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Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:40 am

hey, i was looking through the VW Bus Custom Handbook, and i saw quite a few bays with painted metal dashes, can you just take the plastic off a stock dash, or is that a custom fab job? Thanks!, oh, this has nothing to do with the dash, but I found this bus on ebay, and I am not quite sure about this quote: Of these years, '71 is the most desired because it has a more-powerful dual-port motor and power front disc brakes, and has an alternator not a generator. did the 71 have an alternator? i thought it was a generator.

Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:02 am

71' is very desireable as far as engine parts go, because it is the only year with the stock doghouse cooler/engine tin (the piece that fits b/w engine and trans). cause nothing fits quite like origional spec parts. as far as dual port, i think so. alternator, maybe. last year of upright engine as well, makes it desireable to some as well.

Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:53 am

that's because the truth about it is that the '78 model is the most popular year of any bus. :wink:

Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:03 am

Our '71's had generators, and yes, the last model to have the Beetle style engine, but the first model to have the power front disc brakes and the doghouse oil cooler with the 1600cc dual port fuel delivery. Also, lots of "model year only" parts, to wit: firewall tin, turn signal switch, and a few others, most of which are NLA except for original parts if you can find 'em......

Mon Jun 05, 2006 2:29 pm

ok, that helps the generator question, but what about the dash??????????

Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:52 pm

Do a search for metal dash, there have been several threads on the subject with pictures.
The easy answer is "yes" you can strip your dash, but you will have to fill the holes and slots. Poke your head under the corners and look up- you'll see what I'm talking about.

Robb

Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:53 pm

the all metal dash is euro spec. I have one in my bus. I had a different account ages ago. Search the gallery under shiningstar76@hotmail.com to see a photo of mine. There was a thread about stripping them a few months back if you search the bay forum.

Mon Jun 05, 2006 9:11 pm

Euro's had the metal dash with the pebble texture. The commercial Euro's didn't come with the glove box door. If you rip off you padded dash, there will be no texture to the metal. Then you have to fill up all the extra holes for the dash knobs that you don't have that the padded dash covers up.

How much time and effort do you want to spend? It's up to you.

Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:57 am

i stripped mine. the slots in the sides are awesome looking, i don't know why you'd want to cover them up. i used my dremel after cutting away at the vinyl with a utility knife. dremel worked really well for getting all the glue and extra padding off. plus then you can use the extra holes for accessory switches, like fog lights, or a sub kill-switch, if you're into that kind of stuff.

Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:04 am

Hot Ron Scorcher wrote: plus then you can use the extra holes for accessory switches, like fog lights, or a sub kill-switch, if you're into that kind of stuff.
the sub should be ran from the remote wire on your head unit or else you're asking for a dead battery in the event you fail to kill the sub(s). You can get a head unit which controls the output of the sub for when you don't need all that bass. Oh yeah, I'm into stereos! :wink:

Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:00 am

sweet

Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:55 am

British specification, 1971 VW 1600 Type 2s, did NOT have vacuum-servo assisted (i.e. power booster) brakes, despite the upgrade to front brake discs (i.e. rotors).

Most if not all of the British specification, 1972~79 VW 1600 Type 2s, did NOT have vacuum-servo assisted (i.e. power booster) brakes either, so we British have to have strong legs to undertake emergency stops!!!

I believe this also applied to the European specification, 1972~79 VW 1600 Type 2s as well.

Perhaps Volkswagen thought that only North Americans need this pampering!?!

Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:16 am

Ahhh, Nigel. You are refuting the folks who claim that one cannot use disks without a booster. For that you shall be banished to........ the UK.

Yes, there late busses and even vanagons had 1600s in them in the rest of the world. Many of us 'Mericuns don't know this.

Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:44 am

The late fatchick front beam presently under my Dormy, has a servo but it's merely there as "ballast" since it isn't even connected. Had it "hooked up" before but did not feel any difference in braking effort. Either it didn't really make a difference or it was no good to begin with but no matter, it's been like that for years! :roll:

The '68 Plump Truck however, has the non-servo drum brakes and it seems to be somewhat easyer on the leg than the Dormy! :?

Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:12 am

Being one of those weak-legged British drivers, in 1989 I retro-fitted to my British specification, 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, a pair of British specification, mid-1970s period, BMW 518i type, remote-acting vacuum-servo units (i.e. brake boosters), beneath the chassis, rearward of the front jacking points, in a home-made tubular steel cradle.

With a nominal boost ratio of either 2·2 : 1 or 3·0 : 1 (I'm not sure which), they significantly reduce the required pedal pressure, being almost as easy to stop as my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300!

Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Thu Jun 08, 2006 1:46 am

VWBusrepairman wrote: that's because the truth about it is that the '78 model is the most popular year of any bus. :wink:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=140972&highlight=poll
So when you count your own fingers and toes, '78 wins out. What about when 195 other people vote on it? Maybe it is true that the brain does remove past tramatic events from our memory. :lol:
Aside from what's truthful, the main thing is that we all enjoy and appreciate our own busses. We all have our preferences. I really enjoy the sounds of a sweet 1600 upright and others might wish to crank the speaks to drown out their engine noise.

Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:25 pm

Are there any custom places that sell metal dashes? Or do you pretty much have to rip it off of a Eurobus?

Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:59 pm

Search and thou shall find, scroll down.
http://www.vwheritage.com/vwh/VW-Camper-Van-Parts/...lateID=vwh

Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:25 pm

Man, all that stuff looks pretty sweet. Thanks busman.