Casey's VW Bus Blog

VW Bus Desktop Wallpaper

2012-01-15T20:29:00.001-06:00

I was dorking around online and found a bunch of websites with good wall paper for your computer desktop. As I was flipping through Simple Desktop's bunch of wallpapers, 2 VW themed ones popped up. I thought I would share.

This is a VW Splitty heading straight for you:

and this is a VW Splitty on the road:

I personally like the second one.

Casey

Occupy with a Blue VW Bus Tent!

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

I think most people in the VW community and beyond have seen this 60's era microbus tent by now and I've been meaning to post it for some time... and well here it is now. Looks pretty awesome. I can't tell if it has a floor although I assume it does. It has tons of height so you could totally put in an air mattress and a chair if you wanted and have a pretty killer place to chill at the camp ground. Of course on these things you're not going to compete with real tents and their rain-flies and gortex bottoms so beware. The cost of this puppy is pretty high too from what I can tell... AND it only seems to be available via FireBox which is in the UK.

If you had the money and the people, you could stage your own Bus meet-up at the camp ground or a side yard or wherever. You'd just buy a bunch of these and set them all up just like some hippy love fest we're all used to going to. Hey this would also be a cool tent for all of the Occupy movements that are abound right now. Occupy These Lawn Seats for This Concert.

Great Christmas gift for the VW enthusiast in your family or of whom's blog you're reading right now (wink wink).

Casey

Guy Driving HALF of a VW Beetle

2011-11-27T15:28:00.001-06:00

I thought this was pretty cool and figured you guys would to. Enjoy!

It's an animated GIF of a white Volkswagen bug cut in half from front to back and it's still driving. There is a clear plexi-glass side to it and there's a driver inside. Parking must be pretty easy but I imagine with such a thin wheel width, it's unstable on turns or in wind.

More Information!!!
Here's a video on the guy making the beetle:

Half a Vw Beetle for raffle to pay college education from Isabelledv on Vimeo.

and here's another video explaining this stunt.

Case :: Half Beetle for a raffle from Isabelledv on Vimeo.

Apparently, this guy (John Beetler?) wanted to have money for his college education so he cut a beetle in half and raffled it off on his blog. I guess a Brazilian bank and helped publicize it. So, that leads me to believe this happened in Brazil where they still have new beetles and explains why he would decide to chop such a beautiful car in half. They're falling off trees down there... a dime a dozen.

Casey

Procrastinating the Blogging

2011-11-21T19:43:00.001-06:00

So, I've still been around and still have been working on the 2 buses, taking pictures and writing posts... in my head. I changed the template about a month or so ago and then changed it again tonight. Procrastinating again. I swear I'm going to start writing again soon. I've got so much good content, I really have no reason to not share it with you. Anyway, talk to you all later. Casey

Lost: 1 Oil Bath Air Cleaner... What?!

2011-05-17T00:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I was reading through Samba posts tonight and a guy was getting ripped to shreds as is lately happening on there. Aside for the normal noise, the guy posted a picture of his engine. It looks like my engine in the 71 I just bought. The big thing that the contributers were pointing out was that it was missing the Oil Bath Air Cleaner.

This is what his engine looks like (that mine looks like too without the yellow)

And here's what the engine is supposed to look like including the Oil Bath Air Cleaner (thing on the right):

I guess this is kind of a case of "I don't know what I don't know." and "Pictures speak a thousand words" and "Cliche saying occur more often after travel and midnight".

So, does anyone know what NOT having this would do to an engine? and What would HAVING this do?

Thanks,

Casey

Fixing a Leaky Oil Pressure Relief Valve

2011-05-06T11:36:00.001-05:00

I spent some time this past weekend fixing an oil leak around my Oil Pressure Relief Valve. It's a huge flat plug on the rear driver side of the engine block.

This is a pain to get off with a normal screw driver. Just not enough leverage. I ended up buying a socketed large flat head to put on the end of my breaker bar and it loosened right up.

Right tool for the job I suppose.

After that, I cleaned it up, put the correct washer in place and put some Loctite 565 on it to seal it up.

Type 4 Oil Pressure Relief Valve from VW Bus Blog on Vimeo.

The video is my first foray into recording these little jobs. I'm pretty happy with it. You can watch it above or you can go to Vimeo.com and watch it in HD there.

Let me know what you think.

Casey

Support a Movie about Living Simply

2011-04-23T07:46:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I took a look. It really hit home for me. We love our camper bus and find a peace that we can't get when we're running the normal life in our house and work. This movie is about getting close to what you love and living with it, simply.

I supported this movie by giving it $25. I think that's the least I could do. It's an awesome project and if it gets just one person to chose what they love, I think it's a huge success.

I look forward to seeing it's completion.

Casey

New Tires for 71 Bus: BFG All Terrain T/A KO

2011-04-07T11:46:00.001-05:00

So, the bus needs new tires. The ones that are on there are passenger tires. Tires on a bus should be a load class C or D. They should go round and round and not blow up.

That being said, the BFG has come out most recently again with a size that would appropriately fit the bus. 195 75 R14.

I love the aggressive tread and how generally bad-ass these tires look. They will be the perfect contrast to the humble appearence of the bus as it sits today. It will sit higher and demand the respect that it deserves.

These aren't ordered yet and I plan on doing a post around all the tires and resources that I found to research the appropriate choice. I've learned a lot and want to share. For now, I'll leave you with the picture above.

Update: 10/22/2011
I've ordered, bought and installed the tires. They're AWESOME. They have a D load rating and it's probably the most stable ride I've had in a bus. I still need to upgrade the front sway bar and replace the front shocks but just with these new tires on there, they've so improved the way this bus drives, I'm more than content for a while.

Here's a picture of the bus in the garage with the tires:

...and here's a close up of the tire:

Handling is excellent.
Road-noise is louder than passenger tires but not loud enough to be annoying.
Price was probably a little more than I needed to spend but these tires are going to last a while so I'll get my money.

I'm happy with the purchase. This bus is kinda like my truck so the aggressive tread is appropriate.

Tip: When I had the tires mounted and balanced, I had them put the weights on the inside of the rim instead of the outside. They (Discount Tires) referred to this as Static Balancing. I don't like seeing the weights like I have on my other bus.

Casey

The $60 VW Bus

2011-04-04T09:00:00.002-05:00

Yup. and it's radio controlled. 1:10 scale so it's probably pretty decent size. Not sure I would ever buy anything like this. Unless it's gas or goes really fast or you can upgrade it... I'm not going to buy it.

But you sure could.

Available at Amazon.com

1971 VW Bus M-Plate Decoded!

2011-04-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

Here's how my M-Plate translates. I had thought someone painted it two-tone but turns out it's just a crappy stock paint job. THey painted the whole thing blue then painted the top White.

Pretty cool.

M-Plate content

Model

Type 2 (T2) mod. 221(1)
- Microbus
- 7 seater (arrangement 2-2-3)
- Sliding door right
- LHD

Chassis number

2212022362

Serial number

022 362

Modelyear

1971

Planned production date

Wednesday, 26 August 1970

Number for production planning
(temporary serial number)

7931

Type of engine

Type 1 (AE) - 1584cc, 37 kw (50 bhp DIN)

Type of transmission

Manual 4-speed gearbox

Paint color

Color upper part :	L90D	-	Pastel White
Color lower part :	L53D	-	Niagara Blue

Interior color (doorpanels and seats)

40 - Black Leatherette

Destination

USA, East reserve

Here's a link to the site that did the decoding

Presents from Previous Bus Owner

2011-04-01T20:44:00.002-05:00

So, I picked up the new bus today and handed over the rest of the cash.

In the back of the bus, the guy had thrown in a bunch of "old stuff" he had in his garage...

Here's a picture:

In the picture you'll see:

A ton of body rubber (bus and beetle)
2 starters
2 Eberspaecher BN4 Gas Heaters!!!

Holy crap did I hit the goldmine. The bus has no heat right now at all... and the heat in these buses really isn't anything to speak of. The BN4 heaters are in really AWESOME shape. I've got a lot of reading to do. I'll need to take them apart and make sure everything is kosher before hooking them up to gas and heating the bus.

Gold Mine!

Yes!

Successfully drove the bus home. It's parked out back! Need to make some room for it.

Here's what needs to be done:

I hate the Scat Shifter that's in it. It's not long enough, shifts really funky and that's enough reasons.
The brakes need to be done. It takes a ton of pushing to stop that bus. a ton.
Speedometer and gas gauge do not work.
The Radio doesn't work. It's original though. Never seen one. I might be able to get it to work.
Suspension is crap.

Tomorrow, I'll take a bunch of pics and video and get them up here.

Casey

VW Bus Clock Radio?

2011-03-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

You saw it here first... maybe.

In my ever exhaustive search for things that people can buy for me, I recently stumbled upon this lovely clock radio complete with IPOD and MP3 Player hookup.

The price tag might make you step back a little, but for a vintage item like this, can you really put a price on happiness?

I think not.

Available at Amazon.com

Our New Bus: 1971 VW Type 2 Transporter

2011-03-26T21:17:00.000-05:00

So, I've been looking for a new project.. a new bus. Ideally I would have liked to have gotten a mid-60's V front splitty but they're hard to come by and go quick. Also tend to be very expensive even if they're in horrible condition.

Today, I found one and talked to the guy. It had been put in a rig so it could get rolled around while all the rust was repaired. He had done a great job and was doing a frame up restoration... alas, money and time ran short and he was selling it. The pictures didn't tell that story but he did.

After talking with him and thinking through it, I wrote him and told him I was going to pass. That would be years of work and a LOT of money. Maybe someday.

Well, I was sitting there all depressed and having gone through craigslist a TON decided to go through again. I was searching not 4 minutes after a new bus had been posted... located about 20 minutes away. I called, talked to the guy and set a time to see it.

Went to see it, test drove, my kids bounced around in it and I bought it.

It's a 1971 Volkswagen Bus and it's in one of the best midwest conditions I've ever seen. Very little rust. It's been garaged or something. A few of the normal areas had rust that had been repaired well.

The best part about this bus is the engine. The guy I bought it from rehabs them for a hobby. It's a dual carb 1800. Very powerful and very pretty.

The interior is in really good condition... normal rips/tears, but nothing bad. Headliner is really decent too. Even has the original stereo!

All in all, this was a really amazing find. Price was beyond good.

I'm happy and already have a shopping list of things that need to be done. Just need to moderate the purchases so as not to overwhelm my checkbook.

Casey

VW Bus Limo Hightop Amazingness

2011-03-25T20:48:00.000-05:00

So, I saw a craigslist ad posted on TheSamba.com.

It was calling out an amazing VW Bus Limo that is someone's backyard in Portland.

It's awesome.

Here's what the craigslist posting said:

One of a kind. Straight. Rear duel axle independent suspension. Sun roof. 22 1/2 feet long. Paperwork. Project (no motor, no interior, front end work). Was made for mobile kitchen. Vehicle drove once then disassembled.

It's ready. Please be serious!!!!!!

Have cash and resources to remove.

If you want me to respond to you, leave your PHONE #, thanks.

I love monstrosities like this. It's only $1800!!! If I had a way to transport this thing, I would totally buy it.

Casey

VW Bus Blog on Facebook and Twitter

2011-03-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

That's right, we're on Facebook now. Not sure how I'm going to use it yet, but if you're there, you can follow us and get updates via Facebook now.

You can support us by going to this page and clicking the "Like" button. If you don't have an account, sign up and like it.If you don't have an account and don't want one, no worries.

We're also on Twitter. You can find us by going to

http://twitter.com/vwbusblog

Yay. Tons of ways to keep tabs on us.

This summer I plan on many updates as always.

Thanks for reading the blog.

Bus Driver Shirt from Lost's Dharma Initiative

2011-03-18T08:20:00.010-05:00

I recently ran into this shirt on The Samba's classified section and immediately ordered 2. The guy who makes the shirts, Eric (aka Spacehead) has an awesome collection of VW themed shirts, models, etc on his Etsy store.

Here's a pic of me With the shirt on In front of my Bus with our Dharma license plate and the VW Logo.

That's it. Buy a shirt.

Casey

Creamy Yellow Bus Spotted

2011-03-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

This past summer (2010) we were driving around doing I-don't-know-what on a Saturday or Sunday and found this Creamy Yellow Westy on a trailer in a cul-de-sac near Downers Grove. So, like we do with any old VW we see, we swooped in for a closer look.

The cul-de-sac and my camera phone provided almost a bullet-time set for taking pictures of the bus.

From the front, it's a late 70's Westfalia. I didn't climb up on the trailer to see what the condition of the interior was but I would bet it's rough with woven rugs or head-shop tapestries laid over the seats to give them a sense of a better appearance.

Don't read this wrong. I LOVED this bus. It's awesome. Excellent aged color and I love the customizations that the owners have done. The rainbow bumper is awesome. Everything about the bus says people had really enjoyed it and made it part of the family.

