1970 Volkswagen Bus with Subaru Motor

Price: - Item location: Weed, California, United States
Description:

1970 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon

Please understand I am putting this vehicle up for sale as a project car even though it has a running engine and new transmission and does run and drive. Please read the description to get a full story and why I consider it a project car sill. The mileage is not correct in the specifics, just had to add it. I recently moved to Alaska and there is only so much you can bring with you and my Volkswagen wasn't one of them. It has been sitting at a friends house in Northern California in their garage since I moved in August. I haven't seen it since I left, and I am sure the battery will need charging before trying to start it. The tires are still holding air and you will have to get the vehicle towed or shipped to bring it home. I am putting my fun little project car up for sale, anybody looking at VW busses from this era know they are always project cars, this one does start and run and drive, but will need more work to be a full driving machine. Please understand again I have not seen the vehicle since August and can't promise the battery or tires are good enough to use. I would play cautious and replace them both if I were buying the vehicle. Outside shell: This Bus was from Southern California and it has very minimal rust, but there is some surface rust, it does have Bondo on it and you can see it in the pictures, and there have been repair spots in the metal. The underside pretty decent looking, but as you would expect from a 47 year old car it does need some attention. The windshield has been replaced and the nose panel under it was replaced too, typical for volkswagens. The rear quarter panel was also replaced because the previous owner crunched it and cut the lower rear corners off at the same time. Do not expect to make this a show vehicle. I enlarged the air intakes on the side by the rear windows to get a little more airflow across the motor too. There are about 7 colors on the vehicle from original to some fresh paint. The "Rust-ish" color on the passenger side and front is from the previous owner. Engine: This is a very fun vehicle to drive, it has loads of power and is a total sleeper car when you pull up next to somebody at a traffic light. It has a 1994 Subaru Legacy 2.2L motor in it. This is what some people call a BUSARU swap or a Scooby Doo Swap. I replaced the spark plugs, wires, and Timing belt. It has a freshly rebuilt Volkswagen Transmission (with freeway flyer gears installed) from Rancho Transaxles in it with an adapter plate from Kennedy Engineering to mate the engine to the transmission. Custom made motor mounts and bar (Cut the old motor mounts out). The wiring harness was custom made for the motor and has been sent off to be tested to make sure it was done right. The wiring in the Bus has also been redone with newer style blade fuses and fresh wire. The brakes have all been gone through and fresh fluid and the CV axles have been rebuilt. I added the bigger, stiffer sway bars and added the rear one from BusDepot. It is not a Porsche, but it handles a thousand times better than stock. The coolant overflow bottle is a Jack Daniels bottle and the air conditioning has been removed. It has dual radiators mounted in it with 4 electric fans....and thats the part of the swap I never had time to figure out fully. It does cool the motor, but if you are driving for a longer distance that tooling around town it can overheat. reading about it online some people have had success with dual radiators and others mount a single one under the vehicle, so my plan was to move the radiator under the vehicle and try that. I never overheated the motor. More details on stuff fixed: I started with a shell with one seat in it and have started from the ground up essentially. The rear wheels went to Lug Studs instead of Lug Bolts (small change, but makes mounting the wheels easier) The fronts are still lug bolts. It has an electric fuel pump with new fuel filter. The brakes were removed, cleaned up and reassembled. Heavy duty sway bars both front and rear installed. The electric fuse box was replaced with the new blade style. There is a double din stereo with a backup camera installed. And a bottle opener mounted to the back door. New throttle cable tube installed under the bus and fresh throttle cable and e-brake cable installed. Inside: The inside is what took the most time and you will see it has been meticulously thought out for a camper van inside. I completely gutted the inside and it got a fresh coat of paint and I built up a camper van "westy" style interior inside. I am a climber and most of the drawer pulls are old climbing pieces and the storage was designed for a climbing road trip. From Front to Back: I started with the dashboard, I pulled the cracking rubber covering off and repainted it. It has a touch screen DVD player (with backup camera) and all the gauges work (with the exception of maybe one light? I don't remember) I put a tach in the dash (in the empty clock spot) and a water temp gauge on top. The E-brake works and the front seats were recovered with better foam and seat warmers in the bottom and back. The heater does not work in the vehicle so the seat heaters are awesome. The back camper van has a small camping stove, area to wash dishes, a water holding tank and a spot for a small cooler. There is a bunch of storage under the bed and a wardrobe cabinet next to it. I replaced the old fabric headliner with wooden planks and the floors are hardwood and the countertop is granite (Yup, real granite). The battery was moved into the inside by the sliding door. Most of the window seals were replaced and all the metal cleaned up around them. The front windshield is new with new seal too. It has an extension cord under the bed to plug into 110v power to run a plug inside and one light, there is a locking access door on the drivers side to access it. Im sure I have forgotten something, but I also don't want to write a novel for you to get bored with also. There are a handful of volkswagen parts I am including with (like an oil cooler, a few bushings, and some spare nuts and bolts) I have had a great time working on the bus and have thought long and hard to try to make it right and work best. I have a lot of money into it and know I will never get all of that recovered, but I hope somebody can pick up where I left off and make it awesome. It is registered in California as non-op right now so no fees accruing right now. Any Questions please make sure I haven't already listed it in the description then email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Do not expect a 10 minute response just before the auction closes, plan ahead. My father-in-law is the one near the vehicle and we will have to schedule with him for shipping or pick-up dates. Buyer will be responsible for DMV fees and shipping and Transportation costs. Will need to be scheduled for pick-up within 7 days of auction ending. a 500 dollar deposit must be made within 24 hours of auction ending also.