Type II Woes

As some of you know of my Westfalia woes, the family and I made our second long trip to get a bus. Few runs in paint, one iffy repair on the side but the rest of the bus was awesome and the interior was the best I've ever seen. For 34 mile and one hour tonight I was the proud owner of a 1974 Westfalia. We got a few exits down the freeway and the Gene Burg temperature alarm started lighting up. I pulled off at the next exit and It did have that hot smell, lots of heat escaping from the side vents and the dip stick was way, way to hot to hold on the very end. There was a small amount of steamy whiteish smoke coming out the vents and the door when I opened it but it went away in just a few seconds. It could have been some burn off of some cleaner seeing that this was a sale car. Along with the heat, it was also very sluggish to go up hills and I often had to drop to third to regain speed and when I shut it off after the heat issue and one other time, it dieseled for a couple of revolutions. With that said, we returned it.

Here is where I'm torn. We really want this bus. I have never owned a bus, what kind of heat should I expect? What would cause sluggishness? What causes dieseling? Are buses really just that slow? How accurate are those Gene Burg modified turkey thermometers? Did I jump the gun from a little buyers remorse?

Here is what I'm looking at. 1. Does this look to be as simple as tuning issues. 2. How much to rebuild a type 2? I'll negotiate that much more off. 3. Should I just wait it out and hope that another of this caliber comes along?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Scott

all busses are not really slow- does this have an upright or the type IV pancake engine?

If it has the 2.0 pancake you should have plenty of power, the engines do get a bit hot - the rear bumper may get warm but the interior of the engine compartment should be relatively cool. Is the engine seal in place? Burg thermometers are usually really accurate.


Is it white or blueish white smoke?
Sound to me like it may have a sunk valve. Engine making any noises?

That said - I would keep looking,
I know your anxious about getting one but its prob best to just wait a little longer until that perfect one shows up.

OK. Take a deep breath and blow it off dude.

Unless it's and early bay, it should have power to spare. If you were able to take it back, let it go and move on. Your best bet in purchasing any VW that you don't want any surprises from would be to buy one which is an old resto or an original paint car. They don't hide secrets like many of the pretty ones and, as you've already found out, owners aren't always forthright with thier descriptions. Based on what I believe you're looking for, you should find a bus that has a recently rebuilt motor and a straight body that has old paint. On the late busses the type IV powerplant is the most expensive portion of the car. That should be the most important aspect of the bus that you look at. Don't take their word for it. Bring a compression tester and check for yourself to make sure the engine is healthy.

You obviously have the budget to get the car the way you would like it cosmetics wise so expand your search to include busses that aren't as pretty but appear to be solid drivers. Cars weren't designed to sit around and look pretty. If they aren't driven regularly, they wil develop all kinds of problems that sneak up on you and are hard to troubleshoot. Plus, the owners who only drive them monthly don't realy know what's wrong with them half the time. It's not that they're lieing to you, they just don't have a feel for what's going on with the car if they only pull it out once every few months to drive it to the local car show.

I can tell you every little quirk that my bus has because I drive it every day. For example, I know that it starts easiest when you pump the pedal 1/2 way and just barely give it gas when you turn the key...since I lowered it, it makes a squeeking sound when I make a turn from where the drum is rubbing on the back plate on the passenger side...when putting it in reverse the shifter pops back up after a few seconds due to the old spring and worn shift bushing...the headlight switch has a sweet spot when it's cold outside...ect. My point is that show type cars don't have to get you from point A to point B therefore they get neglected in the most basic ways in the persuit of trophies and pats on the back. You're better off starting with a solid foundation and making it yours iwith a little elbow grease in my opinion and there are a lot of people that would agree with me on this.

just saw your other post.. so went back and bought it again or is this a different one?

zabo wrote:just saw your other post.. so went back and bought it again or is this a different one?

Same one. He took it to a mechanic and when he put fan shroud back on he locked the fin that directs air to the oil cooler closed. The smoke I have learned is a leak that hits the heat exchanger. The leak is around the oil sensor. The power loss was where I shoved the mat under the pedal. I went back, took her down the highway and all was well so we bought her for an additional $1500 off of my initial $1500 off from the $9500 I got him down to. Do the math and this was an awesome deal.

cool- congrats man