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Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:15 pm

so im buying parts for my 74 westfalia with a 1.8 trying to freshen it up and give it some reliability mods. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

so far im going to buy

fuel lines
clutch and pressure plate (donno what kinda yet any suggestions)
new rear main seal with o ring for flywheel
petronics digital ignition modual to replace the points
a new coil (one that corosponds to the petronics kit)
new radiator hoses (haha jk lol)
the foam piece that goes around the engine tins (forget what there called)
new battery (probably going with optima battery but i dont know witch one i should get (size wise or red,blue, or yellow top)
new seal for the roof
and probably a new camper top. (the tent part)

any thing else you guys can think of or good places to price shop from
thanks
marshall

Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:23 pm

maybe a fresh clutch cable, and throttle cable.
how are your brakes? wheel cylinders? flexible brake lines?
window seals? any leaks?
front end steering slop? ball joints? tie rods? steering dampner?
tires? load rating? age?

there are countless things you can do. I guess maybe you could narrow it down to one specific area.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:23 pm

Looks like you have a lot of parts to buy...but even more research to do before you buy all those parts.

Why do you need to order them tonight? You might want to take some time to figure you exactly what it is that you need.

My mouth about hit the floor when you said "new radiator hoses", haha good one

Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:30 pm

how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

last week I just wanted to do the brakes and cyl, now I have the rear axle apart and I'm trying to resist touching the brake lines.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:02 pm

silverside61 wrote: maybe a fresh clutch cable, and throttle cable.
how are your brakes? wheel cylinders? flexible brake lines?
window seals? any leaks?
front end steering slop? ball joints? tie rods? steering dampner?
tires? load rating? age?

there are countless things you can do. I guess maybe you could narrow it down to one specific area.

just bought the bus and haven't picked it up yet (doing that this coming weekend). deff gonna get new clutch cable and throttle cable for got those. will have to check out the will cylinders when i get it up here but he said the brakes were fine but the motor is out of it so ill have to wait to put it back in to see how bad the brakes are and what not. tires will be replaced with the hancooks every one seems to like. im trying to get every thing in order to go back together and running

Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:08 pm

MalibuLX3 wrote: Looks like you have a lot of parts to buy...but even more research to do before you buy all those parts.

Why do you need to order them tonight? You might want to take some time to figure you exactly what it is that you need.

My mouth about hit the floor when you said "new radiator hoses", haha good one

haha gotta have a since of humor lol
ive been doing some pretty extensive research and know a fair bit about the parts that im going to buy just gotta track them down and find who has it for the cheapest. ive been looking up for weeks and new into the air cooled world and been probably over 20 vw air cooled sights that sell the parts that i am looking for i just have to go back and find the ones that i want.

im ordering the parts to night or early tomorrow because im going to have a break from college and actually have some real one on one time with the bus. so i can order the parts soon as possible so i can get them here on time to work on the bus.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:16 pm

VWDruid wrote: how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

last week I just wanted to do the brakes and cyl, now I have the rear axle apart and I'm trying to resist touching the brake lines.

haha funny lol i do that crap all the time. im just trying to get it running and reliable again. since the motor is all ready out might as well get rid of that old clutch that is on there. then replace the pilot and throw out bearing. maybe resurface the fly wheel haven't seen it yet. and replace all the rubber fuel lines might go ahead and buy the fuel neck heard they rot a lot im all ready in there why not. probably go with some synthetic gear oil for the trany too. just a list that probably keep on going lol.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:29 pm

While the engine is out, it'd be a good idea to pull the gas tank and make sure it is clean and rust free. Might as well install a new sender too, along with a fresh fuel filter.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:35 pm

seanjenn wrote: While the engine is out, it'd be a good idea to pull the gas tank and make sure it is clean and rust free. Might as well install a new sender too, along with a fresh fuel filter.

yup good ideas keep them coming probably put a new pump and filter in and make sure its rust free. i think rat well has a right up on it.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:36 pm

I would wait until you have it in front of you to start inspecting. It will take a very fat wallet if you want it like new.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:53 pm

SGKent wrote: I would wait until you have it in front of you to start inspecting. It will take a very fat wallet if you want it like new.

