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cefalu
Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2012
Posts: 92
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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 Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:30 am Post subject: The official '74 Westy resurrection thread |
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Won't be the first or the last on the Samba, but this one is MINE! Yup, picked up a '74 Westy last week. I specifically targeted the '74's and '75's since they are smog exempt in CA and have the pop top that has the bed instead of the cot. The '74's and '75's also have the widest pull out bed.
I drove from the SF Bay Area to Lewiston Idaho and towed it back. No I didn't get it for $300 and a bale of hay, but it was literally a barn find. It's history isn't super clear but it was originally sold in LA as a CA car. Around '88 the owner moved to Idaho and it appears he was a park ranger. It was parked in 1990 and the owner left Idaho due to a girlfriend problem. Been sitting ever since. It did have proper paperwork and valid title.
The motor:
The seller advised the motor wouldn't turn over. He was right. It's locked up so I pulled it. It has 48,XXX miles on the odometer and judging from the look of the interior I would say it's 148,XXX. The title said it had 133,000 in 1988. The clutch looks brand new, and is marked 3/83. When I pulled the tin off the fins were packed solid with leaves. There is no way air could have gotten through that mess. The seller said the story is the previous owner drove it no problem to its final resting place and parked it. I will know more once I tear it down. But it seems more probable than not it was overheated due to the leaves. I suppose it is possible that it simply froze after sitting for 22 years.
So that leaves me with a motor rebuild project. Oh boy. If anyone has any leads on good machine shops here in the SF Bay area I would appreciate hearing them. This is my 4th westfalia and I previously owned 3 square backs so I am familiar with the car. Although this one has the type IV motor which will be a whole new lesson.
The interior:
The front seats are toast. The padding is pretty much gone, but the seat covers are OK. The refrigerator works too. The pop top tent is shot, a new one is on the way. But the plaid seat covers are in remarkably good shape. My wife cleaned them with an upholstery cleaner and the look good! Actually the inside cleaned up really well.
This is a P27 so it has the electric fridge and propane stove. It also had factory AC, now non functional. I might keep the under dash unit as a way to get better ventilation. we'll see. The cabinetry cleaned up really well with the WD40 trick I read here, Nice!
The body:
This was the main attraction. No rust. Actually there is some surface rust where the batterys go, but no rust underneath. It's a solid rust free car and it looks like the paint will shine up OK. It does not appear to have ever been in any accidents, I cannot find any bodywork anywhere. A good starting point. I am better at mechanical work than body work.
So here goes the story.....Pics to follow
 [/img]
_________________
1974 Volkswagen P27 Westfalia Camper
1995 BMW 840Ci
1974 Mercedes 280C
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
1999 Porsche 996 Cabriolet (w/Raby IMS)
2005 Toyota 4Runner V8 Sport |
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cefalu
Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2012
Posts: 92
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:59 am Post subject: |
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Here are some more pics
Pre cleaning:
Pulling the motor
Removing the incredibly rusted on muffler!!!
Son removing something:
Interior
The back
_________________
1974 Volkswagen P27 Westfalia Camper
1995 BMW 840Ci
1974 Mercedes 280C
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
1999 Porsche 996 Cabriolet (w/Raby IMS)
2005 Toyota 4Runner V8 Sport |
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Daverham
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2009
Posts: 1214
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:15 am Post subject: |
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Damn. Nice score!
And welcome aboard!
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78 Kombi, 65 Bug, 69 Baja Bug, 63 Camper Van, 66 Bug, 72 Bug, 60 Ghia |
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cefalu
Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2012
Posts: 92
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:16 am Post subject: |
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And a few more
_________________
1974 Volkswagen P27 Westfalia Camper
1995 BMW 840Ci
1974 Mercedes 280C
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
1999 Porsche 996 Cabriolet (w/Raby IMS)
2005 Toyota 4Runner V8 Sport |
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justcruzin
Samba Member
Joined: July 31, 2005
Posts: 1081
Location: United States
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adventurebus
Samba Member
Joined: September 28, 2005
Posts: 149
Location: Midwest
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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WOW! great find!  I recently found a 74 westy too!
you have overriders and AC! does it work?
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'73 Westy - current project
'74 Westy Auto - current project http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=495707
'78 CEII Bus - sold
'71 Westy - sold
'78 Westy - sold
'76 Deluxe Westy - sold
'78 Westy - sold |
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cefalu
Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2012
Posts: 92
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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The AC system is complete. So it should work if the compressor still functions. The AC clutch does work, but my guess is the seals are shot. But I have no idea how a belt would fit.
But it's R-12 and has lots of hose so probably takes alot of refrigerant. But that's why I have a 30# tank of R-12!
_________________
1974 Volkswagen P27 Westfalia Camper
1995 BMW 840Ci
1974 Mercedes 280C
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
1999 Porsche 996 Cabriolet (w/Raby IMS)
2005 Toyota 4Runner V8 Sport |
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Chris_914
Samba Member
Joined: September 16, 2011
Posts: 248
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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Where I have seen a bus like that.... Oh yeah the driveway 
Nice looking bus you have there, wish mine was as complete.
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'75 Westfalia Camper FI 1.8L
'75 914 2.0L |
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low_oval
Samba Member
Joined: May 05, 2008
Posts: 6
Location: Idaho
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:08 pm Post subject: 74 westy |
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| wow, you work fast. looks way better in your driveway than it did in mine. I'm glad it went to a good home. i'll be watching the thread for furure progress. keep up the good work. |
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notchboy
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2002
Posts: 11326
Location: Seattle WA
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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Excelent choice for all the right reasons. Looking forward to your progression.
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Jason "notchboy" Weigel
1963 Pearl White Sunroof Notch
1964 T34 S Convertible
1974 Westfalia Hardtop Campmobile
1977 Westfalia Camper pop-top
the1500club.com 
TOOB Member #5 |
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cefalu
Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2012
Posts: 92
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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OK, I picked up 2 ea 1.8 914 motors, with the complete fuel injection system. I can see the 914 cases are a little different. But the price was right. One was a good runner, the other the condition is unknown.
Time to get busy.....
_________________
1974 Volkswagen P27 Westfalia Camper
1995 BMW 840Ci
1974 Mercedes 280C
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
1999 Porsche 996 Cabriolet (w/Raby IMS)
2005 Toyota 4Runner V8 Sport |
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Bala
Samba Member
Joined: December 04, 2003
Posts: 667
Location: Austin, TX
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| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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Nice bus!
What is that little silver circular thing just to the left of the passenger's side tail light?
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1976 Westy |
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cefalu
Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2012
Posts: 92
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:57 am Post subject: |
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It's a lock with electrical connectors on the backside. Nothing was connected to it when I got it. Maybe it was an anti theft device at one time.
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1974 Volkswagen P27 Westfalia Camper
1995 BMW 840Ci
1974 Mercedes 280C
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
1999 Porsche 996 Cabriolet (w/Raby IMS)
2005 Toyota 4Runner V8 Sport |
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