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Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:56 pm

So I bought a 65 Std. from a guy on the other end of the country. Never laid eyes on it, just a few dozen pics and lots of trust. I have to admit I was in full pucker mode when I transferred the money to him but I knew enough about the guy to feel pretty confident he was on the up and up.

Anyway, here it is...all in all I' really pleased. It's definitely not perfect but that's OK with me...I wanted something I could tinker with while driving it.

The delivery:

After I pulled the seats out to see what wa sunderneath:

Data Plate:

M Code Plate:

Tire sticker/receipt from 1969 (I wasn't even born yet):

Cargo floor is a little flaky on the outer edge but not bad. Not sure how to handle this so I'll probably just put it on the back burner for now.

Rear seat is in decent shape:

Inside bottom of the cargo doors are a little flaky too:

Fresh 1600:

My 6 yr. old loves it so far. She wants to name it "Fillmore" after the bus in Cars:

So there it is. I'm looking forward to getting into it and making it y own. As it is it runs great and overall is in decent condition.

Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:06 pm

congrats and good luck

Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:17 pm

Nice Bus.

FYI, the back seat is a 63/64 Kombi seat.
It looks nice and original.

That Pennys sticker is HUGE! Pretty funny.

Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:30 pm

Thanks guys.

I'm really stoked. Yeah that sticker was funny I thought. It's interesting to me to find little things like that and wonder who owned it back then and where they drove it.

Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:47 pm

Looks like a good bus to start with. The door bottoms don't look that bad; just replace that crusty weatherstrip. Congrats man.

Wed Aug 15, 2012 8:08 pm

Nice score, have fun! I have a 65 Kombi, quick question, is that the stock,seat belt mounting location? I see there is a plug in the base where mine are mounted, right being seat in corner, just curious if anyone knows.

Have fun looks good..

Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:10 am

Thanks again.

I'm not sure about the seat belt mounts...I'm so new to buses it ain't even funny! :)

So, does anyone have any ideas on the best way to fix the outer edge of the cargo floor? The rest of the floor seems pretty solid. I found this:

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211801404kx

Would this be a good idea or is it best just to replace the entire floor?

And thanks for the info on the back seat Everett. It also came with a long middle seat that I think I'm going to leave out of it as I like the cargo space for bicycles, surfboards, dogs, etc. :)

Anyway, I hope to get it registered and on the road with tags tomorrow (Friday).

Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:42 am

nice catch, this bus looks in good shape for it's age.

How is it lowered?

Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:33 am

That's the big mystery...the guy I bought it from said it was that way when he got it. It looks to have the Reduction Gears in back (at least the housing for them anyway) and the stock axles. On the front I don't know how to tell if it has modified spindles.

I'm guessing it was done a few owners ago and the info was never passed along. Regardless I like the height as is I won't be lowering it anymore. The drip rail is ~63 inches from the ground (measured at the passenger door).

Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:38 am

So, I think this bus was originally white and green, based on the inside of the engine compartment and some of the white rubbing off under the driver's window. Is there any way to find out for sure? I know the M Code contains that info right?

Also, on the M Code it has "UO", does anyone know what that means? I looked through the Technical post about "Decoding your M Code but I couldn't find "UO". Based on what I did see that 2 digit code has to do with the port of delivery...I think.

Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:43 am

UO is New Orleans

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/exportcodes.php

more M Code fun here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/id.php

Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:28 am

Gracias!

Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:34 am

Reminds me of when I bought mine last year via the Samba classifieds from a guy in Utah - I'm in Ottawa Canada, several thousand miles away.

Lots of pictures and emails exchanged. The best advice for a remote purchase is to talk over the phone at a preplanned time. Although not as good as talking in person, you can quickly get a feel for the type of person and how they have looked after their bus.

I was lucky too and there were no surprises and my bus has been great without any issues that weren't my own fault (oxidixed and loose battery connection and running out of gas... twice... :oops: )

Take your time and work through the various bits and make a list of things you must do (brakes/fuel lines/front end lube), should do (rust/tune up), and like to do (safari windows, fancy bits, interior, radio etc).

Have fun!

jw

Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:20 pm

Dan:
The link you posted for the outer portion of the floor is the way to go, of course you would likely have to replace the outer rocker, inner rocker and stiffner as well. Look underneath, behind the rocker, if that is good, you might just get away with the outer rocker and stiffner.

I am in the middle of a garage resto and have done all that, lots of pics posted in my rebuild thread. Its an involved job and not for the faint of heart. Yours is in much better shape over all. I would enjoy it for awhile and then deceide what to do. Put some new seals on the cargo door and rock it for awhile.

I started tearing mine apart within weeks and wish I would have enjoyed it for a bit more before dismantling etc...although just say to myself "your getting closer everytime you work on it"...lol

Anyway very nice!! Enjoy!!!

Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:27 pm

Thanks again fellas.

Marc, you have done a ton to your bus...you have some serious welding skills man!

Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:35 pm

If you're not following the m-code stuff up above, you can try this:

http://www.vw-mplate.com/mcode.php

Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:42 pm

That M Code decoder is RAD! Apparently my bus was blue/green on top and Velvet Green on bottom! Man I'd love to see those colors again over the boring white/blue it is now.

Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:44 pm

ccb_dan wrote: That M Code decoder is RAD! Apparently my bus was blue/green on top and Velvet Green on bottom! Man I'd love to see those colors again over the boring white/blue it is now.

Mine's a '65 standard as well, in the same color scheme. What's the "born on" date on you m-code plate?

Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:00 pm

February 11, 1965.

I wonder if that paint is under the blue? After I take care of some other issues I might try stripping it back to see.

Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:46 pm

ccb_dan wrote: February 11, 1965.

I wonder if that paint is under the blue? After I take care of some other issues I might try stripping it back to see.

Not toooooo far apart. Mine's from 7 Jan 65. Same color standard walk through.