Possible buying a MKI......maybe looking for a really nice one.

[nocones77-vw at yahoo.com (nocones77-vw@xxxxxxxxx)]

+1 on the "once you go Mk1" comment. I still like them, but I really don't think I'll ever have a Mk2 again. Odd, since I started out thinking the opposite.

After 30+ years, there's pretty much no such thing as TRULY rust free, unless you find one with 10k actual miles and pay $10k for it. Get used to it. 

IMHO the
real key you should look at is the underside. If you've ever seen a car that has been in salt next to a car that hasn't, you can tell the difference in an instant. One winter in a salt-belt state will put nasty surface rust on things like the rear beam, the brackets for the fuel pump, control arms, etc. My suggestion for absolute #1 priority: Buy the car with the most beautiful underbody you can find. 

Repainting the car isn't the end of the world if it needs it, and virtually everything else can be fixed by bolting on something better whenever you get around to it. You might spend three years looking for that replacement rain tray in perfect shape, but if the trunk floor falls out you might as well trash the car. And you will thank yourself every time you put a wrench on a nut and loosen it without breaking a sweat, much less breaking out the can of PB Blaster, the torch, an EZ-Out, etc...

A close 2nd place is the wiring harness. Mk1s have such simple wiring systems...even if they've added fog lights and an alarm it should be really clean and tidy. But some people seem to just screw up wiring in a bad way. If there's a rat's nest under the steering wheel, MOVE ALONG. 'Nuff said.

I managed to find a car with "no rust" in the sense that there really is
more-or-less no rust. The main body has been repainted, but the underside is f'in amazing on
this car, and obviously all original undercoat. Funny thing is that it has 330,000 miles on it. Runs great. Spent a weekend re-doing most of the suspension bushings, struts, etc, and it's already driving MUCH better. I'm probably deluding myself, but the plan is to strip it down, repaint it inside and out, put it back together as-is, drop in the engine from my '77, and drive the wheels off it next spring. (which might only take a block or two with that engine <grin>)

The trick? "Imported" from Seattle: No sun, no salt.

Neal

----- Original Message ----
From: Jim Ruffi <jimruffi@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Scirocco-L <Scirocco-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 6:26:01 PM
Subject: Possible buying a MKI......maybe looking for a really nice one.

OK, since I can't seem to keep my mouth shut and some of you have
 already
tolerated my telephone ramblings on the subject, I'll break the news
 here.
I might be buying one of two west coast MKI's.  I'll leave out the
 details
for now and only say that one is fixed up, the other is unrestored and
original.

So, I'm in the market for one.  I'd pay more for a really pristine,
 rust
free one if anyone here is thinking of unloading one.  It must be RUST
 FREE,
though.  I got rust out of my system in the 80's and I'm now allergic
 to it.
I mean NO RUST, not "yeah, it's rust free, except for surface rust on
 the
roof." or "No rust, just a few minor areas where the bondo from the
 prior
repairs has started to bubble."  Maybe no such car exists.  So be it.
Honestly, that is why I bought a MKII in 04 in the first place.  I
 hadn't
seen a really clean MKI since my Cosmos 81 "S" in 86-88.  But now I
 know
better.  They're still out there.  I didn't really know about the List
 or
the 'tex in 04.

My dilemma is that while an early, bone stock car, restored by me would
really be gratifying, I'm not sure I have the time to undertake such a
project, as I know it will take a couple of years or more to complete.
  I
know myself and I'm too picky to cut corners, so I may end up painting
myself into one.

Your thoughts are welcomed.

Jim


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