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Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:56 pm

Two questions:

1. What are the measurements to install the front emblem on an early bay (1970)? (mine were filled- with metal- in the resto process)...I checked on ratwell's site and his is for a later model bus that I believe took a smaller emblem.

2. Is there anyway to get this emblem on without removing the kick panels? Those things were such a pain to get in I dread removing going through that process again. I mean, can you secure the back of the emblem by reaching 'round another way? (Or just gluing it? How would that turn out?)

Thanks everyone.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:07 pm

Your front emblem has 4 mounting posts. The nose of the bus has 4 holes. Stick 4 of these in the holes in the bus:

http://wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211853615

Now, pop the emblem on.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:13 pm

Um...did I not clearly state that my holes were filled in the resto process? I need the measurements to drill new ones. Then, yes, I can stick the four pegs in the four holes-- I think I could figure that part out.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:31 pm

If you ask me, keep the "shaved" look.

Looks cool and less work.

Edit, this must be your bus.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:57 pm

She asked for the dimensions of the holes, implying that she knows that she needs those clips, but doesn't how how big to drill.

And vwbusbusvw, yes the front emblem threads are common, but she's asking about the holes, not the things themselves, thus her on thread. And yes i agree if she had an emblem question she could have posted it there, but she didn't so let's let it go, answer her question, and continue our lives.

Michelle: If you have those clips you can measure them to find how big the hole should be if no one here knows the size. That's what i would do.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:01 pm

Reach inside the bus, and find a hole that has been filled with filler. Pop it out with a screwdriver. Now, take your emblem, and put a dab of paint on the end of the posts. Fit one post of your emblem into the hole that you popped out, make sure the emblem is level, and push it onto the nose, so that the paint marks where the other 3 holes are. Remove emblem, and pop out the other holes from the front. Now, go inside, remove Birkenstocks, wash hands, and reapply patchoulli spray. Working on them buses is dirty business.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:05 pm

And seeing out no one has actually answered her question yet:

What I did with mine was take the emblem, position it at a point on the bus where it looks good, and make a mark with a grease pen or something else that'll come off easy. Then I covered the four little attachment points with graphite, held the emblem where i had it before, tapped it with a hammer to get the graphite to apply to the body, and drilled where the resulting marks were.

I'd recommend drilling slightly smaller then the attachment points and just hammering in the emblem with a rubber mallet, but that's just cause of my strange fear of something falling off the front of my bus. ;)

Also much, much easier to make small holes larger than the other way around...

Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:06 pm

None of you read, she said the holes are filled with metal!

And I'm not going to pull my emblem off to get dimensions because the clips are a little tender, I get it off and it may not go back on.

Bill

Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:09 pm

vwbusbusvw wrote: Reach inside the bus, and find a hole that has been filled with filler. Pop it out with a screwdriver. Now, take your emblem, and put a dab of paint on the end of the posts. Fit one post of your emblem into the hole that you popped out, make sure the emblem is level, and push it onto the nose, so that the paint marks where the other 3 holes are. Remove emblem, and pop out the other holes from the front. Now, go inside, remove Birkenstocks, wash hands, and reapply patchoulli spray. Working on them buses is dirty business.

Didn't notice metal instead of filler. Same process as above, just use a drill to make the first hole. Should be easy to find inside.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:52 pm

Here are the dimensions from my '68.

The measurements involving mounting holes are taken from the center of the hole.

I'm guessing it would be easiest to center the emblem by dividing the the 2-11/16" grill center measurement and 6-3/8" pin to pin measurement in half. Maybe use a plumb line if you can level the bus itself.

A 15/64" drill bit fit snug in my mounting holes, made thinner by a couple layers of paint. However, I believe a 1/4" bit will be too large.

My only advice would be to punch your marks, start with fresh, small bits and move up to the 15/64" size.

Good Luck!

Brent Hughes

Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:59 pm

brenthughes wrote: Here are the dimensions from my '68.

The measurements involving mounting holes are taken from the center of the hole.

I'm guessing it would be easiest to center the emblem by dividing the the 2-11/16" grill center measurement and 6-3/8" pin to pin measurement in half. Maybe use a plumb line if you can level the bus itself.

A 15/64" drill bit fit snug in my mounting holes, made thinner by a couple layers of paint. However, I believe a 1/4" bit will be too large.

My only advice would be to punch your marks, start with fresh, small bits and move up to the 15/64" size.

Good Luck!

Brent Hughes

You're a nice guy Mr. Hughes, Looks like you just took the photo tonight and put some time in drawing it up.

Bill

Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:06 pm

YAY! another VW woman!!! I have the same issue on my 77. The holes were filled in and I hate to make new holes in the paint job...My emblem has been in the glove box since we bought it!

Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:17 pm

Wow, a thread that so eloquently displays the good, the bad, and the ugly that The Samba has to offer.

Way to go brent! Always nice to see someone go the extra mile to help out a fellow bus owner.

-John

Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:32 pm

brenthughes wrote: Here are the dimensions from my '68.

The measurements involving mounting holes are taken from the center of the hole.

I'm guessing it would be easiest to center the emblem by dividing the the 2-11/16" grill center measurement and 6-3/8" pin to pin measurement in half. Maybe use a plumb line if you can level the bus itself.

A 15/64" drill bit fit snug in my mounting holes, made thinner by a couple layers of paint. However, I believe a 1/4" bit will be too large.

My only advice would be to punch your marks, start with fresh, small bits and move up to the 15/64" size.

Good Luck!

Brent Hughes
outstanding, Mr Hughes! I would rather be a post whore than a crabby ass :twisted:

Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:37 pm

Liveonjg wrote: Wow, a thread that so eloquently displays the good, the bad, and the ugly that The Samba has to offer.

Way to go brent! Always nice to see someone go the extra mile to help out a fellow bus owner.

-John

Which one am I? Ugly? :D

Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:38 pm

vdubyah73 wrote: Liveonjg wrote: Wow, a thread that so eloquently displays the good, the bad, and the ugly that The Samba has to offer.

Way to go brent! Always nice to see someone go the extra mile to help out a fellow bus owner.

-John

Which one am I? Ugly? :D

Why you askin' me, I just got here?

-John

Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:56 pm

Thanks to all of you who contributed helpful information on this! I really appreciate it. That pic with the measurements was just perfect BrentHughes, thanks.

Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:19 pm

Hay Michelle,
I'll be installing my emblem on my 1969 deluxe this weekend . PM me and we can drill, mount and glue our emblems together. :lol:

EXCELLENT job Brent Hughes :!:

Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:51 am

You're welcome, MichellesGotABus. And thanks everyone for the positive responses. My 15 minutes or so of doodling is nothing compared to the amount of information I get from this community.

Sincerely,

Brent Hughes

Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:37 am

MichellesGotABus wrote: Um...did I not clearly state that my holes were filled in the resto process? I need the measurements to drill new ones. Then, yes, I can stick the four pegs in the four holes-- I think I could figure that part out.

Hey Michelle,

How were the holes filled when the Bus was restored? If it was like mine, they filled them with a skim-coat of bondo and plastic. The BEST thing to do to eliminate you from having to drill NEW holes, would be to look at the panel from the inside and see if you can see those holes. On mine, there was a dab of bondo sticking out, I simply knocked it off with a plastic chizel (from the inside of course) and it punched out the hole for me. That will eliminate you from having to measure and drill new holes.

Unless your Bus originally had a spare tire mounted on it... in which case I don't think you would have ever had holes.

Hope that helps...