I bought a 1973 Volkswagen bus?

Question 1
I bought a 1973 Volkswagen bus?...  So I was in the market for a new vehicle and I seen a 1973 vw bs for 1,800, it had it's heads replaced not to log ago, a weber carb, it has a few scratches on the paint but overall in good shape, no rust. My first vw, I know a few vw mechanics if anything comes up. It has a bed in the back, the seats were takin out but I'm installing a BEnch seat. Everyone I talk to says I practically stole it for that price? What do you think? It's the basic version

Answers
1)   Yes, you stole it at that price, I know a lot of VW people that would've given twice that much for it. - jeff rager

2)   thats so cool. ive always wanted one of those.
you got it at a great price too. - grizzle

3)   I had four VW buses and know people who would give their left nut for one. I loved them, but without a really good VW mechanic they can be a bit frustrating. The type four engine installed from 1972 on was prone to leaks, had 2 temper mental carbs until they were fuel injected in '75. I had a single weber carb on one of mine, (a '73) and it performed lousy in cold weather. But I loved them. If the van is really rust free, you got a great deal on it. The Westy campers are the most fun with the pop top, sink, stove, beds, curtains. Camping was a joy. - Douglas K

4)   Death trap on wheels if you hit anything. - doane_nut

5)   ....worth way more than 1800 bucks. 2700? 3000? - Mark N

6)   Hey SBD,
You stole it you thief you! Now get ready to take care of it O.K.? Go Get the Bentely Manual that covers that year and a decent set of hand tools. Costco sells a set in a blow mold case that's pretty comprehensive for under $100. They can be frustrating but they can also be a lot of fun to drive and very versatile. Mechanics come in all stripes and abilities, be certain about who you turn your van over to for repairs. They can be quirky and if you don't know what you're doing...

They're also not the safest vehicles on the road and you certainly want to avoid any front end collisions. 70's era VW's don't have a lot of the safety feature we take for granted in the newer cars so learn to drive it well before you head out on any long trips.

I would get in the habit of keeping the phone OFF whenever you're driving and avoid distractions. A VW van is the type of vehicle that actually requires you to DRIVE in the truest sense of the word, eyes on the road at ALL times and both hands on the wheel whenever you're not shifting.Save the phone calls and texting for rest stops. They also require that you pay attention to the vehicle while you're driving so turn the radio down every once in awhile on long trips and just listen, get into the habit of checking under the hood every time you get gas. Those two little tid bits have saved me a lot of grief in the past, I was able to catch stuff before it became a major problem.

They handle reasonably well for their size but only after you've gotten a good "feel" for them. The driving position has you over the front wheels and there's not a lot of sheet metal between you and anything else out there. They are also woefully underpowered and this requires a totally different driving technique then what you might be used to.

If you got to The Samba or thesamba.com there's a lot of very useful forums, classifieds and advertisers that can be a great resource for you.

Have fun wit yer bus! - Jim


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Question 2
Jetta TDI alternator question?...  I have a 1999.5 Jetta TDI. I purchased the car about 4 months ago, and the previous owner told me he just had the alternator replaced. Well, it's bad again. I pulled it from the vehicle and it is a 90 AMP (# 028 903 028 D). Shouldn't TDI's have 120 AMP? Would using an undersized alternator cause the repeat problem? What should I replace this one with?

Answers
1)   90 amp is undersized? seems adequate to me unless you have a high output stereo or lights.

No the amount of current put out by the alternator does not cause an alternator to go bad.

You either have a bad alternator or bad wiring. look for a short circuit even inside the wire loom.

you could have a field wire shorting out on itself. - Randy W

2)   Go with a 120 amp. It's a Diesel, and it needs it to charge the battery. - djaca70

3)   On the alh engine, the 120 amp alternator is better suited to handle the electrical loads, especially on the short around the block trips in freezing weather. Using the 90 amp you could see another failer or battery charging/starting issues depending on your operating conditions (Freq. Really short trips my not allow enough time to fully charge the battery). - Eric

4)   The 90 amp will do the trick but it is not "on top of its work" if you have aircon you really need the bigger capacity unit. Does your alternator have the "clutch type" pulley ? If the pulley fails it will not charge the battery and it can be a mistaken opinion that the alternator is defective. - L G

5)   Pretty much what everyone else here has said. The 90amp was factory for the 99.5 but at some point in the early 2000s they switched to a 120amp, and generally, everyone replaces bad 90s with new 120s. - Richard R


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Question 3
low fuel light stays on on mk4 vw golf?...  how to reset this

Answers
1)   My finger indicator on Sierra years ago stuck on half full where I ran out of petrol on the motorway. By filling the tank to the brim with petrol seemed to solve the problem. - Stephen John

2)   Stuck float or pressure switch so if you don't want to repair it just use the trip recorder by zeroing when you fill it u and know how many miles to a tank off gas. The you know when to fill up again. - Andy Pandy

3)   I think you will find that once the warmer weather comes back the light will go out. All fuel tanks if run low will suffer from condensation within the tank. The condensation (water) will in this weather freeze within the tank and particularly on the float which indicates your fuel level. Refilling with freezing cold fuel will not melt the ice.Be patient for a few days ! - L G


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Question 4
Is the 2010 Volkswagen GTI fast? Gimmie your opinion, thanks :)?...  

Answers
1)   For a 2L turbo petrol, 0-60 is just under 7 seconds and with a top speed of almost 150mph, Yup id say fast and pretty reasonably priced for what it is, also has a pretty decent spec as standard! - i eat monkeys

2)   Depends how you class "fast". Obviously, comparing it to a hyper car, it's slow (no offence). Comparing value for money, its a good quick nimble car, and can travel 148 mph. A Ford Focus RS however can do 164mph, so that is alot quicker.

Ford Focus RS £24995
Volkswagen Golf GTI £22995

Hope it helps :) - ^_^

3)   yes, and it would make a great daily driver too with its massive amount of low end torque, for a 4 cyl at least - nick


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Question 5
Performance Chips For Cars?...  Im just trying to figure out if they really do work....
I want to know which one is the the best chip i can buy...
How it works and how much horsepower and torqe it put out...
Thanks...

Answers
1)   They dont work dont waste your money. People sell resistor and chips that are supposed to ad 40 hp and add 15mpg they are worthless. If you want some power do some tuning or mods that will help you achieve beter performance - brnco2xlt

2)   Yes, they do work, but you have to get a real tune. Those "Jet performance chips" and "Venom performance module" crap doesn't work, but a real tune does. Then again, there isn't a car made in the last 15 years that uses a chipped ECU, they all use flashable EEPROMs. What the chip or reflash does, is alter the fuel and ignition curves to make the most power. As for how much power you can gain depends on the car. Do a flash on a 1997 civic EX, and you might see 5whp. Do it on a 2004 WRX STi, and you can gain 35hp and 45ft-lb. On a mustang V8 you can gain 25-30whp for some years and models.

If you want real tuning, you spend a lot of money. See these type of companies:
www.cobbtuning.com
www.ecutek.com
www.hondata.com
www.sctflash.com
www.diablosport.com
www.specialforcestuning.com
www.aem.com - Sean

3)   Since you asked in the VW section I'll answer as such.
The chips work by increasing your max rpms and reworking the fuel mapping and timing.
The best VW chips you can buy are either the C2 Motorsports chip from Black Forest Industries or GIAC via their website. If you look around VWVortex you will find many people are extremely happy with these brands. For newer VWs check out APR Tuning, they are kind of expensive but they are so sure you will love their product they will give you a free half hour to drive around and see for yourself. - Nick


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