Things to look for in a VS

This is the car I am inspecting tomorrow for purchase. What things should I check look for aside from the car running and cosmetics?

Brakes
Electrical (lights/horn, wipers)
Body fit
Engine (not too familiar w/ the setup - anything obvious I can look for?)
suspension
Steering

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

At first sight the car looks good; wide five wheels and everything. I suggest you swap the VW steering wheel for a banjo wheel, a Nardi or a genuine 356 one (very pricy though).

I'd check stopping distance and right-to-left pull under braking, I'd look at or check the fuel lines from the tank (under the hood) to the carbs, and I'd have a look at the dipstick for starters.
Then I'd want to see if you can shift easily into all gears (including reverse). Have a look-see at air pressure in all tires, tread depth (needs to at least hit Eisenhower's chin if you use a dime as a gauge) and see what the amps are on the battery under load and with the car switched to accessory ... walk around and look at all the lights for function, including hazards, and tell the dude to step on the brake pedal so you can see the brake lights come on.
It doesn't look to me like anybody's ever sat in those seats. You're getting what looks like one heck of a deal.
Congratulations!

Del, your looking at a sweet ride from these pix you've attached here.. The bottom line is what YOUR feelings are.. If you like it then pull the DARN trigger my friend and start driving the thing... All things here can be fixed or replaced and if you have ever bought a used car, you must understand that it comes with some inherint chance of screw-up! LOL.. Besides these things are fun to fix if you do your own wrenching... You did not mention what the asking price was.. Maybe you did not want to share that and that's cool too.

Good Luck and I hope you drive it home! Welcome to the club... :-)

Speedster "D"

Is the color of the seat inserts and piping tan? or gray? ~Esther

It's tan.

Oh my god. If your going to look at a VW air-cooled car the most imporant thing is the engine. Take it out and drive it at 70mph for at least a half an hour straight. What is the oil temperature....use a barbeque meat thermometer to check it through the dipstick hole.

Everything else is cheap and easy and just personal preference. If it is running over 215.......good luck with the engine replacement you will no doubt need in the future.

Steve; 215 or even 220 and even higher is still an acceptable (although on the high end of the operating range spectrum). Of course you definitely want 180 and over to make sure condensed water in the oil is removed.

I test drove it yesterday - drove it for 45min and let it idle for 20. Did not over heat! It backfired once in 3rd gear, no idea why, but could not replicate it otherwise.

I drove it up to 80 with no problems - this baby accelerates well.

tested the brakes, suspension, all the elctrical, and checked all the connections and hoses.

Appearance-wise, a few dings on the door trim. Easy fix. Top was in excellent shape, but need to replace some snaps on the body just from wear.

Interior was flawless - do hope to replace the steering wheel w/ a Nardi, but would like a smaller circumference (12"?). Not sure if thats even doable.

Needless to say, I now am the owner of this VS, and VIP Transport picked it up today for delivery tomorrow/Friday!

Thanks for the help everyone!

Congratulations!

lane, sell him your smaller cir nardi steering wheel

Still waiting for Mike to make my new wheel. I have a buyer who has told me that they are willing to wait, but we'll see how long that lasts. It's not like they couldn't get it elsewhere.

By the way, the Nardi is a 14" wheel. I don't think you'd want a 12" wheel as it would raise the steering effort a good bit.

Where can I get this steering wheel from? And just out of curiosity, how much are you selling the wheel for?

Right now it's still on my car, as I'm getting a custom made wheel, but it may be a couple more months. When I sell it, it'll be the wheel, and the alloy ring that covers the screws. It WON'T include the horn button. I'm thinkin' around $150, but I'd need to see if the current buyer is still interested as I've committed it to them.

Check my gallery for pics of the wheel.

I congratulate you on your purchase; don't worry about the occasional backfire or cough; especially when cold; that's the nature of the beast. If by any chance you can't buy Lane's Nardi you can get a new one here: http://www.classicowheels.com/

Del, you can gently squeeze the female portion of the snap on the top to elongate it and the snap will stay on the body snap

Thanks for the tip Alan. Will 'gently' try.

Del,

You can check the for sale messages for the Nardi wheel I am selling. It has never been used and includes 2 horn buttons.