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Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:29 am

Cleaned it up with the help of my daughter. Looks like step one will be removing the bug transaxle the PO put in and figuring out if the old one the PO sent with the bus works or if I need to begin to search for a working transaxle.

Sam

Thu Oct 17, 2013 8:52 am

nice looking bus, great fan of türkis.

seems like going back to a stock RGB set up should be easy, front looks to still be stock height anyway?

Thu Oct 17, 2013 9:15 am

The front is still stock but it has no brakes at all. So if i can get the Transaxle set I am guessing I can get the breaks where they need to be. Is there a way to tell if the Transaxle you have is the right one for the particular year bus?

Sam

Thu Oct 17, 2013 11:48 am

Yes, drive it, lol. Aside from running the tranxaxle case numbers, there is no guarantee that the gears inside are original, and/or correct ratio since well, its been close to 50 years. Probably been rebuilt a one or more times, and no telling what gears they chose.
Just getting it to move under its own power safely is the most important task.
Is the back end lowered? If it is, it could have a beetle transaxle in it. Cant tell if your bus retains the reduction gear boxes from the pictures. I do however see that with no engine, those rear axle tubes should have a good amound of angle to them since lack of engine weight. Since the axles are straight, or a little pointing upward as they head twards the wheels, Im gonna guess lowered or weight in the cargo area.
btw welcome to the 1964 turkis club :lol:

Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:18 pm

Yeah it has a transaxle from a standard beetle in it and has been lowered and narrowed. SOooo narrowed that the back tires are scraping against the leafs. I've jacked it up in the garage and removed the tires. Gonna work on getting the bug axle off this weekend. The Transaxle i have has the Gear reduction boxes on it, I think. Assuming those are the boxes just inside the hubs. Otherwise I guess that is one more thing I need to learn..another wrinkle in the brain to be added. Also, was not convinced I would like the turkis bus but seeing it up close and personal and having buffed alot of the dirt and rust stains off has changed my whole perspective. Once i get all the rust repaired I think I can keep 80% of the original color which puts a smile on my face.

Thanks,

Sam

Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:23 pm

that paint looks really nice; turkis/bluewhite is a cool color

what size is the axle nut on the trans you have?

if it is 46mm you have a big nut, which is geared higher; the center section could still have anything in there so it's not a gaurantee

before putting the trans in, try shifting it into all the gears, does it clunk or knock? it could still pop out of gear while driving

put it in and go for a drive; that's really the only way to see if it's any good

Fri Oct 18, 2013 12:08 am

My 64 is identical to yours and we are in about the same stages of getting them on the road. Ill be watching this thread! I wonder how close together our buses were built??? If you ever decide to replace you interior panels, I'll take those off of your hands :) here is the thread on mine http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569072&highlight=

Fri Oct 18, 2013 4:46 am

Sorry for being such a newbie but I guess we all have to start somewhere. What is the nut I am looking for that will make it a big nut Transmission vs a Small nut?

Also, I saw you 20 dollar bus tread, what an awesome find. My wife would have done all kinds of inappropriate things to me if my bus only cost us 20 bucks and a canoe. :) I will keep an eye on yours also. At this point just trying to get it to roll and stop. I have 2 1600 DPS neither are complete but as this old preacher/miller use to say to me "you can put 2 holey bags together and make one righteous one." I hope. :)

Still thinking about my interior. I'm not a purest so I'm considering putting a camper interior in later on. But, I haven't completely made up my mind yet. I wanted to get it on the road by next summer and then decide if i was going to finish it out as a transporter as it was made or go nuts and build a westy interior...SO 34 maybe or 42 they both look cool. I have a friend who is a cabinet maker and he is willing to help if I can find the plans for the camper interior. If I do I will send those panels to you for sure. Pulled them out and letting them get good and dry before I wrap them up for the time being.

