TheSamba.com :: View topic - My VW burned down

Tue Mar 02, 2021 9:17 pm

Abscate wrote: Ship,it to skills and ask him for a quote. Make sure it’s firm.

just wrote a R/O today that stated:

"cost of repairs exceed the value of the vehicle"

it would be an ez 30k+ to put that back together. juice ain't worth the squeeze

Wed Mar 03, 2021 4:49 am

Entirely possible. It's not whether or not it's possible to fix - it definately is - but rather the hours of labor involved. I look at some of those splittys that guys drag out of the bush, all rusted to crap and bent to Christmas and compare it to this burnt Bay and I know which one I would rather tackle!

It all comes down to what it's worth on the market in the end.

Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:23 am

oprn wrote:
It did not get that hot down by the frame and suspension and springs. If it had effected them you would see it right now. The Bus is sitting at a normal height. A melted part up in the engine compartment is miles away from having destroyed the frame and suspension.

The hardest part of fixing that one is the wiring and interior. The metal work is very doable. I'm not talking through my hat by the way, I'm talking from a 15 year career in the body trade. This is not the first burnt car I have seen.

You might be right, this might be fixable. But I'm seeing more than an engine fire here. To me it looks like the gas tank ruptured and leaked on to the ground and burned under the back 1/2 of the bus. A gasoline fire burns at around 1500F. The tire that is visible either exploded and/or burned, that takes around 750F for that to happen. Damage to components is going to be determined by how much of that 1500F heat they absorbed. You could be right, this fire might have flashed over everything, doing mostly cosmetic damage, but I don't think so. I've been wrenching on vehicles for fun and profit for over two decades, and one thing I've learned is that parts that come from vehicle fires are always suspect.

Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:14 am

Judging by the rot in the rockers, slider, & doglegs, I’d say it needed $10k in repairs BEFORE the bonfire.

Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:02 pm

^bingo, a burnt turd is still a turd. Snatch any good pieces you can and give it a proper burial.

Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:47 pm

I think it’s now a pork roast with lipstick

Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:25 am

TDCTDI wrote: Judging by the rot in the rockers, slider, & doglegs, I’d say it needed $10k in repairs BEFORE the bonfire.
Just thinking about this thread and this car - how much different the responses would have been if it had been a split window bus...

So much rides on the values and trends of the moment. 40 years ago split windows weren't worth putting a set of tires on and got pushed in the bush. 30 years from now someone is going to look at the pictures of this Bus and wonder at the sanity of discarding it too. But... today is today and today it's not worth the price to fix it.

It's always been like that.

Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:24 am

oprn wrote: TDCTDI wrote: Judging by the rot in the rockers, slider, & doglegs, I’d say it needed $10k in repairs BEFORE the bonfire.
Just thinking about this thread and this car - how much different the responses would have been if it had been a split window bus...

So much rides on the values and trends of the moment. 40 years ago split windows weren't worth putting a set of tires on and got pushed in the bush. 30 years from now someone is going to look at the pictures of this Bus and wonder at the sanity of discarding it too. But... today is today and today it's not worth the price to fix it.

It's always been like that.

That's a very valid point. Sometimes you don't know that a certain model will eventually skyrocket in value. Judging by how Splits have gone, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Bays climb up to some crazier prices than they already are. But when will that be? Tomorrow? 20 years?

I've cut up a few rotten Bays in the past few years. Their parts live on, and keep a bunch of worthwhile Buses on the road. I've caught a lot of shit from people for doing it though. People would say (maybe even rightfully so) that the rusty turd will be worth a ton of cash one day. You know what, they're probably right. But I'm not the guy who's willing to have a rusted out beater sitting in the driveway for a few decades just incase. And maybe they were still 'fixable', but when you can still buy a clean shell of $5000 or $10,000, why the hell would I (or anyone else for that matter) put $30,000 into metal and body on these ones?

