Again, everyone, thanks for your advice. I’ve been reading the manual, and am officially keeping the bus and making it a summer project.
Any suggestions for parts other than eBay?
Any VW car clubs in your area ? Many have swap meets and good connections themselves. Get in with other VW bus-heads for your best advice and your project could blossom in short order.
Hey everyone. Just wanted to update that my VW project has officially started. Plan on driving it out to MN in September (if it proves to be road-worthy).
Check out my blog about the project - Plenty of pics, and proof positive that I am an absolute novice when it comes to the bus…
Thanks for all your suggestions/help. If you have any more, send them along.
Congratulations, you’re making a lot of progress! Overall it looks better than I thought, all that inside stuff can be repaired or replaced, the body looks in good shape. You can also get lots of good advice for the VW-specific (and Westy-specific) questions sure to come at a site like TheSamba.com. Keep us posted!
The Samba has become my saving grace. Finding used parts for beyond fair prices, and lots of friendly advice. Communities, albeit virtual, is what it’s all about.
I’ll keep you guys posted for sure.
We had a MicroBus…1975 I believe. The best thing that we did for the engine was to install an external oil cooler. The summer heat in SC was brutal on the engine, and the oil cooler really helped out.
As so many others have said, this car is a death trap on today’s roads, so pick your routes with care. I would LOVE the chance to drive one again just for a trip down memory lane. I got my driver’s license in the bus. The officer who tested me asked if I would rather use his patrol car for the test…he didn’t know that you could park the bus in a keyhole! I passed with no trouble. He became a believer.
I’ve Logged Lots Of Miles In A 68 VW Bus. I Remember Cross-Winds Quite Well.
If you think the passenger heat was bad in a 1500 air-cooled bug, try piping the warm air to the front of a bus. I would guess that camper has a gas heater in it.
I took many, many, trips of over 100 miles in that vehicle. It was actually quite forgiving.
I was working for VW when that innovative “sliding door” first appeared on the 68 bus. The “Big 3” regularly sent employees to the dealer I was working for to order and buy all of the sliding door mechanisms and the high cost was not a consideration. I guess they had to study them for quite some time. Wasn’t the 1984 Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler minivan the first to copy it?
CSA