TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1976 crew cab

Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:55 am

I've had this 1976 crew cab for the past 3 years, but something's always seemed a bit wrong about the vents on the rear. They look like this:

Whereas any other bay window crew cabs or single cabs I've seen have several longer rows of vents directly under the cargo bed, with no vents either side of the engine bay, like this:

Just wondering if this could impair the airflow into the engine in any way, as it's probably not the original design that VW intended.

Wed Jul 23, 2014 12:40 pm

You are correct that the vents should be as done on the green bus in your photos. Have you looked inside that compartment on the red one for evidence of hackage?

Thu Jul 24, 2014 5:26 am

Maybe that is the European model with a 1600? What does the other side look like?

Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:38 am

1967250s wrote: Maybe that is the European model with a 1600? What does the other side look like?
No -- all the Type 2b pickups had the side vents like the green one, irrespective of the power plant.

Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:31 am

1978 from Uruguay

1986 from Brazil

Both are stock with 1600 Type I motors.

Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:29 pm

It's been a while, like twenty years, but I thought the limited, rear vents came on trucks with the desert intake option to reduce the amount of dust in the engine compartment. Look and see if the rear of the cab and the underside of the cargo area is double skinned for air to enter the engine compartment. Or, see if it has M-Code 004.

Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:55 pm

This one is originally from Ireland, in fact:

And, as far as the high air intake vent, you can see the louvers on the C-pillar in this photo:

Thu Jul 24, 2014 3:11 pm

The louvers on the back corner of the cab are on all later trucks to improve cabin airflow.
If it's a dusty conditions truck it'll have a solid bulkhead infront of the engine with only a single oval hole infront of the fan, like this crappy little pic:

Non dusty trucks have holes in all the depressed areas (kind of visible if you look around the engine here):

I don't know if you could get the dusty option with a type 4 engine or if it was only available for type 1 power.

Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:17 am

busdaddy wrote: The louvers on the back corner of the cab are on all later trucks to improve cabin airflow.

Busdaddy,

The orange truck uses the high cab vent of the engine air intake, it is ducted to the filter. The white truck has no high vent on the cab.

Tue Jul 29, 2014 10:59 am

busdaddy wrote: The louvers on the back corner of the cab are on all later trucks to improve cabin airflow.
I'm a bit surprised at you, BD. That is complete bunk.

The louvers in the pillar are ducted directly to the inside of the right frame rail under the bed, and there is a port out of the frame rail back in the engine compartment that accepts a hose for engine air intake.

I have never seen a solid firewall bulkhead on a pickup.

But of course I have not seen them all. It could possibly be that the OP's pickup has some other sort of arrangement that is factory, but I very much doubt it. It would not be for dusty conditions at any rate. If it is factory, he should document it with photographs and show us all! (That is something I really need to do with my pickups, too.)

Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:32 pm

Well now I was going by what I had been told by someone years ago who (I thought) knew thier s**t, having never actually gotten under the decklid of a 72+ truck that wasn't hacked beyond recognition I had no reason to think otherwise as VW did significantly improve the heating and ventilation systems in 72 and earlier trucks are airtight when they aren't rusty and the heat doesn't work at all unless the window is open, my bad. I've seen each end of that system but never concluded they connected, there was a South Aftrican one a few years back that had a clyclonic dust extractor mounted on a tube in the RF corner of the box which further reinforced my obviously errant beliefs, I thought that duct went there, whooops.

jtauxe wrote: If it is factory, he should document it with photographs and show us all!
Yes indeed, there have been a few here over the years where that was promised only to be let down by the OP dissappearing and nothing seen again. Or they were posted on some photo host site and not the Samba gallery and now they are just little boxes with a red X in them :? Here's hoping someone actually comes through this time :wink:

I'm still curious how a late type 4 truck gets it's cooling air if it's got the dusty option, maybe one of those rubber ducts like the type 4 cars use? the earlier type 1 powered trucks used an oval accordian sleeve between the firewall and the fan shroud inlet.

Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:21 pm

Weren't Irelands VWs CKD's? Granted if they were it should reflect German ones but I know for a fact that Australian CKD's didn't follow the rules??

? :-k

Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:36 pm

Split windows were like that, but not exactly.

Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:53 am

Thanks for all the detailed information, there's not many pick ups/crew cabs left in Ireland so I've not had a chance to inspect another one up close.

So I had a closer look in the engine bay and it does look like somebody welded in some grills :/ Very surprised that I hadn't noticed this before. The van was originally used by the Belgian army (still some evidence of army green paint here and there) so I thought this might have been related, but probably not.

Underneath the bed, the wheel arches extend over where the side vents would be on a normal pick up, almost right up to the bed itself. There is a tiny bit of space behind the wheel arches, but not much. Was the air from these vents ducted into the engine bay, or did it flow freely under the bed? Will try to get some pictures of the area under the bed.

Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:00 am

notchboy wrote: Weren't Irelands VWs CKD's? Granted if they were it should reflect German ones but I know for a fact that Australian CKD's didn't follow the rules??

? :-k

Yeah they built beetles and vans here up until the late 70s, identified by a shamrock mark on the glass. Not sure about crew cabs or pickups though.

Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:36 am

hecate wrote: Underneath the bed, the wheel arches extend over where the side vents would be on a normal pick up, almost right up to the bed itself. There is a tiny bit of space behind the wheel arches, but not much. Was the air from these vents ducted into the engine bay, or did it flow freely under the bed?
Under the bed in the fuel tank area, then back through the holes in the bulkhead in front of the engine. The wheel arches have a slight depression to clear the louvers where they pass over the wheel arches but that alone isn't clear evidence it once had side louvers as the same wheel tub is used on all type 2's.

Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:23 pm

ToolBox wrote: 1978 from Uruguay

1986 from Brazil

Both are stock with 1600 Type I motors.

The first one its from Paraguay, not Uruguay they are very different countries

Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:17 am

notchboy wrote: Weren't Irelands VWs CKD's? Granted if they were it should reflect German ones but I know for a fact that Australian CKD's didn't follow the rules??

? :-k
Well, my 1978 RHD DC was built in Germany and delivered to Ireland. M-Code plate and all.

Wed Apr 15, 2020 5:40 pm

eegl95 wrote: ToolBox wrote: 1978 from Uruguay

1986 from Brazil

Both are stock with 1600 Type I motors.

The first one its from Paraguay, not Uruguay they are very different countries

Well, thank goodness we figured that out after 5 years !! :lol: :lol:

I remember seeing a white '86 Bay Doka at a show in Wisconson? in 2001, one of a bunch that had been imported in the late '90s ??