eche_bus: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper

[eche_bus]

[captincanuck]

Think we are all in hibernation. That is one awesome looking panel. Love to have one but then it would be the nicest looking thing on my bus.
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1979 Westfalia "FireFly" Subaru 2.2 with Subaru gears 5spd.
Build Thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=634777&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Wasted youth]

[beetlepete]

eche_bus.

Sorry for some reason I am not getting email notices on this watched thread. As you know I am a Big fan, and I am on board for a panel re-do, if it is going to come out like yours. You are seriously the best.
I used to be all about NOS, but now, like you, I want to camp in something that just plain looks good, and actually works!!!
I think the problem is that most westy owners can't even comprehend that there are people out there like you that can do this, or want to do it. You know I greatly respect your dedication and talent, and although you probably can't quit your day job, there is a market.
My take away is this, we just saw a split go for 250,000$ 20 years ago we would have spit out our beers and laughed our asses off. Today no one is laughing. In time our 7000$ campers are going to fetch huge sums, simply for the fact that they are getting older and scarce. Maybe not 250k but sums that today would have us spitting out our beers and laughing our asses off.
And though you say you've looked around and there doesn't seem to be that big an interest, you need to be consentrating on the bigger picture, England and Europe. I mentioned on your thread whether you had contacted Camper&Bus Mag. about your thread. England has no less then 30 Bus, yes I said BUS, shows a year, HUGE. England is the number one importer of Bay window Westfalias in the world. You want to know where all our campers are going, there being shipped to Europe. A huge community of people that really love Westies.

And what do boutique suppliers, like Kleft&Klock, love more then anything else, just being middlemen. I think that if you presented them with, just the refreshed panels, you'd sell a few. I believe as our small but passionate community goes forward, I think "NOS" is going to be replaced by "Refreshed Original"

Trust is a big part of our community. So if YOU make stickers, I'm going to buy them from you, because I know they will be the best. That's something to be proud of.

Sorry for the rant. Nothing to do this morning. I don't have a heated garage.
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Beetlepete
79 Westfalia Deluxe, Mexico Beige

[Biscuit79]

eche- I shot you a PM regarding the panel. Looks absolutely perfect! Can't even tell you how great of a tutorial this is while I am working on my 79. My goal was to do everything 'right' the first time and this pretty much gives me a step by step process for everything. Thanks again for sharing!

[eche_bus]

[eche_bus]

[eche_bus]

The move. Ugh.

But to be able to set the thermostat and work in warmth while it's sub-zero outside is a wonderful thing.

I'm still figuring out where to put everything, but have enough put away and a workspace set up now, so didn't wait too long before kicking off the exhaust/heating/thermostat-and-flaps overhaul project. Not to mention the final stages of the front door panel restoration. Details and photos soon to follow!

P.S. Have been working hard to find replacement parts for the fridge control panels and will very soon be in touch with the members that expressed interest in the overhaul service before the move.

[Stuartzickefoose]

Yay!

Btw, hire asaiab3 to build you a motor. I think only he can match your meticulous details!
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Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[beetlepete]

The Move is complete. Back to the fun stuff. Want to see camping pictures this summer, I would imagine your wife would too.!!!
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Beetlepete
79 Westfalia Deluxe, Mexico Beige

[beetlepete]

BTW, If you haven't already, don't order The fridge light for the panel. I am placing an order on Monday, fingers crossed, from the orig man. Sadly you need to buy in bulk. So i'll have extras. I researched and should have exact replacements.

And not to step on anyones toes, but I have started to work on producing stickers. I got so jones'd up from the last few pages that I want to help the cause too. It's what happens when you can't go outside. PM me when you have time. And we'll chat.

Best with the cold weather.
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Beetlepete
79 Westfalia Deluxe, Mexico Beige

[eche_bus]

Beetlepete - PM sent.

Stuart - thanks for your continued support!

Will be back with more over the weekend.

[eche_bus]

Exhaust / Heating / Cooling Overhaul Part I - Exhaust and Partial Heating Teardown

I've been waiting since mid-last year to dig into all the things the rear end of this camper needs. The OG muffler, cat converter, and crossover pipe were all long gone, replaced by the eyesore aftermarket junk a PO threw on. There was no heat, likely due to a combination of rusted-up heat control valves and rodent-induced blockages. There were no visible signs of any of the OG cooling flap system either.

The goal is simple: to bring it all back to original working condition. But a lot of fairly rusty stuff has to first come apart.

PB Blaster. Soaked the exhaust system nuts and bolts for several days with it. Makes a mess. Saved my ass.

Targeted: aftermarket crap.

Target destroyed. Took photo, threw in trash.

Removed LH heat exhanger, heat control valve (not shown), aux. heater blower tube. Yes. Yes it was a bitch to get that hardware apart. The HE and U-pipe seem in real good shape, but that tube is all crushed in on one side. This Westy had A/C and I'll bet the installers did that fine work when they installed the compressor! Oh yeah, see that little silver flap near the bottom left? It was rattling around inside the HE!