Why didn't I post these sooner? I just found them on my phone :) They're from 9/25/2010 at 1pm CST.

Casey

The Bus, A Documentary

2011-03-07T09:00:00.003-06:00

Boy, if this isn't real then it needs to be. The footage in here is awesome and it just looks like a movie I would own and watch a LOT.

I found it via FaceBook when a bunch of my bus buddies started "like"ing and commenting about it.
Apparently, it's a movie that is in production and this is the first trailer out about it.

Check out the official website is http://www.busmovie.us/

I guess with such an iconic piece of the world's past, I would have thought there would already be movies about buses or something but there haven't. They've been background and props. Especially with the announcement of the new microbus, as much as I hate it, I suspect that's going to make this movie even more of a hit. I wonder if that will drive my traffic up to this site.. hmmm. awesome.

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for additional info and make it available on here for your easy edification.

Casey

New VW Microbus? not me.

2011-03-01T19:12:00.003-06:00

I don't know. It looks like a Scion. That's not a bad thing, but come on. If you're going to do it, then do it right... The bus here and from the other concept pictures just looks way too small. You can see that the back of it barely goes beyond the second door. This screems Scion or Mini Clubman. If I'm buying a retro car, make it match... don't just take a Toyota and paint it like a bus. I'm always reminded of Judge Judy in these times where she says, don't piss on my shoes and tell me it's rain.

The other retro cars that are out there are successful and directionally are the size and shape of their predecessor. The Mustang, Camaro, VW Bug... all are relatively the same mass as their baby boomer parents. Why cheap out here?

I'm citing Yahoo as the source of the picture above as well as more information. Obviously make your own decision but at this point, I'm choosing to take a pass.

Casey

VW Bus SideCar

2011-02-28T09:00:00.002-06:00

Found this again recently but I've never posted it. It's a sidecar for a Vespa scooter. This is pretty awesome. I wonder if it's functional? It LOOKS like the lights work which is awesome.

I have never ridden a scooter, let alone one with a sidecar. Are these hard to drive? That's a huge weight and wind block. Hmmm...

Anyway, just wanted to share.

Casey

Girl Wins VW Bus for a shot of her Badonkadonk

2011-02-21T09:00:00.003-06:00

This is the picture that won a girl a beautiful 1978 VW Westy. I guess it's okay... I would have liked to see the runners up. Maybe there was an essay involved or a video explanation. Truth be told I didn't read the other articles I saw about this, I just read a headline, scanned a few words, looked at the pictures and came to my own conclusions. This is pretty much the way I operate.

I guess I'm not impressed with the picture... But, hey, congrats to her for winning the bus.

The Bus on the other hand is beautiful.

One of the things I thought was pretty interesting from the pictures was the interior bench seating. Actually I really like it for a modified Transporter layout. Instead of the typical 2 rows of rear seats, this one has an L shape with storage underneath. If I ever get a regular transporter, I think this is how I will lay it out... there seems to be plenty of room. Also could put a table mount in the floor and be able to really hang out in there.

That's it.

Casey

Busted out the Bus today!

2011-02-19T16:04:00.000-06:00

Inspired by the sunny day and just a general itching to drive it, I got the bus out of the garage. I'd had it plugged in so the batteries were good to go. Started right up and ran AWESOME.

I LOVE MY BUS.

Makes me sooooo happy to drive it. We had our usual huge amount of errands this Saturday so we used the bus to drive around.

If it stays nice and no snow, then we're going to use the bus to go to Bus BRR! next weekend. Crossing my fingers.

Casey

Random Red Ghia Spotted

2011-02-18T21:22:00.002-06:00

Was hanging out north of Atlanta this morning for work and walked over to Starbucks. After I got my Venti Americano with an ice topper (fancy for luke warm coffee), I was pleasantly surprised to come out and find an awesome convertible cousin of my bus: the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.

In Atlanta, I bet they have awesome old cars. I didn't see many there but I'm sure there's an amazing base of old Volks hidden away. Anyway, I checked in to Starbucks (via Foursquare) and snapped this picture

Was a good trip overall and surprises like this just made it better.

Casey

What I did on my 2010 Summer Vacation Part 2

2011-02-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

I realize that I'm getting to this late :) but better late than never, right? This is a continuation of part 1 about my 2010 summer.

August

Over the months previous to August, I had been hearing a knocking in the front passenger side wheel well. Yup, the front bearings were going out. So, my dad and I put the front up on blocks, did the hands at 12 and 6 rocking test... sho 'nuff they were moving. Parts were actually really easy to get a a local FLAPS. Putting new bearings in is an EXTREMELY messy job but satisfying and can be completed easily in under an hour or two. Put grease in and then put some more.

One of the tricker things about putting the pieces back together is getting the speedometer cable to pop through the grease cap. Actually wasn't too bad to just get through and grab with needle nose pliers. I didn't have a cotter pin, so I used a nail to hold it.

Later in August, we traveled up to the border of Wisconsin and Illinois and hit the Bristol Renesance Fair. The bus did awesome on the way up and parking is in huge fields so it did great there... looked good. We were the only bus I saw. We had an awesome time at the Ren Fair. I didn't expect to but I tried to have an open mind.

August was apparently pretty busy. We made it over to Michigan and camped in the Warren Dunes camp area. Michigan really has some of the best state run campgrounds and natural attractions. Warren Dunes really was amazing. We're definitely going back. We camped, then we would drive the bus down to the beach in the morning, eat, swim, climb some dunes... had a great time.

Kids went back to school.

September

September got pretty busy with kids and school and life. All I really can remember doing here was adjusting the Brakes. I had had them done in the beginning of 2010 but the emergency brake had really stopped working. You could pull it all the way out and the bus would still roll. No accidents because of that.

I had never adjusted the emergency brake so I pulled out the Bentley manual and gave it a go.

October

The beginning of October, we drove up near Grand Haven, Michigan and attended Bus Boo! which was put on by the Buses By The Beach (FB) charity group. This was the first time they had used the new location at Camp Blodget in West Olive, Michigan. It was awesome. I think they had about 40 or so buses. They have a big chili cookoff, trick or treating, games, etc. Camp Blodgett is a private camp for inner city kids to come out and do high ropes courses, wall climbing, hiking, etc. We were able to use all the facilities. As usual there were a lot of kids of all ages and a lot of familiar faces, this being our second event.

And hey, while I was there, I became mayor of Camp Blodgett on FourSquare. :)

That's about it. I think I have several more in depth articles to go into with the content above.

Casey

2011 Bus BRR on February 26!!

2011-02-07T08:58:00.001-06:00

Buses By The Beach presents the 2011 Bus Brr!! on February 26th, 2011 at the Pokagon State Park in Indiana.

This will be our 3rd Buses By The Beach event and we're pretty pumped. I've never been to this Brr event but everyone that I've talked to who've been in the past says they're great. The BBTB events are very family/friendship and fun. You will see a ton of buses, share in community Jumbalaya and play in the snow.

This year, it's at the Indiana Pokagon State Park. They have a lodge (Potawatomi Inn), camp sites with electricity and...

DUAL REFRIGERATED TOBOGGAN RUNS

AND

ALL YOU CAN EAT JAMBALAYA!!!

So, I actually won't be bringing the bus to this because, well, I value my paint job and am not ready to give it up. I'll be tent camping next to some friends that are there. Julie and the kids will likely be staying at the lodge. We plan on enjoying the people, food and toboggan runs. I've never winter camped so I have to by some gear for that and I'm looking forward to that too.

How do you sign up to come? You don't. You just show up. The event costs about $20 per family. It's awesome, you'll have fun. Get Out there and enjoy your bus and your fellow bus pilots.

Casey

*Read Get Out! Magazine's Pokagon State Park Article

In Hibernation

2011-01-29T09:38:00.002-06:00

Well, I didn't get my heated garage setup so my bus is in hibernation and... so am I.

I'm starting to put my plans together for the spring thaw. I need to get re-invested in this blog and that hobby.

Casey

What I did on my 2010 Summer Vacation Part 1

2010-11-21T20:52:00.002-06:00

Summer's for me are not really a time to spend on computers... at least not long enough to put together an article. I'm stuck on a local train heading home so I figured I would spend some energy here and get back in the habit of blogging.

May:
I became obsessed with carrying bikes on my bus. We were going to be camping and we needed to have bikes dammit! So, anyway, progression of bike rack evaluations ended up with me figuring out how to put a hitch on the bus and buying a hitch mount bike rack.

We went over to Grand Rapids, Michigan and met up with the Buses By The Beach (FB) group for a fundraiser Bus Adventure at the Grand Rogue campground. This was our first bus event and the first time we had it out camping. It did awesome and we had an awesome time. (I say awesome a lot).

June
In June, I replaced a bunch of seals on the back of my engine AND I painted the fan shroud. Without removing the engine, I was able to get the back fan shroud off and replace the seals behind the oil filler tube, oil pump, oil cooler, oil filter and the main fan crank. This helped with the oil leaks significantly. While it was out I painted the shroud red. It looks totally bad ass now.

We bought a trailer:
So, the hitch thing... now that I had one, the whole bike carrier really wasn't cutting it. AND I saw an awesome trailer at the Buses By the Beach Event. I considered building a trailer but ended up buying one. It's the best cargo trailer known to man... especially after we added a Yakima bike rack.

In Late June, we went up to Dick Bong (aka Richard Bong State Recreation Area) in fabulous Wisconsin. Made a stop at the Mar's Cheese Castle. The bus looked bad ass outside of the cheese castle... and that's hard to do.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for Part 2.

Casey

Oil Leak from Dip Stick

2010-06-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

Well, tonight I decided to start taking apart the rear shroud to access the oil pump, oil cooler, cam shaft seal and whatever else is back there because something is freaking LEAKING.

After it was all part, I think I found a source of my problem:

This dip stick looks to be a second access for my oil. I didn't even remember it was there. As you can see the gaskets sit below the engine tin so it's not visible from the outside. The lower gasket on the dip stick has slid up. The oil must just pump out of there.

I have to do some research.

C

Jalousie Louvered Window Knobs

2010-06-05T22:10:00.000-05:00

I been on a quest for Window Knobs. Really not a quest... they're easy enough to come by. Mine are shot and I've been using a pair of channel locks to open and close them.

I have a problem with the design though. They're plastic and that inherently is wrong to me. They should be metal. The teeth they sit on are metal so you're just asking to have these things strip out.

I posted on the Samba and asked if anyone had a source for metal Louvered Window Knobs and I got an assortment of links.

Basically the responses amounted to:

if my knobs are stripping out, I need to fix the window components
if I can find metal knobs that work, let everyone else know because this is something they want to know.
links to places with metal knobs

Here's the best knob that was posted:

Other knobs were suggested from Home Depot and from RV Stores.

We're down here in Jefferson City, Missouri so I called a local RV store that carried parts and headed over after they said they had a selection.

Here's what I got:

3 black knobs that I think are exact matches. 2 were $2.99 and 1 was $.99.
1 different style metal crank I'm going to try
a pair of levels I can mount in the bus
a 30amp to 15amp adapter for camp grounds

When we get home, I'll try out the different knobs and report.

Casey

B&C VW Service in Freeburg, Missouri

2010-06-05T21:48:00.002-05:00

Was down in Missouri visiting my in-laws and found out about this VW wreckage yard and Service center. It's about 30-40 minutes South-East of Jefferson City where I was so we went down.

The place we went to is:
B&C Volkswagen Service
5393 Highway 63
Freeburg, MO 65035
(573)744-5318

Here's what the entrance to the salvage yard looks like. It's a gravel drive and I wish I could tell you more of what to look for, but we passed this about 2 times trying to turn in... traffic on our ass caused us to miss it the second time :)

Here's a picture of the garage.

It looks like the place has been there for a long time. I'm really not sure how long, but they have a ton of part buses, bugs, some squarebacks and some ghias. They even had some vanagons and a Eurovan.

Here are some pics of the yard:

and here's what they all drive.. bugs. really nice bugs:

The people were super nice. Mike and the lady there (forgot her name, if you know it, let me know) were awesome. I was there for about 40 minutes while we ran all over the place looking for a type 4 thermostat and a bracket. Mike ended up finding on a part bus tucked back in the yard. It's in awesome shape and as you know, very hard to find.

They're extremely knowledgeable about most everything and bend over backwards to help. I tried looking for some newer vanagon seats for the front of my bus, found some but they weren't in the best shape so I passed.

The shop will ship parts so if you have something you're looking for, you can definitely call them and they'll likely happily help.

The shop itself is probably a great place to bring your vw. They do body work in addition to mechanical.

Mike was really into camping and the VW community. He told me about Buses Nowhere Near the Arch (www.bnnta.com) which we'll be going to this year for sure. It's bigger than the one we went to a couple weekends ago, Buses By the Beach and has been going on for 25 years!

Anyway, that's about it. Wanted to give him a plug and tell you about them if you didn't know.

