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Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:47 pm

I finished the 78' Bay 2.0 /FI swap to the 74' bay this past weekend. Glad to have that project finished and everything is running pretty good.

I removed the York A/C compressor from the bus and will research a replacement. My concern is the resulting gap from the hack job to the body so the York would fit.

My question is how detrimental is a gap in the tin/body to the cooling properties of the engine. Also, any recommendations as to suitable material to use for a repair? The P/O had cut up a piece of coffee can for the tin on the left rear side by the fan. Goes to show you, all one needs to repair a VW is duct tape, bailing wire, pliers and now... a coffee can! :).

The archives in the Samba have been an excellent resource during my engine swap project... oh, the power of the "search" function.

-Bryan

Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:52 pm

sealing the engine compartment i s crucial to the life of your engine.

do whatever you can to close the gap

Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:20 pm

Seal it up, steel is best but use what you can, just make sure it's not going to catch fire or get sucked into the fan.

Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:16 am

That's a mighty resulting hole.

I'm voting with the herd and saying seal it up. As long as whatever you use won't melt or fall off, it should be good to go.

Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:16 am

I would suggest getting some metal flashibng at Home Depot or Lowes and riveting it in place. If you paint it black no one will ever know it is there.

You want the engine tinwork to be about as airtight as is humanly possible.

Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:34 am

Randy in Maine wrote: I would suggest getting some metal flashibng at Home Depot or Lowes and riveting it in place. If you paint it black no one will ever know it is there.

You want the engine tinwork to be about as airtight as is humanly possible.

Our bus came with the A/C compressor missing and the PO did exactly this with some cheap to but flashing and black paint.

Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:39 am

Thanks all,

I appreciate the comments and suggestions and will take care of the gap after work today. I'll be in Corona today and see that there are a couple VW supply stores there... I need to pick up an accelerator cable, the 74' cable is too long and the 78' is too short. Gee, maybe I can add the two years together, divide by two to strike an average and get a cable for that year and it will fit. Just kidding, I'll just look for a cable about a quarter to half inc longer than the 78'.

Thanks again for the feedback.

-Bryan

Tue Sep 16, 2008 9:17 am

How can a 74 foot long cable be too long and a 78 foot long cable be too short? :roll:

Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:34 pm

I'm bettin' he means '74 and '78......

Cheers........
:roll:

Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:41 pm

what are you doing with the compressor? pm me =)

good work bro!! lets see some pics

Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:06 pm

Good point on the 78 foot cable, no wonder I had trouble. O.k., I meant '78 and 74' :)

-Bryan

Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:27 pm

I sealed up the gap after work today. I fabricated the repair piece from a tin coffee can but the downside is that I don't have the coffee can to hold my screwdrivers any more :(

I'll post pics of the bus tomorrow night. We are going to give it a bath tomorrow since it hasn't been washed since we brought it home from the San Francisco Bay area four weeks ago (we live in the dusty, windy desert). In the mean time my wife made some groovy curtains for it while I was do the swap. How sweet it is to be driving that bus around now.