TheSamba.com :: View topic - Im about to look at a bus/rear suspension

Wed Nov 13, 2002 9:21 pm

im told there the rear suspension needs to be repaired, but the parts will be included, what is involved in the rear suspension of a baywindow??? shocks? just give me the lo down or a good website with technical information (i looked in the muir book and it only had a front end seciont...)

Wed Nov 13, 2002 9:35 pm

www.type2.com......

Wed Nov 13, 2002 9:40 pm

ok smart guy....did all late model buses have 2 tone paint jobs? or just deluxes? or what?

Wed Nov 13, 2002 9:56 pm

You might get a better answer if you posted the year.

Wed Nov 13, 2002 10:00 pm

i dont know the year yet exactly i just passed it on the raod. i can spot the year of a beetle in a second but i dont know bay's that well. i dont remember where the signals were placed but i know the spare tire is in the front, but that probably isnt relative at all

Wed Nov 13, 2002 10:04 pm

i guess i can just ......::cringe:: be patient,,,,

Wed Nov 13, 2002 11:17 pm

Not all late model Buses had two tone paint jobs. I know many camper versions (even without poptop) were single color.

Thu Nov 14, 2002 5:41 am

68-72 front signals below headlights. 73-79 they were above. I have heard that Westy's came with a special paint code and they were always monotone. Dave

Thu Nov 14, 2002 9:27 am

Bloop,
68-79 rear suspension are all the same design except for the brake drums, so what i say will apply to em all. the four main components you will want to check out are
1)starting farthest forward you will have the torsion bars that either cracked or get loose- there is a plate on either side that comes off at the front of the trailing arms and you can get to em that way- alot like on the front end, just heavier duty. if they are bad one side of the bus will sag more than the other it will look lopsided and too low
2)next are the shocks- replace with gas shocks like bilstiens or so- it will help with traction in cross winds and raise your back end and the bottom of your engine about a half inch to an inch (that's a good thing unless you are gonna lower it)
3)then ther is the IRS double ended drive shaft with a CV joint on each end- just like a late model bug
4) wheel shaft and bearing house- the bearing can go loos and it will sound like someone craping a wash pan with a spoon in that one wheel when it gets really bad (the wheel might not even turn perfectly and look like it is out of alignment-which it is)
I included 3) and 4) as they are in need of atention if the suspension goes out. the hardest thing to fix are the torsion springs- but this is the most important as well (most people just but on new shocks and this is not going to last very long.

as for the two tone paint jobs there were more options in the UK and in europe than imported to the US which included not just two tone, but also a monotone paint job with a white roof. The LHD westfalias were almost exclusively one color and i don't know about the RHD models or those going to northern europe, this was the case because westfalia got the shell of the van in unfinished form and VW just shot it all with one color to match westfalia's interior scheme. but there were many two tone conversions outside of westfalia. All 220 station wagons and most 230 kombi's were one color with an option on the 230's to be two tone. the 230 deluxe micro's were about fifty fifty two tone and one color and up into the early seventy's included the outside chrome strip and an improved level of trim on the inside. of course the 210 panel vans were all one color as they were a work truck as well as the pick up trucks. the Devon Euro campmobile was almost exclusively built with a two tone level of trim as their poptops were always white.

Sun Nov 17, 2002 10:53 pm

woh thanks for the info man! youre awesome! i never bought that bus. it was a 73 i believe, automatic, i want a 68-71 so i can use my 1600 i had for my bug. and because i just like the signals under the lights, i dont know its such a small little thing but i like it. im still looking though, i found a few people but i want to make sure i make a good decision.