What do ya'll think of this bus?

[fullertonjef]

I've been watching this 1973 tintop bus for the past 10 sitting in an open barn. About 6 months ago I posted a similar thread to Reddit and have been talking to the owner back and forth since. I'm nearing a deal and just wanted to see what everyone thought before pulling this bus out. Having been in a southern barn for the majority of it's life it seems that rust is minimal. The body looks really straight with the exception of a little tap in the front nose. The bus looks really complete and the laminate looks to be in pretty solid condition. It's a bit difficult to see the exact condition due to the excessive amount of crap that's been piled in. To the best of my understanding, the bus was distributed to the wife (current owner) in a divorce about a decade ago. It appears the husband was a mechanic due to the service manuals for various different vehicles strewn about. I'm a little concerned that the engine has been sitting half taken apart for far too many years. What does everyone think?

Here are some links to the images on imgur for you to peruse.

http://imgur.com/a/A91f1
https://imgur.com/a/IESUf

[BUSBOSS]

Yes! Save it now.
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All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
1976 Westfalia
1970 Karmann Ghia Convertible (sold - but not forgotten)

[williamM]

can you post real pictures of the bus--- that formatyou are using sucks- just blurry pics of piles of parts
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[fullertonjef]

I know the pictures are awful! I took them in the middle of winter in a snow storm. I'll try and head out there tomorrow and take some better pictures and upload them. I know I should look on the floor pan under the carpets but anywhere else I should try and look in particular? It's a little difficult because of this horse electric fence that neighbors the bus.

[Wasted youth]

So this looks like a 1973 tin top Westfalia with a torn apart Wasserboxer engine laying somewhere inside.

Maybe I'm seeing things...

But it looks like a $1,500 buy-in to a two year project. Go for it if you think you can work it out. Having a mostly complete and rust free bus puts you way ahead of the game.

Better post some good pictures of that engine. I just don't see that engine being for that bus.

[danfromsyr]

that's not a WBX motor..

if the price is right, it's a solid 'looking' start.

clear out the black widows
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[jtauxe]

Take a good look at the undercarriage. If the body metal is free of structural rust, then go for it. That is the biggest determinant in my list of things to look for. Everything else is just parts that can be replaced, including the engine.

That said, I did pick up a way-too-rusty '73 in Santa Fe about a year ago. But it is a rare bus, so I just had to rescue it. http://vw.tauxe.net/jellybean

If you ever get up to "The Hill", stop by and we can yammer about buses!

Welcome to The Samba!
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"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

[Abscate]

[WhirledTraveller]

Looks like a good solid project bus. Nothing jumps out at me as a problem. Hopefully there's a transmission in there somewhere. The motor looks like the correct type IV motor to my eyes. Certainly it's a got a type IV Fan shroud. Check the engine code, should be a CB code 1.7 liter.

https://www.busdepot.com/identifying-engine-codes/

Even with a good start, you probably need $4-5k to get it into running shape depending on your mechanical skills. The engine will be a major expense, type IV motor parts just aren't cheap anymore. But it's still a good motor. But count on a complete rebuild, somebody took it a apart for a reason. heads/bearings/pistons/cylinders/cam. Plus tires and whatever else pops up. If you wanted to make it a looker, fix the interior and paint, I might budget $10k.
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1977 Westy, Automatic. Big Valve heads, CS Cam.

[Wasted youth]

Okay, yeah I think I'm wrong about the motor. Got to a larger screen computer this morning instead of my cute little smart phone. You can see a part number on the case which looks like it begins 004 (not to be confused with engine number code) and the picture below that I could not figure out what it was at all last night, but today it looks like the fan shroud.

Hopefully the rest of th engine parts are there.

[SGKent]

$850
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[timvw7476]

[Brian]

I'd pay $3 to have not seen those pictures. But pay less than a grand and you can have a nice bus she'll with parts.
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'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper

Only losers litter

[khalimadeath]

I'd say if the price is right go for it. Its hard to tell by the pictures how long the project will take.
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1970 Bus Westfalia
1964 Kombi

[fullertonjef]

Thanks everyone for the replies, it's been reassuring! I went out there today and managed to snap a couple more pictures before my phone died. Again I apologize for the crappy interior pictures, I'm trying to avoid moving as much of the owners possessions as I can making it a game of balancing on one foot while taking pictures. I ran a magnet around looking for some bondo and found none. It looks like there's some sort of coating or liner in the wheel wells that is black (factory?). It looks like the transmission is still intact under the bus, but will probably need some work. I opened the engine door the best I could and took a picture through the crack. It looks like the cylinder head is still around, leading me to believe that the engine is mostly there. It was impossible to get behind the bus and open the door fully due to the electric fence, but I climbed around the stored furniture and took a picture of some numbers that are stamped on the engine casing. At the time I assumed that it was the engine code but upon returning home I have learned they're not the engine code and I have no idea what it is. I looked under the mats in the front passenger area and didn't see any rust, just more dirt. I looked at the chassis and besides two decades of caked on dirt it looks structurally sound and free of rust. In the Westy closet I think I saw some heat exchangers and some more engine parts. I'm sure I'm missing out on listing some of the parts I saw but that's the jist.

I'm a little daunted by the project, I have a garage full of classic bikes that I've worked on for years but haven't done any major work on cars; hopefully with some mechanical intuition and lots of reading we can bring this bus back to life. I'm sure I'll end up asking dozens of questions in the future. In the meantime, here are some more pictures..

jtauxe- I'll absolutely come chat with you and your PHd friends sometime..

[/img]

[Wasted youth]

The cylinder head appears to lack a bunch of carbon build up from years of use, yet has the valves removed but does not look brand new? Not sure what that's all about, but anyone who jams a bunch of filthy piston cylinders inside a Westy wardrobe closet isn't right in the head anyway.

No cardboard boxes laying around to put the scattering of engine parts in? Must have been an interesting divorce: "Yeah, judge... she'll get the bus- and it will come with an engine, too!"

The cast-in numbers on the case represent the case part number, and not the engine serial number. The serial number represents the engine as a finished product, the case part number is just like any other part number... lots of parts to make a car.

Did you review Tcash's helpful links?

It is a daunting project, you're right! Better be ready to spend a lot of time and money on this one.

The black undercoating in the wheel wells is nothing to be alarmed at. My 1973 bus has some of that, and it may be VW or dealer, but poke around for rust anyway. My bet is you have found a super-dry American Southwest VW bus that is probably worthy of saving.

Nice that the transmission is in there. Count on doing a full work-up of the shift rod assembly, transmission nose-cone refresh and a full-on CV joint cleaning, inspection and servicing. Plan on same attack for the front and rear wheel bearings and a complete servicing of the brakes.

Really, the engine and getting it running are way down on the list of priorities.

I like what I see so far. Time to stop teasing us and get yourself permission to move some of that crap out of the way and get a decent camera!

[fullertonjef]

I'll add it to the to do list. I can't stress how much I appreciate the input everyone has given. Once I get the bus into my garage I'll start a honey-do list to keep the progress running. I haven't seen Tcash's links, can you point me in the right direction? I'm wondering if the Folger cans are holding smaller parts. I'll pull my DSLR out and take better pictures once I hear back from the owner again hopefully in the next couple days.

[Wasted youth]

Thanks to Tcash:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8129374#8129374

And WhirledTraveller for the Bus Depot engine codes link in this post:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8129946#8129946

[Mellow Yellow 74]

[WhirledTraveller]