Beat the rust bug

One of the most important factors when deciding which vehicle to buy is rust. In this country the highways department throw down millions of tonnes of salt every year, and some of the newest aircooled VWs are now over 25 years old. If they aren't looked after properly they will fall apart pretty rapidly, and succumb to the 'rust bug' !

As with any car there are certain areas to look at first and certain areas that are very important to check. Many bugs I have looked at have appeared shabby, rusty and in poor condition, but are actually very solid underneath, conversely some of the shinier examples have major structural rot and wouldn't pass an MOT!

Visually check the overall general condition, bottoms of doors, edges of bonnet etc. These won't be MOT failures if they are rotten, but it makes life better if they are in good condition. Rusted rain gutters on the edges of the roof, however, are more of a problem. This area is difficult to repair properly, requiring a lot of careful welding and hence big labour charges at a bodyshop. Most buyers avoid bugs with a rusted roof, it's often uneconomical.. depends on your enthusiasm or skill really!! Most other areas which rust can be repaired with repair sections that can be bought from nearly all VW aircooled retailers.
Get under the car, look at the floorpan area, the belly of the car. Look for holes at the edges, and the front and rear areas. Look under the front wings at the inner wing areas, especially low down, and at the front of the inner wing where the bumpers bolt to the body, this is often rotted out. Then, open up the bonnet and look under the spare wheel, this 'well' can trap water and be rotten at the base. Back to the bumper mounts: same for the rear ones under the rear wings, check they aren't holed around them. While you're under the rear wings, look at the front area of the inner wing.. this is a section that collects road dirt, salt, mud and allsorts, and is also right next to the rear suspension. This is the rear section of the much maligned "heater channel". If you read up on bugs and bug repairs you'll hear a lot about this part of the car. Not only is it a main part of the car which provides strength to the body, it also carries heat from the exhaust, into the cabin of the car, so it's an important structure. However, due to the constant heating/cooling and being exposed to the elements at its ends, it is also one of the first places to rust out. So check it carefully from outside and........inside!
Now from inside once the door is open, there are also many areas to check for visible rust. The first place to look is at the bottom of the 'A-pillar' this is the pillar that the door hangs from, so look below the bottom door hinge where the pillar meets the "sill" [which is actually the top part of the 'heater channel' ]. If this portion is rusty, the chances are the door will also sag and drop. To test this, hold the door open and try to move it up and down.. if you feel movement, it will need a new hinge mount and possibly new hinge pins.. sometimes it is more economical to buy a new door.
Next lift up the carpets/floormats and look at the floorpans from inside. Again check for holes. Sometimes, believe it or not, the inside of the car can be in a worse state than the outside, mainly due to condensation. Look at the heater channels too, they are the bulbous 'sills' that run along the edge of the pans, the area that meets the pans can be rotten.. poke it with your finger, they often crumble!! Next lift up the base of the back seat. this is where the battery is kept, and as a result the tray that the battery sits on can often be rotten. Behind the battery is a cross member.. the edges of this, i.e. where it meets the sides of the car/ends of heater channels is another area prone to rusting. Check this carefully as it can be expensive to repair propely.
OK so I hope I haven't put anyone off buying a bug! They are wonderful cars, but as with any car that is a minimum of 25 years old, you have to expect some ravages of time.. at least in the VW scene there is a large base of parts, specialist knowledge, and keen repair specialists. Most parts for late model cars can be mail ordered to you on next day delivery!! The same can't be said of the MG specialists for example, imagine a 6 month wait for a part!! That wont happen with a VW!!

Built differently to the beetle, the bus/camper/van/kombi/transporter - whatever you want to call it had a proper 'chassis' with two main rails running its length. There are two basic types of van.. built from 1950 there was the 'splitscreen' type which was very similar to the beetle mechanically, it just used bigger and stronger parts. And then in 1968 they changed the design to the 'bay window' type.. Both names refer to the type of windscreen used, the later version having a panoramic screen and more up-to-date running gear. Main thing with both of these is that those 2 chassis rails are intact and not rusted... if they are.. expect the van to fold!! Walk away from 'projects like this! There are always other vans! There are cross members spanning out from the main rails that are known as 'outriggers'; these are often rusty on vans, and are quite important. They need to be intact for the vehicle to pass an MOT. Front 'cab steps' are another area that need to be checked, again for MOT reasons, but mainly because they support the front seatbelt mounts. This is a large panel that incorporates the front wheel arch, the small section below the front part of the cab door and part of the cab floor. Lift up mats and/or carpets and check the cab floor itself, and the floor of the main cargo area. The main front panel usually rots around the edges, with the bottom section and the section below the front screen being particularly prone to rusting.. With bay window models, the area below the screen is often made from filler!! As with all rust checks, hold a magnet against the panel to be sure!
At the back, open up the engine lid and look inside, the only real problem area in there is the battery tray, located to the right hand side.. This is often rusted due to battery acid spillage through the years. Same with bugs, check the condition of the roof and its gutters. They are difficult to repair, again, and labour charges for this shouldn't be underestimated; although this time, sections of gutter can be bought for the bus, unlike bug roofs.
Again, as with bugs, door bottoms, corners, wheelarches, tailgates, engine lids etc may be rusty at the edges, but won't fail MOT's, but replacing panels like this can add up and increase the cost of running.
At the time of writing, nearly 90% of all panels for the VWbus can be bought brand new as reproduction items, so major parts aren't hard to find. Some mechanical items are more awkward to source, but there are specialists willing to help and donor vehicles often get broken for parts. As with all VWs, regular maintenance and a bit of TLC will afford you a reliable vehicle. Happy hunting.