How do squares compare to other VWs?

[fusername]

Xposted from samba:
Curious what it is like to own a T3. I currently own a VW bay window, love it. However it is a rust box and will need replacing in the next year or two. I am quite familar with beetles, as I built a sandrail, and helped a friend get a parts car back T1 on the road. However I love the look of a squareback and am considering it in my options of next cars. I like the extra interior space vs a beetle, the cool factor of a less than common car, and who knows what else. However how is it for prices of parts? Am I gonna pay double for everything vs a beetle, or is it not so bad? I always assumed T3s used most of the same parts as a T1, but the more I look into them, the less true that becomes.
And rust, when I am shopping, what rust do I look out for? What can't be repaired on a T3? are heater channels a lost cause? As cool as a T3 is, the budget isn't there for a car full of nothing but odd pricey parts, and I will have to settle for a beetle or another T2. I do love my pop top, but I hear a T3 rear seat folds down bed like?

some help for the uninitiated would be cool.

[Marc]

As with any used-car purchase you should inspect the condition of the brakes & steering - but Type IIIs have an additional "gotcha" - they have an internal front stabilizer bar connecting the two upper control arms. There's an adjustment for normal wear on the thrust rings between the arms and the front beam - the upper control arm endplay should be checked and adjusted if need be every time the front end is lubed (hopefully that's at least once or twice a year) but it's often neglected. Excess endplay hammers out the thrust pieces; insufficient torque on the locking bolt allows the swaybar end to get chewed up. I can recall spending hours scrounging boneyards for good upper arms & swaybars 30+ years ago...it's gotta be much tougher now finding healthy parts.
The rear suspension is essentially the same as Type I (although IIIs never made the switch to single-springplate, so they all use the `69/`70 "Bug" pieces).

[kombi211]

squares kick there nothing on them. there a lot of room in them not as much as a kombi but its not as big. as far as the car there is nothing that cant be repair by a good metal man

[KevNurse]

Squares are a blast! My current project square is / was a rusted out mess, but I am learning to weld, so no problem there! Engines are virtually the same, cept for cooling. It will cost more to do up a nice interior. Same wheels / tires. They ride nice too.