Worried about these rust / body filler spots

[Glenn]

[TrollFromDownBelow]

[lil-jinx]

if you knock the bondo off, the metal under it will likely need to be replaced.if the price is right and you are looking for a project and want to learn some new skills then go for it,most every thing that needs to be done to maintain those vehicles you will have to do yourself.
that paint job looks like poor job done quickly,and what I would be concerned with,is that the pictures don’t show all the problem areas where rust is normally found,.
when you look at it take a car guy/girl along,check for rust at the rear conerrs,inside and out,check both rocker panels ,crawl under it with a good light and check the rockers ,cross members and jack points ,check the frame where the rear torsion bar attaches the torsion bar tube can and often do rust there,also check behind the front wheels,and also where the frame meets the front ,check the front end torsion bar tubes and the the shock tower for rust.

check this for pictures.here a quick search in the gallery https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php...t_dir=DESC
this from the build thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657433
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620186
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668799
1974 Bay Westfalia. she likes to be called Ethel.
1968 Dune Buggy sold dec 2024

1974 parts bus
A smart man learns from his mistakes,a very smart man learns from other's mistakes.

[Rag00oll]

My 68 came with tons and I mean tons of Bondo cracks. It was everywhere except maybe the driver's side.

I have spent many hours undoing all the Bondo. Shoddy body work all the way down and incredibly everywhere. And where I think it ends it continues. Thankfully most of the metal underneath is good but my rear corners are beat to hell, and I should honestly replace the passenger side. It's a mess. But hey...4,000 dollars for a complete (mostly) westy was hard to pass up.

I haven't tackled the lower portion of my nose because that will definitely require replacement metal. There's already a giant chunk of bondo missing.

Avoid the rusty ones if you don't like spending the time doing body work.

I personally do what I can and enjoy driving it.

[aeromech]

If you buy a mig welder as well as several other sheet metal tools and learn how to use them then it’s feasible. Otherwise you’ll wait months or years and pay through the nose to bring this bus back
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[aeromech]

More horror. This is that same 1968 bus from above. The owner bought the bus cheap. He had it sprayed and beautified but didn’t fix the underlying rust which was smoothed out with bondo. Enjoy.

These are taken a few years after I did roughly $20k in mechanical work to this bus including

New big engine
New tranny
Propane heater
Power brakes
Sway bars
Etc

Done with photobombing
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[borninabus]

since nobody else has come out and said it, i will:
sorry OP, but that bus is an obvious pile of shit. don't buy it.
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88 Van WBX, A/T - 93 Multivan 5cyl 5M/T - 13 JSW TDI 6M/T - 2012 Touareg TDI Sport

[skills@eurocarsplus]

if it's cheap enough and solid enough and you want it bad enough then go for it.

it's "driver quality" meaning you park it at the store and if a shopping cart hits it, you don't have a stroke

if you want a museum piece, this is 100% NOT that bus.
_________________

[aeromech]

It may be driver quality today but in a few years it won’t be
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[OB Bus]

To the Original Poster....where are you in this fine country? I hope it's not any where near or in the rust belt. If so that Bus is likely waaaay worse than it looks.
_________________
Larry in OB
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
69 Westfalia and 2002 Eurovan Camper.
People deserve the Government they voted for.

[Abscate]

Op wants to own it forever.

That’s a poor starting point.
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[Glenn]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Glenn]

[Bobs67vwagen]

Without knowing more about the prospective buyer of this bus it's hard to speculate if it's worth it to him. I agree as a "forever" bus, this is not it. Does the buyer have any mechanical and body work experience? Will his finances support the outlay necessary to get this bus where he wants it? I have owned 5 buses in my life, and every time I bought one I tried to get a better condition one body wise than I had before it. My advice to this buyer would be to get as dry a bus as possible and to get a type 1 powered bus. The type 1 will be a little more user friendly to work on and learn and less expensive with more parts support. Stay away from rust buckets.

[Rag00oll]

Bring a magnet when you go see the bus, OP.

Take the magnet to everything. Rockers, nose, rear corners, etc.

Speaking of rust, I unbolted my pedal pan today because yesterday the bus spontaneously stopped going into 1 and 2 after going in reverse. Turned out the stop plate somehow got moved. But anyway i unbolted the pan today to just double check everything. While i was down there i poked at a rusty spot under the nose/inner valence. My finger went straight through. A hole as big as half my pinky finger. Oh well. It’ll get fixed right soon enough. Add it to the list.

[Bulli Klinik]

Just my 2 cents; late bays are, without a doubt, the hardest Buses to restore when it comes to metal work. I'd rather restore a Split, Vanagon or early Bay than get into something like what the OP is showing.

Between the body, color and what's been modified, that would not be a Bus I'd want.
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PM me about quality metal-work on your vehicle.
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs

[jtyler10]

just so everyone knows I told that guy I wasn't interested due to the amount of Bondo, i appreciate everyone's advice, looking at a different one now that is Bondo free and super light on rust!

[aeromech]

Good job and thanks for asking us for advice.
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[TrollFromDownBelow]