Newbie

[V7W2BUS]

Hello.  I am a new volkswagen owner of a 1972 Bus.  I bought this Bus in December 2011.  It is a work in progress.  However, this is my first time owning a Volkswagen and Im having some problems trying to figure out the dynamics and exactly how stuff works and if I infact have the right parts.  I live in Southwest Virginia, about 65 miles from the Tennessee State line.  I was wondering if any of you know of somebody close to me that would be willing to sit down with me some where and discuss some of the dynamics of the Bus or be willing to look at my Bus and tell me if I am in over my head or stuff that is "do-able" and stuff that isnt. 

I would greatly appreciate any and all help or advice you could give me. Thanks!

[Bignick]

Check out these guys: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=290969

They are located in Kingsport, right near the line. They do a lot of body work but will do minor mechanical work. The Sams are pretty knowledgable and drive older VWs as DDs. Because your bus has a type IV, they might not be as willing to help, since most people won't touch them with a 10' pole.

What do you mean by dynamics? This is a helpful crowd!

[V7W2BUS]

Ok, you lost me on the Type IV engine.  What kind of history does these motors have and why wont people touch them with a 10 ft. pole?

[Bignick]

The type IV motors had a tendency to drop the valve seats and eventually ruin the motor. They became more complex with dual carbs, then fuel injection and other stuff. They are heavy as hell and can be expensive to do major work on. Pretty much, they are like most other engines, it's just the early, beetle style engine ruined all VW enthusiast with their simplicity and forgiving nature. Don't let me scare you, its just that most normal shops deal with new modern cars and most old VW shops don't have the desire to learn/mess with the type IV motors. There is a lot of good info on thesamba.com and their baywindow bus section is very supportive for type IV owners. What is wrong with your bus?

[Zen]

Type 4 (a.k.a. "pancake") engines have a nearly bullet proof bottom end as compaired to a Type 1 (a.k.a "upright" or "Beetle") style engine.  The valve seats were always their weak point.  From what I've always heard, the earlier type 4 engines (1972 was the first year) had less of an issue with the valve seats.  A BIG advantage of the type 4 is they don't rely on a belt for cooling.  The fan is directly attached to the crankshaft . . . so if the engine is running, the fan is turning.  On a type 1, if you break the generator belt and keep driving, it'll overheat and melt down in real short order.

Some people swear by Type 4s.  Some people swear at them.  It's getting hard to find a good mechanic that will work on air-cooled eingines.  Amoung them, like Nick was saying, it's hard to find one that will work on a type 4.  Don't let that scare you though . . . they really are tough engines.  Just more expensive to fix when something breaks.