Pros and Cons of owning a VW Type 2 Bus?
John Willis
Westy, but the one that has seats front to rear with sliding windows
on the side and a small package area over the engine.
The car is in very good shape, but not absolutely pristine. The pans
are in great shape, the fender wells are rust free, the body is
straight and looked to my eye to not have ever been resprayed. The
worst thing I could pick on is all the window seals will need to be
replaced, both the fixed windows and the moving windows. I haven't
heard it run, but what I could see of the engine didn't look bad since
to me it looked original and in decent shape (had an oil filter, just
a few drips under the car, and was not a stock 1600 out of a Beetle,
that much I do know.) The seat covers look original and are in good
shape, and the odometer is showing just over 50,000 miles. Based on
the overall condition of the car I believe this may be original
mileage, but that may or may not be the case. Based on the research
I've done so far it seems to me that a top dollar asking price for one
of these in the condition this one is in would be in the neighborhood
of $3,500.00 to $4,000.00. This particular car is priced far lower
than that and since it does need some touch ups and some work it could
probably be bought for less than the fellow is asking.
All this being said, I am wondering what are the pros and cons of
owning one of these beasts? I've never had one and I'm not passionate
about these, but it looks to me that one would be fun to run around to
relatively close state and national parks for camping trips. Kind of
use it as a mini RV. Anyone have any ideas or advice? Just looking to
see what the experiences of others might have been with this kind of
car.
--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
Speedy Jim
Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!
Came with a 2.0L FI engine with Hyd lifters.
That engine typically would go 150K miles or more.
The rest of the mechanicals would far outlast the engine...
Great for hauling; a 4 X 8 sheet of *.* fits nicely.
10 foot lengths of pipe.
Take the seats out and build a bed for camping...
If you get it, buy the Bentley Official Manual.
Speedy Jim ('78 Bus)
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/
The Queen of Cans and Jars
John Willis
scribbled this interesting note:
>Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!
>
>Came with a 2.0L FI engine with Hyd lifters.
>That engine typically would go 150K miles or more.
I didn't know this. See why I come here to ask questions?
>
>The rest of the mechanicals would far outlast the engine...
>
>Great for hauling; a 4 X 8 sheet of *.* fits nicely.
>10 foot lengths of pipe.
Sounds like you know this from experience? Those aren't really
considerations for us since we have an assortment of trucks and
trailers to choose from for big items, up to and including hauling a
couple of bunks of plywood all at once! That is in the dump truck.
Just a couple of weeks ago I did a fence for Scott (200 feet of fence)
and hauled 40 treated 2X6s and over 700 1X4X6' #2 cedar pickets on a
heavy duty trailer we have. So hauling big items isn't a real concern
for us!
>
>Take the seats out and build a bed for camping...
See, I was wondering about that as well! Not that we'd go camping
withoug a tent anyway!:~)
>
>If you get it, buy the Bentley Official Manual.
But of course.
>
> Speedy Jim ('78 Bus)
>http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/
--
John Willis
Cans and Jars) scribbled this interesting note:
>
>pros: it's a bus.
>
>cons: it's a bus.
>
>:)
Kinda' figgered that out already!:~)
The Queen of Cans and Jars
> On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 00:26:52 GMT, dhr...@ohatzhapu.bet (The Queen of
> Cans and Jars) scribbled this interesting note:
>
> >
> >pros: it's a bus.
> >
> >cons: it's a bus.
> >
> >:)
>
> Kinda' figgered that out already!:~)
well, then ... if it runs well, buy it! if you don't like it, you can
always sell it - or so i always tell myself when i'm trying to justify
the purchase of another in a long line of old german cars.
MUADIB®
and maybe meet you over there to shake it down real good ffor other
problems.................Anything unusual to look for
???............Come on guys, Show us the things to REALLY look for,
The price sounds pretty right. But Kbowing the crap thangs to look for
is a huge plus.
Thanks guys, in advance.
Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply MUADIB®
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/ssterile/MAIN%20PAGE.html
It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its.
Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours
and theirs. -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News
Ted Bogart
than a bug, b) that it has a type 4 engine rather than a type 1
engine, or c) that it's a passenger van rather than a camper?
Here's my "dissertation" on owning a bus:
I've had a Bug, a '75 bus with type 4 engine, a Vanagon camper, and
now a '71 "station wagon" bus with passenger seats and a type I
engine. Based on these, I'd say for the one you're considering:
1. A bus is about the easiest thing in the world to drive. It has
great visibility and manuverability.
2. It's roomier than a bug and has more leg room, too, but somewhat
slower and lumbering in comparison.
3. It's excellent in the city and on country roads, but not much fun
on freeways and interstates.
4. It can be uncomfotable in very hot weather, especially exposed to
the sun.
5. When the weather is hot, it's more comfortable than a modern
vehicle with a broken AC since it was orignally designed without
AC--it has better ventilation and vent windows.
6. My '71 is too slow and bounces around too much on freeways and
interstate highways--even schoolbusses pass me.
7. With a type 4 engine you should be able to go the speed limit on
interstates and you won't have to downshift to go up big hills.
7. Tires with high sidewall ratings probably won't bounce around as
much.
8. The engine is loud and it's hard to enjoy the stereo or carry on a
conversation when driving. The type 4 engine is even louder.
9. It's very convenient for camping and shopping.
10. It's useful for carrying furniture, lumber, etc, too, but I always
worry about damaging the seats or interior panels.
11. With regular care it's very reliable and will last a long time.
12. Replace the weather seals as soon as possible to keep rain from
getting in and causing rust.
13. Repair any rust you find under the weather seals and the body
should last another 20 years or more.
14. Teenagers will wave at you and give you peace signs.
15. And if you don't like it, you will most likely be able to sell it
for about what you paid, maybe even more as they get scarcer.
16. For camping, it's got room for your gear plus seats for your
family. Everyone gets a good view of the scenery as you drive to the
campsite. It gets decent gas mileage and handles dirt roads and ruts
very well for a 2WD.
17. I always worry about breaking down in the boonies with my kids and
no cell-phone access, but so far my bus has never left me stranded.
18. Sometimes I wish mine was a camper when I'm making solo trips, but
I have 4 kids, so a camper would be too cramped for the whole family
and the built-in furnishings are too small for more than 3 people, at
most. I do believe the bus campers have a more convenient layout than
the vanagon campers. With the vanagons you have to sit inside to use
the kitchen, but with the buses, you can stand up outside and reach
inside the door.
19. Compared to a regular RV, a bus is multi-functional. You can use
it as a daily driver, too.
Ted Bogart
John Willis <jdwill...@airmail.net> wrote in message news:<3rned0t2ccg8krgif...@4ax.com>...
Tunafish
bought it and you're hooked :-)
I would say the pro's are you get a roomy vehicle you can sleep and cook in
(buy an awning too and you double the space for camping). It's relatively
simple mechanically compared to modern vehicles, surprisingly comfortable to
drive distances. The cons are it's a bit slow up hills - although a 2 litre
fuel injected engine should help here, and you can't always park them in
multi storeys because they're too tall. I would check the bottoms of the cab
doors for perforation, the battery tray in the engine compartment for holes,
bottom of the sliding door, and the underneath structural out riggers. Also,
lift the drivers and passenger floor mats up to check for rust here. Most of
all if you buy it go camping in it!
--Steve
"Ted Bogart" <te...@nc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:b13e46db.04062...@posting.google.com...
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Joe Cali Next Generation-usa
That's why I went on to the Type IV upright Conversions, it is a no
brainer if you can go 150k in a two ton bus, how long will it last in
a 1700 lb bug!! And the performance is better then a 914.
Love T-4
Joe Cali Next Generation
www.Nextgen-usa.com
Tom Quan
I have a fuel injected 78 camper with 180,000 miles. Here are my pros and
cons:
Pro:
1. Relatively easy to fix, compared to today's cars.
2. New parts are still available and there are still plenty of used parts
from junkyards. This is not a rare car.