i know its a lot of money but im going to go on a long road trip this summer with it might as well have the right parts now. and install them if im just going to replace them anyways. all the things that im adding is for reliability. i know that the original owner really didnt keep up with it so im trying to correct every thing i can. im still going to at bare minimum do the fuel lines, clutch kit, rear main with o ring, battery, clutch and throttle cables and the petronics ign.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:15 pm

project street warrior wrote:

i know its a lot of money but im going to go on a long road trip this summer with it might as well have the right parts now. and install them if im just going to replace them anyways. all the things that im adding is for reliability. i know that the original owner really didnt keep up with it so im trying to correct every thing i can. im still going to at bare minimum do the fuel lines, clutch kit, rear main with o ring, battery, clutch and throttle cables and the petronics ign.

I would skip the pertronics until you have some time behind the wheel of your bus. I have driven 150K miles on points and although they need occasional adjustment, they are simply and perform their job well. $3 for a spare set to take on the trip with you and you will have nothing to worry about.

I'd also hold off on the clutch kit. First of all, being a 74 you could have either the 210mm or the 215mm. Which are you going to buy without having measured the old clutch? Second, if the clutch is not excessively worn and does not have oil on it, it should last indefinitely. I bought a new one and kept it for 10 years because the old one never wore out. I'd rather have an extra $150 to spend on the road trip.

Check your bowden tube (causes clutch cable failure), front wheel bearings (inner and outer) and replace your rubber brake hoses front and rear, much more important for reliability than most of the stuff you listed above. If the bus was neglected it might also need a master cylinder and brake booster, and possibly rebuilt carbs. There are so many things... I agree with others who have said get the bus and go through it before you start ordering parts.

-David

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:24 pm

Plus you'll find some places sell tin high and seals low, and others visa-versa, some places have cool nylon pop-up tent replacements and it is nuts.. I have a whole folder of store addresses on my bookmark bar. jbugs, gowesty, airkooled, Chiro's ... You can save a lot of money by shopping.. jBugs has good shipping prices.. Lessee, type2, type iv, good places.. (not on the mac so I do not have my bookmarks) busboys, busdepot... Shop first is what I guess I am trying to say... Use Samba ads too!

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:32 pm

project street warrior wrote: petronics digital ignition modual to replace the points

You mean a Pertronics ignition module to make it reliable? This is going to be funny when SGKent comments. You probably first need to find out which didstribtor you have anyway.
This all isn't the best way to make it reliable. Get your Bentley service manual and perform all of the tasks in the Scheduled Maintenance section. For instance you don't have front and rear wheel grease seals on your list. It's important to service the front and rear wheel bearings. Put CV joint boots on your list since you will need to go through the joints. Clearly you should put in new clutch and throttle cables. I doubt that many people would recommend an Optima and why do you think that a new clutch should be put in? On the other hand new battery cables might be more important.
Basically, get the bus, spend time looking it over and studying it, do the normal maintenance items that should be done and need to be done, then figure out what else you want to do. Don't get the cart before the horse. If you know all the vendors you can compare prices just as easy as we can.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:33 pm

Emeritusx wrote: Plus you'll find some places sell tin high and seals low, and others visa-versa, some places have cool nylon pop-up tent replacements and it is nuts.. I have a whole folder of store addresses on my bookmark bar. jbugs, gowesty, airkooled, Chiro's ... You can save a lot of money by shopping.. jBugs has good shipping prices.. Lessee, type2, type iv, good places.. (not on the mac so I do not have my bookmarks) busboys, busdepot... Shop first is what I guess I am trying to say... Use Samba ads too!

cool cool thanks a bunch i had a hole buch of links up on my browser then it crashed. ive heard of most of them but ill check all of them out and price shop.
thanks again
marshall

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:42 pm

Bluto wrote: project street warrior wrote:

i know its a lot of money but im going to go on a long road trip this summer with it might as well have the right parts now. and install them if im just going to replace them anyways. all the things that im adding is for reliability. i know that the original owner really didnt keep up with it so im trying to correct every thing i can. im still going to at bare minimum do the fuel lines, clutch kit, rear main with o ring, battery, clutch and throttle cables and the petronics ign.

