r/DuneBuggy

Hello, I have been finding myself getting into cars and was looking for projects to get into to increase my skills and get into the hobby. I found myself interested in air cooled VW's due to their customization options and stayed simplicity to work on.

I found myself itching for a project and may have gotten myself into one that is way above what I am capable of accomplishing. I found myself rushed into buying it and probably overlooked some issues I should have taken into consideration more. I had to travel a good distance for the buggy and saying no seemed like more of a waste of time and resources at that point.

Then I got it home and did a bit more of a deep dive and found myself wishing it was a dream. The frame may be more rusted than I initially thought and there appears to be more of an oil leak and possibly a transaxle leak than I initially figured. The fuel tank in the rear seat seems to have some sort of leak from the top somehow. I feel stupid to say that I haven't learned stick yet and had the seller drive me around and everything seemed good. I noticed a good bit of slop on the stick when I got it home. And finally there appears to be an oil leak around the base of the cylinder head. There seems to be some cork like material flaking off around the head that is not present on the other side.

I know this whole post makes me sound absolutely stupid, but I am looking for an honest assessment of how screwed I am versus how much I can actually fix things as I learn/go. I'm already losing sleep over this one and wondering if I need to be appealing to the sellers good graces.

Was driving the buggy around and noticed a rhythmic thumping sound from about 5-10mph. I'm lost as to what it could be. It's an AH model VW engine with a swing axle

The wife and I are in the process of restoring this buggy which used to belong to her grandfather. We know that it sits on a 1957 pan , purchased around 1960-65 has a 1776 engine and was purchased at the Palm Springs Swap meet as a complete unit. We would like to put a little bit of history in a book that will be kept with the car.