Casey

Third Brake Light Success

2010-05-12T22:25:00.003-05:00

Following up my previous attempt at the Third Brake Light, I have kept my eye out for potential candidates and finally found one.

LED Third Brake light at JC Whitney

Total cost with shipping was around $33. Not bad for an item that I haven't really been able to find anywhere else.

Here were my requirements:

LED
Mounts inside of rear windshield
viewable on a vertical rear windshield

This unit fit the specs perfectly so I ordered and waited a whole 2 days (JCWhitney is located about an hour and half from here. :) I probably could have drove and got it faster but whatever)

The light is branded by MyCarr... another company in China.
Here's the product page: SJ-122(20 LED) [3RD Brake Lamp]

Here's what the packaging looked like:

Here's what the Light side of it looked like:

Here's the back:

For the install, I picked up where I had left off with the previous attempt.

There are two wires. The wire with the white line on it is the positive. The solid line is the negative/ground.

I centered the unit on the upper part of the window, cleaned the window with rubbing alcohol, peeled and stuck.

I then ran the wire inside of the rear window seal using a blunt flathead screwdriver to lift the seal and poke the wire down inside of it.

Once I got to the driver side, I followed the defrost wire down into the rear cabinet where my other wires were, connected, tidied up and done.

Here's what it looked like from the outside:

Another:

And one from the inside:

That's it. Tested it out, looks great. Bus is just that much more visible now.

Update (5/14):
Here's a picture of the bus with the brake lights on during the day:

The new light is not that bright during the day... it is pretty visible at night... I'll have to take a picture of that too and upload it.

Casey

New Front Sway Bar

2010-05-11T21:58:00.004-05:00

Whelp, here's what I wanted to do. We are getting ready to do some camping which involves some driving... long distances... which means wind, fast driving and lane changes.

Problem is that the bus doesn't do well on roads or anything with wind or speed. Ratwell lists one of the essential upgrades to the bus as the Front Sway bar. It's a pretty cheap upgrade ($100) and supposedly it makes the handling in wind and lane changes and turns way better.

Now, the bus came with a sway bar on the front but it's exceptionally under sized. Here are some pictures of the old sway bar and new sway bar.(new one is shiny and gold colored :)

From MidAmerica Motorworks I found an Empi Sway Bar for $99. The sway bar is 7/8" thick compared to the original which looks like 1/2". It comes with Red Urethane bushings. They also carry it at CIP and some other establishments.

The Setup
Jack the front of the bus up and take the tires off. This is just going to make it way easier to get at the sway bar.

Remove the Old Clamps and Sway Bar.
Please Note: Do not destroy the original clamps unless you have replacements.

To start with, you'll probably want to scrape the goo and undercarriage crap off the clamps. You need to be able to see the details of the clamp and the slide lock that holds it in place.

Specifically, on the back of the slide clamp, you will want to locate a tab that is bent up into the current rubber black bushing. Bend this tab down towards the ground. I found this pretty easy to do. Start it bending with a large flat-head screwdriver or some lever, then lock some vice grips as far down on the tab as possible and bend. Ideally it will bend as close to the rest of the slide clamp as possible.

Once you get the tab bent down, you can start pounding with a hammer and blunt shaft. I have a piece of steel that worked. I also considered using a large bolt.

One of the clamps needed to be heated up, so I used a blow torch. If you look close on this picture, you'll see the tab bent down.

This is one of those jobs that is just leverage, a hammer and some muscle. What helped here was someone to watch it to tell me the clamp was sliding and me just to bang on it. The clamp slides towards the front of the bus. Once the clamp is off, you use a 17mm wrench to get the single bolt off on either side.

Some other tactics I thought of for getting the clamp off was to Cut through the metal of the clamp with the saw-zall or a hacksaw. Only do this if you have the clamps to replace it with obviously.

Replacement Sway Bar Clamps for 68-79 Bus at CIP
Replacement Sway Bar Clamps for 68-79 Bus at BusDepot

Another idea was to use a drill with a sizable bit and drill into the black rubber. You're not going to re-use it anyway, so destroying it isn't a big deal. Drilling it and removing material decreases the pressure on the clamp and could make it easier to remove.

Here's a pic once the clamp is off. Not much here, mostly some surface rust. We wire brushed and then put some oil on it to preserve it under the new bar and clamp.

While they're off:
wire brush and clean up the bolts and clamps as best you can. If you're not amped to get the new bar back on, sand, prime and paint them maybe. Be careful about layering on paint because the clamp is already tight.

Putting the New One On:
Here's a pic with the bolt in from the back. Line everything up as best as you can... it doesn't have to be that exact.

In order to get the slide clamp back on, use some channel locks placed towards the middle of the clamp. While you hold it in place, have your helper slide the clamp on. This should really go pretty easy

Once it's in place, bend the tab up. I used some pliers then a hammer. Really have to be careful with this tab. It can potentially break off. It's metal and unless it's been removed and put on before, it probably will be okay.

And, here's a gratuitous picture of me looking at the new sway bar. Note the safety glasses... you'll want to wear them. These are the lightest weight ones I could find and were from Harbor Freight.

That's it. In summary, I would say this is an EASY job. It just takes muscle and some basic tools. I'd make sure you had a friend (thanks Dad), but if not, it's doable by yourself. I think this took us about 1 to 2 hours.

Here's a post by Richard Atwell on sway bars and shocks... as usual, way too much detail, but good if you want it. Good pictures too.

I decided to only put on the front sway bar. I'm not going to put on a back sway. Reason is that most of what I read online said that this upgrade to the front sway bar was really needed. The back sway bar makes the bus almost too rigid and can lead to turnovers... not good.

Casey, how does it drive?
This upgrade is totally worth it. Corners and lane changes are excellent. The bus used to tip pretty bad if you were going into a corner, now it's not quite like it's on rails, but it's about as close as it's gonna get. My passengers no longer feel like they have to grab the oh-shite bar when making turns.

I did this upgrade in addition to a steering damper and shock upgrade which I'll post later. I recommend doing all of them at the same time. About 4 hours in total.

Casey

Reader Question: How Does the Bus do in Snow?

2010-05-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

Woo-hoo, second reader question... where they're not asking me about buying Canadian pharmaceuticals :)

Hi there,

I stumbled across your blog and would really appreciate your opinion.

I'm thinking about buying a bus and wanted to know how it handled in the snow. I live in OH so for at least 2 months there is some amount of snow on the ground. I also don't have the option of parking since my primary vehicle is a pontiac solstice. This would be what I drive mainly.

I just wanted to get your honest opinion since there doesn't seem to be any sort of agreement.

Cliff

Hey Cliff,
The choice to drive your bus in snow is ultimately YOUR choice and depends a lot on a few tangible things, but more than anything your comfort level.

There's a couple questions here: Can you drive it in snow? Yes. Should you drive it in snow? Your call.

Here's some points to think about:

Handling:
From a handling standpoint, more aggressive tire treads, the correct load class of tire (C or D), proper inflation, good suspension... can all help. The bus handles well in snow in my opinion. I'm not afraid of driving in snow and grew up doing it. It's not a 4 wheel drive car so you'll never be able to drive it like one. It's rear wheel drive... remember that.

The good thing to go along with the rear wheel drive is that your engine and tranny sit in the rear (about 450lb).

The good thing about the front-end is that YOU sit over the front tires. I weigh about 230lb and when I sit up there, it doesn't really move any where. More people just adds to the handling and stability.

Brakes:
You also have to remember that this car does NOT have anti-lock brakes. Go slow, pump the brakes when you attempt to stop. Be cautious. It's a big vehicle and it drives as well as you drive it.

Heat and Defrost:
Before you drive it, you'll want to get your defrost working up front. I still have to write my article about what I did in this regard, but basically it amounts to getting your fan controls working and all the tubing sealed all the way to the front... aluminium duct cold weather tape you can get at Home Depot is really good for this. I used reflectix (aluminium covered bubble wrap) from Menards wrapped around the heater tubes with more tape for extra insulation. I have plenty of defrost.

Warm the car up first but getting a stick or something to lightly depress the accelerator. I haven't done this before but the bus warms up with RPMs so if you can start it and get it revving a little then you'll warm up in about 10 mins.

Rear Defrost:
Mine doesn't work. I guess you could fix it, but you could also just get out and scrape the back. I do that, it works great.

Speed:
Go Slow, Take it Easy.

What you really have to worry about:
Problem: Other drivers. People are idiots and the downfall of that is that if they slide into you, you're never going to recoup the cost. No insurance company is going to pay you what you put into it unfortunately. Maybe I'm wrong on this one. What stands though is that other drivers are idiots. You can drive your bus perfectly and it still can be ruined by some other more modern car.
Solution: Don't drive the bus OR just get some good seat belts and be careful.

Problem: Salt/Sand + Metal + Water = Rust
Chicago, where I live, uses copious amounts of Salt... it's awesome.
Solution: Don't drive the bus OR undercoat the bus. Places like Ziebart do undercoating. You can also do things like POR-15 or any of the rattle-canned under coating. All this will stop the salt from turning your bus into rust.

That's all I can think of. I did restore the bus but I want to use it so I drive mine year round. I don't have lots of extra cars so this is my primary car. If it's really bad out, I don't drive it... But that would have to be conditions beyond what most won't drive in. Otherwise, the bus is awesome in the snow and fun to drive no matter what.

So, my 2 cents = do it.

Casey

Big Blue Sticker

2010-05-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

My new online Bus buddy, Brett, at BigBlueVW.com sent me a sticker in the mail. Here it is in all it's glory:

Brett, I hope one day you can see this on my bus in person.

Also, I'm putting together some sticker ideas of my own... mu-ha-ha-ha-ha.

Casey

New Auxiliary Battery

2010-04-23T23:21:00.000-05:00

So I got my whole auxiliary battery setup with an inherited battery from my dad's boat that he doesn't have any more... long story.

Here's the battery:

Battery was working fine and all but it started dieing during the night. I got tired of re-programing my freaking radio every morning so I went to Walmart and picked up the biggest deep cycle battery I could find that would fit. And since it's from Walmart, it cost like $85 with a $5 core charge. The battery is an Everstart Maxx. It's huge.

Here's a picture. I also cleaned up the compartment and added in a dual 30amp fuse block to split out to my other fuse blocks.

I'm starting to think that if all I did was re-wire cars, that that would be awesome. I think I'm the most anal person in the entire world when it comes to that.

Casey

How to Make a Bungee Cargo Net

2010-04-23T22:27:00.000-05:00

So, my parents did this for their bus and I thought it was a pretty good idea so I did it and documented it.

Basically on the top of my bus there's a cargo area with cleats to tie down... well... cargo. I've never personally done that but I plan to and so I decided to make this.

Materials:
Go to a Walmart automotive section and buy the 20 piece assorted Bungee Cords. I think they cost like $10. Please note that it's not empty when you buy it. Here's a picture of the container:

Then I pulled out some scissors and tie-wraps... gotta have zip ties and I have a ton. Yup, took a pic of that too. Excessive? I think not. Here it is:

Basically, I was able to make 2 roof rack bungee things... one smaller and one larger. Here's the pictures of the cords I used.

I hooked the cords up with a slight interlace and put some zip ties on them. Here's some freaking pictures.

Just so you know, I used double zip ties. I know, some people think it's excessive, but if it's not over-engineered, it's something made by me.

So there you go, out of the $10 bungee package is 2 cargo tie thingies that I think I'll maybe use sometime. Do I need two? Prolly not, but why not? Maybe some day I'll be traveling down the road and there will be some dude with a bus (same model as mine) and he'll be standing there wanting to tie down some stuff. I'll have stuff on top of my bus but it'll be tied down. And I'll have a extra bungee tie down thing that I can give him and I'll have saved the day... And so can you.

Casey

New Lug Nuts

2010-04-04T18:23:00.003-05:00

A while back when I got new tires on the bus I noticed the state of the lug nuts on the bus. They were bad, some were missing and others had been replaced with the standard acorn nut.

Today's acorn nut has a straight beveled edge. The original Lug Nut for the bus ('71 - '79) had rounded edges. They might be the same on other VW's but I don't know.

I ordered 25 of these from BusDepot a while back.

Today, for Easter I went around and replaced all the lug nuts with the new ones. Pretty simple. There are 5 each. Discovered that I hadn't had a tire iron in the bus... so I do now. I also inflated the tires to pressure they should be... 45 in the back and 35 in the front. They were pretty low.

Here's a couple shots of what the new ones look like.. they're shiny.

Casey

Voltage Gauge in Back

2010-04-04T18:11:00.000-05:00

Was futzing around with the cabinets in back. Installed an extra 12v socket.

Then, this weekend I had my auxiliary battery die. Hated not being able to see it on a gauge AND I had bought a couple of these voltage gauges from Harbor Freight last summer. So, without a place to put them up front, decided to install one in the back.

Also put a Fire Extinguisher back there too.

