TheSamba.com :: View topic - Birth of a 1978 Trans-per

Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:32 pm

Hello Sambians!

Newbie Here! First of all I will like to thank all major contributors to the forums for providing very useful info in this forum, I am starting to familiarize with air-cooled VW's and this info has been critical to make the beginning easier. Here I present my first air-cooled veedub, a 1978 original sierra yellow/dakota beige but now dakota beige and panama brown deluxe transporter. I am down in FL, and I tried really hard to get a Westie or a Rivi in decent shape, but having a tight budget kind of forced me to get a transporter and make my own camper (sorry for the purists! :lol: ). Fortunately, I found a local 1974 westie (very rusted BTW) with a complete interior, so I now got the full z bed cabinets and 120v wiring, plus several other things/ accesories.

So far, I have stripped the whole transporter back interior and:
-wire brush all floor
-anti rust primer + enamel paint
-installed all guiding for the wood headliner and panels

In the to do list is:
- make headliner
- replace z bed foams
- reconditioning of cabinets
- some camping :wink:

Meanwhile, I am going thru the Bentley to get a grip on air cooled engines, so I can get the engine serviced (right now I need to replace the pushrod tubes seals, she is really peeing oil!)

That's that for know, Feel free to make any suggestions/comments, they will be very appreciated. Below are some pictures of the bus. I have a series of questions for you guys, but will post the gradually as I keep trying to answer them using previous posts.

Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:53 pm

Welcome 78'bus! That looks like a nice solid machine you've got there. After I crashed my camper I bought my bus instead of a Westfalia for similar reasons- I couldn't find one in good enough condition to bother with. I picked up a 78 and purchased a 77 Westfalia interior and a Vanagon kitchen cabinet. I got rid of the overhead cabinet - it caused me too many headaches (literally) in my last bus. Doing this also allowed me to hinge the closet cabinet and make it removeable. I did this for two reasons... First on occassion I like to carry a 4X8 sheet of plywood or whatever and it is impossible with the closet in place. Secondly, by gutting the closet cabinet and lengthening it slightly I was able to keep the spare tire in it's stock location, keeping the nice clean look of the front of the bus. For redoing the bed and bench foam I used 3" memory foam and put carpet underlay under that on the seat part of the bed. I bought clean pop-top material here on the Samba to recover it all. Reconditioning the cabinets has been covered here on the forums quite a bit, do a search and you'll get lots of info.

So there's a few things to consider. I'm sure you'll get lots of other suggestions.

Andre

Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:03 pm

First thing on your list should be ditching those awful tires. Other than that, nice solid lookin Bus....post progress pics of your transformation!!

Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:15 pm

I think the wide whites are kinda cool. Doubt they are correct load rating but they sure look cool.

Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:07 am

VDubTech wrote: First thing on your list should be ditching those awful tires. Other than that, nice solid lookin Bus....post progress pics of your transformation!!

Second thing I would do is get an engine seal and see if the lack thereof has done any heat damage to the motor.. Nice looking project. Are you going to keep the progressive carb, or consider other options?

Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:57 am

Andre 4,

Thanks for your input, although I was not able to get the headliner cabinet, I was planning as you suggested to keep the area over the bed clear of objects (probably a cargo net to hold pillows/blankets ?? :? )

VDub Tech,

Tires are brand new, PO just put them in before the sale, so they have to wear down some before I put some money aside for it. Thanks for your suggestion.

fla4freak
I REALLY love the white wall tires. I will check the specifications to see if they are within the correct load spec's

fukengruvenoval

Good eye, I just replaced the old seal, engine sounds good, I just put 130 miles straight on the engine with no major issues. Right now I am planning to keep the progressive although I have heard of some lean/rich issues with them. my ideal scenario will be to swap it with double carbs instead of the factory FI, I am just used to work with carbs.

I must say that I have three weeks with her, so bear with me as I move thru the major tune-ups and services. I will keep you posted!

Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:19 am

Here are a few pictures of the bus in bare bone.

