hi,

As regards to bodywork - Get under the car and see if the floorpan and =
body are 
welded together with some sort of sill closing panel (it is flat and look=
s very 
home brew). If they are, you can assume that the heater channels are shot=
, even 
if the door sections look good. Also, dig around the framehead area. Rust=
 here 
tends to be supported by underseal.
Check for paint bubbling especially around the wing area's - this sort =
of thing 
points towards large holes. Check the front inner wing areas especially =
around 
the floor pan area. At the rear, take the seat out and have a dig in the =

corners, check the battery pan area for thin metal. The spare wheel well =
is 
also a favorite place for rust. Check to see how the front wings are bolt=
ed on, 
and by how many bolts from the inside of the bonnet - large washers and =
nuts 
are usually an indicator of thin metal.
If the bug is a 1302 or a 1303 then the whole front must be regarded as =

suspect. These tend to deteriorate very quickly once the worm sets in.

Look at the wiring loom, if it looks like spagetti junction be supicious.=
 If 
its the same colour as the car you'll have fun finding out what goes wher=
e if 
you buy it. Also look for any burnt out wiring.

If you know someone who works on them, get them to go along with you to =
go over 
the car.
IMHO avoid the AA & RAC checks. There expensive and not geared up for =
older 
cars.

I check out bugs every so often for people and I turn up in overalls wiel=
ding 
my favorite rust finding cold chisel (none of this screwdriver stuff!). =
The 
golden rule as far as I'm concerned is leave no panel untouched! If your =
going 
to part with your money make sure you know what your getting. Even if =
you buy a 
shed, at least you'll KNOW its a shed.

Hope this helps some...

Stuart,

Stu's Inventory...
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55 Beetle Sedan (restoration in progress)
66 Beetle Sedan (cal)
73 Camper
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