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Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:23 pm

Regarding the engine compartment photo from above... check out the mouse nest I found on the left. The mice strike again!

Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:08 pm

Great progress..whats up with the engine? Are you going to rebuild a new one or are you just getting it out to clean and stuff?

Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:17 am

Riguy718 wrote: Great progress..whats up with the engine? Are you going to rebuild a new one or are you just getting it out to clean and stuff?

I have a running engine in my parts bus that I am going to install. I'm planning to check the compression sometime this week just to be sure it's in ok shape.

I'm sure a rebuild is in my future at some point though.

Mon May 04, 2009 5:16 am

I made good progress this weekend as I’ve completed two jobs that I’ve been working on for the past couple of weeks. I feel like I’m beginning to see the finish line; at least with the body and interior portions of this project. So this weekend I’ve reupholstered the passenger seat and I cleaned up and painted the engine compartment. That was a lot to do!

The passenger seat back rest pad was completely eaten away by mice so it had to be dealt with. The good news is that the mice didn’t chew the seat cover so I was able to clean and reuse the cover. For budgeting reasons, I did not do the driver’s seat even though it could use new pads. But at least the pads are still there and now my wife gets a comfy ride which I imagine will be important when I suggest we go camping.

I began by ordering new pads from Wolfsburg West. It seems this is what everyone that I've read suggests using as they are made from coconut fiber and similar to the original material. I took my seat out and carefully bent back the metal tabs that hold the cover to the frame using a variety of flathead screwdrivers and pliers. I’ll pat myself on the back for not breaking any of the tabs. After the covers were off and the remains of the old padding was removed, I focused on fighting back the rust on the frame. I used sandpaper, a wire wheel, phosphoric acid, and CLR to treat the frame. Then a few coats of Rustoleum Black spray paint and I was ready to assemble.

To assemble, I cut a piece of burlap to fit between the frame and the new pad. The purpose of this is to protect the pad from the springs. Then on top of the pad I put some bamboo batting that I got at the local fabric shop. To put the cover back on I used pliers but mostly all I needed was my fingers and a good carpeted floor to wrestle the seat on. I figured it was best to the bottom pad cover first and then the back rest afterward. I just needed some help from my wife for the last couple tabs of the back rest cover.

Then I spruced up the passenger compartment by cleaning the cab area up and treating some spots of rust that were beginning to develop.

And finally, here’s the seat back in the bus ready for another 30 years. This project wasn’t that hard and I encourage anyone with worn out seat to tackle this job. The new pads feel so good!

The engine compartment pix to follow…

Mon May 04, 2009 8:12 am

The other major project I completed this weekend was to remove the gas tank and clean/paint the engine compartment. And if taking out the gas tank was like giving birth, then I did it by C-Section! I encountered two problems; first the nuts that hold the gas tank straps were rusty and stuck. So after a night or two of giving them the PB Blaster treatment the bolts would turn but only one nut would go down the bolt for a few turns and then get stuck. The nut on the other strap would spin but wouldn't loosen. Everyone who's done this job will advise you on the need to secure the straps with a vice grip or channel lock pliers to keep the strap from twisting while loosing the bolt. I realized I was getting nowhere with these nuts and searched the Samba for answers. I learned that you could make a patch with "plumber's strap" which comes from the hardware store in a roll and it's a thin metal strap with holes throughout the middle. I bought some of this stuff after I realized that I was going to have to cut my straps. Before I cut the straps, I drilled holes in the straps in line with the holes in the patch. It's easier to drill the holes while there is some tension on the straps then it would have been after the straps had been cut.

The second problem that I had while removing the gas tank was that the tank was still stuck in the bus like it was glued down or something. It was at this point that I started this thread, http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=355167 to ask for advice. It turns out that there are felt strips to pad the bottom of the tank with the gas tank compartment and after 33 years of service, those felt strips were keeping the tank "glued" down. I got the tank loose by laying on my back, under the bus and pushing up on the lip of the tank.

I lucked out big time because I was expecting the inside of my gas tank to be one big mess of old gas and rust. But instead, it's beautiful inside. It's clean and rust free. I even had ordered the POR-15 gas tank kit but I guess now I won't need it. Sweet! I’ll just insert the new fuel level sender and tank is ready to go back in.

While the tank and engine are out, I spruced up the engine compartment with soapy water and green scrubies. I treated any spots of rust that were forming with that rust converter spray. It’s the kind that changes rust into black primer. I don’t know how well it works but its better then nothing I guess. And then I painted the compartment with a brush and some left over paint I had from when I did the outside body.

I also laid down some sound deadener in the gas tank compartment and in the roof of the engine compartment since the mice had chewed the insulation in that area. Over the sound deadener I put a layer of Reflectix.

I think tonight, I’ll have time to perform a compression check on the running parts bus engine. I adjusted the valves this weekend to prepare for the test. Then it’s time to rebuild my new set of dual carbs.

