51 Barndoor basket case

[mandraks]

one more thing to think about. Bus wheels sit farther inside then a beetle wheel would. what kind of wheels do you have?

as stated above:
a stock barndoor 16 inch wheel and tire would definitely raise your bus enough. and they are super skinny.

a stock 55 and later 15 inch wheel and tire would work as well and be easier,as in cheaper.

6.40 or 6.70 x 15 tires are very tall.
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regards

Uli

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'53 3-Fold Oval, L35 Metallic Blue, looking for a narrow hatch panel

[djfordmanjack]

according to the Coker Tire cross reference table, a
185/70 R15 matches 5.90-15 and 6.00 15 in outer diameter.

the heigth difference between a 65% and a 70% tire section is minimal.
5.90 has approx 95mm tread width and the 6.00 110mm.

Another possible and logical choice would be the 6.40- 15 which is the standard bus tire for 1955-1963 buses. it is 115mm wide and approx 50mm taller in OD than your radial tire.


edit: caution, you MUST use bias ply tires on all four wheels. DO NOT MIX bias ply tires on one axle with radials on the other. It causes deadly dangerous driving characteristics.
( a perfect match for the front axle would be 5.60-15 which is the standard beetle size. it gives you a neat little California look rubber rake stance as well)
_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[luftgekuhlt]

At the moment I have 185 65 R15 in the rear axle. Could someone tell me the corresponding size for bias ply tires, I need narrower tires to make it easier to remove. Thanks
_________________
Buy the best. Cry once.

1965* 21W Samba (MCode 430 114) - 51 BD Standard Microbus (Type 22A. M62) - 1967 Westfalia pop-top (SOLD)
* 1965 according to chassie number but regged as 1964

[djfordmanjack]

6.50- 16 !

radial tires are wider which makes it hard to remove from under the bus rear.
bias ply tires are narrow in tread width and sloping shape. also the BD 16 wheels are only 3.5" wide.
just for comparison your 185 tires are 185 mm wide and have an overall diam of 620 mm.
a 6.50-16 BF Goodrich is only 125mm wide and has an outer diameter of 744mm ! so that raises your bus 124:2 =62 mm raise in ground clearance. all of this is pure theory. depends what gearing your transaxle has, what engine, if engine is strong enough to pull the tall tire gearing aso....you will need to find out the wheel well clearance aso...

this is just a tip, for your consideration. good luck !

edit: even a std BD size tire (5.50-16) is approx 682mm tall)
so even that would give you 3cms more road clearance and certainly would be much easier to fit in the wheelwell. (tread width of a 5.50 16 is only 112.5mm)
_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[luftgekuhlt]

[djfordmanjack]

quickest way for you is replacing low profile radial tires with large bias ply tires. you could easily use 6.50-16 in the rear, which probably makes the tire 7-10 cms larger in diam. that means 3.5-5 cm more ground clearance.
_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[myklsmyth]

The rear can be raised by indexing the plates. Depending on desired height and the current degree, you could get away with only changing the plate position on the outer spline. However, by changing the inner and outer spline position, you can refine the degrees even further.

Since they have already been changed, the easiest way is to place an degree/angle finder on the top of the spring plate and determine what it currently is. I believe 20/21 degree is stock, but it requires preload in order to get it up and into the torsion housing. If you don't want to go fully stock, then maybe this will help with where you want to be. For example, If you're at 12 degrees, then maybe 16 is a good compromise.

I know there is an image here stating how much indexing each inner and outer spline changes things, but it really is not necessary if you find the degree, unless you're shooting for a very specific degree, then it would make it much less trial and removal. JUST MAKE SURE EACH SIDE MATCHES OR YOUR BUS WILL SIT LOPSIDED.

Good luck

[luftgekuhlt]

I would need to raise the rear section of the bus, the suspension is slammed way too much (prior owner). I believe the rear trans axle is from a karmann ghia if I remember correct.

It would be enough if it coud be raised (rear) with 2-3 cm.

