Volkswagen Bus Pilot Thread

[sanjuan]

The '66 my parents bought new (except ours had hubcaps and a long black steel step for the back doors with tiny steps for the front doors):

Lots of good memories of family trips and high school smokeouts.
(They traded it in for a new '76 Plymouth Volare wagon--my GAWD that was a lemon.)

 

[crazybear]

Had a 1969 campermobile for a short time got really tired of the prices of stuff to keep it on the road, like $180.00 for brake master cylinder & it would of been higher than that except I remembered the guys name at the parts store that told me that price on the phone ( that's the jobber price). Had a super beetle before that loved that little car.
I wouldn't waste my money buying a used vw aircooled engine to directly install, even if you don't have an engine for a core, buy a well built engine from a good place that only deals in vw's. And find buy a copy of HOW TO KEEP YOUR VOLKSWAGON ALIVE for the complete idiot. No I'm not saying your stupid, this manual is the best written manual for the aircooled vw person plus you'll laugh your ass off as your figuring out how to fix it.

 

[simple green]

Beautiful bus,...You're right though...needs the stock bubble vw hubcaps to complete her.

I love "non deluxe" splitties.

If your engine goes (mine did a few years back), just rebuild it

 

[crazybear]

Beautiful bus,...You're right though...needs the stock bubble vw hubcaps to complete her.

I love "non deluxe" splitties.

If your engine goes (mine did a few years back), just rebuild it

I agree rebuild or totally new engine , make sure you check the case for damage cracks, also I put a high volume oil pump w/spin on oil filter on the bug, engine lasted a long time, the stock VW oil screen only stops the parts with serial #'s from going back through the engine, & use 30wt oil castrol, & check valve lash like religiously I believe every 2,000 miles or less cold.

 

[pearlemae]

I bought a Westphalia in 82, while it isn't the old transporter type it was the last of the air cooled motors. I was in the army and drove that van from Florida tto the Arctic circle when I was stationed in Alaska. It was one of the most fun cars I've ever driven. Blew the motor north of the Yukon river on the haul road. The one the ice road trucker driv. I drove my vanagon down the beaver slide. Got towed back to Fairbanks by a buddy. Great fishing trip it was.

 

[simple green]

Only AmsOil Dominator 15w50 racing oil in my client's rides The late bay engines have a little more power to push the heavier load, but they can get hot

 

[Magic Man]

Thread is hopping !!
simple green i was told on SAMBA that the correct oil to use is Brad Penn 20w50 racing oil, it's got the correct amount of zinc. This applies to late bay engines.
:edit: do you add zinc or leave as is ?

 

[Snagglepuss]

I used to use 20w 50,and add super gummy lucas oil stabilizer.It quiets down the valves well ,and also slows up the oil leaks too.Using the thickest oil will make yer engine last much longer.

 

[simple green]

I've added another 20w50 from amsoil that had added zddp, added a zddp additive, and not added at all, at different times.....

 

[Magic Man]

So I bought a early '58 double door panel about 5 or six months ago. It is a pretty solid bus, not much rust and not too much filler in it, just lots of paint. It came from a friend of a frien who owned it in AZ for 5 years, before that it sat at a for 2 years prior, and a friend of his owned it for about 8 years before that.

Anyway, shortly after I had the bus shipped out to me I was really checking it out. The belly pans and undercariage is solid, but I noticed ther front two center pieces on the front member were folded back and bent back up. I just thought someone did some shady repairs to the clutch cable or choke cable etc. So I went and folded back the metal and found a little more than what VW intended to be, the belly pans were packed with marjuana, about 14lbs. of it.

So before anyone gets any ideas, I don't smoke , never have, I don't sell, never have. This stuff was old at least 15 years but I am thinking from the 70's to 80's with the looks of it. It has all been disposed of as well.

Well that was quite a find and definately unexpected. 1 of the pounds broke wedged between the bellypan and cable carriers when I was taking it out. It took about 3 hours or so to get all of that shit cleaned up. Now I am going to have to weld up the front members to fix it all. Stupid drug smugglers. If it was only money instead of weed :lol: .

Just think of all of the people that owed this bus or transported it with no idea of what was hidden inside.

Anyway thought I would share this with you all since it is a pretty interesting find.

later
Josh

 

[Magic Man]

After he fixed it up.

Nah, Rob, noone needs to see a stinky fside bonless like that. :lol:

Anyway it is starting to come together. Haven't had much spare time lately, but hopefully I can get it finished by the end of the month.