Sam

Fri Oct 18, 2013 5:25 am

the nut they are talking about is the rear axle nut that holds the drum on.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:30 am

my bus was built on June 10th, 1964, according to the M-plate decoder. if you get a minute, enter your info and see what it says about yours.

http://vw-mplate.com/mcode.php?lang=EN

Fri Oct 18, 2013 11:45 am

Date Born is 11/22/1963

Fri Oct 18, 2013 12:24 pm

Taederbug wrote: Date Born is 11/22/1963

Whoa. The day Kennedy was assassinated.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 12:29 pm

The transaxle is universal bug and bus....well almost, slightly different gearing. The bus transaxle has the ring gear inside, flipped so the axles out of the trans will rotate backwards! What reverses the rotation......is the reduction gear boxes, one at each wheel. Rgbs look like the rough shape of an egg about the size of a volleyball. if You don't see that behind each drum backing plate then you have either type 1(beetle), or type 3 drum/backingplate setup.
Big nut/small nut is just what tells you if the rgbs are 1963up or 1963 down. Big nut started in 1964. Not sure of the 1963 one ton era.
You can bolt any set of rgbs to your transaxle. big or small nut. FYI, big nut rgbs with a stock transaxle will get you 4000 rpm at 65 mph with stock tire size.
Most people install big nut rgbs if they want to still use rgbs and be able to cruise at top speed of 65 mph. Small nut rgbs usually mean lower top end speed.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:48 pm

So if I measure the nut at the end of the hub on the spare axle(it has RGBs) I have and it is just shy of 2 inches and I measure the nut at the end of the axle on my bus that came from a Standard 68 beetle and it has a nut that is right at 1.5 inches is that difference in a Big nut with RGBs and Small nut straight axle? The axle on the bus has no Reduction boxes on it.

Also kinda odd to think Kennedy was killed on the day my bus was completed....

Sam

Fri Oct 18, 2013 3:24 pm

Kennedy. Sounds like a good bus name.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 5:47 pm

I like it.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:33 pm

Taederbug wrote: So if I measure the nut at the end of the hub on the spare axle(it has RGBs) I have and it is just shy of 2 inches and I measure the nut at the end of the axle on my bus that came from a Standard 68 beetle and it has a nut that is right at 1.5 inches is that difference in a Big nut with RGBs and Small nut straight axle? The axle on the bus has no Reduction boxes on it.

Also kinda odd to think Kennedy was killed on the day my bus was completed....

Sam
small nut(36mm or 1.417 inches) or big nut(46mm or 1.811 inches) is the axle nut used to hold the drum on. SMALL NUT rgbs have or use the same nut as beetle(drum nut). Big nut is only used on buses and is 1964 up to 1967, UNLESS you for some reason actually want to install small nut rgbs on a post 1963 bus.
Basically a beetle axle or type 3 axle doesn't have a reduction gear box at each rear wheel, but uses the 36mm nut to hold the drum on. Buses up to 1967 use the reduction gear box, unless as on your bus they removed the rgb setup and went with beetle axles or type 3 axles which use no rgbs. So, unless your going to put a huge engine in your bus I would suggest you go back to the rgb setup, unless you live in an area that is totally flat ground and no hills. Straight axle is fine for beetles, they aren't a huge wind sail as a bus is. You also cant put 2000 pounds in a beetle like you can easily in a bus. That's why they geard them down using the rgbs.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:42 am

Yes, I want to go back to the original RGBs. I live in the mountains of NC so I need the low geared power to climb the hills in this area. It sounds like I have what I need I just need to get it on the bus and see if it works.

Would it be wise to take apart the original RGBs to clean them up? I am thinking I need to disassemble the rear brakes and clean them up, put new shoes on. Is that something you do to gear reduction boxes? Or do I just check and make sure the are topped off with lubricant?

Thanks

Sam

Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:57 am

As you can see this is the axle I have and then the axle currently on the bus.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 6:54 am

Make sure that you convert over to a dual circuit master cylinder for your brakes. Not hard and well worth the money to do. I used to live in Black Mountain and blew a wheel cylinder on a single circuit system. I will never have a non converted bus again after that scary moment. Only thing that saved my bacon was everything was in good working order including my E brake. Well everything except the Varga replacement right rear wheel cylinder.