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

Thu Jun 24, 2010 2:33 pm

skid wrote: I like your vanagon handle, I think I need to do something like that. My passengers don't seem to realize that you don't shut the door with the lower handle. :roll:
Great progress though, awesome that its finally on the road!

yeah, passengers. can't figure passengers out. when its closed, they just stare at the handle, and no matter what i tell them to do, they do the opposite. now i put the sticker there, lets see what happens. there's too many languages on the sticker... the vanagon handle.....only really helps if you know its there!

Bumble! thats cool, im into that kinda stuff so i'll probably build a 'lectrolysis machine. the guy that wrote that webpage mentions "shadowing" - wonder if it will still penetrate ( :P ) the rubber coating?

Fri Jun 25, 2010 12:42 pm

rustbus wrote: [
Waves, i was going to just go out for a cruise, but you pressured me into taking pics!

HAHA! Thanks! and sorry about that. looks good! any noticable difference?

Fri Jun 25, 2010 1:15 pm

rustbus wrote: the guy that wrote that webpage mentions "shadowing" - wonder if it will still penetrate ( :P ) the rubber coating?

Once thing I notice is that it's really good at de-gunking parts also and "traveling" for lack of a better term. Try it and I bet it at least helps. I swear it's like magic man! :D I've done everything from hubcaps and splash pans/tin to little things like my rusty shifter plate and little bolts etc. so far with great results.

Pre-electrolysis... post-electrolysis and painted with chrome/sealer...

Yes, that's a stainless steel kitchen knife.. :lol:

Fri Jun 25, 2010 2:19 pm

Waves2day wrote: rustbus wrote: [
Waves, i was going to just go out for a cruise, but you pressured me into taking pics!

HAHA! Thanks! and sorry about that. looks good! any noticable difference?

No prob, ya know i wanted to secretly anyhow...! is it different? sure it is - to be straight, I only picked up the CB rotary pump due to the praise its gets here at the samba - busdaddy keeps plugging it, and if he says its good, I believe! -

my last pump jackhammered and cavitated too - at one point this would change into an even noisier situation, at which point bus performance was directly affected. I had just completed the dual carb tune procedure, going for adrive and I was ready to cry as i thought I made it worse....then the pump quieted down, and the bus jumped to life - must have been a volume or pressure issue. so yes, in my case, vs. my old pump, its a huge difference...best of all, it doesnt go "prap...prap..prrrraaaapappaprpaprpapra" like the old pump!

Fri Jun 25, 2010 2:22 pm

BumbleBus wrote: rustbus wrote: the guy that wrote that webpage mentions "shadowing" - wonder if it will still penetrate ( :P ) the rubber coating?

Once thing I notice is that it's really good at de-gunking parts also and "traveling" for lack of a better term. Try it and I bet it at least helps. I swear it's like magic man! :D I've done everything from hubcaps and splash pans/tin to little things like my rusty shifter plate and little bolts etc. so far with great results.

Yes, that's a stainless steel kitchen knife.. :lol:

[]

cool stuff, funny, my shiftplate is what I'm currently trying to 'derust' as well!

what are you using for a power source? I have an old 3 amp trickle charger i thought might work.... is that too much? I may have to re-read the link you sent

Fri Jun 25, 2010 2:46 pm

rustbus wrote: I have an old 3 amp trickle charger i thought might work.... is that too much?

That'll be perfect. I use a 1.8 amp trickle charger and small parts only take a little while. Plus you can't overdo it so if you forget about it eventually when all the rust is gone your charger will think it's "charged" and stop itself. :D

Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:24 pm

Just found the thread today, read it front-to-back. Nice work, I wish I had the time and the shop!

Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:52 pm

Bumble bus, thanks for the tips, I've been hittin a few items with the 'lectro treatment, does work, i think i need to work on my mixture a bit!

Raketemensch - thanks!

so, I've done more stuff slowly this summer, like replacing the OG gearshift and tossing the EMPI unit. the EMPI was nice, tight, looked good, but the OG so far, shifts alot easier from gear to gear, (specialy 3rd down to 2nd) and I get much more bus "feel" out of it.

Pics:

I was lucky enought to find, on a super rusty jackyard bus (which are rare around here) a like impossibly new shift plate. zapped them in the 'lectric water, and carefully painted the parts.

Then installed:

natch, installed a very decent condition front floor mat, and tossed the carpet i had cut for the front some time ago

Then Check this shit out!!!!!!!!!!!

Gonna do all 3 vent wings to sliders soon, all at once.... I think they look a little less....less..... well, less bus, but still good, and man, sliders add some serious "atmos-phere in the rear" of the bus, if you know what i mean.

also found these local, $30, shiny

I've become quite addicted to obtaining VW parts. sucks for my bank account. :|

Sat Aug 21, 2010 1:08 pm

Where did you score the windows??
<---- Jealous!

Sun Aug 22, 2010 11:30 am

jacob, got the drivers rear slider from a mexican distributor, a seller here on thesamba. I can PM you the name if you like?

Here's the full set - spent time yesterday pushing the slider windows out of my "parts" bus, and sticking normal windows back in it to keep out the rain.

Here's the cleanup progress:

they come apart pretty EZ, so long as some PO hasn't tried to super-glue the slider felts in...

Here's the 3 amigos, seals on, ready to go. I would almost try install today, but tut-tut, looks like rain... :(

as you can see, the mexican slider has a blue tint, and the frame construction is marginally different. I inquired about spare parts for my german sliders (seals, glides, etc.) but apparently VW only sells the entire window.