I have another gauge that I might install going to the main battery with a relay on it so that it only reads when the bus is on.

Casey

Sirius Satellite Radio Installed

2010-04-01T23:25:00.001-05:00

Over a year ago I got a Sony head unit via points from my Sony card. Then I went to Crutchfield and bought the 2 units I needed to hook up the satellite radio.

The units are pretty freaking easy to hook up.. basically just plugging cables in. I had already installed the head unit a while back so that wasn't an issue.

In order to install the unit, I took the glove box out and installed it and ran the wires behind that. Mounted it to the interior wall... was really easy. Here's a pic:

The antenna that comes with this usually is mounted on the top of the car. I had read of people pop-riveting metal to the top and luggage carrier and running the antenna all the way up there... man that seemed like a lot of work. :)

Samba Thread 1
Samba Thread 2

So, i ran it about 6 inches up on to the dash. It's metal and since the antenna is magnetic it sticks there and doesn't move around. Haven't had an instance where it didn't receive signal yet.

Waa-La. The bus just wasn't complete without digital streaming radio on 130 channels.

Casey

Bus is now a GeoCaching Travel Bug

2010-03-31T16:49:00.001-05:00

Do you GeoCache? If not, you should. Read Getting Started on GeoCaching.com. I've been doing it for about a year now and love it. It's fun to do with the kids too.

If you do cache already, be on the look out for my bus. It has a Trackable item decal on the driver and back sides.

If you see it, note the coordinates, go to GeoCaching.com and log that you've seen it. If you have a cam, take your picture with it and upload it.

The basic premise with the car decals is that the car moves all over the place. If you're in the "know" about geocaching and you happen to see the decal and note the unique code, you log that. Then people like me can see how and where it's been spotted.

Casey

60k Mile Update

2010-03-25T17:37:00.001-05:00

Was looking at the odometer this morning and saw I hit 60k Miles.

This begs the question... is this this the first time this bus has hit that number? 2nd, 3rd? Is this even the original gauge? I think everyone who's taken a bus on asks himself the same question from time to time. From what I've seen of my bus, I would say it's the first time and that it's the original everything. When I got it and since gutting it, the ease with which that has happened has been because almost everything is exactly the same as the diagrams. The next owner, if there is one, will not be so lucky :)

I haven't blogged of substance for a little while. I thought I would take this opportunity to layout what's ahead for the bus. Here's a list of items that I want to do next:

Finish the Headliner: I had ripped the other one out, it was fabric. I FatMat'ed it and then insulated with reflectix. Since then I've only put in the headliner that exists above the cabinets in the back. I still have the ones above the middle section and above the front compartment. I'll be continuing the bamboo sheeting that I found at Menards.
Install the Satellite Radio: I have a Sony head unit for my radio. I also bought the Sirius/XM unit that goes with that. It literally is a matter of plugging it in and securing it. I'm going to put the antenna on the dash. I had had plans to run it up on top of the luggage compartment, but that's just a lot of work :)
Trouble Shoot the Steering Column: My turn signals don't turn off after I am done turning. My hi-beams don't come on. My horn doesn't work. I have to adjust the space between the controls and the steering wheel base. Apparently that will fix my problem.
Install the Fog Lights: They're not really fog lights, they're just cool looking retro lights I got from Harbor Freight for Cheap. I need to take the bumper off and install those. Should be pretty easy.
Install the Reverse Light: I saw this on a couple pics and thought it was a good idea. On the driver side in the rear, I'm going to put an additional light on the bumper that illuminates on demand. The idea would be that I can see more if I'm backing up... would be good for woods, camping, blinding people behind me.
Re-install the Water Tank: and install the new pump. I broke the last tank while trying to get it out of the cabinet. I got a new one from the samba and a new pump. Need to install them and be done with that.
Install the New Coil: I bought a new coil a while back and have been hesitant to install it because the last one blew up. When I do it, I'll have to adjust the spark gaps as well I think.
Undercoat and De-Rust the bus: Ziebart is a good place to go locally. I'm not sure if they do any kind of rust conversion, but they will undercoat the bus and seal the jambs.

There's probably other stuff to do. That's about it for now.

Casey

Loud Engine = Cardboard

2010-03-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

So I got home the other night and picked up the bus. Started it up and man, it was loud. Figured it was the lifters charging up so I let it go until I got home. Never went away.

I opened up the engine hood and there was a freaking piece of cardboard under the fan shroud.

Pulled it out and problem solved.

Casey

Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance

2010-03-17T08:35:00.005-05:00

Was reading a post yesterday on The Samba and the guy was talking about stuff he'd found in his bus. He mentioned and showed a picture of this book by Donald Miller.

I'd never heard of it, but it has obvious ties to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig which I happen to be reading right now. Friend bought it for me after I told him about the peace I was finding while working on the bus.

I actually had looked around and when I found nothing existed, considered writing my version of the Zen book for Volkswagens... That's really the genesis of this website. Obviously I didn't look hard enough, but I guess I was meant to find it when I did.

So, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance is out of print. You can get it used through Amazon and other online book retailers. That's what I did. Should get here by next week sometime.

Anyway, once I get it and read it, I'll write up something about how it was.

Casey

Trip to Lake Geneva

2010-03-13T23:28:00.000-06:00

This weekend we took the bus up to Lake Geneva.

Started out on the interstate which was a mistake. Wind and traffic was throwing the bus all over the place. Got off to let one of the kids use the bathroom and reprogrammed the GPS to avoid highways and tolls. All in all it took about 3 hours to get there... mostly because of traffic. Bus did great.

Second day took the bus around Lake Geneva. Again it drove awesome. Second battery died which means that the Dual battery relay I installed from BusDepot is not working. I haven't looked yet, but I suspect that it either isn't tripping on OR the fuse blew. I went out today and picked up some connectors in case I need to figure out a new way to connect it. I have my voltmeter with me so I should be able to somewhat diagnose the problem. This means that all of my interior lights, radio and anything plugged into the 12v sockets are not working.

Other than that, I bought some new windshield wipers today. I'd been eying them for a while but they're expensive... like $17 a piece. They're the RainX Latitude and man are they awesome. My old ones were just normal. They missed the part of the window directly in front of my eyes. These new ones basically squeegees the entire window. It's insane. Also, they directly replace the current wipers, no futzing around with any adapters or crap. Popped the old ones off and the new ones one.

no pics today because I have limited connectivity at this hotel.

Casey

Enlarging the VW Hat

2010-02-28T14:23:00.000-06:00

Well, I have a BIG head so the VW Hat my sister knitted me was too small.

She was over last night and enlarged it to fit.

Fits now and is more awesome than before.

Casey

Connecting the Wire Loom on the Bulk Head

2010-02-20T21:20:00.000-06:00

Previously I installed a 9 wire electrical loom from the engine compartment to the front of the bus. I also installed a bulk head for electrical components like the Terminal Block for the wire loom.

Today I mounted the terminal block on the front of the electrical bulk head.

Because I wanted to take up little room on the front AND I like using grommets, I drilled a hole in the bulk head and installed a grommet.

Here's the wires pulled through:

Now, the thing I should have done when starting this whole project was to label the wires first. That way, when I have 'em at either end of the bus I wouldn't have to try and figure them out. BUT, I didn't. So, I had to use my meter to figure out which wire was which. Basically I have a long wire with alligator clips at either end to test the continuity.

Even though I had mounted it already, I undid that and mounted the wires on the block. also was easier to tuck them away. In retrospect, I probably should have put the hole and grommet a little further away.

Here's the final mounted Terminal Block.

I plan to use this for an auxiliary reverse light and a couple gauges I need to install. Those will be in upcoming posts.

Casey

Girls and Bays

2010-02-14T22:23:00.001-06:00

This is photobucket collection dedicated to pictures of girls with bay window buses. The site originated from a thread that used to be on The Samba but because too hard to keep clean. Thus this was started.

If you have your own pics and you want to send to me OR just the link, that would be cool.

For some reason I thought the above pic was one of the best of the ones in the collection.

Casey

Shifter and Gears

2010-02-14T19:23:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I started having really bad issues getting the bus into gear. At the end of the day, I couldn't get it into 1st, it ground when it went into 2nd and it got stuck in reverse a couple times.

At first I thought it was the transmission and I was cursing the mechanics again.

Here's what I did:

Tightened the square head retaining bolt in the front shift rod coupler. Also replaced the lock wire.

Did the same thing to the rear Shift Coupler:

Finally, I tightened the Clutch cable at the Transmission. I didn't take a picture of this. For those that have looked at the transmission before, it's on the driver's side of the transmission. There's a lever with a loop in it. The clutch cable terminates in a screw that passes through a loop in the lever. A large wing nut is on the end. In order to really tighten this thing I found it easiest to use a pair of vice grips to hold the screw and turn the wing nut with my hand.

Took it out for a test drive. The car had it's gears back and was zippier. Not sure why zippier but very happy that my gears were back. The clutch was way too tight so the engage/friction point was very far out. I climbed under the bus later and pulled it about 2 revolutions out. Hopefully that helps.

Well, all that worked. The clutch is tighter now, I can shift into all the gears and I feel better about the state of my transmission.

Only problem left is that the first gear pops out unless you hold it in place.

Here are some threads I found on adjusting the shifter:
Shifter Issues On The Samba
Reverse Lock-Out Plate Adjustment on VW-Resource

And ...

Bentley Ch. 6 Pg. 10-11 it has some good detailed pics as well.

I'll probably give the adjustment thing a try tomorrow.

Casey

Drove the Bus to Work

2010-02-12T13:55:00.000-06:00

Today, I drove the bus to work. Took about an hour on the non-interstate which is pretty freaking good.

The bus did awesome. I forgot how much I love driving and singing... yes, I sing in the car. Good stress relief and makes driving fun.

The bus is cold, but I just need to seal up some vents and holes.

Performance-wise, it did great.

My first gear slips out. I have to figure that one out or do an adjustment or something.

Casey

My Bus Covered in Snow

2010-02-10T15:25:00.000-06:00

It snowed here last night... probably around 15 inches. I got off the train last night and had to uncover the bus. I tried to snap pics on my phone and got these:

Last night I parked it at my house so I would get more snow on it and could take pics this morning. SO, here they are:

That's it.

Casey

139 Decibels of Horn

2010-02-09T22:18:00.001-06:00

Well this weekend I also put in a new horn. My current horn is operational but the steering column needs to be adjusted in order for the button to work. I didn't feel like tackling that one so I decided to just put in a new horn and a red button.

My parents bought me a horn from AutoZone for my birthday:

Here's the back. It grounds to itself which is grounded by the metal strap.

And here's a momentary switch I bought from Radio Shack. It was a two pack so I have one Red and one Black. In retrospect, I should have bought a lit one. I might go back and pick one of those up and swap it out. But for now, I have a red button for my horn.

Here's the hole I cut. Basically, like I said in previous posts, VW put pre-drilled holes into the metal behind the dash material. You have to feel along the back with your fingers, find the hole and stick something sharp through. I use an exacto knife. For this I also had to use a half inch drill bit to make it just a little bigger.

And here's the button installed:

One idea I had to make this a little more aesthetically pleasing of an install was to take a large diameter coin or maybe even a doorbell backing plate and put it behind the red button. The button doesn't look like enough. Maybe I'll need to make it lighted and give it a background.

Momentary means that the circuit is only completed when the button is pushed in. The button does not stay in, so the circuit is only active for the "moment" that you push the button. For this circuit I ran the power from my number 9 fuse (held for accessories) through the switch and down to the horn.

I removed the original horn (temporarily) and placed the new horn there. I'll put the old horn back once I adjust the steering wheel.

So, is it loud? Yes, it is loud.

I've told people about this install and they often ask is it the AAAA-OOOOO-GAAA horn. They do sell that horn at HarboFreight but I'm not sure I want to go that way. Others install air-horn which there are a plethora of online to buy.

I think I'm good with this for right now. I've not had to use it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

Casey

Electrical Bulkhead Upgrade

2010-02-08T23:06:00.001-06:00

So, a while ago I saw a thread on The Samba where a guy had made a panel behind the kick panel in front of the driver seat to mount his electrical additions (relays, fuse blocks, terminal blocks). It was another genius moment and since then I've wanted to do it. I am anal as hell when it comes to wires and being able to hide things from sight. I love things to be neat and tidy.

I can't find the thread now but if I do, then I'll post it up here.

Went over to my parents and worked with my dad on this one. In actuality I waved my hands and described how to do it, he did the rest.

The idea is simple, Except for the fresh air vent boxes, there really isn't metal that you can mount extra items to in the front of the bus. You can secure things to races and use double stick tape I suppose, but nothing that's secure and grounded.

