I've joined the ranks

[Sneaks]

I usually hang outvin the ORF because I have a 68 baja and a former SCCA ProRally Super I'm restoring. I've always wanted a bus since I was young but they've been out of reach. I actually like bays better than splits. The other day my wife and daughter were searching CL for a truck when they came across an ad for a 79 bay, up for sale by a guy who sounded like a real car guy. She told me and I contacted him. We established a dialog and today we drove to the other side of the state to look at it. I bought it before I left. It's a 79 Deluxe (I'm told, I'm still T2stupid) with 57k original miles. Former owners were a theatre troop out of Boston. It has one rust hole through the body, as pictured. The rest is solid, some thick bondo in areas but pulling some of it shows it covers dents, not rust. The 2.0FI motor looks unmolested. New brake lines, mc. Great pedal pressure. One rip In headliner. Rubber mats are there as well as the middle seat. All the upholstery is original and unripped. The slidder works smooth. I paid $500.







One drawback, now my daughter wants it instead of a truck.

[greggholmes]

man that looks alot like mine, sweet deal to

http://picasaweb.google.com/greggholmes ... directlink

[Sneaks]

Wow, it does! Is yours painted with latex house paint too? Except for my door panels being black instead of white, they could be twins.

[fusername]

I don't think it is a delux, as they all had a chrome belt line and sliding door hinge, although that often gets painted over. there is a great M-code decoder over on TOS that will tell you exactly what it was when it left the factory. real fun button.

[fusername]

oh also if we loose you to an especially deep mud hole in NH, I am claiming your bus, you got a screaming deal on that bad boy. Can't wait to see it in person

[Sneaks]

I don't think it is a delux, as they all had a chrome belt line and sliding door hinge, although that often gets painted over. there is a great M-code decoder over on TOS that will tell you exactly what it was when it left the factory. real fun button.

I'm pretty sure you're right. He called it a deluxe but from the research I've done comparing what little I remember, it isn't a deluxe. From the VIN it is a standard 7 passenger station wagon. It comes home on Sunday if everything goes right. I'm on vacation next week so that is the project to be worked on as well as finish up the repairs on the baja.

oh also if we loose you to an especially deep mud hole in NH, I am claiming your bus, you got a screaming deal on that bad boy. Can't wait to see it in person

HAhahahahahaha

You'll have to arm wrestle Chrissy for it, she's already staked a claim on it. All I need to do is let you go first, since getting stuck is second nature to you:)

Thanks for the feedback though, I think I got a good deal as well so it is nice confirmation. Like I said, we're on vacation next week if you want to swing up. Have NLWHS bring up some vegan sweets!

[greggholmes]

mine is original paint, A little more work and it could be running again. need to pickup some oil n filter tomorrow.

[TexasAirCooler]

Congratulations on the find and the crossing over into the bus world. A little polishing compound and that paint will look great once more.

[fusername]

well what I failed to say was that they may have done away with delux chrome trim on later years. do you konw what I am talking about on Mcodes? there is a second plate int hecar that lists all the factory specs. not sure if beetles and all that have an equivelnt, don't know why they wouldn't, I've just never heard of em.

hey, at least I am tall enough to walk away from the problem, you should probably leave a canoe on the roof so you can paddle out of there. So you gonna take this thing in the woods, or is ti a street car only? I have a nice set of lowered spindles if you go that way...

oh and tell chrissy to buy franz already! Beetles will grow on her ewhen she owns one

[Sneaks]

well what I failed to say was that they may have done away with delux chrome trim on later years. do you konw what I am talking about on Mcodes? there is a second plate int hecar that lists all the factory specs. not sure if beetles and all that have an equivelnt, don't know why they wouldn't, I've just never heard of em.

Never seen one on a Bug, dunno. I did find it and was able to snap a pic of it. Now I just need to figure them out.

hey, at least I am tall enough to walk away from the problem, you should probably leave a canoe on the roof so you can paddle out of there.

Nice! Ok, I'll give you that one.

So you gonna take this thing in the woods, or is ti a street car only? I have a nice set of lowered spindles if you go that way...

Street rig, too nice underneith to do a boonybasher, plus I have the baja for that. Lowered spindles, huh? Yeh, we should talk.

oh and tell chrissy to buy franz already! Beetles will grow on her ewhen she owns one

Remember, the blue one with the fat 'glass fenders was her's, but she likes the bus better. She'd really like a DC or SC but at today's prices...that ain't happenin'.

Ok, so time for some pics. Loaded up and ready for the 2.5 hr drive home. The Dakota did a decent job, not as good as a full-sized would have but I was impressed.



and at home finally



So there is more rust than originally met the eye but still very manageable and not bad at all for a New England bus. As expected, the battery tray



Rear corner seam...nice thin coat of bondo, huh? It's like this all over the bus but most of it doesn't cover rust but dents and dings.



Wider shot



the worst I've found so far, drivers lower rear rocker area



Ok, now some of the more pleasant discoveries...doglegs are good



Very good underneath



Slider



Original and not ripped mats



Trapper approves...



windshield area solid



drip rail area just surface rust



middle seat



look at the original seats, not a crack or tear in sight!





Decent headliner





Check out the cassette deck, too bad isn't an 8track:)



Beam



Belly pan



Nose (holes for VW emblem or spare mount?)



I have to think this might be accurate



2.0 FI



Other things that my battery died before I could snap pics of: uncracked dash pad, all the knobs are intact, dash is uncut, wiring is pretty much unmolested other than for the radio, cargo floors solid, sliding windows move smoothly and completely, both mirrors are on it all interior panels in very good condition except right rear cargo area is missing vinyl, spare, spare cover, jack, lug wrench still with it, new hard brake lines and extremely firm pedal, cool vintage stickers from Harvard, City of Cambridge, and other on the windows.

What are these for?



Ghetto neon...



So far, what I see I need are:

heater boxes
muffler (there's a exhaust-looking pipe on the right side next to the heaterbox, is that for the non-existant gas heater?)
Accordian tubes
engine tin seal
both tail light lenses
right sun visor
clamp thingies to hold down middle seat
One headlight trim ring
Emblem for nose

If anyone has the above, shoot me a PM with a price (if needs to be shipped, my ZIP is 03820).

Tomorrow I'm replacing fuel lines and filter, getting a battery and let's see if he'll fire. Depending on those results, I might start chipping away all the bondo and house paint. There's Neptune Blue under there someplace!

Plans as they sit now is to get it running and see what it needs mechanically. I was originally going to paint it orange and black to match the rally Bug and use it as a tow\chase vehicle but I think I'm going to return it to its original blue and white, keep the interior just the way it is except for some fresh paint on the floor. If fusername and I can make a deal on the spindles, I'll drop it. Otherwise, I'll keep it stock height with stock wheels (new tires are definitely needed, one rear one doesn't look like it will stay together much longer due to cracking, but hey, it made it home and that is good enough for now). Kurt, the guy I bought it from is a really cool guy, definitely a total car guy. In his garage are a couple of NSU microcars as well as an NSU scooter in the process of restoration. I had a great time talking with him and hope to keep in touch. I forget if it was was posted on here as well as TOS, but he was the seller of this K70 http://bringatrailer.com/2010/03/01/fir ... swagen-k7/

[Sneaks]

Put a battery in it tonight and got it to spin over. Even runs if I hit it with ether. Can't hear the fuel pump at all (should I?) so I'm going to start looking there tomorrow first. I'm a complete FI idiot so bear with me. The fuel pump doesn't appear to be fused at the panel, does it have an inline one or just the relay?

No headlight. No horn. No brake or directionals. No dash lights. At least on fuse has been replaced with a nail. I'm going to have to sort through some electrical issues I'm sure...I wonder how many were caused by the 'ghetto neon' lights underneath...

[fusername]

well not to throw a wrench at ya, but where is the air cleaner and AFM? that would explain the ehter bit...

the plastic thingies are the backs toe the tail lights. interior seats and such look incredible! I'll see this thing in person soon enough, gotta break in my engine so I'll be swinging by. you're missing teh intake screen for the fan, important cause you are gonna be sucking leaves in there. if she's been sitting you should pull all the upper tin anyways, because at a minimum there are acorns ontop of your oil cooler, worst case the squirrel is still there and has packed is goodies inbetween the cylinders as well. holes in the front are emblem holes. I have all the accordian tubes you can have em, I ain't getting heat any time soon. AJ has at least one good and one broken tail light lense, don't buy new they aren;t even close to the right colors, and bake in the sun in afew weeks.

NSU, that explains a lot, although nothing explains the neons. I just thought they sprayed too much and got runs.

[fusername]

M code tool

[Sneaks]

According to the tool, this is a basic 7 passenger bus, delivered to Boston with no real options to speak off...so it hasn't changed much:) The original colors were Neptune Blue and Pastel White.

I need to snap some pics of the engine and post them up so someone can tell me what parts are what. I see references to cold start switches, different relays and sensor...but I have no idea where the hell they are:).

[fusername]

there are two l-jet fuel injections manuals online, both I think are published by bosche. one is good tune up info and general overview, the other is only marginally more detailed, but covers EVERY part in how to diagnose and inspect them. look around for em, they are pdfs, sadly I only have printouts and can't find the saved versions.