You have to go a lot farther back than '96 with VW to be "Old School". There are some who say real VW's don't have radiators.

But coming from the H world into VW's is definitely a step in the right direction. The best thing about VW's is that the VW meets don't have the attitude that the "import" meets have. When I go to the V meets theres so much aggression... people doing burnouts and revving their **** up. VW meets and VW people are not like that for the most part although every bunch has its bad apples

As for buying a VW, its probably best to avoid using the internet all together. Prices on IA are waayy too high (sorry guys but it's true). And VW Vortex isn't much better. Craigslist is OK sometimes but you have to get them quick. You might strike it lucky on the Samba:

http://www.thesamba.com - mainly an aircooled site but there are plenty of watercooled cars in their classifieds too.