My goals:

Made of metal
Secured to other metal with rivets or screws
located on the driver side
as big as I could make it
hidden but accessible
recessed enough behind a kick panel to fit a relay or fuse block (1 - 2 inches)

My dad started with a metal case that he had had since I was a kid. He used it to carry his torch for sweating copper. In retrospective, I'm honored to have had this cut up and placed in my bus. Its one of those things that I remember vividly from my childhood.

I don't have a picture of it, but basically he took a piece of cardboard and cut a template. He worked it until he got it to where it fit. AS you will see, it's by the drivers left foot in the corner under the left headlight shroud.

This next picture shows my dad using metal benders to fold the metal edges over. This actually is pretty important. you're going to have wires and electrical around this ON TOP OF your hands being around it. I cut my fingers enough, no need to add in booby traps for when I'm fiddling around in the dark some day in the future.

To cut all this, we just used Tin Snips... nothing fancy. The metal is a thin gauge. It bends easy. The metal benders give you a upper hand. I would suggest them BUT if you don't have them, no worries.

Here's what it looked like before we painted and mounted it. The two tabs on the upper right are to mount it to the headlight shroud. The two on the bottom are for the lip of the floor. The left hand side will mount on the internal frame. These are difficult to explain. the next pictures will hopefully make sense.

This is the finished product. Scuffed it up, primed it and painted it.

In order to mount it, I used 1/8" pop rivets. I held it in place and drilled through the outside and hopefully through the bulkhead. For some reason I thought I could hold it while I drilled... So, one drilled finger later I figured out that using a pair of pliers was a much better idea. I put one rivet in each support strap AND two in the left hand side.

Anyway, after mounting it, I'm very happy. Structurally, it is rigid and looks like it will do exactly what I wanted out of it.

The next thing I'll do is put in the other end of my wire loom. When I do, I'll post a pic.

If you have questions or want more information, please comment. I'm happy to take more pics or answer whatever.

Casey

Awesome Custom Under Dash Parcel Trays

2010-02-07T10:12:00.002-06:00

Decided to treat myself to some cool upgrades and support a VW Custom Aftermarket solution. I also think I'm nearing the end of needing to open up the internals of the front so installing the parcel trays isn't really going to hurt me too much. That being said, i started to look around.

This Parcel Tray Thread appeared on The Samba and pointed to the normal parcel trays from BusDepot. A few posts in and a link to Custom Trays showed up. I'd seen these before and decided since they all seem to be pretty expensive, why not spend the extra for some nice ones.

The guy who makes and sells these is named Stephen. He's out of Southern California. I found him to be very easy to work with, responsive to emails and questions and follow through with what he said he would do. So, I give him a pretty good grade.

I went ahead and ordered the Black Vinyl set of Parcel Trays. They match the rest of the interior I have in the bus. The wood ones he makes look awesome and it was definitely a discussion point, but the vinyl was the way I went.

Trays took a couple of weeks to make and then shipped with tracking number. They arrived yesterday.

Trays were packed in a recycled box with all sorts of interesting packing material... Broken Styrofoam, plastic bottles, air bags... I'll give him credit for re-using stuff.

Here's the trays in the plastic garbage bags that they were in the packing material with. I want to make sure that you don't take this wrong. I'm not making fun. I'm pointing out the resourcefulness and re-use here. Stephen also runs his own shop to make these things. The product is top quality. I think it's awesome.

Here are the trays unpacked with the hardware and cupholders. The passenger side is on the bottom and the driver side is on top.

Here are the pics of the bottom of the trays that one of the readers asked for:

Here's a close up:

I'll follow up with some pics once they're in place.

Casey

A Bus as Background for a Weird Family Photo

2010-02-06T21:22:00.003-06:00

Awesome Website and an excellent Bus Picture.

www.AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

Casey

Reader Question: Rewire or Not?

2010-02-04T11:06:00.004-06:00

So this is the first time I've done this, but here's a reader question:

I have a 72 vw bus that needs to be rewired. I know nothing about this kind of procedure. in your opinion what would it cost someone to do this? like in a vdub shop. If you know. I will post a pic of my bus tomorrow. My wife and myself have owned this bus for five years. We bought it on craigslist for 1000 bucks. It drives but is in poor condition. How much do you know about buses and mechanics? let me know. We are in Oregon

Thanks
Doug

Doug,
My bus had really bad problems in the beginning and I became hell-bent on rewiring it. I'm glad I didn't. While every bus would probably operate better with all new wire, the cost and time outweigh the benefits unless your bus is a rats' nest. This is my opinion.
There are those that say rewire and have a solid nervous system of your car. If you're up to it and saavy, the bus does have an easy and exposed platform to work inside of. Just be prepared for it to not go smoothly.

I would imagine that most auto shops would not take on that project and probably try to talk you out of it. I may be wrong here but if I were them that's what I would do .

You mention that it is drivable and that's a good thing. To me that says it doesn't need to be rewired. Having no more information than what was in your question, I would suggest the approach that I took.

Before you do any of this.
DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE CABLE TO YOUR BATTERY.

Tip 1: Replace bad wire.
If there are obvious wires that are melted or exposed, clip the section out and splice in new wire. Just do them as you see the need.

Make sure to get the right connectors if you're replacing those and invest in a decent wire stripper/crimper.

Here's a link with a diagram on how to do this: Wire Splicing Using Butt Connectors

Or you could watch this video:

ALSO, when replacing sections of wire, give yourself some extra wire... don't make it tight. In early attempts I made this mistake. Since then I've gone back and added more. The extra wire makes it easier to work with whatever it's connected to later on.

Make sure to do at least the gauge (thickness) or bigger. The gauge is directly related to the amount of electricity that needs to be sent through it. Splicing in a smaller gauge is just asking for a melted wire. Once you use the butt connectors, tape them or heat shrink them to seal the connection from the elements.

Tip 2: Buy some zip ties and secure loose wires.
Wires that wave around rub on things, rubbing = friction and friction = bad. Tie those puppies up.

Tip 3: Clean connection points with a wire brush or sand paper. Make 'em shiny. :)
You could do this all day. It's only going to help. It also is pretty rewarding and can be done in small increments. On top of that, you'll generally find some of the bad wire or just bad connections during this activity. One note: Don't remove too many at once.

Remove all your fuses (noting where each went) and clean all the terminals that they sit in. You can get replacement fuses at a FLAPS (Friend Local Auto Parts Store). I did this because it cost me $4 and it's a reason to go to an auto parts store which I enjoy.

Tip 4: Find your Wire Diagram and make a BIG Printout of it.
... then hang it on the wall and use it to trace the wires and see what they are.
Your wiring diagram is available at VintageBus.com. Download it, bring it to a Kinkos or some Shop and have it blown up as big as you can.

Standard Tips I Tell People:
Advice: Use a Digital Camera and TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES.
This has saved my ass a number of times. I generally take pictures and have my laptop out by me, but whatever. The picture can answer everything. Also if you're going to blog, it helps :)

Advice: Use The Samba. (http://www.thesamba.com)
In the community section at the top are listings for businesses, clubs and events. Be sure to use the Search functionality because you probably aren't the first person to encounter stuff. pictures help with descriptions.

Advice: Make some VW Friends
Trust me, they are out there and they can support you in your efforts to get your bus running. I used to live on the West Coast and I know there are a TON of enthusiasts in Oregon. You can use the Samba to find these. You could probably put an ad on Craigslist offering food, beer, whatever and you'll have a party of people wanting to help.

Advice: Get a Recommendation for a Good Honest Mechanic:
... don't feel pressured into doing anything and make sure you ask questions. If they don't want to answer them, then move on. You know more than you think. Whether it be The Samba, friends or your own investigations, find a decent mechanic who's going to be like going to a doctor. I wrote a post about Interviewing a Mechanic. You might give it a read.

I think that that's about it. Please post your responses and lets continue the conversation in comments here.

Casey

New Headlight Switch

2010-02-03T23:50:00.000-06:00

Ordered a new headlight switch (211941531E) from JBugs.com and got it today.

My current switch is original. I have been having problems with the interior lights. Most recently I was driving home late and I turned the knob and heard a buzzing sound then nothing.

So I ordered this new one. I'll install it this weekend. Should be about 10 minutes.

Here is a pic of the knob:

Here is a pic of the side:

Here is a pic of the top:

Casey

My VW Hat

2010-02-03T23:10:00.000-06:00

My sister knitted me a hat with a VW logo. Cool thing about the logo is that it looks the same in a mirror.

Thanks Meg!

Casey

Weekend of Gauges

2010-02-03T10:07:00.001-06:00

This weekend will be the weekend of gauges.

I ordered two Gauge cups from SummitRacing.com.

My plan for placement is to put the Oil Pressure and the CHT on the dash in these cups to the drivers left. I like to see them and while most people put them down, I don't like that. I want to be able to see them while driving.

I also bought this VDO dual gauge holder. I'm going to use that but put two voltmeters in it for my starter and house batteries. I'm just going to wire them to the respective fuse boxes and mount this below the dash.

I'm planning on looking into LEDs for these and wiring them into the headlight switch so they come on with the other dash lights.

Casey

Oil Leak Abolished

2010-01-31T20:30:00.002-06:00

In previous posts (here and here) I talked about my oil leak problems.

Since I got the bus back from the first mechanic, it's been leaking oil like a sieve. Second mechanic said it was leaking from EVERYWHERE and I would most likely have to crack the case and replace all the gaskets.

Since then, I've been driving it, watching the oil, filling it and driving it more.

I've been calling around and trying to find a replacement engine because I really don't have a desire to rebuild an engine in this cold. I'll post my findings because I did find a great place to buy a rebuilt engine from.

Today, I was driving the kids over to my parents and noticed that my bus was smoking. Turned out it was oil on my exhaust.

So, although unplanned, my Dad and I attacked trying to find the leak. there was oil everywhere.

After wiping it all down and digging around, we determined it was most likely coming from the where the oil filler neck connected to the sump. on top of that is the tube that the dip stick slides through. The first mechanic had totally jerry-rigged a crappy solution. First we thought that maybe oil was coming from that. we were wrong.

Here's the jerry-rigged sleave:

Next we took the oil filler neck off. The weight of the box-wrench caused the nut to spin. This had to be it. We ended up having to loosen a piece of the engine tin that the Oil filler went through. We also had to remove the muffler and cross-over pipe.

By removeing the nuts as best we could and then twisting around the neck, we got it out.

Problems:

The bolts were just shafts with nuts on them.
Nuts were freaking Loose
No lock washers.
Doubled up gaskets.
Installed by a Moron

We managed to get the bolts off. The hardest part was replacing the tube that connects the dip stick tube on the neck to the tube that went through the fan shroud.

My dad made a replacement gasket while I bought new hex head bolts with lock washers. They were 13mm heads, 8mm diameter with a 1.25 pitch.

Managed to finagle it back in and got the rubber tube over the dip stick shafts. Next was the gasket and then the bolts.

Writing that makes it seem easy but it was just an odd location, we didn't take the engine out and it was the first time we had done any of that. My arms are killing me.

Here's the finished Oil Filler Tube. To me it looks awesome. New Gasket and New Bolts:

During all this, we realized that my engine was missing a thermostat. The pully for it is just sitting there and the space where it should be is empty:

Here's the lone pully to control the shrouds:

Here's the thermostat that I'm missing (021119159A):

Apparently its hard to find and expensive.

Have to find one of those, but right now it just runs cold. It's not the end of the world and was probably too expensive or hard to find so it wasn't replaced before.

Casey

New LED Dome Lights Installed

2010-01-30T20:25:00.003-06:00

So in a previous post I talked about ordering LED Replacement Lightbulbs for my dome lights.

I found it interesting to learn that these are called Festoon Bulbs. I don't know why I do, but I like that word.

Today, I took the 5 minutes needed and installed them. Here's what they looked like with the LED Bulb put in:

Here's what it looked like Hanging Loose:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

So, these are significantly brighter. The light is White light though not the soft yellow of a incandescent bulb. These use less energy (1 Watt as opposed to 10 Watts) and won't ever burn out or suffer from vibration.

Not sure if I like the White Light though. I have to think about that one.

That's about it.

Casey

New Antenna

2010-01-30T20:06:00.001-06:00

So I had this antenna that I had installed a while ago. I went through a "Touch-Less" car wash. Turns out it DOES touch your car. It totally bent the antenna over. When I reported the damage to the manager, he said it was bad marketing... "Touch-Less" means "Touches the Car LESS".

Apparently I need a "Touch-Free"... unless that means they don't charge you for your car being touched.

Regardless, we settled up with some free car washes for my other car and called it even.

I ordered a replacement antenna from BusDepot. Here's what it looked like when it arrived.

Here are the holes from the outside on the Passenger side:

The antenna comes with a lock washer and a nut on each of the screws. I didn't think that this was sufficient. I added a simple washer to the smaller screw. I took a larger washer from some seatbelt hardware and drilled the hole just large enough to get around the larger screw. The goal here was to add some strength to the antenna. It seemed flimsy.

