The car does have an Oct, 03 TX inspection sticker. I haven't tried starting it yet. Looks like it has a single Weber carb, but no air cleaner (real genius at work...)! Brakes are toast. Supposedly it runs. Engine seal is missing also. Except for the metal side trim, hubcaps, and FI, and front hood, and missing front bumper, it's complete and original looking. What you can't see in the pictures very well is the hail damage to the roof. It was big enough hail to break the windshield in several places. My dad thinks I would be better off cutting this car up and using its engine for the '74, but we shall see, I think this car is fixable also. It's very solid, the doors and rear engine lid line up beautifully and open/shut with much ease...No rust through except for the rear engine lid. That front end part would be the SOB to fix, but at least it could come from any '73 412.
This is a tough call...but...your dad may be right. There is an awful, awful lot of work to be done. My bet says it has a lot more rust than you think. The rear lid is cheese...but a delicate on a wire welder after acid washing may save it. There will be rust most likely, under the gaps of the rear fenders. Also...if it has been leaking at all...and most have, it has rust under the tar boards in the rear floorboards. The right quarter panel is all ne piece. It is reachable through the arm rest panel to hammer out...but its going to be iffy. Use a pick to check for rust at the rocker panels near the rear fender. Also check for rust through down underneath where the rear beam mounts to the body. Bear in mind....that after all the body damage....most every system on it...suspension brakes ...etc...will need going through. Then the clutch and tranny. But....still ....its decent in many ways. Ray
Well, I went and put some gas and a battery in it. It started and ran for a few seconds a couple of times. Then I checked on the carburetor and it looks to be totally shot as when I operate the throttle cable by hand, a bunch of gas dumps out on top of the engine...Oh well, good ridance I say to the single Weber setup-hell the damn thing doesn't even really fit in that car anyway as there is no room for an air cleaner! I did some more looking, there is a rust hole in the floor close to the front of the driver's door. Rear floors look to be fairly solid so far...Rockers look to be decent, but I'll have to do some more checking.
Looks like a good doner car, like Ray said, rust probably everywhere, pull up the carpet behind the back seat, I bet there are several holes back there as well.
DAMNIT I HATE VW FOR WHAT THEY DID TO THOSE ENGINE LIDS!!!! Acid dip and wire welder is the way to go.
Suspension and drive train as well as interior parts are the best part of the car, plus you can use the right rear to fix up the rear ended 2 door. Hows the dash look?
Now thats one thing I forgot. If the rear quarter is straight under the fender...cut it off and weld it onto the gold one. Save all the glass and every last nut and bolt thats removable. It will be your personal goldmine. I would even do a survey of the gold ones pan.....and take any pan part from the yellow one that may be needed. Thats how I got a lot of spares. I have bought a few that were just too far gone to waste parts on .
I don't feel bad crushing one that may keep two or three more alive. If it were just body damage....or just rust....one or the other, but not both. Ray
Now thats one thing I forgot. If the rear quarter is straight under the fender...cut it off and weld it onto the gold one. Save all the glass and every last nut and bolt thats removable. It will be your personal goldmine. I would even do a survey of the gold ones pan.....and take any pan part from the yellow one that may be needed. Thats how I got a lot of spares. I have bought a few that were just too far gone to waste parts on .
I don't feel bad crushing one that may keep two or three more alive. If it were just body damage....or just rust....one or the other, but not both. Ray
Now thats one thing I forgot. If the rear quarter is straight under the fender...cut it off and weld it onto the gold one. Save all the glass and every last nut and bolt thats removable. It will be your personal goldmine. I would even do a survey of the gold ones pan.....and take any pan part from the yellow one that may be needed. Thats how I got a lot of spares. I have bought a few that were just too far gone to waste parts on .
I don't feel bad crushing one that may keep two or three more alive. If it were just body damage....or just rust....one or the other, but not both. Ray
Sorry man, the dash is wasted! Much worse than the '74. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more cutting this one up is probably the best way to go...but we shall see. I've got to buy a house before I do anything to the cars probably. Man, I don't know if I can wait that long...(Don't worry, the '74 and my GTI are in indoor storage, maybe this one too if I can afford it.)
My dad has one (sawzall), but I don't think it works very well anymore. As soon as I get a house (with shop of course!) then I can start getting some tools. There just isn't anywhere to put all my existing junk, let alone new stuff! A plasma cutter isn't out of the question...(though probably used).
I breaks my heart to cut them up. My wife has a '72 914 that she's given me the green light to part out but I just can't bring myself to do it. The car's in bad shape, and I could use some of the parts on mine but it's still hard.
If you can cut this one up go to save another, than I say go for it. Like Ray said rust or body damage, but not both.
I know what you mean, but I'm probably not going to find a better parts car for my '74 than this one in the midwest, and fixing it is going to require a parts car to cut pieces from. The obvious damage in the pictures is actually probably the most straightforward to fix. The only question now in my mind, is whether the quarter panel directly below the window on the gold '74 can be "pulled" back towards the rear of the car, as it has been pushed forward a few millimeters and is contacting the rear door edge. The other alternative is to virtually cut the whole rear 3/4 passenger rear as well as basically the whole passenger side of the car behind the door (including the part around the window) and weld in those sections from the yellow '73-and that's a job I can't really predict how hard it would be since I would have to get into it before I could get a completely clear picture of what's going on. I'm willing to tackle any job, but it might take a while since I don't have bunch of experience.
Much worse than the '74. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more cutting this one up is probably the best way to go...but we shall see. I've got to buy a house before I do anything to the cars probably. Man, I don't know if I can wait that long...(Don't worry, the '74 and my GTI are in indoor storage, maybe this one too if I can afford it.)
