Newbie-Should I buy this bus question!

[aaronski]

Hi there,
I've always wanted a VW bus, and now the time has come. I'll tell you about the bus first-
'74 bay window- pop top westfailia, runs, drives, registered and passes saftey, horns, signals, etc all work. I can drive it home today.
-Lots of rust. rust pinholes under the front footwells, rust in the doors, the slider cover is rusty, the lower 6 inches has rust and little holes in many places. rust around the bumper.
-The driver door only opens from the inside.
-engine idles poorly, seems to not have much range- I think the throttle cable isn't pulling open all the way, but it does run acceptably for the roads it will travel.
-Interior looks Ok. roof repaneled with nice wood, sink is there, back seat is there and converts to bed, rear facing seat is there.



I think it comes down to intent. I intend to clean up the rust where I can, give it some patch paint, fix the engine throttle issue, clean up the interior and take the family to the beach once a month, park the bus, have a little picnic, maybe watch a movie in the back and head home. It's a ring road, never going over 45 mph or climbing any hills.
It'll also be a fun place for the kids to play in the yard when it isn't running.
Is this a reasonable bus at $5000? $4000? less?
When it inevitably has a breakdown and I tow it home to be a tiny-home for a year then sell it not running, how much money will I lose?

I figure, worst case, I lost $5k and stop dreaming about buses. I've been wanting one for almost 20 years.

[skills@eurocarsplus]

the nose is shot, bet on that

I would offer 1500 max...but you're on an island with slim pickings I assume. 5k is steep for that here.

looks like mostly original paint, but I think it's hiding some nasties underneath
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[Brian]

Hi and welcome to the Samba!

If you feel like being in the red by $5k I'll send you my bank routing info. I too am in the bus market

Get it for as low as you can. 3-4k. If it breaks down then just fix it and keep driving it? But if you want to just buy one because then sell it and not deal with it, you probably wont lose too much money.
_________________
Wash your hands

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

Only losers litter

[white74westy]

How did you determine it to be a '74? It appears to be a '73 from what I can tell. Pop-top orientation, interior color, gas cap cover, etc. There is a lot of work to be done on that vehicle. As skills said, I'm not sure what the market is in Hawaii, but I wouldn't spend $5K on that vehicle. Just my $0.02. I'm sure you'll get some additional advice here shortly. Best of luck!

[advCo]

Rust is bad mkay.

Check the battery tray inside the engine compartment, the bottom of the windshield and rear windows for rust and crust. Floors, doglegs, rockers. Chances are its going to take a lot of work to seal that bus up from the weather.

I wouldn't touch it for $5k but as others have said I have no idea what the market is like in Hawaii.
_________________
"He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac ‘cause he doesn’t like it looking like he looks back"
'68/'70 Ghia Coupe Project
'70 Westy Project - Champagne I Wannabe
A bunch of vintage Japanese motorcycles
"Much ingenuity with a little money is vastly more profitable and amusing than much money without ingenuity." -A. Bennett

[aaronski]

Thanks!
Derp- it's a 73.

Yea, it needs a lot of work. Next lowest seems like a cleanish bay window for $14k, with a mostly stripped interior. there are a couple project buse's non-running on other islands for 3-4k, but they don't run, aren't registered, and aren't on the correct island.
I know that to fix the rust would take replacing the panels. and good luck getting panels out here.
The panels are rusty, but the frame is just oily, little to no rust underneath.

And I am looking to do some work, just not complete restoration. slow the rust, keep the engine running and enjoy as is. I work from home and have a lot of time on my hands. I figure I'll:
-clean the interior- good scrub, replace fabrics, make new wood panels where missing.
-sand down the rust, seal the rusty area's with rust inhibitor paint.
-replace rotten window seals.
-clean the carbs, adjust the throttle, or choke or whatever else needs going enginewise. I'm not afraid of engines.
-wax that oxidized paint
-drive it maybe 500 miles a year for fun. camp on the beach a couple times a year.

if I pay $4k, do must of the stuff listed, enjoy it, and sell a couple years down the line when the kids are older, and sell for 2k, I'd be happy. I used to do my own wrenching with my brother back in Cali, and just miss working on stuff. I figure I have 4hours a week to play with the bus. Order a part, wait for it to arrive, install, order another part, repeat.....

