Am I crazy for thinking this?

[freebeard]

My thousand dollar car needs $700 in exhaust work.

I'd like to have the Superbeetle on the road, but it needs a top end rebuild --lets say $2K.

It's down to 50PSI on #1, but performs fairly well on three cylinders. It's still top end limited by the four speed.

Suppose I were to remove the pushrod and rocker arm from #1, and the spark plug wire for safety's sake. Although dry firing the cylinder shouldn't be a hazard.

If it fails outright, I still have the stroker 1776, although the big-valve heads (t''was supposed to be a truck engine) would require benefit from a whole new exhaust system.

Should I regret even having the thought?

[Piotrsko]

Imho, your case means either diy R&R or spending a chunk of cash for someone else's labor. Do you have the basic sets of hand tools: metric combo wrenches, 15, 17, 22 mm sockets and a floor jack, couple big screw drivers and blocks for the tires so you can get under it? After that, minimum would be a new jug, set of rings, sealant or upper set of gaskets. I believe you can do it without dropping the motor, but I always did because I am big and somewhat obese.

How are you at lying on the cold, possibly damp ground for the day it would take? At my best it was a 4 hour job, but that was at least 10years ago

[freebeard]

I know that's an option, and a likely one.

What I have is a carport stuffed with junk that would need to be cleared. What I don't have is a good floor jack. I've been looking on and off formonths.

Last time I jacked up the Superbeetle, with bottle jacks and jack stands, it fell off and broke a good Type III jack.

It would also facilitate the exhaust repair on the Metro.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

You know, as long as they became either collectible or hot-roddable, classic Volkswagens no longer make sense from a strictly financial standpoint.

But anyway, considering how hard or time-consuming it might be to search for a suitable replacement, sometimes it might be worth to spend a seemingly high cost to keep an old econobox running, instead of turning it into a pile of scrap. Sure, as long as you're not in a hurry to get rid of it anyway...

[freebeard]

I'n hoarding it for the capital to buy an Arcimoto FUV, but it's worth less than five years ago. Engine, sheet metal work, paint.....

OTOH, the mechanic that's storing the purple and white roller Baja went out to pull a tarp back over it, and then came back in to phone me and try to swap a running Baja for it -- so maybe that one is the one to let go.

[Piotrsko]

Your baja is an incredible rare resource. Has semiphores and other oddities the collectors covet. Your issue is finding someone with the ambition and cash to pay what it's actually worth and totally restore it. It really belongs in a museum, but that wont help on acquiring your arcimoto.

A newer baja that runs merely shifts the cost. My tuppence.

[freebeard]

I think that that is what he reaiized.

If I'd been the one to Baja it, I'd at least have drilled out the rivets on the build plate (behind the spare in 1958 and taken the frunklid badge [distinctly Canadian) and thrown them both in the glovebox.

I suspect his blue Baja is a money pit. Here's a rabbit hole, 56 hood badge crests and none
Canadian: kaferlab.com/collections/volkswagen-hood-crests?page=4

Wer I to replace the semaphores, I'd wire each on to the door's domelight switch and fit LEDs for courtesy light.

...other oddities the collectors covet.

The later doors with push-button handles?

[yolitle]

Deciding whether to invest in repairing or modifying a car, especially one that might not be worth a lot in its current state, can be a complex decision.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by yolitle

Deciding whether to invest in repairing or modifying a car, especially one that might not be worth a lot in its current state, can be a complex decision.

I always say it's quite complicated to look at antique cars as an investment, since basically anything regarding antique cars is now too expensive. I don't expect anyone to actually make much of a profit from a restoration, and even less from a restomod meant to keep an antique car with the classic looks and modern conveniences.

[redpoint5]

The correct course of action is to pair down and consolidate. Do it on your terms, not someone else's.