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As you know by now, rust is the biggest issue in places where cars are prone to wet/icy roads; even more so if that area uses salt on the roads.
Luckily, most of the rust is easy to see. If the car has rust holes in the obvious places, it probably has more in hidden places too.
Unless the car you're looking at has been disassembled to the point where all the upholstery, doors, fenders, etc. have been removed so you can see the extent of the rust, any PV will have a little bit hidden away. If you see big holes, I'd look at other cars. There ARE PVs out there that have little to no rust. Like the ones here in California!
The good thing about these cars is how easy they are to work on; basic hand tools are pretty much all you need for 90% of the work. They are really basic, not much in the way of modern technology. Even if you find a solid car with no engine or transmission, those assemblies are pretty easy to come by!
So far all the parts I've needed have been available either through my local parts store, specialty supplies found here on Brickboard, or from eBay. Strangely enough, a lot of the parts are generic American parts!
Things that are the most problematic are:
Gauges. Apparently few PV's still have working speedometers, and fewer still have working gas gauges. The speedometer problem is usually the drive cable, or if the odometer isn't registering, a tiny gear inside the speedometer head. The gauge panel is relatively easy to remove and it pops apart like the engineers at Volvo expected people to work on the guages. The fuel gauge problem is usually the sending unit int he tank, accessible through the trunk. 5 or 6 screws lets you take the sending unit out.
General wiring problems. Most wiring problems stem from a series of previous owners cutting and splicing wires. The bundle in the trunk is often screwed up, as well as the lighting wires under the hood. A good wiring diagram and some time will usually set things straight.
Dim headlights. I've come across many PVs with old sealed beam headlights still in place - not even Halogens! Add 1950's lighting technology to wiring that has bad connections or poor ground, and your headlight barely glow. They aren't REALLY that bad, but you don't want to do a lot of country driving until your headlights have been upgraded. You can just install Halogen headlights and clean up the wiring, or you can go whole hog by buying H4 headlight housings and installing Xenon bulbs.
Brakes. The parts are all US made, and easy to buy and install, but the problem is that the brakes on a PV are nothing to write home about. They are rather small drums all the way around. The most popular upgrade is installing the front disk brakes from a 122 or P1800. They are nearly a bolt-on swap!
Carburation. Some people have problems with the S.U. carburetors. I hear from people at every show that "those carbs never work right" and suggestions that I swap over to Webers or Solex carbs. The S.U. is extremely simple to work on and tune properly, you just have to take the time to learn how to do it. They provide plenty of power and are easy on yoru gasoline at the same time. Rebuild kits are available for them if they turn out to be really bad. Again, simple hand tools and a little study will have them singing in no time.
The only other thing I can think of at them moment that may need attention on a PV is the door/window weatherstripping. The whole shebang is available as a kit, or you can match your old pieces to new ones (except for the vent windows) and just replace those pieces that have gone bad. I haven't checked but I think perhaps VW vent window seal are the same as the PV. My nephew has a beetle,so I want to go measure several parts on it to see if they are the same at the PV.
You already have half the battle won by knowing about this site. Post a problem and you'll have several different opinions in a few hours!
Good luck, search in dry places if you can, and we hope you get a nice PV!
Steve
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