Might buy this Street Rail

[rossl1]

I have been looking into buying a street rail for about the last month. Still in the process of doing my research and trying to learn everything I can.

I had an old small engine shop teacher that was into drag racing sand rails in the 1/8 mile and ever since then I have wanted one!

Here is the pink beauty. Definitely needs a paint job. I am looking for a rail that needs some work as I interested in having something I can tinker with. The guy selling it doesn't know anything about it other then its was his brothers for a few years and now he has had it over the last year. He claims he just drives it, never modified it and minimal repairs. All he could tell me is that he replaced the starter last year. Everything works as it should electrically and mechanically.

Do you think this rail is worth making the 1.5 hr drive to see it? If so what should I look for before I buy it? He is asking 3500 which I think is a little steep given the lack of history information about the motor/trans/frame. What do you guys think it is worth?

[Brian]

69+ bug suspension is nothing special. More than likely has a 1600 that "runs" I see a TDC sensor on it, with doghouse cooling, so that's cool. New starter, means the electrical is probably not 100% Tires look decent.

I would go as low as you can get him. 2k max
_________________
Wash your hands

'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper

Only losers litter

[SamT]

I agree, thats a 2K buggy all day. $1500 would be a good buy.

[ORANGECRUSHer]

Looks like a rig that gets used, which is good. I bet I can guess where he buys a lot of parts at.
I'd be a bit leary of the coilover shocks in the back. Might have some worn out torsion bars or just need indexing, but you'll definitely want something better.
I'm also kinda curious what's going on with the clutch lever. There's some rusty pipey bit right in front of it I don't recognize. Why is that there?
Interesting front bumper, not sure if I would want to test it. And it's very Barney with that purple.
_________________
Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[cbeck]

did anybody else see the bent long tie rod? Is the short one also bent? Make sure the beam or arms not bent. Plenty to tinker with. Title/vin has to be worth something.

[rossl1]

Thanks for the feedback. I agree of a max price of 2k. He might be offended if I start out at 1500 lol. But if he doesn't even know what he has how could he!

I believe that is a bent tie rod. It kind of looks intentional to clear the battery box.

What bothers me the most about this is he can not tell me what kind of engine it is. Where is the engine code located? Would it be possible for the owner to take picture so I could verify?

[dustymojave]

Yep...Bent long tie rod. Easy fix. Clutch cable bollux definitely needs some attention. Overall it looks like it has been reasonably well put together and maintained. If it runs well and the trans works well, I don't see the asking price as being all that far out of line. I think the 1.5 hr drive should be worth it. Be prepared to haggle the price. But take a straight tie rod and the tools to fix it with you.

How do you think you will use it or whatever you wind up with?

Forest trail car?

Or pure street?

Or?
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[rossl1]

He says it is drives and rides well. If I replaced the tie rod would it throw the wheel out of alignment? If he is driving it now, do you think the toe was aligned with a bent tie rod? The wheels in the picture look roughly aligned.

I think I will keep it purely street rail this time around.

My list of modifications for this car would be:

Paint the frame lime green! My favorite!
Paint/trans/beam/coat diamond plate floor
New front bumper
Possibly drop the front end
Dual carbs (if it would add power to stock 1600)
Simple engine rebuild if necessary
New exhaust
Dress the motor (polished/chrome tins, dog house ect.)

I sure my mind will change on the things I will want upgrade/modify once I see it in person.

[rossl1]

He says it is drives and rides well. If I replaced the tie rod would it throw the wheel out of alignment? If he is driving it now, do you think the toe was aligned with a bent tie rod? The wheels in the picture look roughly aligned.

I think I will keep it purely street rail this time around.

My list of modifications for this car would be:

Paint the frame lime green! My favorite!
Paint/trans/beam/coat diamond plate floor
New front bumper
Possibly drop the front end
Dual carbs (if it would add power to stock 1600)
Simple engine rebuild if necessary
New exhaust
Dress the motor (polished/chrome tins, dog house ect.)

I sure my mind will change on the things I will want upgrade/modify once I see it in person.

[rossl1]

Also does this rail have IRS? I don't have a direct shot in the picture but I sure looks like it.

[race-desert]

yes on the IRS. you can see the "arms/cvs" in pic showing starter.

[ORANGECRUSHer]

that tie rod is bent on purpose to clear the frame. If you've ever welded together your own berrien you'll know that the placement (according to the directions) of the first upright on that side will interfere with the tie-rod's position. When I did mine I simply moved the upright back enough to clear. For whatever reason, this person obviously didn't trust themself enough to deviate from the instructions and bent the tierod instead - something that I would think makes adjustment a real PITA! not to mention weakening an already weak component.
The solution is simple. Cut out the tubing upright and move it back. THEN replace tie-rod. Not a big deal, but stupid notheless.
_________________
Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[Soundkillr]

Man, this sounds similar to mine!

[rossl1]

Yes! That is the look I'm after. Is your frame powder coated or painted? That engine is beautiful. I don't think my budget (aka wife) would allow that kind of money thrown into it. We will see. I also like the look of the polished beam.

[Soundkillr]

Yes, the frame is powder coated. Granny Smith green is the name of the powder coating. The black viynl pads are custom made with zippers for a clean look. A company in California did them. They are called headbanger roll pads. Overall I LOVE my rail, but I will be getting a larger gas tank. Seems like I'm always on empty

[rossl1]

I went to look at the buggy today and ended up buying it. Paid too much for it. I think you guys were right at 2k but I ended up giving him 2600. I took a check list and went through everything I knew how to do.

The front end needs to be rebuilt. Ball joints are worn pretty bad. I jacked up the front end and I could wiggle the wheel at 12 and 6. Steering box also has about a 1/8 turn of the steering wheel of play. This will be my first project for sure because of the safety aspect. I've heard the arms can come out of the ball joints

The engine compression I think is good. I pulled each plug while it was running and I heard a change in idle/rough idle. When I drove it the engine would skip some if I gave it too much throttle to quickly or under heavy load. It looks like it has some oil leaks as well. oil pressure it good at about 40 psi.

Trans didn't have any problems. The shifting seams very sloppy to me, but it didn't kick me out of any gears. Clutch picks up well.

Frame is more rusty then I thought. Most of the rails against the floor pan have surface rust. Also noticed tonight the pan is rivet to the frame! So when I go to drill out all the rivets to paint I will have a bunch of rivet parts rattling around inside the rails?

Part of me want to rebuild and or replace 80% of the parts. I want to be careful though because I don't want to sink too much money into it that I will not be able to get back out. If a buggy like this was 100% new/rebuilt what would it be worth? Trying to gauge my rebuild budget.

[cbeck]

Chances are you will never break even,thats not why we do it. Over 7k and over 900 man hours, probably couldn't sell mine for over 4500.

[D Rock]

I traded for mine and thought I would make a tight budget to stick to. Then the addiction kicked in added with what I wanted it to look like and that budget got thrown out the window. But WHEN it is done...IT WILL BE BADASS!!!