TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue May 02, 2006 5:36 am

I bought this combi in dec. '99 as a completly striped shell with a new cargofloor.
Original plan was to collect parts, do some welding and put it back together again.
Plans changed, because i had the change to buy a complete and rolling SO42 in '03.
Friend of mine was looking for a new project so he became the new owner of this 1967 combi.

This is how i bought it in 1999 .. the dash has been cut, and minus the springplates and torsion bars
completly empty.

His first plan was to restore and modify the chassis for the things he had in mind, but when we had a
good look at it, it was a lot easier to make a whole new chassis. His plans included a Porsche front-
and rear suspention and i was able to supply him with all the hardware he needed. Front are Porsche
911 trailing arms, crossmember and stuts, but the stuts will be cut to make a double A-arm setup.
He already made his own hubs, and the reason for that was that we had some brakes and wheels
laying around, so why buy new ones when you have the machines and skills to perfectly match the hubs,
disc's and calipers :wink:
At the back he used a Porsche 944 turbo torsion tube with relocated trailing arm points, and -for the
moment- re-designed springplates, but i've heard that he's planning a coilover setup.
From the excisting chassis nothing will be used, and all of the bus internals will be cutup so in the end
only a body is left, and then we'll work out a way to mount the restored body.
Yes, from the outside everything stays the same, only the brakes, wheels and stance will reveil some
secrets.

Last night months of preporation where coming together, and we were not surprised that everything
turned out just great, and here are some pictures i took.

Chassis is made of stainless steel.(kid with hat is Wouter)

944 Torsion tube with 911 trailings arms

Torsion tube adjuster

911 trailing arms up front with 911 crossmember

Detail of the TIG welding

Custom made hub with two PCD's, 996 turbo disc's and 996 Carrera2 calipers.

More to come in a few weeks time !!

Tue May 02, 2006 5:48 am

In 1000 years automotive archealogist excavating a Dutch junkyard will discover the remains of a stainless steel chassis with evidence of what appears to be Porsche components with scraps of unidentifiable rusty sheet metal attached and will drive themselves crazy trying figure out what sort of hitherto unidentifiied odd ball Porsche protoype they discovered.
--Dan

Tue May 02, 2006 6:16 am

That is tight. keep posting.

Tue May 02, 2006 6:19 am

Great Job!

Tue May 02, 2006 6:25 am

Keep us posted. Looks like a great start to the project. Also looks like my shop....cabinet shop by day, VW shop by night. Good luck.

Chris

Tue May 02, 2006 8:51 am

Holy Smokes!
Boyd Coddington's got nothing on you guys!

Tue May 02, 2006 9:07 am

That's great work guys, but ,the rear wheels in the third picture look a little small for a bus. And the tread is pretty worn out to. Might want to re-design that section..... looks a little sketchy. :)

Tue May 02, 2006 9:08 am

WOW. Now that takes vision.

Tue May 02, 2006 9:18 am

By the way, looks like you guys do mill work. Is that a entry door with skylight casing I see in the 5th pic? Mahogany? or Spanish cedar? I see a little tongue and groove stock in those piles. No?

Tue May 02, 2006 9:54 am

Sweeeeeeeeeeet. See what legal chronic can do?

Tue May 02, 2006 10:50 am

don3751 wrote: Sweeeeeeeeeeet. See what legal chronic can do?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Tue May 02, 2006 4:11 pm

how was it easier to make a whole new chassis?
nice welding however

Tue May 02, 2006 5:51 pm

Damn! Friggin' engineers over the pond there...awesome. 8)

Tue May 02, 2006 11:23 pm

Thanks guys for all the compliments !!

We are indeed a cabinet shop/ sawing mill/ timber factory be trade, but after working hours the Vdubs are rolled in.
Besides this project we also do some small projects .. other project that can see the light of day within days/weeks
will be our own 5x205 discbrakekit for busses.
We allready did a 5x130 944 kit for a T2a, and that kit will soon be upgraded with 4-piston Porsche Boxster calipers.
Other project thats been going on is a engine swap for a notchback .. customer want a mild tuned 2.0L type4 engine
in it, but he wants the decklid to be closed, so no 911 fan conversion or 48 IDA's, but shortend intake manifolds and a
modified Ahnendorp 4 into 1 header system.

@abeed; the current chassis needed to many adjustements to cope with the rear trailing arms and front suspension,
so he deceided that a whole new chassis was less work than restoring and modifying the old one.

Wheels on this bus will be 7 & 8x17 Fuchs (?) alloys :wink:

Wed May 03, 2006 5:47 pm

coolness.

Fri Jun 16, 2006 1:43 pm

Area51 wrote: We allready did a 5x130 944 kit for a T2a, and that kit will soon be upgraded with 4-piston Porsche Boxster calipers.

Well, we were a little bit busy to make some new brackets and spacers for the Boxster calipers
with the 944NA hubs and disc's, that's why (t)his project was put on -a temporary- hold ..

btw, these brakes are going onto a 1977 T2b crew cab 8)

more to come in a few weeks time, because the towers for the front shocks are ready,
and the double A-arm setup with modified 911 stut can be mounted.
After that, the -rack and pignion- powersteeringsystem can be measured up.

Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:33 am

Area51 wrote: more to come in a few weeks time,

Weeks turned into months, but finaly, the A-arm setup is nearly ready !!

Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:57 am

very proud work. please keep posting photos.

Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:09 am

Im impressed.... keep it up...

Fri Oct 27, 2006 1:39 pm

Call me critical, but those welds in this pic--> look really hot and not enough filler rod. T-Joints should be slightly convex to slightly concave. Those well they look a tab bit past slightly concave point. Just MHO!!!

I guess this comes from 16yrs of Aircraft and Missile Certification and inspecting other peoples welds. :P Execellent work! I wish I had the shop space to rebuild a bus! There are plenty out there that could be saved!