Help! Looking to pull the trigger on a VS...

SCM, welcome to the SOC forum.

Your questions are frequently asked by newcomers here.

There's a lot to learn and a lot of pitfalls to avoid. Which car to get will depend a lot upon your own wrenching abilities or your proximity to an experienced VW mechanic who knows the old, air-cooled cars.

This forum has a very useful search function (look for the little magnifying glass icon in the black menu bar above).

Poke around with that for a while to see if you can find what you're looking for. There should be enough reading to keep you busy for an entire Maine winter.

If that doesn't work, let us know, and you'll have more advice than you ever bargained for.

Find a fellow SOCer near you - buy him lunch and a beer (or 2) to check it out for you.  If tires are from 2006 and still original - they are 11 or almost 12 years out.  8-10 years is about max for tires.. They are probably not safe to drive at speed or long distances despite the low mileage.  The rubber is most likely dried out and the sidewalls cracked.  They should be replaced so figure that into price.   1 carb or 2 carbs?  Carbs generally have to have idle speed increased for AC. See if owner has an engine build sheet available.  It will save a lot of grief trying to figure out what engine you have and what parts fit it.  Do you know engine size - 1600 cc is base but 1915 cc is a popular VS upgrade (bigger piston bore but all else usually stock 1600).   I'd replace all the rubber fuel line and probably the rubber brake lines (use stainless steel mesh covered ones).  I'd also change out brake fluid and oil (and gas if its old). Darting around is usually indication it needs $10-20 caster shims (get 2 longer bolts with 2 pairs of shims).

Wolfgang,

Thank you! I'm not aware of any owners up my way, as I'm new to this. The tires still have the 'knobs", and the're Kelly's, not sure that's what would have been with the car originally, I'm thinking not, but they look healthy. The engine is a 1915 and I drove it today for 20 miles in 85 degree heat. FYI- It's being sold by a car dealer for a friend. Dealer has been great, but it's a 2006 build and I can buy it for 25K. Thoughts?  The east coast market is very different than the west coast market.  

Nothing about the car sounds bad. Brand new VS's go for high 20s. Used Speedsters are usually less, but not always. Some of these cars, particularly the Intermeccanicas optioned to within an inch of a Porsche VIN can command mucho Deutschemarkos. The home-built CMCs and such are usually the cheapest.

There is a date code on the tires. Regardless of wear you ought to throw them away on  or before year 10. It's a safety issue. Old tires also ride a lot worse and screech around corners.

Like Wolfgang says, sitting for a decade does not make for a like-new vehicle. You may have to clean varnish from the gas tank, and def replace the soft brake lines and brake fluid.

Caster shims and lower-than-modern tire pressure will get you a smooth and steady ride. 20-22 in front, 22-26 in back, say.

Steering box leaks are not a big deal. Worst case scenario is you get a new one for $120 or something. Should not be necessary though.

As an old car guy, setting the idle and mixture is probably something you already know about. Dual Webers can be tricky to tune but they'll run nice once you come to a mutual understanding with them. When it's right the car idles smooth and won't stall, and should run not too rich. If you're equipped, as most are, with a 009 distributor, small "flat spot" will show up on acceleration off the line, just above idle. Making that go away completely whilst avoiding running too rich is a job for experts. 

I think minimum price for a VS with a 1915, disc brakes, and a 3.88 R&P is in the low 30's now. With the issues you've raised I think the price should be a few grand less. Troy Sloan sells ready to drive, used, low mileage VS's for that price and up and no work required.

These GENTLEMEN above really KNOW their stuff....you can rely on their experience and know-how! good luck with your buy

Scott- I'm certain many of the members here can give you a lot of thoughts if you include pictures of the car in your post. Good luck with the purchase- if you decide to go forward. 

Pictures AND A link to the car in question would help.

Hey SCM, Theron (the site admin) has a really nice, brand new VS for sale for $29,995.  Nice options and colors.

Scott---welcome to the madness!  400 miles---not a record for low miles on a Speedster but close.  Have to wonder why the owner just never used it.  Mine was in about the same condition.  It's a VS and had about 1,200 miles on it.  It drove so poorly at any speed that on the 150 mile trip home I could only get it up to 35 mph.  Tires were out of balance and the front end was way out of alignment.  The engine was ok and after I got the suspension corrected I drove it to Carlisle twice---a 2,000 mile round trip.

Your local tire dealer will most likely have no clue about aligning the front end of that car.  You have to shop around and find an old codger who used to align VW Bugs.  Be aware that the specs that are around are for bias ply tires and the new radials use slightly different specs.  This is something only an old timer would know.

