TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 25, 2025 3:39 am

BarryL wrote: After driving for errands and getting gas I was decelerating to turn onto my street and press my garage opener when I heard rods suddenly knocking. I slowly gave it the gas after turning and for sure the rods were knocking.

I panicked and stopped. That's when I realized the Redheaded Woodpecker was back onto my local telephone pole for spring.

Haha. Good one.

Thu Apr 17, 2025 7:05 pm

Finally got tired enough of my same-color-as-body emblem to mask and paint. Considering the 6" of clearance to do the job I'm happy.

Sat May 03, 2025 5:02 pm

My original wiper motor was very noisy, even though I'd taken it apart, cleaned everything and re-greased it. I found another one in my spares, cleaned and re-greased it, and then added a thin (1/16") layer of rubber (pond liner) between the motor and the bracket. It seems to be quieter, but I don't have any metrics.

Fri May 09, 2025 6:13 pm

A Gremlin appeared a while back on my '67 Westy.

When you go anywhere there is a bump that repeats then finally after you get up to speed it kinda goes away. But I'm not pressing as hard on the gas to go then. The bump is like a dirty rotor or points getting too close or carb starting to starve in droplets.

To rule out each part of the system I been revamping each thing one at a time so I can rule that part out. So far: rebuilt distributor, plugs, timing, fuel pump, clean and rebuild carburetor. Carb now 30 Pict1.

What amount of turns out on the Volume Screw do you guys do?

Can't wait to put carb back on so I think that is what was causing it. I found no smoking gun anywhere while rebuilding it.

Fri May 09, 2025 7:07 pm

I always start with the volume screw at 1 1/2 turns, then go from there.

Sat May 10, 2025 4:41 pm

I spent over an hour just getting the repro engine lid latch cover installed, and another 3 hours getting the repro engine lid seal to fit - had to take some material off of the back side on the belt sander as it was way too thick and putting too much pressure on the engine lid.

Sat May 10, 2025 4:43 pm

Started polishing various pieces of trim. It's a little dinged up in spots, but I have all of the original pieces.

Sat May 10, 2025 6:09 pm

Your bus is such a museum quality.

Sat May 10, 2025 6:11 pm

cdennisg wrote: I always start with the volume screw at 1 1/2 turns, then go from there.

Thanks for the reply.

Well…I put the carb back on…no difference.

So at least I know it wasn’t the carb. Perplexed, I thought about it and decided to switch out the distributor for a restored with NOS parts distributor from tasb’s personal collection that he sold me. I had to move my bracket to the tasb one and set the timing.

TaaDaa all is fixed. Yay for me: I’m my own hero. Whew what a relief.

But now I’m baffled by what is wrong with my distributor that was causing the bump-cachah-bump. There is only one thing that it could be and that is that somewhere the circuit that grounds the coil is faulty. Points NOS .016” gap, condenser NOS, rotor NOS, cap NOS.

Mon May 12, 2025 6:51 am

BarryL wrote: Your bus is such a museum quality.

Eh, it's a decent 5-footer. There's a ton of small things wrong with it, which happens with amateur restorations. Whomever buys it from my estate can worry about fixing them.

Mon May 12, 2025 7:02 am

Installed the front seat covers. The top came out great, except for one corner which I need to shift over so it fits better. I need to add some more fluff to the bottom - it's kind of saggy. I have the same issue with my single cab, but I've never got around to fixing it. I wish I had known about the zip tie trick before - I've done several of these and it's always been a fight.

Mon May 12, 2025 6:37 pm

What is the "zip-tie trick"?

Tue May 13, 2025 11:17 am

BarryL wrote: What is the "zip-tie trick"?

You use zip-ties to compress the springs, so you don't have to compress them by hand to get the cover pulled over the bottom tube. You can see them in this pic; in hindsight, I should have bought something other than black ones, because I had the frame powder-coated black, so they're difficult to see. Since they're sacrificial, the color is ultimately irrelevant.

Tue May 13, 2025 5:24 pm

It looks like the cat was making sure you did not use cat gut for the job.
fine looking 23 window

Wed May 14, 2025 8:21 am

thom wrote: BarryL wrote: What is the "zip-tie trick"?

You use zip-ties to compress the springs, so you don't have to compress them by hand to get the cover pulled over the bottom tube. You can see them in this pic; in hindsight, I should have bought something other than black ones, because I had the frame powder-coated black, so they're difficult to see. Since they're sacrificial, the color is ultimately irrelevant.

What reproduction decklid seal did you use and curious how you sanded the backside down if it's a hollow tube rubber seal?

Nice black cat; looks like a senior?

Wed May 14, 2025 9:10 am

I pulled some new wires from the engine to the dashboard. Reason being my autometer gauge didn't indicate the RPM anymore. RMP wire from coil had ground...

And I have some issue with the fuel sensor. Checked the fuel gauge it works fine. Leaves me with a faulty ensor. Need to cut an access hatch... It worked fine when I installed the bay window fuel tank before COVID... But since then haven't driven the bus that often - must change this.

Also our bus is lowered with a shorter front axle from the UK. I would like to install the Cagero rack and pinion steering kit, but need to check compatability to the front axle. Overhauling the original steering will cost me 800 GBP, too. So I thought I might double it for more and long term steering precision.

Just by chance, is there anybody out there having done the conversion and could share some insights on the improvements?

Thu May 15, 2025 10:17 am

Stocknazi wrote: What reproduction decklid seal did you use and curious how you sanded the backside down if it's a hollow tube rubber seal?

Nice black cat; looks like a senior?

I used this seal: https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211827711

It's made by gluing the corner sections onto straight extrusions. The corner sections were flush on the front side, but a little proud on the back side, so the corners really stuck out. I gently ran the entire back of the seal over my belt sander with 120 grit, with extra attention to the extreme corners and inner top edge. It fits perfectly now, but it was a couple of hours work with the repeated grind/test cycles.

Duncan is actually the neighbor's cat, but he likes to hang out with me. He's about 12 or so.

Thu May 15, 2025 12:41 pm

Finished up Plasti dip paint job on my ‘63 single cab, I like it, fairly easy to do and when I get tired of it I’ll peel it off and do something else. :D

Fri May 16, 2025 5:33 pm

First time it's been indoors in 50+ years!

I'm sure things are about to get expensive quickly.

Sat May 17, 2025 3:58 pm

Redid the lower front seat cover. Even Duncan is saying "Damn, that's a lot of zip-ties"