1) Shock absorbers have been changed to largest possible (~40cm)

2) It can be seen that the arm cannot be lowered more, it is at the max position see (2)

3) have unscrewed the bolt the the max which lowered the arm slightly and raised the bus' rear part 2 cm

What else can be done to raise the bus (rear) a couple of cm more?
Can it be done with the rear torsion bars and splines? Would appreciate pics or links.

_________________
Buy the best. Cry once.

1965* 21W Samba (MCode 430 114) - 51 BD Standard Microbus (Type 22A. M62) - 1967 Westfalia pop-top (SOLD)
* 1965 according to chassie number but regged as 1964

[LAGrunthaner]

I don't blame him it is an art and he is a master of art. Just wishful thinking.

[luftgekuhlt]

[luftgekuhlt]

[LAGrunthaner]

Yes amazing. I wish there was a video to see the process. That metal work is King.
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[obus]

[luftgekuhlt]

I have an older guy working on the sheet metal of the barndoor and he really does some magic, no welding, no bondo just plain old style sheet metal repair.

The right rear corner that was pretty destroyed looks unbelievable, the curve has the exact radius as when the car left Wolfsburg. Next time he is gonna do magic on the right engine louvres and the right hand side that is in sad condition.

I've seen a lot of good and bad sheet metal repair. This guy is brilliant, he has been retired for 10 years and only does very few jobs and he hates stress.

MY QUESTION: I wish to improve the red lower color of the bus so to have a more uniform aspect all round but still to look old and far from perfect.

Would like to hear your ideas on how to achieve this. And how far to go.

Rear right corner as found in the woods of northern Sweden.

Rear right corner after first fix. Can't be seen in the pic but the metal sheet is totally wrinkly:

Rear right corner after magic sheet metal repair. No welding. No bondo. Just plain good old style classic magic sheet metal repair. The radius of the curve is perfect, the pic doesn't show how good it really is.

Soon we will be working on the louvres and the whole right side:

_________________
Buy the best. Cry once.

1965* 21W Samba (MCode 430 114) - 51 BD Standard Microbus (Type 22A. M62) - 1967 Westfalia pop-top (SOLD)
* 1965 according to chassie number but regged as 1964

[luftgekuhlt]

_________________
Buy the best. Cry once.

1965* 21W Samba (MCode 430 114) - 51 BD Standard Microbus (Type 22A. M62) - 1967 Westfalia pop-top (SOLD)
* 1965 according to chassie number but regged as 1964

[luftgekuhlt]

Now that was a nice one! Holy cow yo! Judging by the dust layer I would say first days of 'Aug 1950'. There was a change in mid Aug.

Most original rear safari INNA world. This og feature was 'one car only'. (Call the exorcist!)
_________________
Buy the best. Cry once.

1965* 21W Samba (MCode 430 114) - 51 BD Standard Microbus (Type 22A. M62) - 1967 Westfalia pop-top (SOLD)
* 1965 according to chassie number but regged as 1964

[Lowdown Dirty Rat]

Possible vintage accessory?
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1951 Samba 20-017894
1952 Samba 20-028952

[luftgekuhlt]

Thanks a lot for your votes and feedback, guys. And for the good motivations!

Would be nice to have a YES with motivation, just for the record...

But apparently my van is going to keep rolling as it is today.
_________________
Buy the best. Cry once.

1965* 21W Samba (MCode 430 114) - 51 BD Standard Microbus (Type 22A. M62) - 1967 Westfalia pop-top (SOLD)
* 1965 according to chassie number but regged as 1964

[tyzel]

^^^^^

What he said. If you camp in your bus a lot I can see that being kind of nice but not so great for driving around with it open unless it's a single or double cab so you don't get the exhaust fumes coming inside the bus

[56reddy]

No, plus you end up stucking in your exhaust fumes if run open.
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New Vintage Specialist.
1974 ghia convertible
1981 Vanagon Westfalia
Making VW’s Fun Again.(MVFA)