Also, picked up some 87 jetta belts from the local PNP, and put them in. I think I need to make another trip back though, maybe find a set in better cond, and grab a couple bits of hardware i must have lost.

FOr those who want to do this, and know what Unistrut is, these unistrut 90's were EXACTLY what was needed to do the job, right down to the hole dimension and overall angle dim's, as found in another thread here.
from memory, the hole is like 13mm (bigger, maybe 5/8" or 9/16"?), 2" x2" x 1.5" angle, 1/4" thick. i stole these from work, but i bet they are like $2.50 each tops, and way less pain than cutting, drilling, and deburring regular angle.

Natually, they were plated/galv, so I painted them black..

Installed. not 100% satisfied, like I say, I'm going to go back and try to find some newer ones. otherwise, sitting in the seat and pulling the belt across is wild wild stuff!

PEACE!

Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:28 pm

popped ou the vents - they were so rusty, all i had to do is roll up on the seals and the frame basically fell out, with some crunchy noises

Good spot for the removed glass:

yea yea, PO drove under something toooooo loooowww.....

window frames need a bit of love, so i cleaned them up

then hit them with a touch of POR

hopefully in the next day or two I'll get the new sliders installed....

Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:25 pm

love the sliders! especially the rear one!

Fri Sep 10, 2010 5:30 pm

I have a love/ hate relationship with the samba classifieds....

these were listed for about a month....not sure how they lasted that long...

can't wait to shine them up!

Fri Sep 10, 2010 5:33 pm

Waves2day wrote: love the sliders! especially the rear one!

heheh! me too, thanks Waves!

Just put the final slider in today - the rear one, and cleaned up all the grease smedge from the install.... looks good, I'll post up pics tomorrow after I bring the old girl back from the shop!

too bad summers almost over here, and what a wet summer its been....

Sun Sep 12, 2010 10:25 pm

HI All,

Heres what my bus looks like with all the sliders installed:

they are great, sit back and rest your arm out the window, bright, open, and decently water tight..the pressure washer got some water in, ( the new mexican one held water no prob.) but the rain stays out totally so far, WAY better than the vent wings..

spent some time on my new chrome, hate polishing metal.... excuse the mess, small basement....

And now my new obsession will be the passenger side rearmost slider....

anyone know where to get THAT?! south africa? guy at work is from south africa....where else?

Mon Sep 13, 2010 12:51 pm

man that rear side slider is sweet! i want one! let me know if you can, the person that sells...

also i installed my CB fuel pump... so nice, and so quiet!

Mon Sep 13, 2010 12:54 pm

Those sliders look great, and so does your bus!

Sat Nov 13, 2010 9:08 pm

Thanks Waves! skid! long time since i've come to update!

The bus is back in the shop, summer is basically over but so far no snow.

i took the chance to take my spare front bumper, overriders, and freshly acquired muffler guard and get them sandblasted and painted.

i've now installed the old rubbers back on the bumper guards and the side steps - the side steps look juicy because i've coated them in silicone grease and left them like that for a while.

these original step pads where very dried out and grey, I've found a good silicone grease bath does wonders for this. i'm amazed how much better they look. I've hit one of the bumper guards with silicone grease, looks bitchin awesome, i'll get the rest after i've finished patching the cracks.

I'm trying out using some black silicone adhesive permaflex or whatever to seal up/patch up the cracked parts of the overrider bumpers.

I've applied some tonight (not pictured), tomorrow I'll check if it sticks since theres silicone grease EVERYWHERE! silicone should stick to silicone tho, we'll see i guess.

last, picked up some new SS hardware and some plastic rod to make upa few more spacers - short a couple. here you can see the 2 different kinds of tall spacer, a cast metal one and a plastic one. maybe the short spacer came in metal too, but i didnt have that part of that set.

I'll also be scraping the old house paint off the original bumper side step "gaskets" since i dont know where to find those new and paying for shipping is starting to get old!

anyhow, i did a few more cool things to the bus over the summer, I'll get some more pics once i start into working on it this winter.

my plans this winter are to:
-put this new bumper on, and rear bumper over riders and muffler cover
- install the fresh air fans i scored off my parts bus,
-bend up a custom slider window for the passenger rear side,
- some general cosmetic fixes in the interior
-hopefully find time to rebuild the rear interior,
- install a fresh set of rebuilt carbs (my second set, long story,)
- generally get it running as good as possible.
- aim the headlights!!!
- check out the front wheel bearings (its been like 10 years, but probably only a few thousand K.)
- check out the brakes. its been a while on those too.

despite having resealed the engine last winter, its developed a leak at the rear end. could be the fan hub seal, oil pressure sender, or oil cooler. i didnt thread that oil sender in very tight - too scared..maybe that's it. gonna start running some thinner oil too, 20w50 seems too heavy for this climate.

yay winter. :P

OH yeah! - anyone reading this know what sort of shop or place would have the rubber strip/trim i need to line the bumper guards before i bolt them on? (the edge that contacts the bumper?)

Sun Nov 14, 2010 7:14 am

For the bumper guard trim you can just use a piece of vacuum hose slit lengthwise. Never know the difference.

Sun Nov 14, 2010 8:11 pm

VDubTech wrote: For the bumper guard trim you can just use a piece of vacuum hose slit lengthwise. Never know the difference.

of course, good idea - looks sharp too. now i just need 54 more inches for the other 3! each strip needs to be pretty much exactly 9", x 8 pieces.

used 1/8" (3.2mm) Gates fuel hose from the uap/napa i had lying around, test fit shows it will be snug on the bumper but make for a tight assembly