"BulliBill's" 1959 Double-Cab restoration...

[BulliBill]

Yes, not really an arrow, the warning light window on this speedo is a four sided diamond shape and has a red lens.

"BarryL" wrote: "Assuming you mean arrow, I wanted to prove out that your speedo is wired properly: it is.

Now pull the wire off K and hook an alligator jumper to K. Hook the other end to the solder part of a little 6 volt bulb (is your bus 6-volt?).

Turn on key and blinker and touch the outer bayonet part of the bulb to the blinker can. Does it blink?"

Okay, I tried this test just as described above, and the result was no light at all, solid or flashing. I re-tested the 6 volt, 1.2A instrument light bulb and it works fine, tried your test again with the same negative result. So what does that tell us, what to check next? Thanks again for your advice!

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BarryL]

[BulliBill]

Hi "BarryL" and all,

Okay, I used your previous instruction and hooked up to the "S54" terminal on the blinker relay and yes indeed, the light bulb with the test jumper blinks beautifully and brightly.

So does that tell us that something is wrong with the "K" grounding circuit, or that I am using an incorrect blinker relay, or?

With the currently installed relay (NOS as far as I can tell when installed for testing) is the next instruction to disconnect and tape off the powered wire at the turn signal warning light from the "15" terminal on the ignition thru the oil and generator warning lights and on to the turn signal warning lights? Then run a new wire from blinker relay terminal "S54" up to the screw terminal on the turn signal warning light bulbholder?

Or will I need a different (perhaps two-terminal) blinker relay? I do have the following spare relays that all ground through the outer case and have only two spade terminal connections:

SWF blinker relays ( BGC 200.439 - 6V 2x18W ) that have a "+" and a "S" terminal, another SWF blinker relay ( BGC 200.428 - 6V 2x18W ) that have a "+" and a "S" terminal.

I also have Hella relays with two slightly different part numbers ( 91ES 2J 2x18W - 6V and 91ES11J 2x18W - 6V ) that both have a "S54" and a "+15" terminal.

I even have a Bosch 0 336 150 010 blinker relay ( 6V 2x18W ) that has a "S" and a "+" terminal.

It feels like we're getting close to the solution of this minor but annoying blinker relay issue... Thanks again for all the great advice on testing!

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BarryL]

[BulliBill]

Wow! It's been a little while...

Okay, I was getting another NOS accessory ready today for the DC. Below you'll see that I have it apart to install a new 6 volt 18W light bulb and to give the chrome a last polish.

I'm adding a back-up warning light to the rear bumper blade. I've had a nice NOS earlier "hooded" back-up light assembly put away for this Bus. Luckily, I didn't even have to run a new wire from the dash to the back of the DC. The new wiring harness that I installed a while back already had a wire for a gas gauge, something this old Transporter doesn't have or need (as it has a functioning NOS fuel tap). So I installed a NOS ambulance back-up switch in between the "trip odometer" speedometer and the new speedometer cable under the dash. When activated as the speedometer cable spins backwards as the vehicle starts to back up, the switch will then send power along that unused gas gauge wire to the back and that will eventually be connected to the NOS "hooded" back-up light.

I'll need to pick a location on the rear bumper blade once the 36hp engine and bumper blade are installed, then drill a hole in the blade and install the back-up light and hook up the power wire to it.

After a nice break, I'm re-focused and energetic again, and this evening I have been working on the cab window assembly (including vent windows). More photos to come soon...

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BulliBill]

With a little help from some fellow Samba members, I have a pretty closely matched pair of the correct one-year-only diamond pattern round glass tail light lenses for the DC.

The color tint is a smidge off between the two right up next to each other (from different batches back in the day?), but everything else is nice and matching. When mounted up about four feet apart I doubt there will be any perceptible color difference when lit up.

Thanks again to "easy e" (Evan) and "Redlocker" (Ernie) for the help on this little detail!

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BulliBill]

More than anything else, I dislike the process of restoring the front cab door window assemblies! There... I've said it out loud.