Here's what it looked like with the washers on:

I had my daughter help install it. She held it in place from the outside while I put the washer, lock washer and the nuts on from the inside. I found it easiest to reach up from underneath. The small nut was 8mm and the larger nut was 19mm.

Here's what it looked like with the nuts on and the antenna cable hooked up:

Here's what it looked like from the outside. Wish I could have gotten the Chrome one instead of the black:

That's it. Done. The hooking up of the antenna to the radio is pretty obvious.

Casey

New LED Dome Lights Arrived

2010-01-28T23:13:00.000-06:00

As mentioned in a previous post, I ordered some replacement LED bulbs for my Dome Lights.

Here's a picture of what they look like:

Next step would be to install them... BUT it's freaking ridiculous cold outside so I'll wait until tomorrow morning when I HAVE to go out there.

You can buy the LED lights from SuperBrightLEDs.com. (direct link to the lights).

Casey

Received the Oil Pressure Gauge and Sender

2010-01-28T00:24:00.001-06:00

Because of my oil leaking issues, I ordered an oil pressure gauge and the double pole sending unit.

I ordered from BusDepot.com so I had little faith in it showing up :). I got it, but it didn't have a packing receipt and was from reused boxes and newspaper. I don't mind this that much. In larger orders I find they screw up. Small ones like this seem to go pretty smooth.

Here's a picture of the dual sender unit, the gauge and a gauge panel.

Also, I had to order a replacement antenna due to a car-wash incident.

Casey

Received the Third Brake Light from CHINA

2010-01-28T00:16:00.001-06:00

Following up on my Add a Third Brake Light post.

I received it today... only took 13 days. That's pretty good.

Here is a picture of what the light looked like in the package:

and here's one of it out and close up:

That's about it. I'll probably install it and a few other things this weekend.

Casey

Interior Lights Wiring with Door Switches

2010-01-26T01:17:00.006-06:00

This weekend I tackled the dome and interior lighting inside the bus. These had worked previously but I had never hooked them back up after I got it back from paint.

Here are what my goals were:

Lights are always able to be switched on regardless of key in the ignition
Driver, Passenger and Slider will turn lights on upon open.
Manual switch to turn lights on from drivers seat.
Support each dome light being able to be turned off and on.
Add under dash lights.
Run off of auxiliary battery

I looked around and couldn't find a diagram of the Bus Dome lights. I created this diagram:

I bought door switches (306-169) and rubber surrounds from Mid America Motorworks. I installed them on the Driver, Passenger and Slider door. They ground out when the door is opened, hence turning the light on.

Here is a picture of the door switch on the Driver side:

I had purchased the Dome Lights a while back. MAM has those too (383-877)

Basically this was all pretty easy. I guess the "A-Ha" moment was when I figured out in order to do multiple switches, you were switching the Ground and not the power. Once I figured out that, it became a matter of running wires through the channel. I got lucky a couple times and wire veered through the hole.

After I got the dome lights in place, I decided I wanted to put lights under the dash. I had some 12v small LEDs that I got from SuperBrightLEDs.com and hooked those up. There are two support braces that go from the front wall to the dash. They support the Emergency Brake Lever. I placed two of these LEDs on either bar. One points down and one points to the respective side. Wired them up and went from there.

Here's a Picture of the installed and ON lights.

The light is AWESOME. So happy with this. When I get in the car I can see the floor. It's awesome. Also, I'm planning on getting some under dash trays. This will help significantly when finding things at night.

Another thing I added was a little Pull switch on the dash next to the headlight switch.

My dad informed me that VW put pre-cut holes in the metal for additional switches. I found one, used a razor to cut out the fabric and wha-la! Basically this makes it so you can turn on the lights when you're in and the doors are closed. The only thing I may do is put in an override switch for the lights under the dash. The overhead dome lights have a toggle to turn them off manually (say if the door is open and you're sleeping). Right now, I think a good addition would be a way that turned them on manually. Like if you're driving at night and needed to see a tray.

For my Dome lights, I just ordered one of these each from SuperBrightLEDs.com

I don't know why I'm all about the LEDs. I think because I'm trying to conserve Electricity and these are so efficient, they don't burn out AND they're not really affected by vibration.

That's about it. I have to get some more pics up here to finish out this post. I'll take them tonight on my way home.

Casey

Make Your Own Wire Loom

2010-01-21T22:00:00.004-06:00

As part of installing Guages and the auxillary battery, I quickly saw that there was a need to be able to run wires from front to back. I posted on the samba and got a lot of awesome ideas. At the point of this post, I had already ran a single wire hap hazardly from back to front on the driver's side.

Here is how I ended up making an auxillary wire loom for the bus.

Tips I used in running the wire from front to back.

If you're going to run 1 wire, run 8 or 10. This is planning for the future. You might only need 1 or 2 now, but since I've put it in, I've already thought of other things I can do with it. Continuity Tests, Remote Starter, Lights, Temporary circuits... Endless and all right there.

Use wire made for Trailer harnesses. This wire is cheap and made for all weather. generally 14 gauge, and multi colored. They even have Brown in case you want an extra OG ground.

I bought a 40 foot trailer wire from eTrailer.

You also may want to 1 or 2 dedicated 10 gauge wires. I bought some about 30' of that too from eTrailer.

The Assembly:
Here is the wire unraveled... and my dad's feet. He was about to own the wire.

Get a friend or somewhere to tie one end to. Stretch it out and fold it in half.

What you'll end up with is 8 wires at 20'. This is awesome and plenty to go from the engine compartment to anywhere under the dash. I also added in the 30' of blue 10 gauge wire. This will leave about 5' of blue wire at each end. I'm going to use the blue wire for an accessory circuit so this works well for me. It's also at this point you could easily add more wires if you are so inclined. .In all I have 9.

Hindsight Advice: Label the ends of the wires at this point unless you have unique colors. I didn't do this and now have to do circuit testing to make sure I have them correct.

Next step was to wrap it every foot or so with electrical tape.

Here's a long shot of the harness now:

Hindsight Advice: Per Busman, it would be wise to wrap the whole think in electrical tape. I think this OR heatshrink tubing would be effective. This would stop wear and effects from the elements. I may pull this out in order to do that. I had wrapped it all in plastic cord wrap tubing so I'm not sure that it will make much difference, BUT wires that move have friction which causes wear which causes bad things. Anyway...

Next step is to pull it into the engine compartment and then up to the front. I followed the path of the main wire harness and just tie wrapped it above it where I could. There are plenty of holes in the frame to run it through. The main wire harness on my bus runs along the main beam on the passenger side of the bus. It is mostly covered with sheathing and runs through a metal tube at in the center.

I laid underneath and pushed it through one of the existing grommets on the passenger side of the engine compartment next to where the starter is. It helps to have a friend there to pull as you push. I also found that popping the grommet out completely, running it through the hole, then pushing the grommet back into place was much easier. The space up there is tight and I have big hands.

Once the wire was run, I took some of that plastic cord control and wrapped the wires with it. I then used zip ties to hold it to the chasis.

Here are the wires in the engine compartment:

From Radio Shack I bought an 8x Terminal Block and mounted it to the firewall above the engine.

I connected the 8 wires from the trailer harness to that Terminal block. For ease, it probably would be a good idea to label what you use and hook them the same order in the back as the front.

Up front I pulled the wires in through the same hole as the main wire harness.

Read more about it here.

What did I do with the blue wire?
I have an auxiliary battery so I connected to that in the engine compartment. under the dash I put in a 6x blade fuse block I bought from a FLAPS. This is going to be for my radio and other accessories up near the front of the bus.

I plan to put an inline 30amp fuse in the rear of the bus on the blue wire.

I need a picture of this.

So, besides more pictures, that's about it. Simple upgrade and a little work can be used for many things through the future.

Casey

Add a Third Brake Light

2010-01-16T21:22:00.003-06:00

I've seen a couple threads on The Samba about people adding a Third Brake Light to their Bus.

It's a pretty simple project and it's electrical so I would like to give this one a shot.

Here's what it should look like when I'm done:

I ordered a third brake light through Ebay from China.

Should be here in a couple years. :)

Casey

Insulated Front Fresh Air Vents

2010-01-16T21:02:00.007-06:00

Now that I've been driving the bus AND it's winter, I've started to learn about how the Heat and Cool operate. Pretty simple actually. The heat has dedicated separate venting from the fresh air. For some reason I had thought they were dependent and you just open/close flaps like you do in modern cars. Turns out you don't and this is good.

Well, all of the fresh air comes in through the front grill. The Fresh Air lever (blue one) in my bus open and closes the flaps. When they're open, air comes in while the car moves. It's kinda nice... except when it's 7 degrees outside and you're praying for the heat to work.

Did some research and took apart my front grill. The flaps were there and operated really well. Originally the flaps had this foam insulation that stuck inside the flap and, when closed, stopped air from leaking in. The foam in mine was gone.

Went to Home Depot and bought this:

It's weather stripping for automotive and marine applications. Has a glue that stands up to cold and weather. Figured it was a good buy.

Took my vents out and laid three strips each lengthwise across the inside of the vent. Here's a picture with the weather stripping installed:

Tested it out and it closes great. Theoretically, when I drive now, I should have the gush of cold air through these vents. If that still happens I'll have to open it back up and add some more insulation.

Took maybe 15 minutes cause I was moving slow.

Just checked it out and works really well. Barely any air coming through the vents! Woot!

casey

Installed New Front Floor Mat

2010-01-16T20:47:00.003-06:00

If you remember back to one of my previous posts (Ordered A New Front Floor Mat), I had bought and received a new Front Floor Mat

Well, today I installed it. The floor had been repaired by Maaco and then I put a layer of Fat Mat down to take care of noise and insulate a little.

Here's a picture of the floor with the Fat Mat

You can see that with the Gene Berg Shifter (or any quick shift kit) that I had to modify the mat to fit. This wasn't really a problem, you just have to be patient.

Around the hole where the shifter is supposed to slip down, I cut 4 slits about an inch long (basically at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock).

I then slipped this over the shifter and was able to get it down to where it was as in place as possible. This mat was really flexible and easy to put in. I'd highly recommend it. It had pre-cut slits and holes for the pedals, steering column, heat duct and emergency brake.

When it was down, there was some buckling because it was caught on the shifter boot. I took a small pair of scissors and carefully and slowly cut around the shifter to fit the entire quick shift base.

Here's a picture of it in place:

Here's another picture. You can see the quick shift kit cuts I had to make.

All in all, this took about 10 minutes. I had been driving around with just the fatmat for a week so before I put it in I shop vac'd it and dried it out.

casey

Brakes Done and Bad News about Engine

2010-01-09T16:09:00.002-06:00

Well, yesterday I got a call from the Garage. The Brakes are all done and they found the oil leak…

It leaks everywhere is what they said. It only really leaks after it's been at higher RPMs for a bit of time… so normal driving. The engine is not blowing smoke out of the exhaust or anything.

They also said they won't take that on as a project.

So, after some finagling of schedules, I made it over there to pick it up and drive it to my parents.

Looking at it now, it seems as though it's leaking oil between the fan shroud and the main block. I'm unsure where the oil is all coming from.

I started this thread on TheSamba.com to see if I could get some answers or ideas.

First Idea: Confirm that the crank case breather is not clogged. Theory is that if the crank case can't expel pressure, the internal pressure forces the oil out through the seals and gaskets.

I found the breather and checked that it wasn't clogged. Also checked that the hose going to the S housing was open.

Second Idea: The last mechanics mucked around with the Oil Pressure Relief valve. They said that it had been leaking from there and it was because the head of the oil pressure relief value (this monster screw) was bent slightly. They supposedly bent it back in place. I have to double check that. That involves changing the oil... not a problem but I'll have to pick some up.

What Now? Well right now, I was working in my dad's garage but have it back in mine now. I need to get it up on jack stands so I can get a better look at where the leaks might be coming from. I'll take pictures and add them here and to the thread.

Inevitably: Regardless of what is causing the pressure to increase such that the oil is leaking through the seals, I fear that the seals/gaskets are now bad and need to be replaced. So ultimately the damage may have been done.

The reason this all bums me out is that I've been working on this bus for a year and half. I keep getting this thing to the point where I'm sure it's going to work and the bus gods throw me a curve… more money, more time. The transmission was unexpected and huge. Now this could be huge as well and this is WAY more unexpected than the tranny was.

I'll tell you what though. This all came on suddenly so I'm thinking it's something that the garage did. If I can get it to where the oil leak just isn't as bad, then I'll live with that and plan a rebuild in the future.

More to come. Trying to remain positive.

Casey

Latest Picture of the Bus... in Snow!

2010-01-07T07:40:00.001-06:00

Pictures were taken December 13, 2009

Driver Side of the Bus

Driver Side of the Bus

Rear of the Bus

Passenger Side of the Bus

Front of the Bus

Hopefully getting it back from the Mechanic this week. Brakes and Oil leak to be fixed.

