What do you think of this car?
 

Hey guys. I'm looking to buy a car to finally have an aircooled VW again. I saw this today on theSamba: http://thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=108630

I spoke with the guy and everything appears to be in working order. He said the clutch is slipping and I would probably need to replace it. He also said the 6 volt battery is not holding a charge and I would need a new battery.

Other things I know about the car: all rust has been repaired. engine is a 1300 from a 66. Fuel tank and gauge is from a '66. (no reserve tap anymore) The pans and heater channels have no rust. The ragtop is not original to the car or even a VW part. It looks to be sized correctly, but notice that it has three folds instead of two. I think the guy did most of the work himself.

So I guess I wanted to get some other opinions before trying to drive all the way to MO to check it out. I would be changing some things on the car to go more GL. :)

Any opinions?

Thanks.

Thats a sharp looking 61. If the 6 volt system isn't working good, don't worry. I would covert it to 12 volt anyway. A nice 61 Rag done in GL,,,,,now that will piss off the Purists :agree: :laugh: .

there are 3 fold rags, but what gives that one away is that the frame work is black instead of metal (stainless) like on a real rag.

Should I be worried about the aftermarket rag? It looks to be the same size as an original rag. Would it be a total nightmare to try to put a VW rag in at a later date?

Yeah, I would go 12 volt anyways. ;)

you dont know until you measure each rag setup.
Some of them are larger then factory rags. If thats the case your screwed if you want to change it. You could still do the conversion, but it would entail deskinning your roof and reskinning it with the factory rag roof.
VW Trends did an article on this method a few years ago. Its a little more entailed the just cutting a hole and dropping the rag in method.

Ok, I'm going to pass on it. I just don't think I would be able to get past the aftermarket rag. It's funny, for some things I'm such a VW purist, for others, it doesn't matter at all to me.

I'll keep looking. :) For anyone with any inside tracks; I'm looking for a '58-'61 rag. Hopefully no rust and straight.

Im with you, I wouldnt do it either. Its funny about things like that...LOL :D