Well, certain parts of it anyway. In the past I've had "issues" with parts of the process on some of my other Buses. Everyone hates vet window assembly. Rubber issues! crushing the glass into the frame with the normal "roll of rubber" seal... then getting it all the way in (impossible I tell ya!), and of course fighting the thick, intricate seal into the cab window frame so that the finished vent window assembly can go in. The thing I seem to have almost no luck with is in the end, getting the completed window frame assembly installed down all the way into the cab doors so that the door can close properly without any paint-to-paint contact at the top above the vent window area. Many others seem to do fine here, but not me. I hate this part!

I have been dreading this part of my restoration so much that I have put it off as long as I can. That is why until recently, my beautiful old DC has looked like this:

Above: My painter Jeff Burke in the DC without cab windows because I've been procrastinating.

Enough is enough! I had to get through this. After refreshing my mind with lots of research and reading and videos, I dragged out of storage all of those beautifully painted Dove Blue frames and pieces, fresh new rubber seals, NOS black commercial vent window latches, new WW slider latches and other pieces, fresh felt tracks, rivets, tools, lubricants, etc. and slammed down a brew at the workbench. It was time to get to work! No rushing here, I'd take my time and do this right. Here is what I did over the course of almost a week of evenings playing with cab window assemblies.

I cleaned off my long basement workbench, padded it with clean white beach towel for padding. All painted parts got waxed first. Then all of the rubber seals got either wiped down with wax and grease remover or scrubbed in our utility sink with dish soap and a toothbrush to get rid of the mold-release coating on the rubber. Any rubber with any trace of rubber "flashing" at the seams got trimmed and cleaned up with a fresh new razor blade. I had clean tools on hand, a pack of 100 razor blades, a #11 bladed Exacto knife for precision trimming, vice grip, lots of assorted small and large clamps, assorted screwdrivers and wrenches and sockets, my trusty bottle of slippery goo, picks, and plastic scrapers. Everything cleaned as if I was in a hospital surgery. Let's get at it!

First I tackled a hated job - installing the vent windows in their frames. But I was not going to try installing them with that thick roll of rubber most of the vendors sell. I took the advice of a Colorado Samba member and bought the "flanged" Safari window to frame seals from WW for use here. A little thinner and therefore easier to press into position. I also had borrowed a neat "old school" press jig hand-made by a friend "Connie" Holcomb for just this purpose.

Connie built this out of plywood many years ago so he could help his son Brian Holcomb (RIP) assemble vent windows for several of his Buses. Connie routed out various holes for the upper frame pivot and the shaft of the vent latch (I gouged out the enlarged area for the early "Nike swoosh" rain gutter with some wood chisels). Connie then lined the edges where any painted frame part might contact the wood during the pressing process with felt to protect the paint. I highly recommend using a jig of some sort in conjunction with some simple plumbing pipe clamps, makes this job MUCH easier!

I broke out the NOS black commercial Bus L & R side vent latches and installed them to the painted frame. I had the normal WW rivets on-hand, but I chose to use my "pop-rivet" gun with 1/8 diameter x 1/8 grip steel (not aluminum) pop-rivets.

I trial fit the NOS latches and made certain the left one was definitely on the left frame, etc. Ask me why this check is important. I still have latches on backwards on my '67 Campmobile from a past job, a embarrassing fact that will be rectified soon!

Isn't that a pretty sight!

I smeared a thin coat of clear 3M seam sealer to the bottom edge of the latch to seal things up, then set the latch into place. Then I used my simple pop-rivet gun to attach the NOS latches to the painted frame.

Lots more to come (unless this is boring you).

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[srfndoc]

I just did this on my SO42 and yes, it sucks. I had to resort to straps to pull the frames down enough on the door get all the bolts in. I found it was easier to do the front first, then the middle two and then it was fairly easy to pull the frame down to get the final two by the door lock. I will say even with being very careful I did manage to scratch the frames in a few places. Hopefully you can avoid that.
_________________
RPM=(MPH*336* (R&P*4th*1.26))/Tire Diameter in inches

[BulliBill]

Yes, I agree, I've never had good luck re-installing the frames down enough, yet others seem to do this fine. In the past attempts I've always been able to get all of the bolts started without straps or even assistants, it's just that often for me the frame can't be pulled down on the door top enough to have even, proper gap clearance before tightening those fasteners.

