I'm new to this forum, so I'll explain how I ended up here...
I've been a split window VW transporter enthusiast for about 20 years. I've owned a few, I love driving them - but lately the hobby has skyrocketed in popularity. It has driven the prices for parts and everything out of my range. I expect some people to tell me how expensive it is to own an e24, but believe me - until you start seeing seats for $4,000...count your blessings!
Spend some time http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... highlight= here to see what I mean. Rust is also something I'm sick of dealing with.
Not to ramble, but I sold my 1965 transporter in favor of an e24. I've been doing my homework for about 6 months, lurking here, etc. and I found what I believed to be a good deal. I'm in Fargo (shopping in Minneapolis/Winnipeg primarily), and I decided to push my search radius out of the rust belt for my best odds.
I found this car in the south suburbs of Denver and pulled the trigger. It has 2 rust spots in the rear wheel wells, mechanically very sound, evidence that it was well taken care of (via the many pictures and emails from a patient PO), and so I'm happy. I bought a 1 way ticket to Denver, armed with a standard tool kit, Bentley manual, and loaded up on insurance with roadside assistance, and I took a leap of faith.
When I got to the car, it was just as promised. Strong bones, drivable, but needed some TLC. I was surprised to find the original (!) tires on the original bottlecaps. They were metric and I was not prepared for that. I'm assuming the OG owner took the wheels/tires off shortly after purchase, but they followed the car throughout its life. When it came to me, they just put them back on. Here's the nightmare for those that haven't dealt with r/390 tires: there is nothing you can put on these rims (unless you are a crazy 'all original or nothing' type of restorationist). It took an entire day of measuring offsets and calling Craigslist people. In short, I ended up driving the car to a far suburb to pick up a set of style 29s with snow tires (that will happen to fit my Subaru when I return - sweet!). I don't plan on driving this car in the winter at all.
Talk about white knuckle driving. People passing me going 80mph while I'm slowly creeping along - praying that the dry rotted tires don't give.
So, in short, I was able to get the wheels/snow tires mounted and I left for Fargo: almost a 1,000 mile journey.
I stopped very frequently in the beginning to check for leaks, smelling the vents for weird smells or burning, etc. I just drove like an old lady until I could get home. I only had to tighten hose clamps on the new coolant lines due to some leaks I spotted, but that was it. It was a miracle, but I pulled it off and now it's the least rusty e24 in the North Dakota/Minnesota area.
Condition summary:
The shifting linkage is nice and tight, no exhaust leaks, the interior is quite clean. Bad passenger window switch, I'm locked out of the radio (but the speakers and antenna work fine) for now. The engine pulls nicely with smooth acceleration. No valve noise, just the tight click of the fuel injectors. It came with handwritten notes of repairs from PO going back many years. New coil, plugs, wires, some sensors look quite new. Some small oil leaking from that front bolt that is so troublesome, but I'll get to that. No rust in trunk or under carpets. Seat motors all work. Heater/AC fan not working, but AC compressor engages when turned on. Heat come from vents when turned up. I went to a car wash and no leaks under the hood, trunk, windows, sunroof, or doors. It has some bumper rash over the passenger rear fender that damaged the trim piece, but it's minor and repairable. Paint is oxidized, but I will polish it with a compound and orbital polisher eventually. It's not terrible. Front valence has been cracked and repaired. I'd like to paint it Bronze Beige Metallic to match the upper paint eventually. Trunk and hood badges are completely peeled/faded. Usual cracking on foglight lenses. Elephant ear turn signal on passenger side has a loose housing. All lights work Odometer died at 202k.
I'll use this thread to track my progress and post more pictures (if a sunny day ever comes along here, geez).
I'd like to say thanks to tschultz for his advice and being my backup plan for wheels if I wouldn't have made it out of Denver!!!
Thank you all for info that you've shared as I've been lurking here for many months! You are a wealth of knowledge, and it greatly influenced my decision to leave the air cooled VW world for this new hobby.