See the little silver flap on the LH side of the shroud? Hmmm.... flaps on shroud AND loose inside HE? Odd stuff!

I left the manifolds on for now. No exhaust leaks and pipe and flange were good, but that outer heat shield's looking pretty sad. What to do?

Oh yeah ... the accordion tube that couples the heater valves to the Y-tube. Looks pretty good, right?

Not so much. First heat-blocking rodent nest discovered. (Cleaned it out later and found wire mesh and insulation still in good shape - YAY!)

Over to the RH side. Pulled the works. Heat exchanger looks pretty good here, too! See that little silver thing sitting on top to the left? A big wad of tin foil, discovered wedged up inside against the radiator fins. No apparent reason - best guess is that it got sucked into the cooling fan (bus was missing fan screen when we bought it). Not shown here is the small metal shroud flap also found rattling around inside. Same as other side, loose flap inside AND another one where it should be on the shroud! No rodent nest inside the accordion tube though!!

Lastly, a look at the RH manifold. Good pipe and flange, heat shield ... um, not so much! What should I do to fix this?

[eche_bus]

Exhaust / Heating / Cooling Overhaul Part II - Cooling Shroud Removal

With the exhaust system (and fan screen, rear tin, fanbelt) out of the way, I could start removing the shroud without interference. To begin, I followed the procedure outlined in The Bentley Book.

The tires were off the ground, so I put the transmission in gear, set the E-brake, and was then able to remove the three bolts holding on the fan pulley. It took some bumping back and forth with a rubber mallet and a couple shots of PB Blaster to get the thing wiggling to come off. Happy to not find anything obviously leaking!

Underneath, the small pulley used on A/C-equipped buses. Very happy to discover it still there!

After removing the 4 nuts that hold the shroud onto the engine, according to Bentley, all I had to do then was to pull the alternator's rubber boot from the front of the shroud and and the shroud could come out.

But the "glorified Chilton's manual" neglected to include mention of a bolt on the left side that holds the oil cooler bracket(?). On the right side, the alternator really did need removal (Hell, the adjustment bracket bolts to the shroud!), despite Bentley's claim to the contrary. I didn't lose any time over this, as both were pretty obvious and I've learned to only use the Bentley as a vague guide.

The reward: seeing this all for the very first time! I've definitely got some cleaning to do, but didn't see anything wet with oil outside of the filler tube area. Oil cooler is nice and dry. If you do see anything that looks wrong/bad, please point it out.

Here's the prize - a fan shroud. The alternator boot was too hardened by heat and time to remove from the shroud, so I left it attached and pulled the alternator off the free end instead. Sure enough though, all the cooling flap stuff was long gone, but I got all (hopefully!) the replacement parts sitting on a shelf.

Here's the other side. Sad and dirty and waiting to clean and get rid of that big red sticker. Anyone run across Dennis' out in Palmdale, CA?

[Stuartzickefoose]

Alternator boots are avalible new, of decent quality too. Check BD.

Look up GEEBEE and get his breater hoses...they are amazing and extremely high quality. Much better then a generic looking hose (oil breater to S tube) keep in mind he marks his parts with his name, but being the only repop availabl, i would let this small detail slide, as the quality and size and fit is all perfect. No bad words from me at least! Id be happy to show you a picture of mine if you havent seen his stuff yet.
EDIT: these are the hoses i am refering to:

For the record, it is possiblewith a bit of pforeknowledge to leave the alternator in place on the fan shroud and remove as a unit. Its more of a lazy/flat rate trick then anything. Not really important unless your in a rush, which you are not.


Looking great!
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[aerosurfer]

Another small change/mod (I know Im treading dangerous waters) Remove the 4 studs that the fan shroud bolts to and replace them with bolts of equivalent hardness and size.

If you ever have a leaky oil cooler, or more likely oil cooler seals, it makes removing the the fan shroud much easier. you will be able to only remove the rear tin, fan, belt and bolts, then have the clearance to tilt the whole shroud rearward to access the back of the engine without dropping the exhaust.

Plus its unseen when the fan is in place
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Rebuild your own FI Harness..My Harness

77 Westy 2.0L Rockin and Rolling Resto!

72 Sportsmobile (sold)
79 Tran$porter... Parts car money machine (gone)

[wcfvw69]

You're doing a great job as usual. Just a suggestion but, while you have access to the different components, you might consider changing every seal you have access too. You just know that as soon as you put it all back together, the oil cooler seals will leak as an example.
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Contact me at [email protected]
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
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**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours**

[Bleyseng]

[Stuartzickefoose]

[eche_bus]

CONTROL PANEL REFURB UPDATE:
I'm officially ready to begin refurbishing Westy power control panels, so if yours looks like this:

And you'd rather have it like this:

Now is the time to act.

I can refurbish your whole panel assembly or just the metal panel; the choice is yours.

Today, I've PM'd everyone who expressed an interest back in January with full details, but if you didn't get my PM or I haven't heard from you before, please send me a PM and I'll fill you in. I can't stress enough the need to have a quantity of these panels on hand in order to do a silkscreen run.