TheSamba.com :: View topic - My Red 1972 Microbus Deluxe

Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:01 pm

Hi All !

I've been posting for awhile trying to get my bus up and running after being in storage for years, and for the last few weeks shes been running great.

Since then i've washed it and thought its time to introduce her here to you guys. I didnt want to post her until she was running nice again.

EDIT - using this space to save links for later use.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=168943&highlight=nose+cone+091

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=288391&highlight=clock+solder

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=310527&highlight=steering+wheel+removal

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=386122

Lets get right into some pics:

she chipped her tooth on an irrigation pump head on a rushed afternnoon of a long weekend :x

According to the M-code, Shes a '72 deluxe microbus, originally a 7 seater, landed in Vancouver B.C. She now resides in edmonton, only 1200km's away. originally that orangish color.

she looks good from a distance, but up close you see my 17 year old (i was 17) handiwork. its a good, clean, solid, fibreglass and bondo job :P

It came with an early westy interior, all in bits of course. actually, the engine was sitting in the passenger compartment as many do. I put it together as my first vehicle ever. I remember trying to get it started, couldnt figure it out, then my dad came along and asked why i had the coil grounded. :oops: - started right up.

just brought the engine back to near stock setup this summer. kindof a hack job before, but hey, I didnt have cash to pur into it until like around now.

The pressure regulator is held to the firewall with 2 quarter sized neodium magnets. i love magnets.

The rear interior is hurtin, from a furniture appearance POV, however, shes comfortable for all inside. Yes, I did chop the wasty cabinet in half witha circular saw.. I know I know.

The cab is in fine shape, mostly original (I use that term LOOSELY) - seats are restuffed/covered

Headliner was reaplced this summer cause of mice. super gross. looks good now. not 100%, but hey, what do you expect with the windows in.

Big plans include clutch work, heater system work/reassembly, bumper and splash pan repair, exhaust reseal, minor electrical (stereo on buzzer connection, etc) interior, and some day, tear off that bondo and fibreglass and get a mig. and a garage. and skills!

Overall, shes pretty solid - i'll be posting up pics of the underside for opinions at some point. the electrical is in factory cond. so thats nice, front door hinges a little worn, and obviously that sliding door needs major love/replacement. mechanically sound, brakes, shifting, etc, most everything works except the heater system. nice sound system. (IMO)

Its great to work on cause while being from Canada, and having rust holes inthe normal places, the mechanical isnt rusty, so it actually comes apart when it needs to without a 1 week penetrant bath.

Please comment! - feel free to flame the quality of the work, i can tell you a story behind every hack job you see here! :P

Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:27 pm

I love '72s.

I'm not a fan of the interior, but otherwise that's a good looking bus you have there.

Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:07 pm

Not bad! I'm partial to the OG orange though.

Did you remove your "turbo"? (heater booster fan)

Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:06 am

Your bus looks great! Enjoy it! I think most of us also are hampered by finances and skills! haha! So dont worry as long as you enjoy it. I also drive a bus that are not perfect, hell it is 30 odd years old!! Anyway, I prefer driving it than just restoring for years. Life is too short.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:21 am

Looks nice too me. That's the beauty of having one in that condition. You can use it while you restore, customize or upgrade. I see plenty of "garage queens" out there, but those just occupy space in the garage for years and often never see the road via the hands of their current owners. Yours is sweet, take care of it and build memories in it that your kids will carry with them for a life time.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:17 am

Hey, thanks for the replies and comments guys,

cr@M, I agree, If I see '72 in the title of a thread im all over it. My feeling is the 72's have a good mix of the best features. but im sure we all feel that way about our own buses!

And yeah, the interior. I sit in there with the boys or my woman, and dream and scheme about what should be done about it. I was actually hoping to get the interior apart this winter and recover some stuff, but we'll see how it goes. My sewing skills are about as good as my bodywork skills. Maybe give mom a call! :lol:

73kombi, I remember when I got the van and saw the orange and thought "how gross" and "not cool". that in addition to the appearance that the bus had been thorugh a riot (the front looked beat in with a bat, the pass. side door looked like someone had takena chain to it) kinda meant she needed new paint. however, after seeing what some of the guys here do with OG paint, like the buffing etc. it may have looked OK. i dunno. she was dented real bad on teh front. real bad.

As for the turbo, yeah, I had to take it apart, too many speeding tickets :P and the guys in hondas where always trying to race me at lights.

Barrie, ddwbeagles,
thanks for the encouraging words. before i foudn this site, I thought this thing was kind of a lost cause because of the rust, but after seeing what some guys do to buses which are WAY worse off, and seeing that my bus, rather than being in terrible condition, is actually rather average, i feel better. And your right about the "rolling resto" i think i might lose interest if it spent the next 5 years in a garage and only meant work and no fun and i was afraid to let anyone touch it or slam the doors.

Thanks guys, I hope to use this thread as a bit of a photo record and progress report as I add to and re-work this bus. again, my first vehicle ever at age 17, and I've hung on to it for the last 13 years since! love it, and everyone who gets near it does too. The girlfriend hates the time i spend with it, but loves the bus anyway!

Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:31 am

8) Cool bus dude. I got a 72 as well and im diggin it.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:45 am

Quote: Not bad! I'm partial to the OG orange though.

Looks great, but I agree. My favorite bus is the 1972 sierra yellow. Great color, great body lines, great engine. Nice work on the bus! Now go out for a drive before it gets cold!

Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:32 am

busmania24 wrote: Quote: Not bad! I'm partial to the OG orange though.

Looks great, but I agree. My favorite bus is the 1972 sierra yellow. Great color, great body lines, great engine. Nice work on the bus! Now go out for a drive before it gets cold!