For instance, here are a couple of photos of my'59 Double-Door Panel and one correct gap on the unmolested drivers side door, and then the bad gap after I replaced the long seal between the cab window assembly and the top edge of the cab door on the passenger side.

good driver side.

bad gap on passenger side after seal replacement.

I remember in Hot VWs magazine a long time ago, Rich Kimball did an article about this very assembly process, and he had to resort to straps also to cinch it down. If I have to, I'm thinking of using ratcheting-style car tie down straps on a well-padded door. But it just shouldn't be this hard, should it? I was thinkin'it was just me!

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BulliBill]

So here is a end profile view of the "U" shaped Safari windshield rubber seal. You can see the flanges on both sides of the seal.

First I wiped the outermost 5 mm wide edges of the glass with wax and grease remover to truly clean the outer edges. To properly attach the Safari seal to the glass before attempting to put it in the press, I decided to attach the seal to the glass with a little bit of Super Glue "gel". First I worked on the forwardmost slanted edge of the glass, putting a small dab of Super Glue "gel" (not liquid) about every 1/2 inch along only the forward edge of the vent glass (where the "bottom surface" of the "U" channel meets the edge of the glass), then quickly laid the "U" channel rubber seal down without any stretching onto the glass and then flipped the glass over so that the seal was on the workbench and I pressed down on the glass to put pressure on the glass-to seal glued surface for a few minutes to aid in a firm setting. Then I let it sit for a few hours.

When I came back to the glass again, it was time to pull and stretch the Safari seal around the radius edges of the glass. So I dabbed more small spots of SG gel around the radius and the short straight top or bottom edges of the glass. You have to stretch the rubber just enough around the radius area only to keep the flanges tight against the glass and to keep the rubber from wrinkling in the radius area. This was a little tricky, but you'll see what I mean when you try it someday. More holding together until set, and then put the vent windows and their glued seals aside for several more hours to completely set (photo below).

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BulliBill]

Here are a few photos of some of the tools and supplies I gathered to help with the assembly of the cab window assemblies. You'll see the wire pulling goo, awesome stuff, very slippery to aid in getting rubber installed into the painted frames. Also excellent for use installing any window into pretty much any VW! This stuff will evaporate on it's own, but is water soluble and a wet rag wipes any leftover residue right off after you are done! Terrific stuff! Also you can see the Super Glue "gel control" that I used to glue the Safari windshield seal to vent window glass. Both purchased at my local Home Depot.

Below you'll see a part of my garage workbench. I used a vice ocassionally to hold (pad the painted leg) the window assembly upright to free both hands for wrestling with the rubber and felt installation.

Here are a few of the most used tools, minus a few others (a rubber-head mallet - seen in the photo above). I used brand new razor blades for rubber cutting or any trimming, as this is not a place you want to cheap out and use a dull blade. And I used the hell out of that yellow HF plastic pry bar to push rubber seals against beautiful paint that you don't want to damage with a small metal screwdriver!!! The vice-grip s were used with a ball bearing to crush the upper vent pivot rivet. Don't forget a high-quality cooler cup for your hydration beverage! Calipers for precise measurements when trimming rubber seals was required. Brass brush for cleaning bolt/screw threads. Not seen is a metric tap and die set used to clean the threads and bores of any threaded fastener or hole that may have gotten a little paint overspray.

And here are a few of the fluid supplies I had on hand. Wax and grease remover was first used to clean any surface that I was about to apply the black super weatherstrip adhesive to (orange 5oz squeeze tube). All other painted surfaces were waxed with car wax. A tub of wheel bearing grease, and a tube of clear seam sealer which I used a small dab of between the vent window latch and the painted frame. A strap-on forehead flashlight for checking on the little details in dark places. Not seen in the photo was anti-seize grease, which I always apply to any threaded fastener going on my Double-Cab.

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[Who.Me?]

I'll be interested to see how you did the quarter light seal.

Whoever did them on mine left a half inch gap between the frame and seal at the inside of the hockey stick curve.

I don't need to look at the speedo to know when I've gone over 40. The whistling noise from that gap is enough.

I've had a look, but I can't see any way to adjust them once they're in? It looks like the quarter light pivot points hold the seal in place.

