
I found that out the hard way



The green one is the 412 fan and the silver is from a bus.
Notice the hole in the top of the green one to see the timing marks.

[Johnnybentwrench]

[Wildthings]

You could just drill a hole assuming that you also have the correct fan or are at least willing to accurately find TDC and mark the fan. No big deal to swap the fan shroud and fan out though, less than a dozen fasteners to remove and replace. Getting the fan shroud out of the way makes accessing the pulley seal easier as well. If you are putting in an unknown engine you would be wanting to strip the cooling tins and fan shroud anyway to remove any nasty buildup from the tops of the cylinders and oil cooler, mice just love to build their nest under the cooling tin on unused engines.

[Johnnybentwrench]

[Wildthings]

I take it you are missing the entire engine, that makes things harder? Type 4 specific engine stuff like the fan shroud are out there, but may take additional time to locate over bus specific stuff.

These cars typically don't bring all that much, so finding a cheap runner shouldn't cost you too much. The Samba classifieds, Craigslist, and eBay should all have something available in your area.

[ubercrap]

The parts are out there! I don't think there is any part I've seen that wasn't available if you really needed it since I started buying these cars in 2004. I've seen NOS windshields, dashes, body panels including whole sides of cars, trim,'69 headlights, steering wheels, interior trim, etc... and good used stuff for everything else you could want including cheap complete cars, transaxles, engines, bumpers, body panels, interior parts, etc... or good solutions for suitable subsititutes from other cars. The only thing that seems kind of hard to find is 412 front signals in NOS to good condition.
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'74 412 wagon
(3) '74 412 2dr. sedan
'73 412 2dr. sedan

[Johnnybentwrench]

I am Grateful for everyone chiming in. I am just a little thrown off at the moment. I am new to these. I really like the body. I do not know anything about vw's. I am a reformed V-8 318 guy. I have sold my truck and this was going to be a daily driver. I am looking for a complete running car also now, so I can just drive. I am getting soaked riding my BMW motorcycle around

[raygreenwood]

These are great driving cars....but to make it dependable as a daily driver it must be completely gone through....FIRST...mostly suspension and transmission wise.
If not you will very quickly start destroying parts that you cannot get...or that you must fabricate.
This goes even for cars with extremely low miles. There were a few parts whose design was less than perfect. Age alone can destroy certain parts in the suspension (mostly bushings).

The point I am trying to make is that if you picked it up for quick basic aircooled transportation....it will disappoint you and frustrate you....until you get it all worked out. Then...they are extremely dependable and very satisfying cars to drive. Much better than a bug.

But....its not as simple as a bug. For virtually everything mechanical that is not available (except for certain type 4 tranny parts)....we have solutions. But again...it won't be as quick as walking down to the local or even mail order parts stores and picking up a big box of stuff for a bug.

Not trying to scare you away at all. I think these are the best of all the aircooled designs.
Just want you to be prepared. Its not horribly expensive...just a lot of work. Ray

[3nero]

best VW i ever drove was my 412.
They can be a major pain in the ass when they don't work but when they do you soon forget the 6 month wait for a new clutch and can't wait to burn out another one
Even tough my 412 has given me trouble it has been the most loyal of all the vw's i have owned and driven, and mine is the last one in my country so if i can keep one on the road you should have no excuse. There are tons of type 4 engines out there but not many type 4's. put this one back on the road and you won't regret it.