Casey

Brakes Done... Now a Major Oil Leak

2010-01-06T21:55:00.000-06:00

Alright, called the garage yesterday to get an update. They had finished the brakes and say they work great. They say the lights work, things are tight and basically it, well, stops.

Now, while they were out driving it they finally saw the oil leak that I had told them about. Apparently it's up high enough on the engine that it doesn't rear it's head unless the engine is revving.

So, they're looking at that. I'm thinking they are going to have to yank the engine to fix it because it's coming from behind the fan shroud. We'll see what happens next.

Casey

Awesome Sticker Job on a Bus

2010-01-01T22:28:00.001-06:00

Check out http://www.myvwcamperblog.com/ and see this guy's awesome restore job on his bus. The laminate clouds that he puts on the outside is awesome.

Did I mention it was awesome?

Casey

Realization about Mechanics

2010-01-01T21:03:00.001-06:00

So, today I realized why, sometimes, I should NOT bring my bus to a mechanic.

They don't work on holidays or weekends. They only work for 8 hours.

Here I am on vacation and my bus is in the shop. It's just sitting there and I can't touch it.

Anyway, the bus is still in the shop. I have days off and I can't do anything with it. This is agony.

That is all.

casey

Brakes Break - Need Parts

2009-12-23T09:10:00.002-06:00

Why are the parts on this bus so hard to find?
Yesterday, I got a call from the mechanic. They were able to get the back drums off (after they were seized in place some how) and now need parts. The parts they were looking for weren't local so they called to ask me.

Here's what they needed:
Brake Adjusting Screw (211609209A) x 4
I was able to find this part pretty easy. Got it from Mid America. They're in Effingham, IL so even Ground shipping hits Chicago next day.

Brake Shoe Adjusting Nut (113609205A) x 4
This is also called the Star Adjuster and some other names. Again, easy to find. Got it from Mid America.

Rear Brake Hardware Kit for a 73 - 79 Bus (211698537N) x 1
Okay, this one is IMPOSSIBLE to find. I went to all the usual places, googled and nothing. I assumed that I could get the pieces individually but I looked and looked and ended up with nothing. It was hard to tell what was even in this kit. The shop I'm at had a source though. Mark's Bug Barn. Because of this part, the bus won't be ready until after Christmas.

Rivet c 4x7.5 (N0136331)
This is another one that is not carried in the usual places. Seems it's a rivet that was used in all Porsche, Audi and VW brakes. So, it's available, just not readily. I found and contacted German Auto Dismantlers and found that they just dropship the part from Porsche directly. Because of this part too, the bus won't be ready until after Christmas. I questioned whether this part couldn't be manufactured or just made. I mean, it's a RIVET!

Anyway, yeah, this seems to be happening again where the bus is at a shop for a decent amount of time.

joy.

Casey

Today's Bus Update

2009-12-21T22:13:00.000-06:00

Called the shop this morning to see where they were at. They hadn't started but they were going to today.

Later they called me back. They'd been working on the brakes. The rear drums had seized onto the lugs (?) and they were having a helluva time getting them off. They were soaking them in penetrating oil as a last step.

I asked about the belt and oil leak. They think that the oil leak didn't have anything to do with my belt problem.

Tomorrow they will give me a call back.

Casey

Off Topic - Tape Measure Master

2009-12-20T20:25:00.000-06:00

Because I still don't have a bus to play with, I've been trying to find new hobbies. This is a lot like the guys who put the ping pong balls into cups and the guys who bounce quarters.

Tape Measure Master - Watch more Funny Videos

Casey

Bus in New Shop

2009-12-20T20:21:00.000-06:00

So, another wasted weekend without the bus. This is starting to smell like the last place.

I think tomorrow I'm going to have to call and emphasize the need to get this bus done and back.

Until then, I've been sledding with the kids.

Casey

Bus in Good Hands... Maybe

2009-12-16T22:39:00.000-06:00

Alright, I rushed home and piled everyone in the bus and high-tailed it over to the new mechanic. Had to turn around once because I left parts that I said I would bring. Kids were in the back and had a blast. It really does drive well.

As soon as I left, I noticed that my alternator light was on again. (See Alternator Problem Found). Basically I figured the belt had come off again.

I turned off the interior lights, didn't use the radio and decided just to go. I noticed that headlights were getting dim by the time I got there.

Parked outside and made the mistake of turning off the bus. I went in confirmed I could drive it in and came back out. Bus is dead. Here comes the beauty of having a house battery (auxillary deep cycle) in the bus:

YOU CAN JUMP YOUR CAR OFF YOUR CAR!!! It's awesome and I've done it a couple times now. I pulled out the jumper cables and hooked up the house battery to the starter battery. Ran back to the front and it started right up.

Unhooked everything, and drove it up the ramp into the garage.

Ok, the smiles on the guys faces when I drove into their garage told me I was in a place that appreciated the bus. They immediately started asking questions about everything.

I started listing out the reasons for me being there. Basically what I want them to do is check out the brakes and make the brake lights work. I also wanted them to go over my bus and tell me if they see anything else wrong.

But there's more: since I got the bus back from the last mechanic, it's been leaking oil. I opened the rear hatch and the alternator belt was busted now, not just off. The engine and notably the muffler were covered with oil. SO, they're going to take a look at that.

The shitty thing is that the last mechanic told me where the leak was... behind the fan shroud... the same one he had off fixing leaks... yup, awesome.

Anyway, bus is in the shop again and I think i'll get it back in awesome shape and relatively soon.

Casey

Alternator Problem Found

2009-12-15T22:30:00.001-06:00

Well, the alternator light was on for a couple days now. Wasn't looking for the problem when I found it. I had figured it was a dead battery.

Turned out to be the belt had slipped off.

So with a screw driver I was able to slip it back on.

I couldn't get the belt on completely, so I got it on enough with some brute force and then started the engine. The belt was then pulled on the rest of the way.

And the alternator light is now off again.

Casey

First Commute to the Train

2009-12-15T08:37:00.003-06:00

Today, I was running late for the train and missed all the commuter bus runs.

SO, I decided to drive the bus to the train stop. It's running well :) Has good pickup and seems reliable. Started up great even in the 21 degree weather. I noticed there as an oil leak, nothing big, but I'll have to find out where it's coming from. Alternator light is on all the time now, but no indication of a problem... I'll have to check the battery.

Took the picture with my phone from the train as we passed by.

Casey

Heat and Loom and Radio

2009-12-13T21:31:00.000-06:00

Today, I went over to my parents. They have a heated garage.

Plowed through installing a new main heater tube, an auxiliary wire loom and the stereo with my dad.

I have pics, and lots to tell.

Casey

The Bus is Back

2009-12-09T22:17:00.000-06:00

Today I called the Garage and found that they were DONE with my bus. Settled the price and jumped the next train home... amazing how my afternoon cleared. :)

Today happened to be the worst snow storm day we've had too. Here I am picking up an antique vehicle and driving it among a bunch of idiots.

The Garage said it had a little oil leak they found after it was started. not worried.

Also the hydraulic lifters are rattling. I checked this out and depending on how long they rattle is the how severe the fix is.

So, the whole purpose of bringing the bus there was the transmission. Let me tell you, it's PHENOMENAL!!!! Simply awesome. Shifts tight and amazing. You can feel all the gears. There's NO sloppiness, it's amazing. The Gene Burg Shifter is awesome. Has a short throw, easy grip, easy to shift into reverse... awesome.

Drove it home... took about 20 minutes. Handled awesome in the snow. Unfortunately, it didn't have windshield wipers and my driver side window wouldn't roll up... minor things considering it was 20 and snowing and blowing :) Did I mention it doesn't have heat either?

Tried to park it in the front garage and found out that garage is too short. So, it's in the back garage now.

This weekend on Sunday, my dad and I will be going through and hooking up a bunch of odds and ends. Radio, Heat, Aux Power, satellite radio, lights. etc.

Casey

Bus Update

2009-12-07T20:14:00.001-06:00

Friday, the bus was still being worked on. I got some attitude from the owner of the shop so I wrote up this article about how to interview a mechanic in frustration.

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to the shop to see if maybe someone was around. They weren't but I did look in the windows. The bus was still where it was a couple weeks ago. On a rolling skid in front of it was the engine and transmission.

So, they got the transmission together.

Today I called at the end of the day and the two guys I usually talk to were busy but the guy who answered gave me an update anyway. They were in the middle of putting the engine and transmission in and expected that to be done tonight.

Woot!

I'm trying not to be annoying and trying to be patient. I'll call again on Wednesday and see where they're at.

Casey

HItch and Bike Rack for the Bus

2009-12-07T20:02:00.002-06:00

So, since I still don't have the bus, I did research for different solutions for projects. Not buying anything but it's fun to google and see if I can solve the problems.

Today's Problem: A Hitch and Bike Rack for the Bus.

I like the idea of a hitch. not sure why. Guess there are a lot of cool things you can buy for them AND maybe someday I could get a little trailer and tow it around. Who knows?? The possibilities are endless.

I found this Bike rack:

It folds down so theoretically you could get in the engine compartment and rear door if need be. It's Hitch mounted so I then had to find a hitch. I needed one that would receive an alternate to just the hitch.

They make ones like this:

and even this authentic replica:

but I needed this one:

and that's it. I'd be able to Tow OR carry some bikes.

Yet another attachment that the hitch enables is this. A swing away spare and fuel tank carrier.

And then this. A Cargo carrier:

All the pictures above are linked to the place where you can buy them.

Casey

A Flux Capacitor for your Bus

2009-12-06T14:49:00.001-06:00

Flux Capacitors are now available at ThinkGeek.

I think that this might be the next thing to install in the bus if I ever get him back.

Only problem will be getting up to 88mph.

Casey

Interviewing a Mechanic

2009-12-04T20:10:00.001-06:00

Let's face it, you care a LOT about your bus. You also probably know more about it than most people and most mechanics in particular.

Another fact you'll face from time to time is that sometimes you get to a point where another set of eyes, trained eyes, can pay off.

I reached that point about 6 weeks ago. I finally fixed all my electrical problems and was able to start the bus. After an hour of it running and both me and Julie trying, we couldn't get the thing into gear. I have a new Gene Berg Shifter, followed the instructions and still couldn't get it into gear.

By-The-Way: This is how my whole restoration started. I had bought a quick shift kit, tried installing it and couldn't get it into gear. Then figured it might be the shift rod bushings, took out the engine and never stopped.

Anyway, so I was at the same frustration point. So close to getting this thing drivable and decided to quick path it. Take it too a mechanic. The place that had gotten me a bunch of parts, FornParts, had recommended a local mechanic so I called them up, they said they would give it a shot and I had it towed over there.

This was my first mistake. It's been at the mechanic for 6 weeks now. Every time I call I get told about hardships they face in working on my bus. It's 32 years old, waaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I seriously have heard enough that it's my bus' fault that it's taking so long.

When I brought it to them they identified the transmission problem and immediately volunteered that they had a resource who would be working on this. Someone "German Trained" and worked on these buses new. They said THEY COULD DO IT.

6 weeks later, their resource has probably worked on the bus a total of 5 days.

I am mad, but I want my bus back and working. At this point I am biting my tongue so that they'll finish the bus. It's not cheap to have a trans rebuilt. I've had to do way more than I thought I should have to do. I've sourced parts, ordered them... I feel like I've done project management and kept the urgency on them. Uggh.

Anyway, so here's my advice. Questions I would ask in the future when interviewing a mechanic.

Prep Work:

List out the items that you would like to look at and prioritize them.
Make a list of any changes you or others have to the stock bus. If you don't know, tell them that.

Questions to ask:

Do they work on Air Cooled Volkswagens? Buses?
When was the last time they worked on a Air Cooled Volkswagen?
Can they give you a reference name and number to check on the work?
If you know specifically what is wrong or you think is wrong with your bus:

Have they worked on that before?
When was the last time, etc, etc?

If they are doing transmission work or you suspect transmission is involved in the problem:

GO TO A TRANSMISSION PLACE OR FIND ONE THAT DOES AND HAS EXPERIENCE WITH THOSE.

This is where I'm getting burned right now.

Remember:

YOU have an antique bus.
YOU care more about your bus than they or others do.
YOU probably know more about your bus than they do.
YOU HAVE OPTIONS. There are more mechanics and in this economy very few are doing work on hobby cars.
YOUR bus is a iconic piece of American culture. Having it in their shop will bring in business.

If you have more suggestions, comment and share them here.

In retrospect, I should have bought a rebuilt transmission and been done. What I'm dealing with right now is insane. With the money and TIME I've spent, paying more for a rebuit and having it back in 2 weeks as opposed to 6 would have totally been worth it.

