please help me out!

[terryd]

Here is the situation. I am 16 and have lilttle mechanical knowledge. I want to buy a type 2 late bus. This guy about 15 minutes away from me is sellinig this http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/index.php?photo+200310061428530744 The body is an great shape. Basically no rust from what i saw. The interior is an great shape as well. I already have gone to his house to check it out and what knot. He put a 1969 corvier engine in it. The engine is not in the greatest shape as I expected. The problem alies with the accelerator cable that runs all the way back to the engine. You can see the cable under the car, it it is not tucked into the car at all. he actually went underr the middle of the car and pulled the cable and it reved the engine.The gas peddle it self was not connected to the cable at all. So you would have to pull the cable from the front seat to give it gas. Yeah it was pretty weird. This guy is wants 3 grand for it. Do you think i should buy it and see if i can get it fixed or should i put a completly new engine it. Again i would have to bring it in to a shop, i know very lillte about engines. I have a grand to spend, and make this my everyday driver. I need your suggestions on what i should do.
thanks

[Shallot Tzu]

looks like a nice body for sure and the cable deal isn't that hard to fix. You could pull the corvair engine and put in a VW one but that is more money and time. When all is said and done you'll probably be looking close to 4000 bucks (that includes the cost of the bus of course). You can find a REAL nice bus with everything already there for that money that you don't have to mess with... This is just me but if I was you I would go straight VW. Let us know how it ends up.... Good luck!
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'71 Westy

[terryd]

I would like to go straight vw engine but I dont really know how to drive stick. I would rather not learn on engine as precious as an old vw. I wanna stay automatic. Thanks for your suggestion

[Randy in Maine]

Look at this as an opportunity!

In my opinion, Corvairs weren't any good even when they were new, and the engine was the worst part of the whole lousy package. They always ran WAY too hot. I would stay far away from any and all of them. Junk, bunk and garbage.

One thing you want to do is to take any used vehicle you are considering to someone you trust, who can look at it, and tell you if it is any good or not. Pay them to tell you what it looks like and listen to what they say. Also go buy the John Muir book and read the part about How to Buy A VW and How a VW Works. You will indeed learn something.

Option 1 is to buy a bus with an automatic tranny. They are actually a pretty good transission. I have never had one, but lots of folks swear by them. For 3K you should be able to get a decent one, that might only need a new home. You might get a good deal on one. I see them on the classifieds here and on e-bay all the time.

Option 2 would be to learn to drive a stick. It is not hard and the VW is the easiest of all of them. The only tough part of the whole deal is getting your clutch foot used to when the clutch is letting out. Empty parking lot, leave your foot off the gas, and just play with the clutch pedal until you can tell when the friction point is reached, ie when the clutch plate and the flywheel have "become one." That is the only tough part of driving a stick. When you have learned that, you will know that "Elvis is in the building."

Here is some good advice my father gave me, when you aren't shifting keep your foot where you won't be tempted to ride the clutch pedal. He used to say to keep it on the dash board, but it was only a figure of speech. Just keep it off the pedal. If you don't, you will also learn how to replace a clutch and all that goes with it and that might be more than you need to know right away.

Run away from the Corvair, read the Muir book, and look around some. You will be glad you did.

[bugster1226]

I would let this be someone else's problem---just my opinion.

[j8]

terryd it may be no good to offer you patience as advice but...i dunno. lotsa fussin', and not the comfortable good feelin' kind. can you see yourself spending hours (and houuuuuuurs) on this as well as turning it over to other mechanic$, then don't do it. that said i could probably not turn that body down, but then there would be the whole engine replacement.

engine conversions are like relationships. some are great, some are full of extremely unpleasant surprises that make you want to run for the border praying and vowing "never again" the entire time.

and as for manual transmission...i won't go to automatic until i'm about 100 years old. once you drive a manual with some skill it makes driving even better. learn, it is addicting.

my 2 cents for whatever it is worth.

[busrocker71]

did anyone else notice the later baywindow type tail lights...what's up with that?! tell the seller nobody wants to buy it because he's ripping them off...
only a suggestion.
omar
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1971 BayWindow Deluxe+SoCal=Good Times
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[Bottomend]

Uh... 72's came with those size tail lights. It's got a mixed body style, early front /late rear.

I would say to go for it! Buy the sucker. I saw a corvair the other day and it was very cool. I think the engine could be fixed up to run good. There are some really cool web sites out there that can help you.

I just rebuilt my 1.8 liter engine in my '74 and it was a lot of work but it was also alot of fun. If I had to do it all over again I might do a corvair instead....( the one I saw made the coolest sound!)

[jeremyrockjock]

It is a 72. August 1971 up to July 72 are 72. I would suggest to not buy it. If you have little mech experience, you don't want to deal with a custom job. If it had the original engine in it then yes but Corvair engines are pricey and there will be no guidence bookwise for you to help you work on it. For $3000 you can find a mostly original bus and you would be much happier in the long run.
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Why buy what you can build.
Step away from the fiberglass and no one gets hurt!!

[llamas1]

The pictures look beautiful. The throttle cable is a cheap item and a quick fix. Offer him you're 1000 bucks cash and remind him that you're going to replace the engine. I would pay 2k for it and feel good about it. Put it in the garage and work on it. You will be styling by next summer.

I was in the same boat as you when I bought my bus back in July, Not being mechanically gifted I took a chance on buying something that looked nice but could have fallen apart once I got it home. I turned out to be a good buy and is a dependable ride once I replaced all the basics.

However my bus doesn't look nearly that sweet.

And yes, put the original engine back in it. It's a good dependable basic engine.

[NeverHadaBeetle]

I say run, run fast, and run far, but most of all just run. Personally I would love to have the bus because I have had dozens of busses and I work on them all the time. Mechanical stuff doesn't scare me because I'm not paying somebody else to do the work. And at some point this bus will definitely need some work. It is a 1972 so it came with the 1700 type IV engine that should be put back into the bus. You could find a used totally complete type IV engine and intstall it back into the bus, but not for $1,000 unless you do most of the work yourself. Corvair engines are fine for some people, but not if you can't do your own work to get this thing going and keep it going. You will not get most mechanics to touch it with the Corvair engine in it and you have already stated that you don't have a lot of mechanical knowledge. The body looks good, but for $3,000 it should. That's all you're getting for your $3,000 and another $1,000 will evaporate on this thing pretty quick. For your $4,000 budget you can find a much better deal. Good luck with whatever you choose.
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"Well, we shot the line and we went for broke
With a thousand screamin' trucks
An' eleven long-haired friends a' Jesus
In a chartreuse micra-bus."