That's what i have! At first i wasn't a fan of the Sierra Yellow. But i buffed it like no other to bring back that shine and waxed it and it looked gorgeous. Definitely a 70's color. Now it's grown on me a lot and i couldn't repaint it if i wanted.

My buddies got a gallon of the Neptune Blue that i thought of changing to, but i couldn't do it.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:52 am

rustbus wrote: Yes, I did chop the wasty cabinet in half witha circular saw.. I know I know.

Actually.. I like that! Not "purist" sure, but I want some storage space, but don't want a giant blind spot and want to be able to look out the windows at night etc. Plus I could plop a little flatscreen on there to watch movies. :wink:

I just got a '72 sierra yellow westy I'm fixing up also ( http://bigmtn.com/dscn7340.jpg ). Where did you get your headliner material? That's *exactly* what I'm looking for also.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:21 am

hey thanks again guys

Bumblebus, the headliner material was a kit from TMI I believe, I bought it from a guy who i assume bought from CIP1 and didnt go ahead with it - wrong color. - only issue is while it looks stock, its actually got perforations instead of brown dots like original. looks fine and im sure it breaths better, but have to be cautious when gluing the pillars/around the glass. i think the kit was around $200.

The rods they send out with it are no good, well not compared to the origials. The installer used the old rods.

And yeah, that closet/cabinet is a massive blind spot and it was either the whole thing got chucked or cut it in half so I can see. works good for some storage, i made a little lid, and it makes agood armrest too. sure got noisy when i was cutting through the door/mirror! :P nah just kidding.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:53 am

Rustbus,

How did you paint the bus? Did you spray it yourself? Looks pretty damn good.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:17 pm

Another '72 owner here! But my motor is from a '74. Your motor looks to be from a 914?

Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:55 pm

Sawsalesman, I didnt paint it myself - i wish! out on the farm, a friend of my dad's had a body shop, so after i did my best (worst?) with the rust repairs I drove it backroads with nothing but windows on the body it to this guy to weld in my rust replacement panels and paint it.

he popped out the front with a stud welder, then atempted to weld in my rust repair panels, but started catching things on fire, so then he just, i dunno, glued them into place with some sort of product.... of course, after he quoted the work... i offered and offered to work with him and help sand, mask, etc, but he refused, then when it was finished That was it. I really shouldnt complain too much, he popped out the front clip, glued in the panels, sanded, bondo'd, masked, undercoated and painted all for $1000 cash 13 years ago..

The paint did look good, only came up in a few places around the headlights. since then and many camping trips later, its all scratched and rubbed!

atmellovw -bigups to us 72 owners. that eninge is from a 411 so yeah, i have to open the hatch above the engine to check the oil without bending the @#$% out of the dipstick. least theres no dipstick boot! I'm not smart enough to say if its the same as the 914 engine as well, might be. I pulled the motor from a 411 a school friend had on another nearby farm after he heard me talking that i cratered my first engine - they used it just baggin around the farm , takin jumps and just generally trashing it. for $75, hey, it still runs and has good compression all around!

I remember after we first pulled it out of the 411, we started it on the ground with no muffler or support (yipes! all over the place!), smiled, then jammed it in the bus and went out next morning for a long weekend campin trip full of people/gear!

I know the timing is different than a bus engine, so im still researching that.... I'm now at 5 ATDC. 411 supposed to be 5 BTDC according to Muir. (maybe those figures are backwards) but then throw the dizzy from a 72 bus in the mix and well who friggin knows.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:08 pm

sweet mudflaps! :D

Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:12 pm

I would love to have those mudflaps on mine.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:07 pm

Looks good eh. Is that a remote control stuck on your headliner?

Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:18 pm

hey yeah those mudflaps are sweet. a christmas gift many moons ago. NLA i understand, either via VWoA or RMMW! hah!

Too bad im a moron and I hacked the install of those too....they wont last too much longer... :cry:

YYe Timo buddy, that is the remote for the deck, with another super magnet glued to the back. sticks to all kinds of parts of the bus, and allows the passengers to turn it down, should they wish to speak :lol:

Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:32 pm

rustbus wrote: hey yeah those mudflaps are sweet. a christmas gift many moons ago. NLA i understand, either via VWoA or RMMW! hah!

Too bad im a moron and I hacked the install of those too....they wont last too much longer... :cry:

YYe Timo buddy, that is the remote for the deck, with another super magnet glued to the back. sticks to all kinds of parts of the bus, and allows the passengers to turn it down, should they wish to speak :lol:

You only allow them to speak then when RUSH is not on deck I am sure :wink:

Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:45 pm

hey Timo, I dont know about rush, but nobodies had the odacity to use that button yet!

so, it sofficial, the snow has hit the ground here....time to move the bus outof the back yard and into the shop at the office, and work ion it all winter.

I was planning to do mostly mechanical stuff, new clutch (shudders), and re-do the shift linkage bushings. oh and put the heat system back together.

but i got to looking at my rust....any of you out there who have tackled these spots have any suggestions as to which to do first? i have welded, but i need practice with the mig and in particular thin material. i'd like to start somewhere out of sight, and easy so i can get the hang of it. and practical.

warning, these pics are ugly...the front end has some serious issues, so do the inner rockers,,, and the doglegs, and and, well, you can tell from the pics.

try not to laugh too hard at my terrible fibreglass and bondo work, i was young and had no idea/cash!

The first three pics are of the passenger side "inner rocker" is that what its called? the bodywork guy did a poor job of install.

next pic is underside of one of the original seat bolt down spots.

this pic is a bad shot of the rear wheel well, were i poorly trid to patch with fibreglass...

Feel free to guess what areas some of these shots are, some are upside down!

boy i have alot of work cut out for me....but i dont think I could trade the old girl for a rust free, already got too many memories with this one!