These cars can pretty much all be sorted to become reliable, pleasureable drivers so if you like the car, go for it.   Just make sure you buy it right enough!

My VS has now made 11 Carlisle trips and one West Coast event to Morrow Bay without a breakdown except I had to have the starter replaced at the last Carlisle event---no biggie.  You have found the right source here on the SOC for everything you will ever need to know about sorting that car.  Good luck and welcome.

The SOC maps shows 6 SOC members in Portland, Me -- some may not actually be owners but I recognize a couple handles. Many more as you get closer to Boston.  Click on MEMBERS tab at top, then SHOW AS MAP and zero in on your area.

Here's the DOT require tire stamp -

First off, I'm sending in my $49.00 TODAY!  This has been great and I appreciate the feedback. I'll have more to add this evening. I must get back to work...

Scott

SCM posted:

First off, I'm sending in my $49.00 TODAY!  This has been great and I appreciate the feedback. I'll have more to add this evening. I must get back to work...

Scott

Work schmirk, you’ll soon be wasting spending more time here than you realize. Just don’t let your boss find out.

Scott- what did you decide to do???

Mileage has little to do with pricing on these cars. More important are receipts for the sorting process and upgrades done over time. I would not pay more than $20k for that car unless it has an engine from a reliable source, such as CB. The stock engines are know as Mexicrates. Mine required a valve job at 5K. You should expect to spend a lot of money to get it sorted or be very skilled with a wrench. On the other hand you can buy a presorted car from one of our members and skip the multi year misery. 

SCM posted:

First off, I'm sending in my $49.00 TODAY!  This has been great and I appreciate the feedback. I'll have more to add this evening. I must get back to work...

Scott

I'm pretty new here too. I'm in Belfast ME and have a Beck Speedster. I hope you don't mind all the attention you'll draw if you live in a small-ish town like I do. So many people stop, double take, whip out their phone and snap some pics. Some even try to find me while I'm having lunch or whatever.... 

It's madness in so many different ways.

If you're close to Belfast I'd be happy to get together.

J

Hi All,

Sorry I've been MIA. I did end buying the car and have been enjoying my time trying to figure things out.  I think I already put 500 trouble free miles on it.  Like an idiot I dropped a can on the left rear quarter, so she's heading to body shop on the 7th... Better photos and updates to come. Any and all suggestions are welcomed.

Thank you!

Scott

Well it looks good from here.

Very nice indeed!

Nice looking car Scott! Like the color combination. Can I ask what you ended up paying for the car? 

Nice buy. Enjoy

Thank you. -10 here in Maine, so not getting much use....

My Beck is in for the winter too. You anywhere near Belfast, we could do a spring drive. 

Nick

WTTM

'Bout zero here near Whustah, but with 40wt oil in the Speedster I'm not about to even TRY to start it!

Maybe it's time to get a New England email mailing list going for all of us local Speedster/Spyder folks.  There are a few replica members of TYP356ne that I might be able to corral, and a few more folks on here, like me near Worcester, Peter Venuti and Frank C. on the North shore and Prarit and his Spyder in Cambridge, Boothy just south of Boston, the Gallos on the outer Cape, Fred Feufeu in Mashpee, and Tom Marantz and Don Mylchreest way out near Springfield.  It would be an absolute hoot to get everyone together at a centralized meet somewhere in the late Spring, even if it's at a Herb Chambers 'Cars and Coffee'.

TYP356ne is currently going through an internal upheaval so I'm waiting for the dust to settle to see what kind of club they intend to be.  In the meantime, I'll start a list on here and get some dialogs going to see how to get us all semi-organized.   There is a LOT of stuff going on throughout New England during the driving season that we could all get involved with from Maine to Vermont to the Cape and down into Rhode Island and Connecticut and I'll find a way to get us all informed as to what's out there.

Stay tuned (on another thread).

Count me in Gordon, Beautiful Belfast ME rep. (pro tem).

Count me in, from sunny Portland, ME

John, I'm in Portland and love to try and meet up sometime. 

Scott,

That would be great. You can email me at johnnickusa @ gmail dot com.

Nick

Oh, Gordon, for your email list:  johnnickusa @ gmail dot com

Great looking car, Scott! Love the color combo. Minor detail- it has Kadrons (not Webers) for carburetors, so tuning will be a little easier. You still have to deal with 2 carbs, but 2 adjustments instead of 4. Do you know anything about the engine (besides it being a 1915)? Discs on the front (I'm guessing)- discs or drums on the back? Tire size? And....

                  WELCOME TO THE MADNESS!