[BulliBill]

...to continue

The borrowed wooden jig can be used to assemble both the driver (left) and passenger (right) side vent window. When about to assemble the right side frame, the NOS vent latch must be installed/riveted to the painted frame and does not have to be disassembled. When assembling the left side frame, the nature of this home-built wooden jig requires that you disassemble the latch to fit in the jig. After you finish pressing the glass in, then you can reassemble the latch again to complete the vent window. Below are some photos of one of the latches and how to disassemble them.

I used a slightly smaller diameter nail (the point of the nail was ground flat and slightly tapered with a grinder wheel) so it could be used as a driver to punch the roll pin out of the latch handle.

And here is an exploded view of the parts of this black commercial NOS Bus vent latch...

While I had them apart, I took the time to lightly grease the bore of the latch for smoother operation. You should DEFINITELY do this occasionally to your used latches for better function.

Okay, I've already shown photos of the pop-riveting process.

As I prepare to assembly the glass into the frame, DON'T FORGET to mount the "NIKE swoosh"/rain deflector (which to my knowledge has no VW part number as it came with a frame). So here you see my painted frame and swoosh...

I test fit the swoosh, and then to keep it from moving around during the pressing process, I chose to apply a VERY thin coating of 3M brand clear seam sealer to the contact surface and pressed the swoosh in place in the bend of the painted frame...

and another angle...

This frame is now pretty much ready to be set into the felt padded wooden jig and ready to have the glass (with the seal already super-glued to it) pressed into position into the frame.

Since I choose to use the Safari windshield seals for the vent window glass, and since this seal has a "flange", I decided to trim the flange off exactly where the vent latch would end up. I used a digital caliper to that measurements and transfer them to the flange material of the seal. I broke out a brand new razor blade and got to work. Check out the photos...

and the finished cuts on both sides...

next, the critical pressing process using this wooden jig and some common pluming pipe clamps...

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BulliBill]

Ready to go! Above we have the driver side painted window frame set down into the felt-lined wooden jig and the glass with the "Safari windshield" seal glued in place and ready to go.

I then squirted out a blob of the wire-pulling slippery goo onto a piece of plastic. Then I held the glass with one hand, and with the other I smeared a film of the slippery goo on all three outer sides of the rubber seal in anticipation of inserting and then pressing it into the frame.

Then I held the glass and started inserting the now slippery rubber first into the bottom at the latch and then the top of the glass into the frame. At first I held the wooden press jig still with my left hand and then I tapped with the palm of my right hand on the glass until it was almost home. Then I added the plumbing pipe clamps, two of them. I used small 3/4" thick soft wooden blocks between the rearward edge of the glass and the clamp jaw. I slowly started turning the clamps evenly a little at a time. It was fun to watch the two clamps press the forward edge of the seal/glass into the painted frame and watch it squeeze it all the way home. A moist towel or rag was all that was needed to wipe up any excess slippery goo that squeezed out of the pressed together assembly.

Once I was satisfied that the rearward edge of the glass was even with the ends of the rearward ends of the painted vent frame, I set the whole press aside with the clamps holding tension on the glass for a couple of days and did other chores. Then I did the same process to the passenger side frame/glass. Wash, rinse, repeat...

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BarryL]

Killer. Only thing I would add is it's safer to use a full length of wood.

Shouldn't you be working on your blinking mechanism?

[zuggbug]

Awesome detailed instructions Bill. Thank you for sharing.
_________________
SOUTHERN INTEGRITY AIRCOOLERS
58 15 window
56 westy

[jjjjack]

Yes, thanks for your detailed documentation. I'm headed this way soon and this will be a big help!
_________________
Jack Stenner
1959 Mango Westfalia SO-23
1953 Porsche 356 Coupe
IG:j.stenner

[BulliBill]

"BarryL" - yes, I should be finishing up the blinker mechanism, but I just couldn't stand procrastinating on this "cab widow assembly" anymore, so I shelved the work on getting the warning light in the "trip" speedo to function for a while. At least all of the outer warning lights work fine!

