TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1974 Stock Original Tool Kit/Roll Contents?

Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:17 am

i have read through the owner's manual that is original to my 1974, also through the exact replacement manual (NOS), the manuals online here in the technical section, and i can not find a listing of the tools that originally came with my 1974 Westfalia.
all they show is: jack, hub cap removing clip, breaker bar, and socket for loosening the lug nuts, and there is no separate tool bag shown, just the bag for the jack. is that all they came with?
no reversible screwdriver? no pliers? no fan belt? no 13 x 8mm wrench? no 13mm socket wrench (which is 17mm o.d to use on gear box drain/fill plugs)?
the last tool kit listing i find is in a 1971 manual.
maybe with the later pancake engine, they wanted it to be less "user friendly" and more dealer serviced?

anyone know what originally came with a 1974? i'd like to have the correct, original tools for the bus.

Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:03 am

Quote: all they show is: jack, hub cap removing clip, breaker bar, and socket for loosening the lug nuts, and there is no separate tool bag shown, just the bag for the jack. is that all they came with?

This is all I remember having in the 1974 Westfalia I had at one time, but since it had several other owners besides me, there could have been more tools orginally.

One other alternative (that's still stock VW) would be to obtain (or find all the tools) from the VW maintenance toolkit that was offered in the accessory catalog for 1974.

Pictures of the kit are on TS in the 1974 accessories catalog; Ratwell has a good description of it on his website:

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/VWToolKit.html

Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:19 am

hazetguy wrote: is that all they came with?

I've got no proof eitehr way, but I think so based off personal experience. My bus is pretty original (a 79 though) and all I have are the jack, plastic jack bag, breaker bar and socket. (I imagine the wheel puller got lost over the years). All the other late bays I've owned had the same, same for junkyard finds.

hazetguy wrote: the last tool kit listing i find is in a 1971 manual.
maybe with the later pancake engine, they wanted it to be less "user friendly" and more dealer serviced?

I think so as well. The manuals even started to say things like "requires dealer service" for alot more things, like even idle adjustment. The fiche (early and late bay) list the full roll up toolkit, and individual tools (including wrench, screwdriver and pliers) but with no "applicable years". I think it was just an "early bay" thing, especially as a lot of the tool part numbers are the same as those for splittys. Additionally around 72,73,74? (can't remember, I'd have to check the accessory brochures) the accessory toolkit went from a "metal box toolkit" to a "plastic roll up" one. Maybe VW thought they'd get more sales of a similar roll up kit if they eliminated it as a stock inclusion.

Its all conjecture, but its what I came up with when I was trying to figure out what all should have originally came with my 79. Hopefully someone has more concrete proof....

Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:58 pm

and don't forget the collapsable spare tire and the "coleman" air pump to blow that spare tire up, hard to find stuff right there!

Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:00 pm

I am the original owner of my 1973 Westy (not bragging, just authenticating). Here is what came in the tool bag (bag is made of white bus interior headliner) jack, double ended socket, small Hazet double open ended wrench, reversible Hazet screwdriver, hubcap puller, and breaker bar.

Tue Sep 16, 2008 5:07 pm

Quote: Here is what came in the tool bag (bag is made of white bus interior headliner) jack, double ended socket, small Hazet double open ended wrench, reversible Hazet screwdriver, hubcap puller, and breaker bar.

Would you mind posting some pictures of the kit?

Wed Sep 17, 2008 10:36 am

Bartoli wrote: Would you mind posting some pictures of the kit?

I was wrong, the socket (tube thing, middle/left) is not double ended. It has a socket for the wheel nut on one end and it's just round on the other. It does have a cross-bore for the breaker bar on the non-socket end.

Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:49 pm

My '78 has pretty much exactly the same kit as Opossum's except that the breaker bar is straight instead of curved and the bag is made from really thick plastic. I'm not the original owner though ...

Wed Sep 17, 2008 2:07 pm

hiwaycallin wrote: except that the breaker bar is straight instead of curved and the bag is made from really thick plastic.

That is how mine are in my 79 as well. Doesn't help for the 74, but good to know. I have a few of those wrenches, always thought they were just for the earlier models. Again, good to know they are probably for "all" models.

Looks like I'm now on the hunt for a screwdriver. :)

Wed Sep 17, 2008 2:29 pm

Sorry for going even further off topic here, but what exactly is that little double-ended wrench for? Since it is one of very few tools provided in the VW tool kit it must have some specific purpose, right? :-s

Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:47 pm

hiwaycallin wrote: Sorry for going even further off topic here, but what exactly is that little double-ended wrench for? Since it is one of very few tools provided in the VW tool kit it must have some specific purpose, right? :-s

Most, not all, bolts/nuts on a bus are either 10mm or 13mm. That is how the wrench is set up. That little wrench has come in very handy; when I didn't have my tool kit on board.

The jack handle came curved on one end. You put your hand on that end and the other end through the socket when using the jack. the curved part makes like a crank handle; it speeds up using the jack.

Thu Sep 18, 2008 5:11 am

here's what was in my bus when i got it. the bus was relatively unhacked and only had 2 owners before me. the contents kinda fall in line with what is described in the owner's manual.
i'm not sure what good a 13x8 wrench would do on a 74 other than to tighten the carbs if they came loose, or maybe some other very minor thing, but those sizes are not too common for "side of the road" repairs on that year. i could see how the screwdriver might help for some things, but not too many. can't even change the accelerator cable with those two items.
i parted out a 73 and a 79 recently, and i found a few original tools. in the 73 was a 13x8 open ended wrench, 13mm box socket (17mm o.d.), and single ended socket for changing the lug nuts. in the 79 was a straight breaker bar.
thanks for the input so far.

here's a pic of what is in my 74. the bag is made out of black basket weave material, like would be found on seat covers.
late style jack (the owner's manual notes: "your volkswagen may be equipped with a jack with a permanently attached handle."
breaker bar
hub cap removing clip
socket for lug nuts

Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:44 am

Opossum wrote: ... the tool bag (bag is made of white bus interior headliner)...

hazetguy wrote: ... the bag is made out of black basket weave material, like would be found on seat covers. ...

hiwaycallin wrote: ...and the bag is made from really thick plastic...

Just to totally turn this thread into a full on "tool kit" thread: (sorry hazet, what can I say, I apprectate the discussion of "what should be original to my bus" minuta in the bay forum, it doesn't happen so often :) ).....

Later bays definately had a specific thick plastic bag. I wonder when they switched from the "whatever scraps they had laying around" method (like with splitty tool rolls and early westy tent pole bags and wha tnot) to the plastic bag.