Newbie-Should I buy this bus question!

[dumptuck]

[SGKent]

Erik - the next technology that will evolve for cars is probably alcohol. There are already trial plants that sequester CO2 from the atmosphere and turn it into alcohol. That MAY be the future.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[kinggeorge13]

Kinda wondering if we will ever hear from ol' aaronski again.... He joined and engaged that one evening with questions and then gone. Maybe he missed getting the bus and has moved on. I was hoping to hear.

[aaronski]

[alman72]

really no need. keep them all right here, unless you want to drop some in the stupid question thread.

[orwell84]

Please keep your questions in this thread. That way anyone reading will remember who you are, your bus and can take into account your whole story, which helps to provide better answers.

Glad you found a better bus. Having a one you can drive is a huge bonus. Rust is the hardest and most time consuming thing to fix. MIG welders are fairly cheap and learning to weld is not that hard. You can chip away at it while enjoying it. All these repairs have been done before, so there are lots of descriptions with pics of deconstructed buses.

Please post some pics of your new ride. Happy trails!

[kinggeorge13]

I've been on the Big Island a couple times now for vacation. My wife and I plan to return in the next year or so. Just an amazing place. I've seen a couple older VW's there including a few dune buggies being rented out in Kailua-Kona that look awesomely cool. Carburated VW engines even. I've yet to see a bay window on the road there. I'm sure they are around or in people's garages but probably not many on that particular island: I'd have to wonder if there are many or any garages that work on them there. Some dealerships here where I live push back on taking them in for servicing: they have no more techs that understand the old systems and cannot easily get parts from their regular sources (yes, there are lots of parts out there but not where a dealership service wants to spend time hunting them down).

[calo1956]

I say live the dream! your kids will grow up very quickly! My three grew up in mine, and have amazing memories! So will yours!
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Enjoy the ride....
72 bug
80 westfalia

[aaronski]

I removed second post and rolled it all into this one. here's the other:
Thanks everyone for all your help. I decided to check out an alternate bus and it was just so obvious that it was the one to buy. It's a '70 westy, peach color, some rust but not bad, I'd say 10% of the first one I looked at. Previous one didn't idle, and didn't want to rev past maybe 3k? This one is a bit rough for a minute from cold then runs fine.

Honestly, I was freaking out about the purchase just because, what have I done? But then I got it home, put it in the the car port, and the kids immediately swarmed it and started playing. The 2 year old making vrooming noises and grabbing the comically oversized wheel, and the 8 year old climbing into the loft and opening the windows. Went for a fun little drive around town with my wife after dinner, and everything felt much better.
Wife and I even watched a movie in there after putting the kids to bed.

Now comes the business- Here's my to-do list, feel free to chime in, But I'll be scraping the forums for most of this info.

-new lights all around-LED, cheap-hopefully this exists. one headlight is out, so might as well start here.

-Oil change-need to figure out what's best for a 50 year old air cooled engine.

-RUST-whats the best way to slow it down? I dunno, gotta figure it out. it has some sort of electric rust inhibotor system installed but not active. sounds like snake oil. I'm guessing just keeping it out of the weather will help a lot, it has a nice dry place in the car-port.

Lastly, Anything I'm missing guys? I'll get to how to do a tuneup at some point, but that's down the line a bit I think.

Thanks-
Aaronski

After feedback from others, I"m going to inspect brakes-suspension-steering first.

I can weld and do have a terrible mig welder, back on the mainland, that I'll have to ship over at some point. I'll post some pics this afternoon. Now back to my day job

[aaronski]

Slight problem I can’t get the kids out to work on it. Little one loves to steer and shift.
Today I repaired the stereo, got to know the wiring and fuse box, ripped some subwoofer out, and wired in a trickle charger so I can plug the bus in easy. Found a blown fuse, oiled the door hinges, and ordered some rust preventative. Ospho. Oh, and my landlord came by, said”I thought I heard an air cooled vw” and told me how he used to do engine swaps between bus and 911’s... that’s convenient. Landlord neighbor is an old vw mechanic.

[kinggeorge13]

Awesome looking bus! Amazing condition too. I think you made a good decision. Of course I say that exact sentence to anyone who buys any VW bus. ha ha

I would like to reiterate though from what I said a few days ago. Unless you already know the recent repair/maintenance details for certain, I personally would prioritize:

1. Change Oil
2. All new fuel hoses
3. Valve Adjustment (and timing) and install new valve cover gaskets
4. New Transmission fluid
5. Grease job
6. Brake check

All are relatively easy to do, highly documented and great learning processes. And they will help ensure your bus lives an even longer and happy life I'd do every one of them BEFORE embarking on much driving.

The transmission fluid may not be quite a critical but considering the cost of repairs and who know when or if its ever been replaced before, I always do it. Just make sure you loosen/remove the filler plug on the side of the transmission before removing the drain plug at the bottom rear. Nothing worse than draining it only to find you cannot then get the filler plug out.

[aaronski]

[tommu]

[quote="aaronski"]

[wihr]

Not necessarily true. I own and have owned since new a 1970 Westfalia Camper. It has always been under-braked. I have always replaced with the softest shoes I can. The '71 disc brake improvement fixed the problem. The campers are heavy!

WW
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WIHR

1970 Campmobile "Van Ordinaire"
2009 Lincoln Town Car "Behemoth"
1969 Lambretta 150 DL "Nina"
1962 Matchless G 12 CS 650cc

[airschooled]

[SamboSamba22]

Great choice on buying a bus in better condition.
Mostly congrats, to you and the moments to be shared with your little family. Life is good in the slow lane
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The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[Alan Brase]