Hi all,

My name is Dane and I am a new member to the forum. I am a 4wd nut firstly and have always wanted a dub..... I am looking for one to restore as I type this and think I may have found one.... I am looking at purchasing a 1964 beetle as my first !!!

I am a diesel mechanic by trade and am fairly mechanically minded...

What should I be checking before making a purchase and what is a fair price for an unrestored vehicle that needs work ??? (Ballpark).

Dane

welcome tothe wonderful world of dubs dane ! rust is something id be mindful of depending on your panelbeating skills, as for price depends how much work needs doing to said vehicle.

cheers rob

Welcome Dane and welcome to world of air cooled volkswagens.

In my opinion the biggest thing to look out for is previous accident damage and rust.

Rust in 64 bugs is most common in the heater channels, door pillars, spare wheel well, battery tray, floors in general, and maybe where the guards join the body.

As for cost. You are going to get many opinions on here about that,...

For something that needs work,.. anything from $0 and up,..

It really does depend on condition.

If it has original paint that is a bonus.

Repaints can hide a lot of doggy repairs/ filler etc,.. you only have to look in the members rides section to see examples of that. Our '68 is a member of that club.

and if you get it,.. start a thread in members rides,.. tell us about it and your plans for it.

Good luck and enjoy.

Thanks for the warm welcomes guys........ I am a bit excited about the possibility of starting a project It will be fun and something other than the "truck" to earbash my wife about Thanks for the tips on what to look for, I am waiting to hear back from the gentleman who owns the particular vehicle I am looking at to find out some history and organise a viewing... The car is a bit of a drive away so want some more info before I make the trip south.... If this one falls through though I will be looking for a another vw.....

Update..... Just got off the phone with the guy..... OK vehicle is complete but interior is removed, Was recovered 8 years ago and never refitted... Rats got to it and there is some minor upholstery damage.... It has been converted to 12v and is in original paint as far as he is aware.... All glass is removed and will need a full rubber kit to reassemble. Sills and pillars and heater channels are rust free but there is a small hole in the rear floor.... Front bumber will need to be rechromed as it has surface rust..... Brakes are stuffed from being parked up for so long.... Engine runs and is sweet as a nut it does start and drive just wont stop He wasnt sure what cc the motor was..... Organising to view it on Mionday

Going to see the potential new bug at lunchtime tomorrow !!!! Woohoo !!!!!

good luck mate, hope its what youre lookkin for

Thanks mate

Me too

Is officially a veedubber !!!! Will start a members ride section asap... Pick her up tomorrow and tow her home !!!!! See doesnt look all that pretty at the moment but is a solid base for a project... Has a 20c coin size hole in rear left floor pan and a very small soft area under running board mount on right hand side at the rear.... When all the interior is out its the best way to inspect for rust Motor started first time after not running for a few years and sounded sweet !!!! I think I got a good price..... Well I hope I did anyway

Good on you.

If you are happy with the price, it is a good price.

Looking forward to your thread about her.

welcome to here n enjoy your new ride

Here is a pick of the new member !!!! Not a real good pic... But all I have till tomorrow

congrats look forward to more in members rides

OK... Got her home today and have a question re chassis numbers and eng no..... The chassis number under the rear seat is very very hard to read but the best I can work out in.... 528945 the tag under the spare has been painted over and looks to read S 24508 ??? What the ??? Thought these were supposed to match ???? Engine No is 9678168 and it was last registered with the plate NQZ 303 in Qld as far as I can gather from the partial old rego sticker !!!! The guy couldnt find a box of bits that go with it... But assures me he will find them in storage and get them to me

Welcome mate and congrats on your new toy! I think on the Qld vw drivers club website has something about vin number. Be warned mate these liitle gems will take over your motoring life.

I use to have 4wd drives (hilux) as well and nothing like a vw buggy hammering past you in soft sand.

Ok... Called Qld transport today to try and sort out chassis number being unreadable. They have no record of my engine number, chassis number (If what I have been able to work out so far is right) or ID tag under spare wheel holder or the rego number....... They said that rego number has never been used in Qld... May have to try other states as well..... I dont want to dive in and start the resto if at the end of all my work it cant be regoed......

Also called VW Australia and they couldnt find any info either... But told me the numbers would be stamped in the firewall as well as under the vehicle somewhere..... Anyone know if this is correct or not ?????

Here is a pic of the stamp on the tunnel..... Whats left of it anyway.........

ID Tag under brake fluid resevoir

tunnel - 5289 4 or 6 85
my guesstimate

5289485 is mine... only because of the angle of the down stroke of the number in question

Think you right mate. That's the number I'd be using.

yep a 6 would be flipped 9 so go for 4
winner winner chicken dinner

Now just gotta hope transport accept that as the number even though it's partially unreadable