... Okay, so now it was time to turn my attention to one of the jobs many dislike about the frame assemblies, inserting the thick rubber seal onto the cab frame that the finished vent window inserts into. I was getting ready for a hard time with this, but I was ready to plow through this procedure. This is a fairly intricate seal with outer lips, a thick inner strip of rubber that has to be squeezed to fit between a pair of "inner metal tracks" in the metal cab frame (requiring some skill and dexterity and a tool or two!), strategically placed holes for the vent frame threaded shaft to pass through, slits you will need to locate and cut into the rubber seal so that the riveted chrome latch plate and the painted top vent pivot can pass through the seal, etc. Here are some photos of the uninstalled seal. Notice all of the extra, thin rubber "flashing" left on the seal from the manufacturing mold process! I'm going to trim that all off later...

lots of "flashing"...

I wish I had thought to snap a shot of the metal "inner track" in the cab door frame that you will need to squeeze the thick inner rubber into, but you'll see when you have yours apart and ready to install. But this next photo shot from the end of the rubber seal shows how intricate the mold was for this rubber. Notice that my fingers are spreading the outermost seals (you only see these once the rubber is installed), and between my fingers is the thick rubber with a notch down the middle (to aid in squeezing the rubber together) that has to be slightly compressed and pushed down into the "inner metal tracks". I hope that I explained that clear enough...

Okay, first I wanted to clean and "de-flash" the rubber seal before installing it into the frame. First the rubber got washed with dishsoap and an old toothbrush to remove any mold release coating, dust, etc. The I took each piece and broke out a new razor blade. I cranked up the lighting, popped the top on a cold one and settled down for the long haul. I hunted down all of the un-necessary "flashing" and carefully trimmed it off the seal. This took a surprisingly long time to get right, but I would not continue until this chore was completed well. In the photo below, check out some of the "flashing" cut away from the seals...

Woooo Hooooo! Now I'm ready to wrestle these "bitches" into place in the frames...

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BulliBill]

Okay, with the frame padded and mounted in the jaw of my bench vice, the frame assembly stands upright on it's own and both my hands are free to work on inserting the rubber seal.

I thought I'd need to use the slippery goo to assist the thick rubber into the metals tracks, but in this case I personally found it too slippery. So I ended up pressing this seal in dry, and overall it went better than I thought. But first I got my yellow HF plastic pry bars handy. No use of any metal tools next to that pretty Dove Blue paint. And needless to say, but you slow down in this step and take your time pushing and prying rubber against paint. You don't want any "OH SHIT!" moments doing this.

I laid the seal loosely in place and located exactly where the flat chrome vent latch "plate" needed to come through the rubber seal, and where the painted upper pivot for the vent frame passed through...

...and then I used a combination of new sharp razor blades and an #11 Exacto knife with a fresh, sharp #11 blade to cut slots through the rubber seal. Measure at least twice, cut a little, test fit, cut a little more if needed.

Once your slots are cut, I found it easiest to start at the bottom of the seal, and I put the end of the seal up against the metal pillar that the scrapper seal will go on later. Slide the rubber over the flat chrome latch plate. I found it easiest to tilt the seal into one side of those metal tracks and then with fingers and occasionally a plastic scrapper work the other side of the rubber down and into the other track. If it seems that the rubber is down and in between the metal tracks, I use the wide flat edge of the yellow plastic pry at a slight angle to give it one more settling push into those unseen tracks.

After that, and only then do I attempt to move the outer rubber flaps that you'll always see back over the painted metal and into final position. Lots of rubber massaging goes on during all of this! Keep moving a few inches at a time around the bottom curve, up the forward post towards the upper curve. Stop around here to slip the painted upper pivot metal through your cut slit for it, and then continue massaging that rubber into the hidden track until you finish against the scrapper metal post. Wooo Hooo! Great feeling to have one done, until you realize you have one more to do!

Then I inserted the smaller straight "scrapper" (for the rearward edge of the vent glass). I trimmed the lower end of the rubber to meet the previously installed intricate seal and then easily inserted this scrapper using the yellow plastic pry bar. As I approached the top, I trimmed the scrapper rubber to meet and seal against the upper intricate rubber vent seal.

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[zuggbug]

Top notch tutorial Bill, how did you open the hole for the vent wing shaft to go thru.
_________________
SOUTHERN INTEGRITY AIRCOOLERS
58 15 window
56 westy