I would skip the pertronics until you have some time behind the wheel of your bus. I have driven 150K miles on points and although they need occasional adjustment, they are simply and perform their job well. $3 for a spare set to take on the trip with you and you will have nothing to worry about.

I'd also hold off on the clutch kit. First of all, being a 74 you could have either the 210mm or the 215mm. Which are you going to buy without having measured the old clutch? Second, if the clutch is not excessively worn and does not have oil on it, it should last indefinitely. I bought a new one and kept it for 10 years because the old one never wore out. I'd rather have an extra $150 to spend on the road trip.

Check your bowden tube (causes clutch cable failure), front wheel bearings (inner and outer) and replace your rubber brake hoses front and rear, much more important for reliability than most of the stuff you listed above. If the bus was neglected it might also need a master cylinder and brake booster, and possibly rebuilt carbs. There are so many things... I agree with others who have said get the bus and go through it before you start ordering parts.

-David

good point on the clutch/flywheel size i guess ill have to wait on that till i pick it up so i can measure it. the previous owner said the clutch is almost shot. so that means its shot lol but i didnt take a look at it when it was out. i also gotta look in to the flywheel size because the motor that im am getting with it is a rebuilt 74, 914, 1.8L motor engine code EC so i was just gonna order it for that but he might have put the old clutch and flywheel off the 1600 on it. so better just wait instead of ordering the wrong parts. i hate getting ahead of my self

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:50 pm

project street warrior wrote:
good point on the clutch/flywheel size i guess ill have to wait on that till i pick it up so i can measure it. the previous owner said the clutch is almost shot. so that means its shot lol but i didnt take a look at it when it was out. i also gotta look in to the flywheel size because the motor that im am getting with it is a rebuilt 74, 914, 1.8L motor engine code EC so i was just gonna order it for that but he might have put the old clutch and flywheel off the 1600 on it. so better just wait instead of ordering the wrong parts. i hate getting ahead of my self

Your 74 came from the factory with an 1800 engine, and there are not that many differences between it and the Porsche engine. Many differences in the 2-liter bus vs. Porsche but not so much the 1800. But still, measure the old clutch before ordering. And you never know, the clutch might be okay and it might just be the cable that is shot. Or, it could just need adjustment. Just go get the bus. :-)

-David

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:51 pm

Desertbusman wrote: project street warrior wrote: petronics digital ignition modual to replace the points

You mean a Pertronics ignition module to make it reliable? This is going to be funny when SGKent comments. You probably first need to find out which didstribtor you have anyway.
This all isn't the best way to make it reliable. Get your Bentley service manual and perform all of the tasks in the Scheduled Maintenance section. For instance you don't have front and rear wheel grease seals on your list. It's important to service the front and rear wheel bearings. Put CV joint boots on your list since you will need to go through the joints. Clearly you should put in new clutch and throttle cables. I doubt that many people would recommend an Optima and why do you think that a new clutch should be put in? On the other hand new battery cables might be more important.
Basically, get the bus, spend time looking it over and studying it, do the normal maintenance items that should be done and need to be done, then figure out what else you want to do. Don't get the cart before the horse. If you know all the vendors you can compare prices just as easy as we can.

you are 100% correct sir i did get a head of my self. I was trying to order every thing i could to work on it over the break but its better to wait and make sure you get the right parts than having to send them back.

i love optima batteries because i tend to get really crappy batteries that fail with in 2-3 years. dont know why this always happens to me lol. any who long story short i have had a red top in my dd for 4 years and still goes strong.

the original owner said the clutch was shot so im going to replace after measuring it when i get it in.

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:54 pm

Your 74 came from the factory with an 1800 engine, and there are not that many differences between it and the Porsche engine. Many differences in the 2-liter bus vs. Porsche but not so much the 1800. But still, measure the old clutch before ordering. And you never know, the clutch might be okay and it might just be the cable that is shot. Or, it could just need adjustment. Just go get the bus. :-)

-David[/quote]

sweet good to know about the little differences on the 1800 and the big differences on the 2000. i will measure it when it gets here

Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:54 pm

Suggestions? Wait until you have a longer break from college, I think you'll need it. :bay_red: