Vintage 1968 VW bus decision and the aftermath pest

Not long ago, a VW bus came out in the market that attracted my attention. It was a 1968 VW bus that was owned by the same guy since it was brand new. Wanting to get ahead of everybody, I frantically searched for the owner.

With the guidance and permission of the Lord, I was able to get a hold of the owner. The owner told me that he is reconsidering the price of the bus because he initially posted it at $1000. For a 1968 bus, that price is very attractive. I tried to convince the owner if I could just buy it from him but he told me that he will get back to me after a few days.

I waited anxiously for a few days with a nagging thought in my mind that a million greedy buyers out there are slugging it out just to get ahead to buy this bus. I finally got a text from the owner asking if I am still interested on buying the bus. I responded saying that I am interested and the owner gave me their address.

After driving for about 40 minutes, I finally arrived at the address. The owner is a nice tall old man who seemed to like sailing because he had a canoe sail boat inside his garage. I immediately worked on checking out the bay window bus parked on his driveway.

The owner told me that he had owned the bus since it was brand new. I believe he said that he bought it about the end of 1967 when the bay windows just started to come out. The body of the bus seemed to be in good condition. Nose is undamaged and the body frame behind the front bumper is in good shape. When I moved the front passenger door, I heard water splashing inside it. I told the owner that the drain holes had been plugged by dirt. After shaking the door a bit, water came through the drain hole. I started thinking then that the area inside the door might not be pretty due to rust. But when I saw that the outside surface of the door does not appear to have any rust bubbling, it is possible that the interior part of the door is still be fine.

All the seats including the middle seat were still present. The middle seat has the ‘hotdog’ shape arm rest, which is very desirable. When I pulled the rubber floor mat on the driver and passenger area, I discovered a rust hole slightly the size of a quarter dollar. There were a few surface rust spots on the floor that indicated that rain water sipped through either the windshield or the side windows were left open during a rainy day. At the edge of the windshield where the dashboard starts, there seemed to be some rust powders which tells me that the rubber seals of the windshield is no longer good.

Overall, the body seemed straight and mostly undamaged. There is some body damage behind the right rear wheel but that can easily be repaired. The engine lid had been replaced but the replacement is original. Paint around the engine compartment is original.

Both the transmission and engine had been taken out. The owner said that the second gear of the bus had been slipping. They tried to restore the bus but kept on putting it off until finally they did not want to deal with it anymore. They took off the engine 25 years ago and it was running then. They are afraid that it might be frozen. In my opinion, it might still be good if they kept it indoors. The owner thinks that there are problems in the electrical system but did not elaborate what these problems were.

The license plate is still the 1963 black plates and it was last registered back in the 1980s or 1990s. (I can no longer remember what the owner told me).  If that is the case, the registration is no longer in the computer system of the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle).

The bus has lots of potential and is a good find because the original owner still owns the bus. I wanted to buy this bus but when I asked how much is he asking for it, the owner said he wants $2500. Upon hearing the price, the excitement that was revving its engine inside me immediately came down to a low idle. The owner claims that he turned down a $2000 offer already.

Though $2500 is still kind of reasonable considering that it is still owned by the original owner, the trio voices of sense, caution and reason were warning me of the possibility of going into the red if I take over the task of restoring this vehicle.

Let me share with you my non-expert opinion and thoughts regarding the restoration of this bus. If I bought this bus then the following would be my initial cost estimate:

$2500 – price of VW bus

$  150 – towing cost

$  180 – DMV fees & registration

$2830 – Total

The gray areas of cost are the following:

Transmission repair cost estimate - $500 to $750

Engine restoration cost estimate - $850 to $1050

Possible wiring harness replacement - $400

Windshield seat repair plus trimmings $65

Brake system replacement cost estimate - $200

Front driver and passenger seat covers replacement  - $?

Rust repair cost estimate - $?

Miscellaneous costs - $?

Body Paint - $?

Total Cost – A mystery!

Whenever I buy a vintage VW parts, bug or bus with the intent of resell it, I abide by a 3-word rule: Clear Profit Margin. This margin has to be crystal clear before I can become confident that the item or a vehicle I am about to purchase is a worthy investment.

It is normal to feel excited or challenged when viewing a project but both feelings have been known to cause people to jump into a project that turned out to be a money pit. I have been burned before and so I am more cautious now on choosing my purchases. There had been times when I had to pass on a promising VW project because my instincts held me back.

I checked the engine of the 1968 bus and I have a feeling that it will run if I fire it up. It does not appear to have been left outdoors exposed to the elements. I could track down a good transmission and buy it for about $200-$300 and the bus will be ready to run. If I get it running, I could resell it for about $4200-$5000. It seems like a good investment but the gray areas where I could incur restoration expenses are the ones that worries me.

This bus deserves a full restoration because it needs to live on. With that in mind, I have to throw out the window my desires for a quick profit. Before me now is a very expensive restoration project.

I told the 1968 bus owner that I am willing to pay the $2500 price if the engine of the bus and its transmission are functioning. But with its current condition, I am a bit nervous in paying that amount. The owner did not want to budge on his price and so I had to sadly walk away from the deal with a heavy heart knowing that another restorer will have the pleasure of restoring this rare rusty gem.

The following day while I was working on the engine of one of my buses, one of the people I know in the VW community came by my house. To keep his identity confidential, I will just call him Bob.

Bob is a known VW parts and vehicle hustler. Some of his ways are quite questionable but mostly he is harmless if I keep him at a safe distance. Profit is the driving factor to his VW hobby and he does not care if he offends other people as long as he gets what he wants.

When Bob came by, he started boasted that he sold $200 worth of parts at the WolfburgWest car show in Corona. I have gotten used to his boasting and so I just nodded to acknowledge his nonsense. He then asked me if I gotten in contact with the owner of the 1968 bus because the owner did not respond to the repeated emails that he sent. Bob was surprised when I told him that I saw the bus and decided not buy it. He started saying that I did a dumb decision and should have bought it. Bob berated me for my ‘bad’ decision and missed on a project that would have earned no less than $1000. He started saying that my current project is trash compared to the 1968 bus that I ‘should’ have bought. I was quite offended and had to remind Bob that I love my projects and he has no right to discount their value.

After Bob realized his mistake, he tried to change the topic by telling me that it is his birthday that day. I think he was hinting that he wants me to buy him a meal or something. Well, tough luck, buddy. I am not spending a dime on you. He left after that. What a pest!

I believe that all vintage VW restorers have different budgets, styles and goals. They match their approach basing on their personalities. There are those who would buy VWs with the intention of doing the bear minimum of repair just to get the car running and flip them for a quick profit. Some would buy them and do an expensive full restoration and resell them to the high end VW buyers. The hated VW buyers are the ones that buy them and chop them for parts. And there are people who would restore VWs on a mid-range budget with the hopes of keeping the vehicle alive in the market. Though there are many other types of vintage VW restorers, I just would like to identify a handful that I have met during my journey through VW restoration.

I believe that I belong to the group that restores VW bugs and buses with the goal of resurrecting them from the rusty pile of dormancy. Bring the life back to a vintage bug or a bus is very fulfilling to me because all my effort is focused in breathing a new life into an item from a bygone era.

I have seen bugs and buses that were ‘tricked’ by the younger generation to make them look like a vintage vehicle with a modern twist. Personally, the guys that do this should not be given the right to own a vintage vehicle. They are the ones that ruin the value of the vintage vehicles and when they get tired of the vehicle, they would either trash it or sell it to a wrecking yard.

Waiting to bag the right VW project at an affordable price takes a lot of luck. Being at the right place at the right time with the right amount of cash is what it takes. The search for that illusive and hidden VW gem that are still out there waiting to be discovered has become an obsession to many. I am still searching for my 15-window, 21-window, 23-Window, single cab pre-1960 and barn door buses. They are out there still hidden in barns, garages, storage containers waiting to be discovered. Is it my day to find one?

The search continues…

Unregistered, Uninsured, Illegal and on the Road

Some people believe that all of us are allotted to commit one very stupid decision once in a great while. Well, mine came yesterday and I came out of it with a story to tell.

As a vintage Volkswagen enthusiast, I always look forward to VW shows in southern California. One of the much awaited VW shows in California is the ‘Bugin’ held in Irwindale, California. Different VW clubs compete on drag races and also classic VW shows. One of the main attractions of the show is the vintage parts swap meet (flea market). During these events my VW buddies and I would load up our vintage VW buses (Kombi) with old parts and antiques to be sold at the swap meet.

Initially, I wanted to load my parts to my VW Kombi but after laboring through half of my Saturday afternoon removing the heavy 1776cc engine off of my 1971 Deluxe VW bus, I did not feel like loading my parts in my bus anymore.

One of my vintage VW club buddies came by my house after dinner time and asked me if I could drive his VW single cab bus that he loaded with parts and an engine for the show. Knowing that he is struggling financially due to a separation with his wife, I decided to help him out by driving his bus for him.

I woke up at 4:10am the following day and hurriedly prepared breakfast to go. My friend came by my house shortly driving his 1957 bug. When I started the bus that is loaded with parts, I noticed that the registration of the vehicle had been expired since December 2011. I then asked my friend if he has accident insurance for his vehicle. He said he doesn’t. I became a bit uncomfortable with the idea of me driving an uninsured vehicle with expired tags. If I get pulled over by the police, I am looking at hundreds of dollars worth of fines. While we were discussing my concern, I felt that there is something wrong with the status of his driver’s license that is why he was afraid to drive his bus. I can tell that desperation is driving him to make unwise and selfish decisions. Though I am fully aware of his self-centered intension, I already made a promise to help him the day before and I intend to keep my promise.

We rolled through the streets with the sky still dark. I prayed to our Lord every block that we passed through asking our Lord to keep cops away from my path.

The distance to our destination is about 35 miles and I kept on calculating the chances of me being pulled over. I also have a dreaded feeling whenever I approach potential locations along the freeway where the highway patrol are most active. My heart was pumping faster than usual and I was constantly checking the headlights of the cars behind me because the highway patrol cars have a distinctive headlight setup.

Cruising at 55 miles an hour, I checked the control panel and the gasoline gauge caught my attention—it was close to empty! I called my buddy who was following me with his bug and asked him if he put gas in the tank. He said he did, $10. What?! I wanted to pull over and strangle him for his stupidity but decided against doing it because that would just cause a delay in our progress towards our destination.

From a distance up ahead, I saw small flashes of red and white lights, a California highway patrol cruiser! My hands froze on the steering wheel. I doubled check my speed, 55 MPH. As I casually cruise passed the highway patrol, I noticed that he pulled a car and is questioning the driver of the car. I figured that there are not a lot of highway patrol cars operating early that Sunday morning and so my chances of being caught is slim.

Since I am not familiar with the road exit at the freeway, I told my friend to drive ahead of me so that I can follow him when he exits. After about a mile, he called me and said that we missed the freeway exit ramp and had to find another exit. This dumb mistake irked me quite a bit because we have to drive about 3 miles through another freeway to be able to find the right road exit at the freeway. I wanted to get off that freeway because I felt that at any moment a highway patrol car will be behind my tail with its lights flashing. I was finally able to relax when we arrived at our destination and there was a long line of old VW bugs and buses waiting for their turn to get into the show.

The show was great and I saw a lot of my VW friends and their families hunting for vintage parts. I did not buy a lot of parts because my garage is already loaded with vintage VW junk parts that I plan to sell at a VW show next month.

After the show, we packed up and the first thing I told my buddy was to find a gas station to put gas in his bus. Confident that he knew the way around Irwindale, I followed him through the side streets. After turning through several streets, he pulled over and called me on the cell phone to told me that he does not know where the nearest gas station is located at. “Are you kidding me, man? Let’s get out of this place!”, I said. 

About a mile up the road, I spotted a major intersection and told my buddy to drive to that location. I was relieved to find a gas station at the corner and we loaded our cars with gas.

It was about one in the afternoon when we headed back home. When we got to the freeway, my heart started to beat faster again. By that time, there were more cars on the freeway compared to when we drove to Irwindale. Anxiety started to creep into my nerves and I kept on checking the rear view mirror analyzing each of the cars behind me up to a quarter of a mile away hoping that none of them is a highway patrol cruiser. As I put more miles behind me bringing myself closer to my destination, it donned on me that the anxiety that I was experiencing is pretty much like the anxiety being felt by illegal immigrants when they take the risky path towards helping their family.

To keep my mind occupied, I tried to be positive by telling myself that nothing will happen to me and the law enforcement people are busy chasing law breakers and criminals. But my conscience reasoned that what I am doing is illegal too! Panic attack started hitting my nerves again. So much for positive thinking!

We finally arrived at the city where I live. After we got off the freeway ramp, my buddy called me and offered to buy me lunch. I quickly declined and told him that I just want to get home and get this nerve wracking stupid experience over with.

When I finally got off the vehicle, I sternly told my buddy that I am not doing that thing again even if he begs me until hell freezes over.

VW rust decisions

One of the things I learned when it comes buying vintage VW bus and buses is to control my emotions before jumping into a project. With the prices of pre-1967 VW buses reaching astronomical levels, good deals are beginning to be scarce. Whenever an early bus or bug comes into the market, a huge flock of buyers seemed to descend on this deal and it is plucked out of the market in a matter of hours or even minutes.

One of the mistakes that people commit is buying old bugs and buses that are cheap without really realizing the cost to restore them to a level where the value of the vehicle is more than the amount they invested in it.

Recently, a pre-1967 VW bus was put in the market. The bus came somewhere in Mexico and brought to the U.S.. I don’t know exactly how it passed through the US-Mexico border. The owner put it up for sale for $2,200. I called the guy and he described to me the condition of the bus. When I saw that the bus had rust holes on the roof, I immediately backed out because I know that is an expensive repair. Collectors normally want a roof that is in good condition. The middle and high end buyers of vintage VWs are very picky but they make the highest bid on good conditioned buses and bugs.

I backed out on the deal and another guy came in and paid the full price. I found out that he paid about $300 at the Department of Motor vehicles for registration and other fees. The new owner is a VW flipper and so he immediately put up the bus for sale for $5000.

With the picky market, there seemed to be no takers for the bus. After a few weeks, I saw the asking price go down from $5000 to $3500. As of today, the bus is still for sale.

When buying a bug, specially a bus, always use caution in your purchase decision because a vintage vehicle can be a money maker or a money pit. Quickly identify the areas in the body that has rust because rust always equals restoration cost. Some parts of the VW is a common rust areas and can easily be repaired. But when rust reaches certain areas like the roof, nose, areas around the windshield, main body frame, the restoration cost becomes quite pricey.

The VW 21-window bus 1965 bus or bust.

Last week, I went to a beach city in Southern California to visit a guy who was selling a 1965 21-window bus. The 21 & 23 window pre-1967 buses are rare and highly sought after by collectors. It is my dream to own one of those but I don’t think I would like to spend tens of thousands of dollars restoring one.

When I finally met the guy, he took me to an auto shop a few miles away from his office and showed me a bus parked inside a restoration shop yard. I had to admit that I was a bit disappointed because the bus had rust issues all over its body requiring expensive restoration. The dashboard looked nice but

the floors had rust, the passenger door on the front has a broken hinge, it does not have a middle and rear sets. It needs to be totally stripped and restored. I estimated the cost of restoration to be around $15,000.

When I asked the owner how much is he selling the bus, he said, “twenty thousand”. I was tempted to asked him the question, “Is that in dollars or pesos?”. But of course I did not asked because the question would come across as an insult.

To find out how much he paid for it, I threw a probing question of, “Would you let it go for $10,000?”. He responded saying that he would rather keep it if my offer is only $10,000. His response tells me that he probably has more than $10,000 already invested on the bus.

The seemingly bloated prices of the 21 & 23-window VW buses is rooted to one event that happened in June 2011 at a Barrett Jackson auto auction in Costa Mesa, California. A 1963 23-window VW bus colored mouse-gray-and-pearl-white as one of the vehicles being auctioned that day. It was in a condition way better than when it rolled off the assembly line 48 years ago. Everybody was surprised when the bids just kept on coming pushing the price of the bus up above the prices of the other vehicles. When the bidding finally ended, the total price of the bus was $219,000 (this included the auction fees and other fees).

