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Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:28 pm

Mr. Electric Wizard wrote: My '66 came with "gutted" front brake assemblies...
I took off the drum, and there was nothing in there, not even wheel cylinders...
I got one of those too, on a "running" bus...checked out the weak brakes, and found one front metal line from the MC looped into the other port to make one big loop!
I've also got a 10 lb. piece of 3/16" thick angle iron reinforcing my tail gate on the DC as a patch...of course it's so heavy, the hinges are now pulling apart from the gate!

Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:25 pm

I had a 64 camper conversion that the p.o. violated in many ways. He cut 2/3 of the dash out to install a huge CB radio... bolted a back up light to the top of the roof (looked more like a patio light)... replaced the stock tail lights with some huge round utility tail lights... various random holes all over the dash for switches to work all this crap.

Lots of bondo hiding major rust as well.

Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:55 pm

my old 21window was paneled out on the inside with luan plywood. there was fiberglas insulation behind it. the PO who installed it must have been smoking when he was doing the work b/c the kraft facing was all burnt off as was the back of the luan.

he also made a seat for his kid outta some boards and jammed in in the walkthru section so the kids face was about level with the dash board when he sat in it. there was a radio on the underside of the kid seat that shocked me when i touched it the first time.

Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:57 pm

i found my 67 with no brake parts whatsoever on the rear right side. only a gutted wheel cylinder.

Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:08 pm

UZI wrote: my old 21window was paneled out on the inside with luan plywood. there was fiberglas insulation behind it. the PO who installed it must have been smoking when he was doing the work b/c the kraft facing was all burnt off as was the back of the luan.

he also made a seat for his kid outta some boards and jammed in in the walkthru section so the kids face was about level with the dash board when he sat in it. there was a radio on the underside of the kid seat that shocked me when i touched it the first time.

Somebody call DEFACS!

Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:30 pm

I don't know what it is that says to previous owners that if it doesn't work, then wire it differently...

Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:03 pm

The P.O. bus in my avatar had diamond tuck vinyl from the dashboard to the rear hatch. It also had a home-made camper kit built into it. Then to top it off, they cut holes in the front wheel wells to accommodate late model superbeetle or rabbit seats with part of the seat sticking through the metal into wheel wells. Atleast I found a pipe in the compartment between the wheel wells.

Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:32 pm

my 64 had its the front engine tin removed and after my first drive home in it I noticed the fuel line was laying on one of the heater boxes.
:shock:

Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:17 pm

One of the P.O.s used aluminum screen to fill in large holes in the rockers and an approximate 14" square piece of flannel shirt to fill another hole. He/she must have thought "duuude, I'll use the TAIL of the shirt and that way I can still wear it." :lol:

Mon Apr 10, 2006 10:18 pm

arthurnugen wrote: One of the P.O.s used aluminum screen to fill in large holes in the rockers and an approximate 14" square piece of flannel shirt to fill another hole. He/she must have thought "duuude, I'll use the TAIL of the shirt and that way I can still wear it." :lol:

I have two walk thrus, both of which some idiot PO cut a portion of the passenger side bulkhead out so when you sit the back of the seat pushes against the floppy bulkhead causing it to bend back.
--Dan

Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:44 am

pyrOman wrote: Wannabe "barn door" fatchick! :roll: This is a barn-door hinge "grafted" into the accelerator pedal of the Plump truck:

:?

quit your bitchin' i heard barndoors are going up in price.. :lol:

Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:48 am

so far, this would be the worst for mine- 4"sq hole cut into luggage shelf..filled with tar.

then on the underside of the shelf- in the engine bay there was this bolted up.

which covered up insulation which was put up with tar (after removing insulation)

so now i get to scrape old insulation and tar...and weld in a patch panel for the hole.. :roll:

Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:50 am

My first bus I bought out of california had toyota bucket seats in the front. The p.o. hacked out the stock rails to put them in using 2 x 4 lumber and an air nail gun.

Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:47 am

Went to look at a freinds panel van, the previous owner, who owns a VW shop,???
Had fitted a bay window front beam, not a 68 model one but a mid 70's, he got it to fit by just using 2 bolts each side, the lower 2 were just below the chassis rail and had nothing in them??

Dave

Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:08 am

Split 1 wrote: Went to look at a freinds panel van, the previous owner, who owns a VW shop,???
Had fitted a bay window front beam, not a 68 model one but a mid 70's, he got it to fit by just using 2 bolts each side, the lower 2 were just below the chassis rail and had nothing in them??

Dave

Hey, now! :-s

Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:52 am

I live in Florida and Jack-ass PO of my old '65 Kombi was a big Seminoles fan. Seminoles colors are Garnet and Gold. This was going to be his "party-wagon" to the games, so stated by the gold spray painted "Party-wagon" across the nose and emblem. :roll:

He was so impressed with his artwork he then spryed the Gold and Red spraypaint on the interior, yes the door panels, the seat covers, the headliner, the dash and apparently some masking tape was out of the party wagon's budget because the colors went over all window seals interior and exterior and onto the glass by a good inch. Rims, tires, engine bay, nothing was spared. Origianl Dove Blue paint right underneath.Saaaweeet!

Best of all I live in Gainesville where the UF Gators are the biggest Seminole rivalry. It was like painting "please kick my ass" sign on your vintage VW.

Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:15 am

vwjosh67 wrote: hey bill, you beat be to it! lol.

one of the previous owners broke the gas pedal assembly, and decided it would be ok to just use a door hinge and zip ties. :roll: the door hinge is screwed into the front floor, and there is 2 holes drilled into the gas pedal where the zip ties go through, and around the hinge pin. so rita's gas pedal wont return, so i use a bunji cord. anyone have an extra gas pedal assembly for sale?

I had the same thing on mine must be common to do when your floor rust out tared it up screwed tin down over that and did the same to the pedal. Then when the rear decklid rusted out the used screen door hinges to hold it up nice huh.

Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:43 am

I did a lot of dumb things back when I was 16, and had my first bus. I patched the front floor with license plates and sheet metal screws. I made a new battery tray out of beer bottles and 2x4s. I drove to high school for a whole week with no starter, brakes, or handbrake. I had to use the transmission to start and stop the bus. Oh wait, this thread was supposed to be about dumb things the previous owner did!

Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:37 am

Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:40 am

The previous owners of these buses also got them for a couple hundred dollars and they probably couldn't justify fixing them right to save there lives. My first bus had duck tape, scotch tape, band aids, and bare wire in the engine compartment to charge the battery and make the brakes lights work. The funny thing about it was there were multiple gauge wires twisted together between these taping methods every few inches. To top it all off the gas tank had body filler around the neck of the tank and when I filled it up the first time gas was every where. Can we all say Molotov cocktail :shock: That is one of the reasons I called this bus Brutus because of the hell he was put through and is still on the road. Go Brutus Go! :D