Todd.......  I lived in Chicago for ~30 years, and (no surprise) worked on
Volksies as a hobby.  I remember a couple of otherwise-great greenhouse
buses I had to scrap within ~10 years of their birthyear because they were
totally beyond restoration .  If you're a southerner, you may not be
prepared for the pervasive kinds of damage the midwestern salt can do......
to electrical connectors, bodywork, wheelbearings, engine cases, &c.    I
think you should have no doubt you made the right decision, to walk from
that one.

Glenn McComas, retired in Queenstown, MD
87 Vanagon, 69 Baywindow, 87 vdp XJ6, plus cars that actually run.