Too much rust? Buying my first vw. Need advice

[joshlm]

Hey guys, im 18 and i live in Fresno CA, im thinking about making a road trip to San Jose to purchase my first beetle, a 1969. From what i know the car runs good and is the guys daily driver. He wants 2100 and it seems to be worth the value. But i have some concerns about the rust to floor panels? Is this too much? I will be posting pics shortly. Any other info about the car and how mcuh it would be worth is helpful. I have the john muir vw guide and will be using it to help me when buying, but any tips on what to look for? What are any other big NO-NO. I know it needs some cosmetic work but thats not a huge deal. im also not looking to make any huge repairs as I dont have the finances so the rust will be left untreated. Any advice please just for buying, owning, driving the 200 miles back home in it, how much this is worth etc.
[https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/d/volkswagen-beetle-1969/6501498412.html]

[ROCKOROD71]

in the grand scheme of things rust on the floor pans is not a big deal, nor is straight up rot. Floor pans can be patched or replaced. what you realy want to look at are the heater channels, aka rockers below the doors, the front firewall, the rear cross members. Look up some pics on this site of a body seperated from the pan. Basically the bottom 6 inches or so of the body should be of concern. If that is solid everything else is easy (relatively speaking of course). Of the chassis the frame head and tunnel, tunnel bottom plate, and rear frame horns should be inspected for rot.
_________________
1971 STD BEETLE- DD-1st car, 1st love. keepin' it stock! 1600DP, Solex 34-3 Mexi Bosch SVDA Dist NOW w/POINTS
1977 WESTY "KrustyKamper" 2L FI

[TDCTDI]

WARNING!!!! That “wetness” may be brake fluid! Inspect that brake line closely before driving it anywhere!!! Especially right where it looks wet underneath the line.

Regardless, that line needs to be replaced!!!!
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[bluebus86]

hard to tell from a photo. test it by trying to poke a screw driver thru the pan, jump on the pan. If it gives, it need replacement. if it dont it may suffice to sand, wire wheel, blast to remove rust and paint, patch any tiny holes if it still mostly sound it needs work one way or the other. If if does need replacement, that is a big job, price should reflect that

AND YES to the other poster, the steel brake fluid pipe shown is in need of replacement. with all that rust on it, it may soon if not already have a pin hole leak. The job is not too bad for a tool handy do it yourselfer. a shop may want a good deal for it, several hours labor Id guess. Price should reflect this NEEDED safety repair, point this out to the seller. Your going to need to spend a good part of a day dealing with it yourself. I have done this repair on 2 Bugs.

now the other rust maybe confined to the floor. it may be rust caused by a window leak, spilled liquid, leaky brake fluid pipe. as some other poster stated, check the body, rust repair there can be much more difficult and pricey to repair than the floor, and requires finish paint work.

a refrigerator door magnet is useful for detecting bondo under paint. sticks well with sound metal, but not if there is bondo under it.

A compression test is a great way to get an assessment of engine health, bring a tester with you. an oil pressure gage can be installed at the oil switch sendor for a quick test of that system. engine need be warmed up for both these tests.

Good Luck, hope you find your inner Bug soon! Bug On!
_________________
Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]

You're in in the West Coast, specifically Cali, and you found a bug with rust??

I'm actually shocked such a thing exists. Maybe somebody shipped one from the Rust Belt here in the East?


If I'm being honest- you're on the West Coast and there seems to be a plethora of rust-free bugs from what I hear.

To be precise I remember one Samba Member on here from Arizona say:

[VW_Jimbo]

That looks like some surface rust. Providing the rust did not get to deep (from being covered with a sheet of plastic) you could probably sand blast, epoxy primer, and paint. Really depends at how structurally sound the current steel is.

Replacing the pans is not a big deal, ....too me. You need to know how to remove the body (for safety - ie sparks), how to prep metal for welding, how to weld, how to gring welds and how to paint.

However, if it is a heater channel, you better know what you are doing. You weld the A or B pillar in the wrong spot of the channel and the door is either sitting wonky or refuses to shut correctly! That is splitting some hairs!

You should further investigate the inside fender wells at the front, up at where the body bolts down to the pan and at where the heater channel is welded in at the top of the channel. Usually rusting out. If it is, that a heater channel and part of a inside fender.