3. The camper is well thought-out for weekend outings and can still be used
to pick up lumber and furniture.
4. The ride is good and the noise level fron the engine isn't really all
that bad.
Cons:
1. It slow! I sometimes wish for the 55mph national speed limit. I
can get up to 70-75mph, but
its dangerous at that speed during heavy winds. Plus the mileage
really suffers above 55mph.
2. The gas mileage is nothing to write home about. I get about 15
combined and 17-18 on the highways.
Considering there is no AC and the acceleration is weak, these aren't
good numbers.
Despite the cons, I still like driving my Type 2. Overall, its
inexpensive to keep, kind of fun to own and it has that
classic design, which is still sort of modern, even today. (I'm talking
about the shape only, not the mechanicals.)
--Tom '78 Westy
Ted Bogart <te...@nc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:b13e46db.04062...@posting.google.com...
Jan Andersson
Joe,
The 2 liter souped up T4 I built for the convertible, is now sitting in
my split window bus. I love it!!!! The bus moves so effortlessly, like
a thought! It's no sports car, but it can really keep up with traffic
and surprise a few people still ;) I loved it in the convertible, but
in the bus it really feels like home. (I have reduction boxes still in
place). Loaded the bus full of camping gear, and went on a several
hundred mile road trip to southern Sweden 2 weeks ago with a friend
riding shotgun (The BugRun show in Mantorp Park Raceway, 1200-1300
cars). I could swear the engine didn't even notice the extra weight!!
DAMN I'm happy. Engine temperature even after a long highway stretch
(50-55mph) was excellent, the dipstick was barely warm. I don't know
why, don't have any hard data, but I can tell that the engine was
feeling happy. Needless to say, so was I :)
I converted mine to upright as per your instructions ("The Cali Book")
with a little twist: I went through the extra trouble of fabbing a bend
in my doghouse fan shroud, so that it would blow air straight Down The
Middle, exactly between the cylinders on both sides. I had a chance to
study Joe Locicero's (R.I.P. my friend) DTM shroud in detail when we
ordered one for my friend some time ago, and I shamelessly copied the
idea and started cutting, banging, welding and cussing. ;)
The shroud turned out quite heavy though. Oh well. Everything fits
together perfectly (If I may say so) now that it's all custom made for
this particular engine.
The only thing I would change is the compression ratio. I set it
relatively low, around 8:1, when I built it, because I knew it would
later in life find it's way in the back of my bus. I thought it would
run hotter and work considerably harder. WRONG. It didn't even notice
the added weight.
If I ever take it apart, I will raise the CR to around 8.5:1 and see
what happens. As is, the damn engine will live forever though.
Thanks Joe (And Joe :) couldn't have done it without your help.
Jan
John Willis
<jdwill...@airmail.net> scribbled this interesting note:
>Near where we live a fellow is selling a 1978 VW bus. This is not a
>Westy, but the one that has seats front to rear with sliding windows
>on the side and a small package area over the engine.
Thanks for all the replies. Based on everything that has been said
there is no real reason for us to buy this car. Sure, I could buy it,
do a very minor amount of work on it, and resell it at a profit, but
I've got several other cars I need to do that to already. In fact I'm
going to do some rough and ready body and paint work on my '71 Ghia
starting next week in the hopes that it will help me sell it faster.
After that I'm going to attack the '70 Beetle which needs to be sold.
Then I may get the '74 Thing into driveable shape since that car is
insured and registered, yet undriven for a long time. And it is for
sale as well. Then I've got a couple of ther cars (Toyota Celicas)
that need a minor amount of attention and sold. Not to mention several
other Beetles of various years.
I'm trying to be good here and not accumulate more stuff. I'm trying
to create more space around our house and clean things up, not clutter
them up more.
Again, thanks for the replies. In the future if it is meant for us to
have a VW Bus one will turn up. Of that I'm certain. In the meantime
our '93 Honda Accord Wagon makes a fine car to go camping in!:~)
MUADIB®
>Again, thanks for the replies. In the future if it is meant for us to
>have a VW Bus one will turn up. Of that I'm certain. In the meantime
>our '93 Honda Accord Wagon makes a fine car to go camping in!:~)
John, I'll not spend the time looking then, I guess.............I was
going to go tommorrow night, since I have the yards all mowed.