What I'm afraid of is, this bus will rust to the point of being wet interior and unsafe to drive and I just have to sell for scrap. how do you tell the difference between "she's not a looker" and "that is trash"?

[white74westy]

[aaronski]

[aaronski]

[advCo]

[420GOAT]

worth about 4-6 in Los Angeles. id buy it, in 2 years you may about ten in Los Angeles. HI is also pretty pricey as i understand. id buy it, but offer 4-4.5k
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once you realize im not impressed we will get along just fine

[white74westy]

[KentABQ]

It sounds to me like you're approaching the purchase of a bus with the right mindset. Yup, it has rust, but most do, especially near the sea. You're willing to roll the dice and possibly lose.

So my opinion is... go for it!
I took a huge gamble when I bought mine via eBay, and ended up very happy. So I wish you the same good fortune.

And definitely let us know what you decide.
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[alaskadan]

Buy a couple cases of fluid film and spray it in every nook and cranny and drive it.

[timvw7476]

those solid lifter 1700/1800 engines aren't known for just breaking.
And you will want to correct the linkage to the carbs, for safety.
Own it for three years & you will still be able so get your $ back. +.

[MGBBob80]

Not sure what island you're on, but $5K seems reasonable on Oahu. They go quick. Couple of good air cooled mechanics out there to help you get it running right if need be. Aloha!
_________________
Cheers,
Bob

1978 Type 2 Transporter. 2L engine (engine code GE), Fuel Injection, 4-speed manual transmission.His name is Buddy.

"I reserve the right to be better tomorrow than I am today."

[kinggeorge13]

I dont think it's a terrible price. If you could get it for $4000, I'd do that. I think the big question which you have already partially answered is how much welding do you want to do and/or feel comfortable doing. I've done a significant amount of welding and learning to weld on buses now and it's still one of my favourite things to do. What's not my favourite is all the incredible amount and sometimes super-difficult cutting and grinding and preparation needed before the welding fun can begin.

All I can suggest to you for the rust, especially as you want to start using it right away, is just do a small section at at time. Order the metal replacement parts (nearly everything is available) for each section at a time. I've done the over-ramped thing where I immediately order 6+ outriggers, 4 jackpoints, two rear bottom corners, inner and outter rockers, rear valance, etc and the giant box of parts arrives and I'm so amped up to get started. Well yeah, it's a hobby that I get some hours per week and some weekends and 6 months later, I'm still working very slowly through getting all that stuff removed and replaced. There's lots of supply still (and hopefully for years yet to go) so just order a few at a time. Get the old stuff in one area cut out, grind down to good metal, weld in the new part and get it painted/protected and then move onto the next part. Ever slowly but surely it will get better and better and your skills and speed will increase too. And? You'll get to likely buy a bunch of new tools as well if you don't already have them: Sawzall, large angle grinder, smaller angle grinder, lots of blades, cutting disks, grinding disks, googles, face sheilds, welding gear, lots and lots of vice-grips, air compressor, needler, large palm sander, sanding blocks, woooooo.....lots of stuff!!! I love it! Seriously! You get to buy and play with all these cool toys (tools) and a cool bus. Is there anything better?

The other thing I suggest is oil change instantly and for me I always always always change the transmission fluid to the best I can get before I drive it much more than just getting it home. Grease every grease fitting. Do a valve adjustment asap. Replace all the old fuel lines or risk the very likelyhood of your dream burning to the ground on the side of the road. And yeah like someone else suggested: Fluid Film (or similar) all the areas that are rusting that you are not yet working on to slow down their damage progress. Copious amounts.

It's probably crazy but I always do all I can to take the route of save the bus.

My two cents.

[SGKent]

[scubasteve321]

don't just grind away the rust and re-paint, it will invariably come back

recommend using klean-strip phosphoric acid, can be found at home depot in a gallon for about 20 bucks
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1971 Campmobile Tin-Top
1971 Campmobile Pop-Top
1974 VW Bus

[jtauxe]

Ah, just drive it as a rust bucket and have fun.

As SGKent said, do check the suspension to make sure it is safe to drive.
_________________
John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD