SJVWC Forums

VW Lounge => General Forum => Topic started by: jthw8 on July 14, 2010, 10:06:15 pm

Title: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 14, 2010, 10:06:15 pm
Went to look at a 69 Bug for dad tonite.  Maybe you all saw the rather non descript craigslist ad.  "69 Bug $500 good floors" no photos

wow...way to undersell a car.  Floors were repaired but excellent.  Drivers side heater channel was replaced, passenger side was repaired but solid.  No major rust or rot, paint faded but ok.  Nice interior.  4 good tires, engine in good condition, dead battery so havent started it but hell $500 for a solid bug that *should* run with new gas and a battery...SOLD.

I figured if Dad doesnt think its right for him Im still ahead and I'll keep it for myself.

Gonna tow it home friday and get to work, Dad has no DD right now so I need to get this thing on the road quick.

Only potential issue, it was parked because it stopped running right, was bogging down under throttle.  Going to clean the carb and look for vaccum leaks, everything looked very good so I dont expect to find any major issue on getting it running well.

Dad is thrilled, Im happy to pay him back for all the times he helped me find and fix cars while growing up.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 14, 2010, 10:08:05 pm
BTW...seller has a little early 70s 'vert for sale too.  Body looks nice but it needs floors and rear cargo area repair.  Interior was nice, engine looked clean and nice but they admitted to some electrical issues.   Asking $2500, I'd probably pick it up if I had more money.

Its listed on CL also but if you are interested and cant find the ad PM me and I'll send you the contact info.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: 6T5 square on July 15, 2010, 05:38:29 am
pics or it didnt happen.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 15, 2010, 07:48:09 am
It happened :)

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs171.snc4/37905_10150246304290121_707995120_13710367_4544992_n.jpg)

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs171.snc4/37905_10150246304285121_707995120_13710366_1854581_n.jpg)

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs171.snc4/37905_10150246304280121_707995120_13710365_497413_n.jpg)

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs091.ash2/37905_10150246304295121_707995120_13710368_7865734_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: scarecrow on July 15, 2010, 08:05:48 am
WOW, nice score.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 15, 2010, 08:10:04 am
WOW, nice score.

Yeah after all the junk we've gone to see in the past 2 months priced at $1500 and up I didnt have much hope for a $500 car but I was just hoping that we could use the rest of his budget to fix it up.  Turned out to be in better shape than most of the $1500 cars we saw.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: 6T5 square on July 15, 2010, 10:51:44 am
Daily driver? yeah, I'd roll it.

looks in real good shape
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 15, 2010, 10:58:29 am
Daily driver? yeah, I'd roll it.

looks in real good shape

Yep its gonna be his DD and he works in DC so it meets his requirement exactly, functionally sound and solid but too ugly for anyone to want to mess with it.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: Baha (Shawn) on July 15, 2010, 11:14:48 am
Yep its gonna be his DD and he works in DC so it meets his requirement exactly, functionally sound and solid but too ugly for anyone to want to mess with it.

He must know Senator Burr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpL9e7Bf98c
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: VWPANZER1 on July 15, 2010, 12:31:38 pm
Wow, Great Buy!

  Even if you have to replace the engine, your still ahead.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 16, 2010, 09:07:25 pm
Well I drug it home tonite.  Drained the gas and put in fresh, popped in a fresh battery and crossed my fingers.  Naaah, can't be that easy.  Fuel line leak at the car (replaced line temporarily, need to get proper metric line) and no spark.  John Muir to the rescue, followed all the steps and everything said the coil was bad.  Lucky for pops I have stupid amounts of VW spares here and had a brand new bosch blue sitting on the shelf.  Swapped the coils, crossed my fingers and turned the key....purrs like a kitten :)

Sooo, what the heck, we got runs, how about drives and stops?  Pop her in reverse and say a little prayer to the VW gods and she moves, throttle stuck full open...dammit.  Some WD40 on the pedal pivot and all is right with the world again.  Out the driveway and on to the street.  Runs and drives better than any VW I've ever owned.  In fact other than my 79 Westfalia which I bought fully restored Im willing to say this is the nicest VW I've ever purchased.  Good thing I love my pops.

Still needs some going through, 3 out of 4 parking lights dont work and the reverse lights are out, but Im willing to bet there's alot of corroded grounds that need my attention.  Brakes work good, a bit sticky so I'll pull all the drums and clean and lube everything.  Going to replace all the fuel lines and soft brake lines as a precaution but over all I think we'll be into it for under $1000 for a nice fully functional daily driver.

Going to make a post over in wanted but if anyone has an AM/FM that fits in the stock location without cutting we'd sure be interested.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: Bob(Herbie) on July 17, 2010, 09:07:07 am
Hey Great buy! About the brakes. In the late '60s& early '70s the wheel cylinder pistons were known for causing sticky brakes. If the cylinders aren't leaking, check to see if the pistons have corrosion build-up. If so, clean them up on a wire wheel or with sand paper/emery cloth. This makes a big difference. Also if you are old enough to remember, all VWs used to have a grease fitting on the pedal cluster. I wonder why they deleted it! PB blaster works wonders for sticking pedals. Good luck with the car.
Cheers,
Bob "Herbie"
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 17, 2010, 10:37:13 am
Thanks for the advice Bob.  Dad is on his way up tomorrow because he wants to "get his hands dirty" and learn how to maintain the bug so I plan on pulling all the wheels then to show him the brakes and go through them and do all those things.  I dont expect he'll do his own brake jobs but I want him to know how to adjust them and be able to see everything and how it should look.

I had a great experience with a sticking slave cylinder back in 07 when we took a bug on BABE rally, I'll have to post the details up later.

Gave her a quick bath and polish this morning, not too bad.

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs031.ash2/34896_10150247573420121_707995120_13738450_7851758_n.jpg)

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs051.snc4/34896_10150247573425121_707995120_13738451_355819_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 17, 2010, 01:30:50 pm
And the electrons are my friends today.  All the lights work now.  Combination of corroded fuse socket, some broken contacts and a bad bulb or 2.  Replaced all the bulbs for good measure and cleaned/repaired the contacts and she's lit up like a christmas tree.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: scarecrow on July 17, 2010, 02:09:42 pm
Chit, that came up real nice (http://www.jonrb.com/emoticons/happy112.gif)
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 17, 2010, 02:19:07 pm
Chit, that came up real nice (http://www.jonrb.com/emoticons/happy112.gif)

It photographs nice, the paint is shot, but it's not a priority, just wanted to get the oxidation off of it.  Dad is probably going to tinker with sanding down the panels and fixing little spots then when he's ready I'll bring it back up here and spray the whole thing for him, but since its his DD that will be a few years down the road Im sure.

Actually our agreement right now is he needs a car till June 2012, then mom's car is paid off and he can buy himself a new car again.  July 2012 is Beetleball (www.beetleball.com) so if its been good to him then I'll probably use this car to run in that.  That's also about the time my daughter will get her license so I'll probably paint it a color of her choosing and let her have it as a first car (after I put disk brakes in it)
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: matt on July 19, 2010, 06:57:16 am


 That is a really good find!  and so far it sounds as if all it needs is a overall tuneup, including a little grease here and there, lights, etc. Check the fuses and see if they are clean, check the timing etc,  - no oil drips? no tranny drips? tires in good condition? change the oil... etc.  That thing looks really nice. Your dad will be happy! Congrats!


matt
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on July 19, 2010, 07:44:29 am
Did more with it this weekend,  Cleaned and adjusted the brakes, much better now.  New generator belt.  Pulled apart the doors and lubed the window tracks (something dad could do while I was working on brakes)

Still on the list
New fuel lines
New rubber brake lines
2 new tires
New muffler
General tune up items

Overall its running great, we took it out for a few drives with no problem.
No major oil leaks (hasnt left any spots in the driveway) but there is some residue on the bottom of the engine so when I do the oil change I will clean it well so we can keep an eye out for any problems.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: Mikecoast on August 02, 2010, 04:04:27 pm
Hey Jim ... I was coming back from vacation and passed by your place. Saw a pickup & trailer with a Studebaker on it. Was that your car?

Was just thinking or you ... many apologies for being of topic!

-Mike
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: jthw8 on August 02, 2010, 08:26:56 pm
Hey Jim ... I was coming back from vacation and passed by your place. Saw a pickup & trailer with a Studebaker on it. Was that your car?

Was just thinking or you ... many apologies for being of topic!

-Mike

I'm actually away on vaca too so I hope it wasn't mine. Neighbor just bought a few studes at an estate sale so probably him. Mines actually sold but I haven't made arrangements with the shipper yet.
Title: Re: Bought a bug
Post by: c1run1 on August 17, 2010, 07:46:32 pm
nice scroe