310 to YUMA! And diving new 71 sportsmobile back home to Texas

[BIGspill84]

Pictures posted at the bottom if they interest you then read on! Or don’t I won’t know....

Just thought I’d share this story.... ive used the Samba for many years to gain as much knowledge I can from so many of you brilliant minds willing to share even a small taste of your years of experience and hard earned expertise with younger inexperienced DIY guys like myself that have been officially diagnosed with the ever contagious VW BUG. i hope to one day pass down the torch so the Love and Legacy of these air cooled beauties keeps cruisin'.

that said, this is my first Samba post and real comments and even criticisms are welcomed as I still have so much I need to learn.

i got VERY LUCKY early March OF 2016 and found a 71 bay Sportsmobile advertized as a riviera as they often are. I was instantly consumed by the instant LOVE I felt for this bus and was able to convince the seller to remove the ad and consider it sold. I live in Lubbock, TX and the ad was posted in YUMA, ARIZONA. so a good 15 hour drive away. (this bus has spent its entire life in the desert!) the seller took detailed photos convincing me this bus was actually and literally RUST FREE!!!

I then sold the idea to my wife that we and this Bus were meant to be together. He was asking $9K and calculated id only have 8k after Travel expenses. I HAD SOLD MY 71 TYPE 3 SQUAREBACK (Broomhilda, named for her big fat German caboose) just a couple of weeks prior.(also have a 68 cali look beetle ive maintained since 2009 that my Wife currently uses as her daily cruiser). With BIG plans to find and invest my very first type 2.

TO MY COMPLETE SURPRISE agreed on $7,500 considering my journey expenses but WITH MY CONVINCING he rested easy knowing the Bus would be well cared for and maintained by my hands only. acording to seller the 1600dp had been "rebuilt just 1 year prior by PO and had been "regularly serviced including valve adustments to .006. since" the seller convinced me that it would make the trip back to Texas. At the time relied on YOUTUBE VIDEOS to help me clarify my bently manuals which I still use every size job to eliminate any probable mistakes. I want to make sure I torque everything to spec every time.

upon previous research I had set my sights on a 71 bay camper because I had experienced in fixing common problems that occur with the upright vw motor and was able to diagnose issues "after a usually lengthy and tedious process of elimination". ihad packed 4qts of shell rotella, 3 various length fan pulley belts, spair accelerator and clutch cables, carb cleaner, pedal repair kit, wiper blades, extra set of points, spare tire and my emergency roadside vw tool kit as well as batteries to power various portable shop lights. yada yada blah blah I had faith I could and WOULD make the drive home if I stayed attentive and aware of any small changes in the Ol' Girls behavior on the road.. i knew the hills and elevation changes would be an issue if I pushed he past her limits.
With that in mind I gathered our loot and future late bill payments money and we hit the road to Yuma late morning 3/10/2016.

We had already planned to hall ass in our GTI with minimal stops in attempt to make the deal happen on 3/10 to Yuma.. we also planed to drag ass returning home to break her in nice and slow and enjoy some camping so we decided to stretch out the 15 hour drive home into 4 nice and easy 4-5hr drives with plenty of (cool down/oil top off stops) and at the same time, take in the scenery and any weird roadside attractions we might stumble upon as my Wife and I share a Love for anything and everything "Americana" the weirder the better...

we arrived just before 11:30pm in Yuma after keeping an open line of communication with the seller and ETA updates throughout the day so he stayed confident that this a a done deal so he wouldnt consider any offers to steal her from me.

I was so excited at first sight of the bus i could no longer keep a poker face for last minute negotiation possibility and was initially blind to any and all not previous noticed flaws and blemishes. cosmetically the Bus was tip top for my standards as Ive always been more attracted to vw's mechanical upkeep, capability and reliability. you know... its personality. i become more and more attracted to a cars physical blemishes signs of its age and "experience" the more a vw lacks mechanical flaws.

wow ill have to make this a "to be continued" because I keep rambling... photos of the trip below which I still have a few to add.... as well as my building anxiety and experiences on our journey home. the good the bad and the UGLY....

TOO BE CONTINUED....

[TDCTDI]

Very nice! You stole that bus.
_________________
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.

[gt1953]

Looks as if you stole this rig. Nice photos also. Oh where was it advertised?
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[Pruneman99]

You bought it 3 years ago and posted only now? I thought I was slow at posting

The bus looks great. Super deal also. Any adventures on the way home?

[BIGspill84]

Thanks gt and TDC! I’m just super stoked I’m finally working on getting it road trip worthy! Pruneman it was parked in my garage for 2 years so I didn’t like to think about it... it was super depressing. But I’m hard at it knowing I’ll be cruising’ be Christmas made me finally want to share it with you volks that appreciate!