Tue May 05, 2009 5:14 am

compression check last night...
#4 150
#3 130
#1 130
#2 150

Tue May 05, 2009 5:49 am

those #'s are great. Clean and seal that engine and run with it. Take the extra time to paint and deal with the leaks now. That engine shouldn't need pulled any time soon if you do the preventative stuff now.

Tue May 05, 2009 6:56 am

Great thread BellePlaine!
I just looked at all of it.
As a homebrewer (and with another Westy to fix up) I'd like to see more on your keg-r-rator set-up.
Where is the tap? Does the beer stay cold?
Right now, we just bottle condition our beer. We would like to get into forced carbonizing soon.
We never bring home brew camping because you have to save your bottles for MORE brew. So, we just take commercial beer (yuck!).
Any suggestions or tips you have will be appreciated. Thanks -Mike

Wed May 06, 2009 7:35 pm

itlives wrote: Great thread BellePlaine!
I just looked at all of it.
As a homebrewer (and with another Westy to fix up) I'd like to see more on your keg-r-rator set-up.
Where is the tap? Does the beer stay cold?
Right now, we just bottle condition our beer. We would like to get into forced carbonizing soon.
We never bring home brew camping because you have to save your bottles for MORE brew. So, we just take commercial beer (yuck!).
Any suggestions or tips you have will be appreciated. Thanks -Mike

Well, I haven't quite figured it all out yet. I know that I want to be able to stow everything away so it's out of sight. To get the beer cold, I was thinking of using a cold-plate like they use in jockey boxes.

There is a spot between the sink counter top and the spare tire space where this cold plate would fit perfectly in a modified cooler or shallow tub of ice. I'll be sure to post a full pictorial once I work it out.

Mon May 18, 2009 7:00 am

I think by this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, I’ll be ready to swap engines from my parts bus into my Riviera Project! This weekend I installed my rebuilt Brosol H32/34 PDSI’s on my running parts bus engine and finally tuned them enough to keep from back firing from the carbs.

I had four problems to figure out to get these carbs to work 1) I over tightened the idle jet and it wouldn’t idle for crap, 2) I read somewhere that I needed a 130 main jet so I put them in but my engine works better with the 135’s it came with, and 3) I didn’t have the timing set right, and 4) I needed longer head bolts to allow for the phenolic manifold spacer between the head and the manifold. The good news is that my seized engine had the longer bolts so I was able to swap them out. I created a thread specifically for the carb rebuild and then I found a thread that someone had started on the Performance Forum, so if you’re interested in hearing more about these carbs check these threads out.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=345244&highlight=brosol
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=354817

Besides the carb tuning, I also finished up some other odd and ends. I finished installing my seat belts, the bench seat arm rest, I patched a rip that I made in my new canvas, installed the remaining curtain rods (still waiting on the wife to make some new curtains though), installed the dome light, license plate light (need a new gasket), and installed the child’s cot brackets from my Westy to the Rivi. I even scored some of the telescoping rods which fit under the bench seat.

All that’s left to do is find a new fuel filler hose (I need the old style) and then I think I should be ready to install my parts bus engine into the Rivi. After that it’s new tires, insurance and registration, and CAMPING!

On a side note, I had a birthday and my coworkers got me this cake!

Mon May 18, 2009 7:06 am

BellePlaine wrote: I needed longer head bolts to allow for the phenolic manifold spacer between the head and the manifold.

You shouldn't be running phenolic spacers with carbs. They are specifically for FI use only. You should be running the metal intake to cylinder head gaskets.

Mon May 18, 2009 7:23 am

VDubTech wrote: BellePlaine wrote: I needed longer head bolts to allow for the phenolic manifold spacer between the head and the manifold.

You shouldn't be running phenolic spacers with carbs. They are specifically for FI use only. You should be running the metal intake to cylinder head gaskets.

I've heard that before so I tried running them with only the gaskets and got a lot of terrible back firing... white smoke and flames! During my search, it was recommended to use the spacers and it made difference. I don't know if I can find that thread again, but I'll look. I'm not sure if these carbs are what I want to run in the long run but for now it's what I got.

Mon May 18, 2009 7:31 am

I forgot to mention that I have three boxes of new parts to install as well...

KYB-GR2 front shocks
KYB Gas-A-Just rear shocks
Steering dampener
CHT gauge
Rebuilt CV axles from German Supply (Rockford Boots)
Rear bearings and seals
Brake Line Kit
Fuel line Kit
2 Rear Wheel brake cylinders
Fuel level sender
Exhaust System Mounting Kit
Clutch Cable Kit
Accelerator Cable
PBR Deluxe front brake pads
Rear Brake shoes

I'm also having Glenn send me some new fiber washers to rebuild my distibitor.