Anyone have a 55-58 license light lens with gasket for sale? Hit me up.

 

[westfalia]

I've owned a 1971 Westfalia (pop top) for about 10 years now. I had the 1600 motor gone through and is now 1641 with dual carbs. I also added a deep oil sump so it holds 4 quarts of oil instead of 2.5 quarts. I get a steady 20 mpg, not bad for a camper in today's world.

In the spring of next year, when the bus is 40 years old, I'll put it up for sale. This is the first year I didn't camp.

Ping me if you're interested - I'm in Oregon.

 

[simple green]

Hey westfailia...ohh no why ya gonna sell it?

71 is a cool year cause you can throw any old bug engine in it.

Magic...I saw that post as well...I woulda hadda sample just a lil, just to see whats up

 

[westfalia]

Simple Green - selling because its just time for a change. I'm getting too old to be rolling around on the garage floor adjusting valves.
Also, I'd like somebody to use it rather than have it sit. VW engines like to run, not just sit on a battery tender.

If you like to tinker, this is the vehicle for you. Everything is so simple - compared to today's vehicles - you need no mechanical skill to keep it running, just a couple manuals.

 

[crazybear]

Simple Green - selling because its just time for a change. I'm getting too old to be rolling around on the garage floor adjusting valves.
Also, I'd like somebody to use it rather than have it sit. VW engines like to run, not just sit on a battery tender.

If you like to tinker, this is the vehicle for you. Everything is so simple - compared to today's vehicles - you need no mechanical skill to keep it running, just a couple manuals.

No mechanical skill ?

 

[simple green]

I wouldn't say "no mechanical skill"....more like "different mechanical skill. It's a great vehicle to learn the basics on. If you don't have mechanical skill but have the desire to learn and patience to read and tinker around they're great. Everything is easy to access, easy to understand, right there for the tinkering or removal. There's good manuals to help ya and good online help if you get stuck, but it does help to "understand" whats happening....knowing some basics.

However, I feel like its the standard mechanics today that have "no mechanical skill"...they can swap out whatever part of a car OBDII tells em to but can't diagnose worth a crap. A lot of today's cars, unlike these relics, have parts that are hard as crap to "get into". Ill replace a starter/solenoid on a bus for $100 in 15 minutes because it's right there, two bolts to get it off, one bolt to remove wires, and reverse order to put it in. most parts just as easy. My buddy's Acura needed a new starter recently and we had to remove the whole intake system down to the manifold to get the thing out...Add to that the actual $250 starter...It was a weekend job for the both of us...to replace a starter, a part that is meant to fail eventually. That's why bringing it to a mechanic to do would have been a grand. A lot of labor, expensive parts, but minimal thinking. They're not interested in taking the time to get to understand or read up on a vehicle.

 

[Apu]

a vw bus is the stupidest thing to smuggle pot in lol. I would love to own one

 

[Leroy Brown]

Oh yeah, if you don't have a fire extinguisher in your Bus, go buy one now!

Couldn't agree more........ But do you know why? 40y/o fuel lines aside, the fuse panel is 15' from the battery in the engine bay. I highly recommend anyone that owns a bus goes to the junkyard & rips some 35 & 80 amp fuses out of the power distribution box of a modern car. Maybe once my show is done & name about to go by by I'll put up some pix of a friends '73 that I installed a 125 amp alternator from a modern car, along with an assload of fuses on, it's quite the setup & the headlights no longer dim when you turn the radio on

 

[simple green]

Couldn't agree more........ But do you know why? 40y/o fuel lines aside, the fuse panel is 15' from the battery in the engine bay. I highly recommend anyone that owns a bus goes to the junkyard & rips some 35 & 80 amp fuses out of the power distribution box of a modern car. Maybe once my show is done & name about to go by by I'll put up some pix of a friends '73 that I installed a 125 amp alternator from a modern car, along with an assload of fuses on, it's quite the setup & the headlights no longer dim when you turn the radio on

hmmm I've never thought of or read of anybody doing that, but putting in an at least an inline fuse sure makes sense now that you mention it.

 

[guest456mpy]

I ran an old 23 window bus. I think it was a '59 but not sure anymore. No gas gauge, you would just run and when it sputtered you would turn on the reserve valve and know you only had 2 1/2 gallons left (LOL) Love the sensation of turning ahead of the front tire, the whole thing handles different due to it. Had several others through the years, too. Got so my wife told me that if I brought home another VW she would divorce me. Now I drive a Mercedes, what a difference.

Still miss the old bus, though!