Look at the back fender wells, at the axle tube. Usually rusting there as well. Same as front but more difficult because of the location of the patching by the torsion tubes.

Next up is the rear luggage shelf, which I am guessing has an issue. I think the rear window seal is shot and the car sat outside with that damage. That allowed water to trickle in. The carpet sucked up the water and with all the windows closed, the moisture just sat in there and stewed. If the luggage shelf is shot too. You will have a job and a half replacing that. That is a solid eight hour day, if you know what you are doing. First time was a full week!

$2100 is not too bad if you can do the work and have the tools. But if you do not have both of those things, you will need to pay for them. That adds up really quick. Those pans alone, the tooling is around 2500.00. It gets expensive really quick!!!

Good luck! I think you would be better off finding something with less rust. Or go back and look over the car close and offer way less - $400.00
Again, good luck!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[VW_Jimbo]

[joshlm]

Thanks for the responses guys, I think I’ll hold off on this bug since I don’t have any welding experience and I’m not looking for a money pit of paying someone else. Also if the brakes have issues that’s a problem considering immediately after buying I’d need to drive it 2.5 hrs home. I’ll just save up some more dough and try and get a little nicer one, it’ll probably save me money in the long run. Thanks again and I’m looking forward to becoming part of this community once I find the right bug!!

[TDCTDI]

Oh yeah...

WELCOME TO THE SAMBA!
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[VW_Jimbo]

Josh. Keep looking, the rust free ones are out there. You may have to pay a little more, but it is money well spent, if you do not have the time, skills or money.

You could always take a welding class at your local JC to learn. Invest in some tooling after that and then buy whatever floats your boat!

Or do what I did, buy a welder and some steel and read a few books, watch a few videos and then go to town on some metal!!! Fun stuff!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[joey1320]

I understand money is always a concern but other than that, there should be no reason for you to buy a bug with any rust on it whatsoever considering you're in the West Coast.

Search the classifieds here and locate a clean one.
Welcome!
_________________
**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VW_Jimbo]

Joey, they all have rust now. Chances are the window seals are old and letting water get in, or the trunk seal is faulty and water rolled in or the pan has a battery hanging on the edges of a hole covered with a piece of plywood. I look for non rusty Bugs, but I have not found one in a long time. These cars are definitely showing their age!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Disaster06]

Yea. Definitely spend a little more. I bought my 68 last year for $2700 and there was a bunch of hidden rust that I have had to tackle. Soooo time consuming. Luckily I have had help from VW Jimbo with a weld and another project but you might not be so lucky to have someone with experience close by.

Looking back now I wish I saved up and bought something in the 4K range.

But then again, someone could have hidden all the bad stuff well and just be selling it for a higher dollar. My car is 50 years old this year, know that with an old car comes some headaches and random parts decide to fail. It’s definitely not my daily driver, but I love it. Enjoy!

[57BLITZ]

[bluebus86]

most have rust. the floor pans hide rust very well under a layer of carpets and or matts, sound deadener. The lowest spots usually get the most water, and rust. many a rusty floor on other wise pristine cars.

Also a lot of salty coastline exists out here.

But even non beach cars going on near half a century in age will likely have rust. they didnt exactly galvanize these cars.

Bug On, My Oxidizing Friends!
_________________
Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[joey1320]

[mukluk]

The car looks fairly solid and complete from what I can see in the photos in the ad link. What is shown in the floor pan picture looks like surface rust which should clean up without much effort, the only concern I would have is why is it damp and is the dampness water or brake fluid? A nice point is the ad states "need to sell this car", which tells me you can most likely get the car for less than the $2100 asking price.
_________________
1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[joshlm]

So the guy is now saying he’ll take 1500. Is it worth it? Should I jump on this?

[Cali_Army_Guy]

[hitest]

I think this link will easily work for others- I had to search for the car.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/d/volkswagen-beetle-1969/6501498412.html

After looking at all the photos- it may not be a bad car! I know me, I'd offer less of course. But it appears complete and has what I'd expect to be things that need attention in the price range: amateur work in the engine bay, a mismatched decklid, previous owner wiring and duct tape repairs under the trunk lid, etc.. But it's all there and workable.

Please bring someone who knows what a healthy engine sounds like and what beetle brakes should do, etc. Buy Cal Army Guy a helluva lunch and take him!
_________________