OG interior (Sold it and with the money from these two seats I bought the whole westie interior)

Dash

Underside, not too bad.

Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:26 am

Stripped down sunroof, cables were broken already so it was fairly easy to take it off. clean all the mess inside the compartment, it has some rust and I am thinking that I should wire brush it (the compartment in which the sunroof retracts to is kind of rusty) and try to POR15 it and paint it. Has anybody had to do a work similar to this? The compartment is very tight, and just vaccum it was a pain.

Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:41 pm

I wish I had a sunroof in my bus, I was thinking with a removeable rooftop tent you could access from inside this would be the ultimate 'convertible' camper setup.

I suspect that after you have that FI system for awhile you will abandon any thoughts of switching to carbs. Now that I finally have an injected type 4 I will do my best to avoid ever having a carbed engine again!

Andre

Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:57 pm

Yes, having a sunroof is really a plus, especially if you are installing cabinets, it will avoid the need to bend your back while cooking :) Is a little rusted though, so I will eventually try to find a rivi top to compliment it.
Still unsure about FI though, FI electrical system is gone i think, but who know what I can find later on, for now, I will stick to my progressive.

Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:23 pm

a pic of a bugetwise anti rust primer and marine topside paint (rustoleum)

Now, I have to start thinking of how I will get the rust in the sunroof area under control

A quick fix to broken water drain in the sunroof

Orange Plaid, washed and waiting for the new foam

I will be getting the new foam tomorrow, so I will post some pics of the refoaming process

Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:38 pm

Got the foam today from Foamfactory.com, really good quality foam. Got the extra firm 4" thick Lux foam, here are some pics from a naked piece and a mounted one

also got 2 yards of matching outdoor canvas for the curtains, right now I'm working my skills in the sewing machine to get them done :?

Next thing to do: get some 1/8" luan plywood to make the wood liner and the side panels, the ones I salvage had some rotten spots.

Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:48 pm

flat4freak1978 wrote: I think the wide whites are kinda cool. Doubt they are correct load rating but they sure look cool.

Yeah, on a '32 Ford, not on a '70's Bus. Wide white walls look horrible on a Bus, they just don't belong. It's all but a guarantee they aren't load rated for a Bus.

A little bit of rubbing compound and a day with a buffer would have that exterior paint looking like new. Nice job on the repaint of the interior, look great!!

Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:23 pm

FYI, White walls are 'skirts' that the PO put on it, so eventually the're gonna go out.

Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:06 pm

I noticed you have an a/c compressor and the radiator on the bus. do you have the entire thing and if so does it work. I have one and i am working on getting it recharged. if it does work, how well?

Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:40 am

VDubTech wrote: flat4freak1978 wrote: I think the wide whites are kinda cool. Doubt they are correct load rating but they sure look cool.

Yeah, on a '32 Ford, not on a '70's Bus. Wide white walls look horrible on a Bus, they just don't belong. It's all but a guarantee they aren't load rated for a Bus.

Calm down, dude.

Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:07 am

Yondermtn wrote: VDubTech wrote: flat4freak1978 wrote: I think the wide whites are kinda cool. Doubt they are correct load rating but they sure look cool.

Yeah, on a '32 Ford, not on a '70's Bus. Wide white walls look horrible on a Bus, they just don't belong. It's all but a guarantee they aren't load rated for a Bus.

Calm down, dude.

No shit.

Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:58 am

The A/C is not operational right now, Hopefully will put some time to it later to bring it back to life. I have heard good things about these systems though. BTW if somebody have the knobs that belongs to the fan speed buttons, please PM me with a price.

Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:03 pm

Yondermtn wrote: VDubTech wrote: flat4freak1978 wrote: I think the wide whites are kinda cool. Doubt they are correct load rating but they sure look cool.

Yeah, on a '32 Ford, not on a '70's Bus. Wide white walls look horrible on a Bus, they just don't belong. It's all but a guarantee they aren't load rated for a Bus.

Calm down, dude.

You're entitled to your opinion just as much as I'm entitled to mine. You calm down. :roll:

Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:51 pm

I like those tires :D