Fun or money... are you an enthusiast?

[pondoras box]

You can afford a bus now, but it’s going to have a few holes in it and you’re going to be nursing some scratches and bites and poison ivy rashes when you’re done dragging in out of the God forsaken spot it’s been sitting in for the last 40 to 50 years.

I just found another 65 11 window in an overgrown lot, found due to a chance encounter and conversation. It’s rough but it can be saved and if I can get it for the right price it will come live with me. I’ll never be able to restore it for a profit but I can do it. In the long run it’s the most expensive way to get a bus but you spread the investment over years and you don’t finance it a it becomes negative wealth every month. But there is an alternative way to get into the business world.
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Looking for anything from Hal Casey Motors out of Hamburg New York, from license plate surrounds to matchbooks.

1961 23 Window (Bobo)
1965 11 Window (Zelda). https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=563183
1965 13 Window (Lucas)
1957 Oval ragtop
1960 hardtop
1964 hardtop
1965 hardtop
1988 Cabriolet VR6 conversion
Plus a lot of other rusty junk

[Schepp]

I'm one of those guys who needs a project all the time. I can't sit still. My dad is the same way. Couching is a waste of time unless its educational or you're physically ill.

I bought a VW as a covid project. Its my first one. Having rebuilt the entire car over the past 7yrs, one might say I'm an air-cooled guy now. I'm cool with that.

My Bug is keeping me off a motorcycle. My wife and daughter are happy about that.

Nearly all my free time when not enjoying family time or working is spent in the garage. Usually working on Bandit.

My VW has kept me sane, which is good for the general public's sake.

Its also made me a better mechanic, fabricator, and machinist.

I reconnected with an old friend. Without the VW that probably wouldn't have happened.

As much as its pissed me off and frustrated me, I'm grateful for my VW. It'll be difficult if I ever have to part ways with it.

Money can't buy happiness but it can buy a VW.

[OB Bus]

I still have the 69 Bus because I like driving it. So that is fun.
This Bus we have had for well over 20 years. It cost $1500. It was complete (but not reassembled) ran and stopped.
It was vandalized last year. As part of the insurance claim the adjustor classified the condition as "poor". As we discussed the issue of whether to repair or total it, I asked what valuation they were working with. They said $18,400. Wow. Way over its actual worth, but still wow. It was worth it to have Robbie (Airschooled) replace the engine and repair the damage.
So I have a bad looking bus with a bright, shiny and new engine.
I was tired of the rust, the bad paint, maintenance, the lack of a/c, bad brakes, the lack of almost any safety equipment, etc. I was leaning towards selling it, but that decision would take two votes in the family.
I ran the total costs to do a cosmetic paint job, new tires, disc brakes, upholstery, etc. Money is not the issue.
The vote on selling was 1-1.
So now I am doing that cosmetic paint job, getting rims and tires and brakes and all the other little details done. I do not care what anyone's perceived value is or what anyone thinks of the Bus. We like having it.
I guess that makes me an enthusiast.
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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.

[Dusty1]

[oprn]

About 30 years ago I bought a Honda 90 trail to ride back and forth to work. Worked a charm 8 months of the year for 3 years, 90 mpg in town. Then I got T boned, lying in the hospital emergency the doctor asked "How long have you been riding?"

"Three years."

"You were a year overdue to see us then."

Back and forth to work is the highest risk of collision in any vehicle it turns out. I still ride occasionally but just for pleasure and mostly back trails in the country. Not on the Honda, it went for scrap unfortunately.

As far as the original question, I thought long and hard about the money side and I am hard pressed to think of any car or truck that I have gained money on in my life! I suppose maybe my '69 Bus... bought it for $1100 in about '82 and sold it for $2500 three years ago. That hardly keeps up with inflation.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Dusty1]

[oprn]

Wow! I really did sell that Bus too cheap! The guy replaced the soft brake lines, tires and fuel pump then he drove it home 12 hours, through the mountain passes, in January in the dead of winter!

Aw well! At least it is not sitting here rotting away.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Abscate]

The internet has conflated efficient dispersal of information as a surrogate for expertise. Running out and buying all the parts then thinking you can YouTube your way to a restoration is a common malady.

You need to spend the hours learning how to take stuff off without breaking things, deal with rusted fasteners, and all that stuff.

You dont need a torque wrench for your first 3 years of mechanicing.
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🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[pondoras box]

[oprn]

[Dusty1]