So to the OP, I agree with what most posters here are saying. Salvage what you can and walk away. They made millions of these Buses. It's not a 'one of' or anything particularly rare. There are lots of them out there for a lot less money and headache that this thing will cost you to bring back to life.

Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:44 pm

oprn wrote: TDCTDI wrote: Judging by the rot in the rockers, slider, & doglegs, I’d say it needed $10k in repairs BEFORE the bonfire.
Just thinking about this thread and this car - how much different the responses would have been if it had been a split window bus...

So much rides on the values and trends of the moment. 40 years ago split windows weren't worth putting a set of tires on and got pushed in the bush. 30 years from now someone is going to look at the pictures of this Bus and wonder at the sanity of discarding it too. But... today is today and today it's not worth the price to fix it.

It's always been like that.

Nah, I would have said hell no to a splitty in this condition too. If you have to replace EVERYTHING on the van (bus :roll: ), why stop at the VIN & title? Sometimes you just gotta know when to walk away.

Thu Mar 04, 2021 2:49 pm

oprn wrote: 40 years ago split windows weren't worth putting a set of tires on and got pushed in the bush. 30 years from now someone is going to look at the pictures of this Bus and wonder at the sanity of discarding it too. But... today is today and today it's not worth the price to fix it.

It's always been like that.

It took a while for the almost 2 million German built split busses to rust away and get recycled before they got to be so expensive. If they were all still here they wouldn't be worth so much. They made over 3 million bay window busses in Germany, so it's going to take a few more years for them to get to split levels of scarcity. I bought a complete, relatively solid bay for one third of what I payed for my complete, but needs the bottom 10 inches of metal replaced split project. 20 years ago I sent another bay to the scrap yard (I did strip all the good parts) that was in better shape then my split is. Supply and demand.
CanStan wrote:

People would say (maybe even rightfully so) that the rusty turd will be worth a ton of cash one day. You know what, they're probably right. But I'm not the guy who's willing to have a rusted out beater sitting in the driveway for a few decades just incase.
I know a guy that has a 69 bay that a tree fell on, stashed in his barn waiting for the day it's worth a fortune. You're better off selling them for what you can get now then keeping them waiting for that big payday. If you invest that money you'll have way more cash then that rusty pile in the barn will be worth in 30 years anyway. Or you can just enjoy fixing them up and driving them. Cars are a terrible investment, yes they may go up in value but usually you're lucky to break even.

Thu Mar 04, 2021 3:12 pm

Dont get sucked. By Samba pricing.

I saw two Split project busses with rust sell under 3k since Fall.

Thu Mar 04, 2021 3:57 pm

My old Bay was not a bad investment at all. Bought it for $1100, raised some kids in it for 10 or 12 years and sold it this winter after sitting for 20 years for $2500 all rusted out as a project Bus. Try matching those numbers with a new car. It will lose $4000 or $5000 in depreciation just driving it off the lot! Then in 2 or 3 years it will be worth 1/2 it's sticker price.

Fri Mar 05, 2021 8:25 pm

Cut the back off and make it into a flatbed truck, or,
cut the back completely off and make the cab into an enclosed trailer.

Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:52 am

I'd make it into a custom truck or a snail camper, but I have a shop, metal skills and I'm a masochist for shitty projects...

Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:45 pm

Mon Mar 08, 2021 7:57 pm

That was taken from you for a reason. Why on earth would you think you will take better care of the cremains than you did before the fire? Harsh, but just being real. Crush it.

Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:34 pm

I’m driving that last one to a vintage split contest and walking out with tp on my shoe...

Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:46 am

Today I added two words to my vocabulary:

Cremains
and
Split-Contest.

Thank you!

Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:56 am

Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:12 pm

jkassab wrote: Considering making it into a garden - or an art work. But would alo love to hear everyone's thoughts in terms of the body being reused / salvaged?

Bring it home, put it up on jack stands, and strip it.
It's too bad that happened, but now you have joined TheSamba, and now you can learn.
I wouldn't scrap it, if you have space there is just too much to be learned from it.
It's already fucked, You really can't make it worse.