The day after that auction, every vintage VW enthusiast wanted to cash in on their bus and started searching

for 21 & 23 VW buses. The owners jacked up prices and buyers went on a buying frenzy for 21 & 23 windows. Many buyers, especially the amateur restorers, paid hefty amounts just to own these buses without realizing that the restoration cost of these buses are very expensive.

I met a guy who bought a 1966 21-window in Sacramento that had been primered but the engine is out. The panels are not attached and the seats are all skeletal. He paid $20,000. I felt bad for him because he over paid for that bus. This is what normally happens to people who become greedy and would buy things because of a buying frenzy that was swirling around during that time. These buyers has to now have the bus restored at an estimated cost of $5,000 for painting, $1700 for a single port 1600cc engine restoration, plus thousands in interior parts, etc.

It only took a few months for the buying frenzy to die down and now people are stuck with their 21 & 23 VW buses and these people are desperate to sell them to get their money back. I believe one of the people who jumped into the frenzy is the owner of this 1965 21-window bus that I was checking out.

I politely declined to buy the bus telling him it is just going to be too much to restore.

The simple lesson in car restoration is to analyze closely the realistic cost of restoration and the range

of value that the car will sell during a season. If you are not too sure about this then do not buy a project that can overwhelm you with the restoration cost.

Restoring a vintage vehicle can be a joy or a horror, depending on how you handle it.

Help the victims of typhoon Sendong

Sometimes a picture will say more words than an article. Please find ways to help the victims of typhoon Sendong.

A lot of people are hurting from the loss of their love ones and personal belongings. Please help those who are currently helpless and are in great despair.

1969 VW beetle. How we bought it.

I was cruising the internet when I spotted an advertisement in craigslist.com that was just posted 45 minutes earlier for a 1969 VW bug being sold for a cheap price. I immediately called my buddy Ramiro and we drove to the city of Stanton.

The bug had been sitting inside a storage for 12 years. The owner said the bug ran before he stored it 12 years ago.

While I was contemplating for the right strategy to negotiate the price, the owner offered a good price and also told us he will deliver the bug to my house. I almost choked when Ramiro excitedly said, "We'll buy it!" I told Ramiro, "Man, you're suppose to coordinate with me before blurting out something". He just said, "The price is right, bro. Let's go for it". After shaking the hands of the owner, I wanted to strangle Ramiro.

Thanks to Ramiro, we are now the proud owners of a 69 bug. We will quickly restore and resell it.

God Help Us!

Saving A Tired Clothes Drier

For the past few months, I have noticed that our laundry drier has not been able to dry our clothes. The clothes are still a bit damped even after 60 minutes of drying. We bought that drier about 13 years ago and it has served us well. But when it started to malfunction, I began to think if it is time for it to retire.

I went to the appliance store and checked out the prices of gas laundry driers. The good ones cost about $300 to $400. Though a clothes drier is important, I felt that our old one still has life left in it. I decided to go back home and open up our drier to find out what could be wrong.

The problem I notice is the flame in the drier does not heat up that much and it keeps on shutting down after a few minutes. The pathway for the exhaust does not seem to be clogged. I concluded that the problem is probably on the burner.

After taking out the front panel of the drier, I removed the burner assembly and other sensors. I am not sure which is malfunctioning but I did not want to pay an appliance technician to repair it because I felt I could do it myself.

Whenever I have a problem on repairing a machine, I would always trace the area of the machine where the problem could be at and I would remove the mechanism in that area and take it to the parts store. From there, a parts technician who sells parts would diagnose the problem and sell me the part I needed. This way, I am able to get free advice and buy the part that I needed.

The parts technician I spoke to is a lady that seems to be knowledgeable on appliance repair. She told me that the igniter of the burner seemed working. The temperature sensor is working. The problem is in the coil. She said that it is common for the coils of driers to break down after years of use. She sold me two coils for $26.

When I got home, I installed both of them and tested the drier again. I placed a load of wet towels. After 65 minutes, they were all dried. I was happy that I was able to give the drier a new lease in life. Needless to say, I saved a bundle of money by just fixing our broken drier.