1971 VolksWagen Bus Thread...

[fordman239]

ok, as some of you may know, yesterday, i went to get a VolksWagen Bus, for free. well, we didnt pick it up because our garage is a mess and we need to clean it before we can bring the old thing home, so i got some pics of it, its pretty awesome. but updates will follow starting in 2 weeks.

[firebird999]

not bad, it has potential for sure. i would paint it white on top and orange on bottom if you're going for a classic look, but if you want a lowrider/ show car, do gunmetal and white.

[fordman239]

we are going with original paint, original rims, and tires new, we are trying to make it a daily driver but still have a show look, and a classic feel to it, make it look like it came from the factory.

[firebird999]

i see. are you gonna do rims like it has now, or body color with a small chrome new moon hubcap in the center (like the ones on it now)?

[fordman239]

probably white or gunmetal rims with new hub caps.

[Stampedekid]

Awesome and has potential. How are you getting it for free? Is it going to be your daily driver?

[firebird999]

cool. can't wait to see progress!

xr1... he already answered both of your questions...

[fordman239]

yes, to xr1. we are getting it for free so any money we put into it will be pure investment. this model is one of the rearer models, as you can see it has a large sunroof that drops down and retracts backwards, and they only made um in the begining of 1971. i want it to be my daily driver, we are going to get custom license plates, like this...



or


something along those lines.

[imnotmikal]

I don't understand. Why did you get it for free?

[Classiclover]

Interesting choice, Fordman. Looks like a mess now but a simple cleaning can do a lot to it.
Is see potential of that old thing turning into this with some work:

[fordman239]

Originally Posted by Knvictd

I don't understand. Why did you get it for free?

i liked it, and the guy didnt have time for the thing, so he dicided to give it away, only requesting that we give hime progress pics of it.

@classiclover, we are going to clean it up before we put it in the garage, i think we are going to paint it the same as it is, maybe a different color on bottom, but the same off white on top.

maybe orange...


or gray...

[firebird999]

baby blue is also kind of cool on those.

[texan_idiot25]

You gotta **** load of rust to fix before you can even think about paint, I see the problem spots already. Let's start with the gaping holes under the windshield, and along the side windows. The drip rail is loosing it in the back (thats just normal for drip rails though), bottoms of the doors are eaten, and I'd be willing to bet the rockers and floor pans have cancer too. Get on that stuff asap, and fix it right the 1st time. Rust never sleeps..

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/classi...um/1251232.jpg < black and white

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/classi...ium/919781.jpg < or slammed and rusty, which always looks good.

[fordman239]

mainly surface rust, nothing too big.

[noturday]

Originally Posted by fordman239

mainly surface rust, nothing too big.

surface rust? what about how the drip rail is falling off? that's been rusted through completely, and probably wont be that easy to fix, thats more rust than i would care to deal with. luckily our 64 t-bird has minimal rust, and it is truely surface rust in most spots.

[firebird999]

Originally Posted by noturday

surface rust? what about how the drip rail is falling off? that's been rusted through completely, and probably wont be that easy to fix, thats more rust than i would care to deal with. luckily our 64 t-bird has minimal rust, and it is truely surface rust in most spots.

the pmr crew dealt with rusty holes on... a '72 vw microbus. so he can do it too

[texan_idiot25]

Wow, surface rust eh?




Not putting you down, but you really need to know what your getting yourself into if you think that's merely surface rust. God only knows what it's like in areas that you haven't seen. It's not like TV where it's a snap to fix and pop in a patch panel. Your jumping off the bridge with no bungy chord if you think so. Mechanically, these old VWs are pretty dirt simple to work on and reliable to a point. But body work is no simple task. Doing a ****ty job harms the future of the rest of the car, and makes it a bigger pain in the *** for the next owner to fix. Trust me.

the pmr crew dealt with rusty holes on... a '72 vw microbus. so he can do it too

That's a professional shop with the skills, knowledge, and tools to restore cars. Despite their tastes (that was PIMP, not restore my ride), they are a quality shop West Coast Customs. GAS is tackier, but a good shop as well.

[dontspamme]

Have fun breaking your bank!

Anything special for this?

[theoriganalRiD3R1967]

i think some of those body parts, should be replaced, rather than rebuilt, like the rear bumper for example, i think it would look better chrome than white, but that just my opinion, good luck!

[fordman239]

Originally Posted by texan_idiot25

Wow, surface rust eh?




Not putting you down, but you really need to know what your getting yourself into if you think that's merely surface rust. God only knows what it's like in areas that you haven't seen. It's not like TV where it's a snap to fix and pop in a patch panel. Your jumping off the bridge with no bungy chord if you think so. Mechanically, these old VWs are pretty dirt simple to work on and reliable to a point. But body work is no simple task. Doing a ****ty job harms the future of the rest of the car, and makes it a bigger pain in the *** for the next owner to fix. Trust me.


That's a professional shop with the skills, knowledge, and tools to restore cars. Despite their tastes (that was PIMP, not restore my ride), they are a quality shop West Coast Customs. GAS is tackier, but a good shop as well.

it only looks bad, and we can do it. this project is going to be slow, and when we get it, its not at our house yet, but we are going to form it, and fiberglass the "rain thingy" and my dad is really good with fab work and its not going to be easy, but we are going to bondo most of it, the hole in the front only looks bad from the pic, its not that deep and fairly easy to fix, aslo, the rust on the sides is small hols, and it can be filled. thanks for the input texan, if i need any help ill ask you. lol, this project is going to take time, and we are not going to dump a boat load of money into it, the main expensive points are the cables for the retractable sunroof (rare option, btw) and it needs new interior, missing second row seat and needs front and rear seats reupholstered, which shouldnt cost that much. also, new hub caps, those are fairly chep, and tires are a dime a dozen. the nickname my dad gave it is "Rebel", dont ask why, this is my early b-day gift for him, he loves it, and we are ghoing to work on it together. most of the work will be done by him and me, and the egine is good, 109k miles, the gauge was turned over, it read 9k, but its either 109 or 209, porbably 109, the floorboards are in great shape from most of the smae or newer years, 1 spot by the sliding door.