You should tell them what it is about that Honda that should make them
believers in the "if it is meant to be" theory...................It is
definitely interesting.
John Willis
<SSTERRELL2...@verizon.net> scribbled this interesting note:
>
>>Again, thanks for the replies. In the future if it is meant for us to
>>have a VW Bus one will turn up. Of that I'm certain. In the meantime
>>our '93 Honda Accord Wagon makes a fine car to go camping in!:~)
>
>John, I'll not spend the time looking then, I guess.............I was
>going to go tommorrow night, since I have the yards all mowed.
>
>You should tell them what it is about that Honda that should make them
>believers in the "if it is meant to be" theory...................It is
>definitely interesting.
If you insist.
A few years ago my wife and I bought a metallic green 1993 Honda
Accord Wagon. It was a nice car. We both liked it very much. Last year
an elderly woman pulled out, turning right, from a residential street
and crossed two empty lanes to hit the only car anywhere near her at
the time, that being my wife's car, the Accord Wagon. Scared the hell
out of my wife since both she and our daughter were in the car at the
time. The car was declared a total loss and for the first time in my
life a car insurance company didn't try to screw me (could have had
something to do with a baby being in the car?)
We rented and borrowed cars for a couple of weeks while I searched for
another metallic green 1993 Honda Accord Wagon. See, it was exactly
what my wife wanted and I told her (and she scoffed) not to worry, one
would turn up, and it would be even closer to our house than the last
one was (the last one was about four miles from us.)
Honda Accord Wagons do not turn up with any great frequency. Using
country wide searches on eBay and other online sources you will only
be able to turn up a few. The people who buy them don't sell them very
often. And even then far fewer of them are metallic green. But,
thinking herself to be a realist (on rare occasion) she was convinced
it would never happen.
One day Scott and I were going up to Home Depot for something, I
forget what. He mentioned one car lot about a mile and a half from
where we live that usually has a good assortment of used import cars.
That particular road has lots of car lots. We were only going to look
on this one. In fact he looked there while searching for a car for he
and his wife and remembered being impressed with what the fellow had
on the lot. I asked him if we might stop by there on the way back.
Since it was a weekend and all and there was lots of time for both of
us he said sure. We drive onto the lot and look around. The usual
assortment of SUVs and Lexus and Infinity and Hondas and the occasionl
Chevy Van. Oh. Look. Right there. Hiding beside the black Dodge Ram
Truck. Hey, that is '93 Accord. And its green. We drive slowly. As we
gain a better point of view it turns out to be a metallic green 1993
Honda Accord Wagon.
No price tag. None of the cars on the lot are tagged.
I return the following Monday. Late in the morning the owner shows up.
I want to look at the car. It won't start. Looks to have the original
battery in it (says Honda all over the battery!) It jumps off just
fine. Runs ok. But since the registration is out I only drive it
around on the lot. The A/C does not work and it has a radiator leak
and the muffler should be replaced and the window tint looks terrible
and the power antenna is broken. But it is the car my wife wants and
it will make a nice surprise for her since I've not even suggested to
her that I was going to look at a car and she doesn't even know this
one is even here!
I make a deal with the fellow. I'll never forget this dialog.
"Would you be insulted with and offer of $3,000.00?" says John. This
is about half what the insurance company paid for the other car.
"I don't know. Let me go check!" Says the owner of the lot!
He accepts my offer. This car was older than the average age of cars
on his lot and did have quite a few problems. But he made a little on
the deal and my wife got exactly the car I was convinced I would find
for her and it happened exactly the way I told her it would.
All it takes is asking the right question and then taking advantage of
opportunity. The next closest 1993 Accord Wagon I'd found at that
point that was also the original metallic green was in Denver. We live
outside Dallas, Texas. I wasn't willing to make that drive.