Fri May 22, 2009 11:08 am

Greetings from St. Paul, I'll be looking for the bus at the West Side show. My brother and I are rebuilding a '69 Westy, and a total interior restoration is in order (PO customized mainly using the JC Whitney catalog and tons of SHAG!). I need to see those birch headliners in person! Sounds like good weather for this weekend, I hope you make some good headway. Looks awesome so far!

Fri May 22, 2009 11:35 am

Thanks so much Vegdrabbits. Tomorrow is engine swap day and like you said, the weather is going to hold out. Stay tuned for an update!

Sat May 23, 2009 12:15 am

Hey man, under those felt pads that "glued" your gas tank down check for rust pinholes. I know it sounds weird but my tank was almost new looking but under those felts were a couple small holes. I found out after everything was back together!
Bus looks great, good luck on getting her on the road, I'm in the same boat with my 69

Sat May 23, 2009 9:24 pm

vdub66gone wrote: Hey man, under those felt pads that "glued" your gas tank down check for rust pinholes. I know it sounds weird but my tank was almost new looking but under those felts were a couple small holes. I found out after everything was back together!
Bus looks great, good luck on getting her on the road, I'm in the same boat with my 69

I did have some surface rust on the outside of the tank that I sanded off and repainted but I didn't notice any pinholes though, I hope that I don't have them! I addition to the felt pads, there was also some 4 inch squares of upholstery covering glued to the bottom of the tank,it was the same material as what's on my front seats, weird.

Sat May 23, 2009 9:57 pm

I had my dad and brother over for some bonding, beer, and to drop the engine from my parts bus. Actually, I was hoping to get a lot more done then we did. I had it in my mind that I could have this beast installed into the Riviera plus a host of other projects before dinner time but we ran into a few delays.

First of all, my brother thought it would be a good idea to set the bus on ramps for the drop. This was fine until we had to remove the CV axles; we had to jack the car up to turn the wheels to get at the second half of the bolts.

Then, after everything was unbolted and the engine/trany combo waited patently on the ATV jack we realized that someone had welded the shifter nut onto the shifter rod! We had to cut the housing just a head of the trany to get the thing apart. After everything was out of the bus and we grinded away at the weld, Dad somehow got the nut out.

While I was still on the mentality that we could still get this engine installed just after a quick cleaning and a CHT ring install, we were treated to lots of seized cooling tin screws. Most of the time a little heat would be all we needed to get the screw loose but there are three (and maybe more) screws that just would not give it up. Heat, PB Blaster, vice grips… we are still fighting these little bastards!

Then I thought, “I’ll just install the CHT sender ring without pulling the tin.” So I cut the crush washer, put on the ring with a little bend just like GermanSupply Scott shows in his technical article and start screwing in the NGK plug. I’m screwing it in for what seems like too long with a little resistance but not like I’m used to. So I get worried that I’m stripping the threads and I take out the plug only to realize that I’ve ovaled my sender! I can’t believe it… what a bummer. So now I’m going to cut the ring off and JB Weld that wire to the head.

While my brother and I was working on the engine drop, my dad installed my gas tank, new fuel filler hose and neck and then moved on to the rear brake drums because I had planned to replace the bearings before replacing the CV axles. Well, the brake drums are stuck. Bentley shows that we need a drum puller and Napa doesn’t carry it. I just did some Samba searching and read up on the suggestions. I’ll start by adjusting my brake shoes and PB Blaster. Hopefully that will work.

So tomorrow my brother and I are going to see what we can get accomplished. It would be nice to get the tin off, the sender installed, and I’d be elated if I could get those brake drums out. Stay tuned…

Sun May 24, 2009 12:22 pm

Atleast your making some progress. Hope to see you at the bug-in

Tue May 26, 2009 5:35 am

I’ll fill in the details later, but we got a lot done this weekend and I’m at a good pausing point until next weekend. So I got new brake lines behind the brass T replaced, new rear shocks, new rear brake bearing (both inner and outer), gas tank installed with new fuel level sender and new fuel filler hose and neck. New vapor lines. Also, as reported above we dropped my running motor which I’ve begun cleaning.

Next steps is to finish cleaning the tins, clean the oil cooler (which all gummy and gross), figure out what I’m going to do about the CHT sender, replace the clutch cable and accelerator cable, and finish replacing the brake lines. Oh, yeah and I need to replace the front shocks and install the engine.

As of Sunday morning, I was doubtful I was going to make my goal of taking my bus to the Twin Cities Westside VW show on June 7 but I’m feeling better about my chances now that I figured out how to get that old outer wheel bearing race out!

I didn't take a lot of pics because my hands were always greasy but here's a pic of my weekend clothes just to give you an idea how dirty all of this work is.

And here's my understanding wife who had to watch our two little kids all weekend while I was under the bus. She worked harder than I did!

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