This 1970 Volkswagen Transporter was recently rescued from a garage in Bend, Oregon after sitting for approximately 6-8 years. The previous owner purchased this bus from a seller in Glide, Oregon which is a suburb of Roseburg. It is safe to speculate that the body rust is a result of spending part or most of it's life on the wetter side of Oregon. Upon getting the bus to our shop, we (two guys with a combined 38 years experience in air cooled VW's) assessed the project and decided that a full brake system rebuild and engine work were the two major aspects of getting this vehicle road worthy. The previous owner installed a new clutch pressure plate and disc and never drove it again.
The engine was removed and stand tested for compression, which resulted in great numbers. From there, we gave the engine a full detail paint job, added all new tune up components, rebuilt the carburetor, converted to a Bosch alternator, all new gaskets and seals, and valve adjustment. We installed the original heater boxes and welded flanges to a new header, and mounted a new single quit pack muffler. The heater boxes areconnectedand functional. The front trans mount appeared to be fairly new, so we opted for new rear mounts only. Upon engineinstallation, a new throw-outbearing and clutch cable were also installed. With a pump of the gas and a tap of the key, she fires right up and purrs (choke and carb adjustments set for 4300 ft. elevation).
The brake system was completely rebuilt, including sand blasted and painted backing plates. All hydraulic components are brand new. New shoes. New front drums, bearings, and seals. OE rear drums.
As for the body: The bra does cover some minor nose damage, as seen in the photos. There is some exterior lower body panel cancer in a few spots, as seen in the photos. The right front door has a gash in it. The main cargo/passenger floor is mostly solid, with what appears to be two previous patch jobs near the door, and some minor pinholes. The driver front floor area will need to be replaced in the very near future. As a courtesy, we treated all floor rust with a converter/inhibitor to prolong the current floor life. The rear fender skirts were added to disguise the rear wheel wells, which were previously clearanced for bigger snow tires.
All doors close, latch, and lock properly. Windows roll up and down. The inner left front door latch lever is broken and will need to be replaced (a five minute fix, we just didn't have the part readily available). All exterior lights function as they are supposed to. The instrument cluster was reconditioned and all lights function. New wiper blades were installed. Front seat bottoms were covered with rock and roll t shirts to go along with the current Dead Head theme. Original sticker decor lift intact. Rear seatpermanentlymounted and seat belts installed.
During theinitialroad test, it was noted that accelerator response was great (no hesitations). The steering handled very well. Bumps and cracks in the road revealed ball joint condition with rattling. Cruising speed was established at a comfortable 60-65 MPH.
All questions are welcomed. Thank you for your interest.