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Can I drive this 500 miles?
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iubhounds
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 5:59 pm    Post subject: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

- New engine with less than 200 miles
- All new engine parts with that build not rebuild as previoiusly stated
- VW Stored for 20 months - started weekly to run a little in storage
- Never driven outside of warehouse during those 20 months
- Tires kept inflated to required psi
- Totally rebuilt from the ground up, brakes, engine, electrical

My plan is to change the oil upon arrival, add new premium gas since very little gas (old) was left in the tank and add a fuel additive to clean fuel system. I would then test drive it around the area where I am picking it up and then decide whether to hit the road that afternoon for the trip back home, a little less than 500 miles.

Will the Carbs (dual) be gummed up from lack of use?

I have driven plenty of old VW buses, bugs, a panel and single cab cross country many times so I know that anything can happen on the road no matter the age of the engine or VW.

I'll be doing this no later than this Wednesday because I cannot find anyone that can ship it to me. Still waiting for two to get back to me. I live SE of Tucson so its a little out of the way compared to where shippers want to go.

Plan B is to drive to destination in a rental ... rent a 10' Uhaul truck with their transport trailer and tow it home.

Thanks for any info.


Last edited by iubhounds on Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:24 pm; edited 1 time in total
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TheVintageVw
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 6:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

Just do the uhaul, for peace of mind. I did that to get a bus from AZ. You dont wanna get stuck. I rented a uhaul truck, drove to destinations, got a trailer and retuned both locally.
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busdaddy
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 6:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

I'm inclined to agree, the description sounds like there's room for it to be poorly built by shopping from a catalog and picking the shiny stuff, the sitting may just add to the trauma, no need to burn out a fresh engine due to fuel starvation on top of whatever crappy Chinese parts may have already been installed. Get it home, look it over (post pics here for scrutiny) and test it locally first IMO.

Did I mention that most "new" parts come from China these days?, quality control isn't in their vocabulary it seems.
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joe cool
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

I would drive there in a rental with my tool box and spend a day with the bus. Check it out in person, drive it around a bit, fix what I found that needed fixing, then go for it. Or if you deem the bus undriveable after thorough inspection, you can still rent that uhaul.
You have the opportunity for a great adventure here, don’t give up on that dream too easily.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

Uhaul it

You will find the stuff that you thought was rebuilt probably wasn’t , too.
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iubhounds
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

busdaddy wrote:
I'm inclined to agree, the description sounds like there's room for it to be poorly built by shopping from a catalog and picking the shiny stuff, the sitting may just add to the trauma, no need to burn out a fresh engine due to fuel starvation on top of whatever crappy Chinese parts may have already been installed. Get it home, look it over (post pics here for scrutiny) and test it locally first IMO.

Did I mention that most "new" parts come from China these days?, quality control isn't in their vocabulary it seems.


I understand what you are saying but I have photos and the build sheet for the engine and all other mods that were done. I have called and had the engine builder and the company that inspected it before storage, download their invoices and were sent to me. This isn't poorly built by any means. I didn't buy it just from the looks. The owner has sent me all documentation and photos from the time he purchased it, then the restoration on the body with new metal where there was rust etc.

If Mahle, German parts, Silverline, Engle, Performance Racing, AA Performance, EMPI, MST, Kadron all use crapy Chinese parts then I guess I am screwed like the rest of us. Laughing

But I agree with you and the poster before ... renting a truck and trailer to tow it is the best option if I cannot get a shipper. Both have been reserved.

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iubhounds
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

joe cool wrote:
I would drive there in a rental with my tool box and spend a day with the bus. Check it out in person, drive it around a bit, fix what I found that needed fixing, then go for it. Or if you deem the bus undriveable after thorough inspection, you can still rent that uhaul.
You have the opportunity for a great adventure here, don’t give up on that dream too easily.


That was another option. I could head over to the coast to see friends and my old neighborhood. Within those 40 miles I'd have a good idea what it needed.

I like that idea ... with the truck and trailer still reserved for that day in case I needed it.


Last edited by iubhounds on Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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iubhounds
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

Abscate wrote:
Uhaul it

You will find the stuff that you thought was rebuilt probably wasn’t , too.


I have no doubt it was rebuilt, in fact it wasn't a rebuilt engine but a brand new engine from scratch. I have no doubts what the seller sent me in photos (100's) and documentation.
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Glenn Premium Member
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

iubhounds wrote:
- VW Stored for 20 months - started weekly to run a little in storage

That's 60 dry starts. You're better off removing the rocker arms, running the carb dry and hand rotating the engine 360* ones a month.
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Culito
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

Get AAA and drive that fucker (if the brakes and tires are good)
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iubhounds
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:32 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

Culito wrote:
Get AAA and drive that fucker (if the brakes and tires are good)


That's the kind of response I love and I have done that attitude before with VWs that were questionable but finished the trip with outstanding success.
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marklaken
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

I wouldn't use a fuel additive. just add fresh gas to the old gas. bring some carb spray in case you have to clean the carbs on the roadside.

Inspect the brake lines, tires, and fuel lines before hitting the highway.

500 miles will be a stressful maiden voyage in any new to you vintage car.

I drove 60 miles along interstate frontage roads in an old chevy because I was too cheap to tow. One of the dumbest things I've ever done, but everyone lived and I saved a couple hundred bucks.
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joe cool
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

Bob Hoover used to say his bus ran better at the end of the trip than the beginning because he would experience and learn what was wrong with it and fix those things along the way. 500 miles isn’t a Sunday drive but it isn’t the Dakar rally either.
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joe cool
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

And you know if you posted here with a breakdown you couldn’t handle people would come to your aid.
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67_SO42
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

iubhounds wrote:
- I live SE of Tucson so its a little out of the way compared to where shippers want to go.

Plan B is to drive to destination in a rental ... rent a 10' Uhaul truck with their transport trailer and tow it home.

Thanks for any info.


You know Tristain? He is in Tucson and has a bus tow bar.
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kpf
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

I always wonder in cases like this, if the bus (or car) was restored perfectly and drives like a dream, then why is it for sale with so few post-restoration miles? Think
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iubhounds
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:32 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

joe cool wrote:
And you know if you posted here with a breakdown you couldn’t handle people would come to your aid.


That is one thing that has always been great on this forum. I sold my last 'batch' of vw's in 2008 and am just now getting back into them. This site has helped me many times in the past.

Thanks for pointing that out.
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iubhounds
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

kpf wrote:
I always wonder in cases like this, if the bus (or car) was restored perfectly and drives like a dream, then why is it for sale with so few post-restoration miles? Think


The seller moved out of the country due to life changes, family. It is something I thought about, "why" would you sell it after making all of the upgrades.
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galexander
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:41 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

Drive it.
That's what they are for.
Bring a few spares:
accel cable
clutch cable
gen belt
fuel filter
After 500 miles, you will learn everything you wanted to know about your Bus.
That's the best part.
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AS350driver
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 9:52 pm    Post subject: Re: Can I drive this 500 miles? Reply with quote

I’d go for it. Have a contingency plan in case it does break down.

I had just got this bus going and driving around town after it sat 17 years. A few anomalies popped up, but it made it. Avoiding the heat of the day helps.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=677697&highlight=tucson+to+laredo
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