Casey

VW Bus Blogs

2009-12-03T08:21:00.003-06:00

VW Bus Momentum
The property or tendency of moving a VW Bus to Continue Moving.
http://vwmomentum.blogspot.com/

Mutant Bus Build Blog
http://mutantbus.wordpress.com/

Deltfather
Magellan Soul In a Bathtub
The musings of a wanderer ... who is not wandering, but instead restoring a VW bus.
http://cameronguthrie.blogspot.com

Traveling Writer aka David Rozgonyi
David Rozgonyi
General blog stuff, travel, photography, diary, expat life, VW stuff, stuff about my book. You know, stuff!
http://davidrozgonyi.blogspot.com

chazz79
"green apple monster thread"
Topics covered: Riviera top installation, Sound deadener install, Sheet metal repair, pergo flooring, Passat wheels and larger tires.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3...p;start=40

whc03grady
Ludwig and Gertie's Adventures
My family is ACVW-only and this blog chronicles our trials and tribulations, plus other things we find of interest. We love comments, especially when I say something wrong.
http://www.ludwigcampervanbeethoven.blogspot.com

earthnsurf
American Gypsies
We have an ongoing travel blog that we started when we left seattle a year and a half ago. Mostly for our family and friends, but still interesting if i don't say so myself. I haven't been writing anything on there about the bus, but will start soon. Thought maybe it would provide great motivation to anyone looking at taking the plunge. We have had some great times and seen some beautiful parts of the country that we call home. Theres not a better way to do it than doin it in a bus.
http://americangypsies.blogspot.com/

pjalau
Elementhis
I have been driving Red since college, most of my stuff is about my bus, or where I'm camping, or things I discover while on the road.
http://elementhis.blogspot.com

mathieu2k4
Volkswagen Wanderlust (French)
Relate of my trips in Quebec and U.S.A. more to come....
http://volkswagen-wanderlust.blogspot.com

BigBlueVW.blogspot.com
Big Blue's Online Carburetor
I update it about 4 days a week with vw-related posts. Also, have a calendar link on the top I keep updated with local campout and event info...
http://bigbluevw.com/

Gr8tfulEd
Gr8tfulEd and Belle - 1973 VW Camper
My lady's name is Belle: 73 Riviera. She and I have been together about 15 1/2 years. I started my blog to cover the work I was doing getting her ready for the 2009 Dead Shows. When my Jetta conked out a few months back, she handled the role of daily driver with ease. But I do short hops and don't like to wear her down, so she back on weekend/roadtrip duty. I did brake down and get custom plates for her though, 73VDUB.
http://gr8tfuled.blogspot.com/

IFBwax
The Party Pickle
Mostly summer camping adventures with me, wife, two girls and a white dog.
www.partypickle.blogspot.com

Gmag69
My Westy Resto Thread
It is about all the work I've done and will be doing to my '78 Westy.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=230285

Vwwestlan
Transforming my 1970 bus into a Walk-thru
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=149731

volksterii
Volkster Action
My adventures in my bus and other vehicles along with any fixing that I may do on them.
http://volksteraction.blogspot.com/

blue72beetle
blue72beetle's blog
Pretty much a blog about my hobbies...
http://blue72beetle.blogspot.com/

Chrisradioman
Chug Chug the 1977 Westfalia Helsinki
Thread about the restoration of my Bay which ended in tradgedy
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=255906

dubluvv
Rescued a '76 Westy this weekend! *slowly reviving*
Thread with info on my '76 Westy rebuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=343842

BampaBus
Restoring Our 1973 Westfalia
Stripped it down, painted and reassembled
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=368061

VW Bus Forum Sites

2009-11-28T22:01:00.001-06:00

I'm going to use this thread as a directory page for links to VW Bus Forums.

The Samba
I think this is the most popular of all VW Community Sites. It's been my favorite for a year or more.
The Itinerant Air Cooled
This forum seems to be more free form in it's goals. Less about moderation, more about communication and free speech.
Love My Bus
Has both public and member forums with normal mix of specialization and generality.

VW Bus Photo Sites

2009-11-28T13:51:00.004-06:00

I'm going to use this thread as a directory page for links to collections of Photos of VW Buses.

Flickr:
A collection of just buses from all years... pieces of buses, bus art, etc.

LoveMyBus Pictures

Pictures that have been submitted to LoveMyBus.com of Kombi's.

VW Bus Gallery

Whole site dedicated to photos of VW Buses.

The Samba Photo Gallery

Entirely user/member contributed and searchable Photo Gallery.

Another Set Back with the TransAxle

2009-11-27T11:05:00.001-06:00

So, called the shop today to see if their transmission guy was in to work on my bus.

He did show up today and was putting the gears together and... he broke a tooth on the main gear shaft.

Yup, so the main dude in the shop was trying to find one of those. I told him to call German Transaxle place in Bend, Or and see if they could help him out. THEY are paying for that one, not me. I think this is the last transmission job they'll be doing. At this point I should have just bought a re-manufactured one and called it a day. Probably would have paid a little more but would have had it already.

Best bet is that they get the part on Monday and are able to put it in and I'll get the bus back next week.

That being said, it's okay. I ended up having the flu most of this Thanksgiving holiday so I don't think working out in the 30 degree weather would have been good for that.

So, still waiting.

Meanwhile, I've been reading about shocks and sway bars and brakes... more projects!

Casey

Heated Seats

2009-11-23T22:55:00.000-06:00

Saw today that you can buy kits online to make heated seats... with the heat problems in the bus, I'm thinking this might a perfect upgrade.

need to research more.

Casey

Ordered a New Front Floor Mat

2009-11-22T21:18:00.003-06:00

I might be jumping the gun here on ordering this but, I needed one. I had one but in all the hoop-la around trying to get the shifter adjusted, I ripped it all up. I'd like to say it was just old but I think it was out of frustration :)

Here's a picture of the front floor mat for a manual transmission 72 - 79 Bay Window Bus.
Part number: 211863711G

I found it for $79.99 through VWParts.net. It's a pretty big piece of rubber so I expected shipping to be more, but it only ended up being like $15 for shipping.

update: 12/02/2009
Received the Floor Mat today. Looks just like the picture. Very nice and flexible. Definitely not the original version that I had but I'll do the trick. Now if only I had a bus to put it in.

Here's a picture of it in the box it came in:

Here's a picture of it laid out on the garage floor:

Casey

Hunt for a New Reverse Idler Gear

2009-11-21T15:44:00.002-06:00

Stopped by the Mechanic today to check on the bus and the gears that I had ordered. Met all of the guys and got the low down on what the shape of the used gears were.

Basically the Reverse Idler Gear is not the best BUT is better than the one that's in there.

Here's the current gear. You can't really tell if it's good or bad from this angle:

What makes it bad?
The gear has teeth and they have a straight sloped edge to them. The gear is bad if this straight slope becomes more of a curve.

How does it happen?
People shift into reverse while the gears are spinning. Since the Reverse Idler gear is not synch'd, the spinning gears hit the sloped edge first and over the years grind it off. (See my post on "How to Shift a VW Bus into Reverse")

I went to a FornParts in Downers Grove and got the part number (113 311 531E), but they said I wouldn't be able to find it anywhere. I tried at the VW Dealership and again, no luck.

I think what I'll end up doing is having them install the gear I just bought. It's better than the one that's there and if I just shift into reverse properly I should be fine.

Casey

Why did I buy the Bus?

2009-11-20T08:58:00.001-06:00

People assume this is something I've always been into. I can tell you that cars and automotive specifically has never been something I considered a hobby. If anything I've always pushed this off and payed too much to mechanics to do even the simplest of tasks.

That being said, Volkswagens have a history of being in and out of my life since driving age. I've owned two Rabbits, 1 Super beetle and now this Bus. At this point I can say I'm the most invested in this as a hobby than I've ever been. Previously they've been daily drivers and this is more of a hobby car.

I've found the hobby and the community to be the most rewarding that I've ever participated in. People I meet have a keen fascination with the cars... generally they have stories about this person or that person having or doing something with a VW. I also getting the shunning looks of those who, in-their-mind, are yelling "dirty hippy" at me... and I revel in their disgust.

The bus is easy to work on, the information is out there on how to do just about anything and there are always people to ask for help. My dad is into restoring cars... like really restoring cars... Model A's, T's. Currently he has an 1916 Abbott Detroit Open Touring Car. That's cool and all, but I'd never be into that.

What I like about the bus is that it's not that. People take an amazing shell of a historic fixture in global culture and do just about whatever the hell they want with it. To the naked eye I'm largely doing a stock restore. Lift up the seats, hatches, etc and I've made a ton of improvements and replacements to what was stock. Ask me and I'll walk you through each and every change I've made with a passion in my voice and rationale that I don't have for many things.

In a lot of ways the Bus has turned into a hobby/obsession/escape for me. I'm a very focussed type A, work-a-holic person and this provides something I can do that isn't computers, isn't work and is just naturally a relaxing place and community to live in... I mean it's a bus, it has that affect on people. :)

Casey

How to Shift a VW Bus into Reverse

2009-11-18T23:15:00.004-06:00

Had this conversation with my mechanic while he was telling me the reverse idler gear needed to be replaced.

Rationale:
The reverse gear is not synchronized with the movement of the gears inside the transmission, SO this means that in order to shift the bus into reverse, you have to completely stop the internal gears from moving.

If you don't do it?
Your reverse idler gear engages the other gears while it is not spinning and they are. This will gradually eat away at the teeth and eventually cause you to be where I am... paying a mechanic $90/hr to replace a part you have to buy used for $100 from a place across the country because they don't make them anymore.

How to Shift Into Reverse:

Stop the Bus (this will stop the wheels from moving which turn stuff inside the tranny)
Depress the Clutch if you haven't already. (this disengages it from the engine)
Shift into a non-reverse gear (like 2nd) (this will stop anything else that is still moving in the tranny... generally just moving because of inertia)
Shift out of the non-reverse gear and then into reverse. (because everything inside is stopped, your reverse gear will not meet with any (or minimal) grinding)
Let the clutch out and go.

This would also apply to almost any other VW (Bugs, Things, Rabbits, etc, etc). Apparently this is something that VW has done for a long time.

Casey

More Transmission Parts Found

2009-11-18T23:07:00.002-06:00

Got an emergency call from my mechanic today. Apparently they now have the tool they needed to take apart the tranny completely. They did that and found that the following two parts needed to be replaced:

Reverse Idler Gear
1st and 2nd Sliding Gear

I called up German Transaxel in Bend, Oregon and found that they had them. They shipped 2nd day Fedex so they should arrive Friday afternoon.

I got the sense that the guys were tired of having my bus in their shop AND I AGREE.

Also, while on the phone with the mechanic, I got a lesson on How to shift a VW into reverse. New to me, I'll share in another post.

Casey

Still no Bus.

2009-11-16T20:26:00.000-06:00

Well, going into the 3rd week at the mechanic. I was saying... "it's just money" but now I'm adding time in there. I didn't think it would be 3 weeks. Uggh.

They were ready to put the trans together and then found there was a special tool they were missing. So, now they're waiting for that.

and me with no bus.

poor me.

Miss the Bus

2009-11-08T22:08:00.002-06:00

Man, I was bummed this weekend. The Bus is in the shop waiting for parts to show up from Oregon, then it's getting it's transmission fixed up proper. BUT that means I couldn't tinker with it or work on it.

So much to do now that the electrical is done. Have to keep telling myself that this is the right thing to do now... get it drivable, the rest is gravy.

Hope to have it back by Friday. :)

Obscure Transmission Parts Found

2009-11-05T21:07:00.004-06:00

So, I got the electrical all buttoned up on Sunday night. This was a big job and I'm happy with it. I'll write more about that later.

After that, with the lights and electrical working, I decided to push it out and try to get it into gear. I had purchased a GeneBerg shifter (quite possibly the best shifter ever), had installed it but hadn't been able to test it.

So we started the bus and for an hour worked on getting it into gear. Bentley describes a way and Gene Berg came with instructions. Neither of them worked for me. Kinda sucked. This is how me taking about the bus all started... thought maybe I should replace the shift tube bushings so I pulled the engine out... and thus started my year long restore.

On Monday I had the bus towed to Hi-Line Automotive in Downers Grove. They determined that the bus was stuck in 4th gear and couldn't be switched out. We decided to check out the inside of the trans. Called them today to see what's up. Basically the following parts were broken:

Guy at Hi Line couldn't find the parts... I love finding parts so I decided to try.

Posted on Craigslist and The Samba. Got a response within an hour directing me towards a place in Bend, Oregon called German Transaxle. Called, talked to Sarah there and ended up getting the parts and a full rebuild kit (seals and gaskets) and synchros for $180 shipped 2 day. SO AWESOME!

I LOVE FINDING PARTS that others can't and I LOVE THE SAMBA.

Mechanic also confessed that he wasn't able to get the CV joints off... said the bolts were stripped. Had to order 24 CV bolts (893-407-237) from GoWesty. All should be there by monday. HOPEfully will get the bus back end of next week.

Good news is that I had to opt to get the seals and synchros replaced... figured while it's out I would. Transmission will be like new. AWESOME.

Casey