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As with any VW there are common areas to look at as far as rust goes. Unfortunately for most first time buyers the bad rust spots aren't on the ''normal' areas to check. You have to look in the fenderwells and underneath the middle for the serious cost places. Rust on the fenders, bumpers, doors etc are all 'superficial' to me. Don't get me wrong, they are a good bargaining tool, but along the edges between the wheels, in the corners of the fenderwells, and bad rot on the belly of the car are what determines how much money it will cost to get the beast back on the road. Take a look at the Idiot manual for a guide as to what to look for. It covers engine, tranny, suspension and just about everything else that can go wrong with an aircooled VW. I see you already bought it but is a good book for a 'beginner' to help understand how things work and what could be wrong if it isn't. To some it's pretty rudimentary, but I must say I still use it before the Bentley manual when trying to troubleshoot. Rust around the windows can go either way. If it's just crusty and has some minor holes a wire brush and some minor welding can take care of that rather easily. If the rot has ate out a big area you should look into replacing it from a donor car. I don't know what kind of repair panels are out there for a type 3 since I've only owned mine for a few weeks, but from what I've seen for other aircooled VW's, repo repair panels don't hold up to OE metal very well. Re-using window seals is possible if the aren't dried out and brittle. Here in TX they are all that way! There was a discussion recently about that very subject. >From working with old type 2's for a while now, a tranny poppin out of 4th gear was a sign for a rebuild. Since you aren't tooling around in first gear too often I wouldn't worry much about that. But like I said I'm new to type 3's so I could be wrong. Anyways, get a copy of the 'Idiot' guide, carry some basic tools and enjoy the ride! Good Luck Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: <Lewcifer@raizedprinting.com> To: <type3@vwtype3.org> Cc: <type3@vwtype3.org> Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 12:49 AM Subject: [T3] Hello... > ...Just thought I'd introduce myself. > I'm in Portland, OR, and have recently > picked up my first VW, a '71 beige > squareback. I got the car in barely > running condition for $420. Since I know > very little about working on cars, I > towed it up to Halsey automotive and let > them play with the motor, clutch, etc. > The FI was missing too many parts, so I > had them put Webers on ($OUCH$). I plan > to do all the simple stuff myself: > interior, rust repair, all new seals, > etc., and I'll gradually learn some of > the mechanical stuff. Some of my rust is > around the rear windows, so I've been > paying close attention to the posts re: > removal of windows, but I'm wondering if > there's a trick to getting them back in! > Also, I noticed the story of the > fastback popping out of reverse. Mine > does the same thing with first gear. The > shifter will wiggle and rattle for a few > seconds, then I'm not in gear anymore! > Will the same advice apply to this > situation? Well, anyway, here I am. > > cheers, LEW > > P.S.: Wish me luck with the seals from > West coast metric, because I've already > bought them! > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > Search old messages on the Web! Visit http://www.vwtype3.org/list/ >