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Thu Oct 22, 2020 3:22 am

I wouldn't recommend the Michelin X for a van. Yes - they look great, but without the sidewall reinforcement that's so important for a van with full height tires, you'll be very susceptible to crosswinds, and the handling will be 'squirmy'. I'd stick with the taxi tires, which have the 6PR construction that a van needs.

Thu Oct 22, 2020 5:04 am

That 356 engine looks great in there!

FYI if you move the fuel tank over far enough you can still run the spare tyre tray if you wanted. I found this out by chance on my bus. The filler neck ends up outside the tray rather than going through the hole as vw intended

Thu Oct 22, 2020 5:44 am

Hats off to you, love to see you road tripping that old beast. We both know that the trip is more than 1/2 the fun!
Now when "Joe Blow Expert" on the street comes up and asks if there's a Porcha engine in there you can say yes! :lol:

Thu Oct 22, 2020 6:03 am

busben wrote: Should have spotted the 15” rims :oops: I hid them behind the trim rings. When I dropped them off, Adam was like "why did you bring four different colored rims?" I was all like "nobody will notice". They were the straightest beetle rims I had, and I didn't need to paint them since the trim rings covered them up. If I was not running the trim rings, I would have painted the outside of the rims with a fade to dark to make the inside look bigger.

All four hubcaps are barndoor, with two of them showing original dove blue in the logos. All have vehicle appropriate matching patina with the curb roll marks on the passenger side.

Thu Oct 22, 2020 6:40 am

Trevor P wrote: Hats off to you, love to see you road tripping that old beast. We both know that the trip is more than 1/2 the fun!
Now when "Joe Blow Expert" on the street comes up and asks if there's a Porcha engine in there you can say yes! :lol: Thanks. The trip was the destination. I have a feeling that we put down more miles than the combines mileage all the other 1950 buses have covered in the last decade. Are there any other 1950 buses that actually drive anywhere?

I am so waiting for someone to give me some helpful engine advice when I am fueling it up.

Thu Oct 22, 2020 7:09 am

The turbine trim rings tend to distract/hide the fact that they’re 15’s. I wasn’t sure about the idea when Lind first suggested it, but once the wheels/trim rings were on Sudfunk, it just looked right IMHO

Thu Oct 22, 2020 8:12 am

Rhodrich wrote: I wouldn't recommend the Michelin X for a van. Yes - they look great, but without the sidewall reinforcement that's so important for a van with full height tires, you'll be very susceptible to crosswinds, and the handling will be 'squirmy'. I'd stick with the taxi tires, which have the 6PR construction that a van needs. Thanks, that is exactly what I didn't want to find out after I spend $1000 on the tires.

Thu Oct 22, 2020 10:40 am

Lind wrote: Are there any other 1950 buses that actually drive anywhere?

Knocked out a good few miles in my old panel, and still knocking out a good few in the Miesen kombi ......

...... but January 8th '51 and January 16th '51, so neither quite counts. I love that you've made Sudfunk so useable and are now banging out some decent mileage =D>

Quite possibly the coolest damn panel van on the planet 8)

Thu Oct 22, 2020 3:46 pm

busben wrote: Lind wrote: Are there any other 1950 buses that actually drive anywhere?
Knocked out a good few miles in my old panel, and still knocking out a good few in the Miesen kombi ......

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1254926.jpg
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1861753.jpg

...... but January 8th '51 and January 16th '51, so neither quite counts. I love that you've made Sudfunk so useable and are now banging out some decent mileage =D>

Quite possibly the coolest damn panel van on the planet 8)
Thanks for the props.

I consider an early 1951 to be the same as a late 1950, mostly because they are the same, except for the build date. The two you mentioned, and AB51 are the only no rear window buses I have ever seen actually drive any distance, and I have driven two of those three for more than a few hundred miles. We need more fat-ass no rear window buses on the road....

Thu Oct 22, 2020 4:59 pm

Lind wrote: and I have driven two of those three for more than a few hundred miles.

Badass 8) 8) 8)

Thu Oct 22, 2020 5:02 pm

Lind wrote: We need more fat-ass no rear window buses on the road....

This would be a great signature line Lind :D 8) :D 8)

Mon Nov 16, 2020 3:55 pm

I just talked to Ralph, the guy who bought Sudfunk from Vasek Polak in 1964. I now believe that I have the complete ownership path from new to me. Eight owners in total.

Ralph was working at Vasek Polak Porsche when he was in high school. After he unloaded all the engines and parts that Vasek transported from Stuttgart, he bought Sudfunk from Vasek for $50. That would be a bit over $400 in today's money.

Mon Nov 16, 2020 6:07 pm

356 engine in a vintage VW. Always a class act. Love it. Terrific exhaust tips. Is that a 019 “Screamer” distributor I see? Those don’t typically have the optimum advance curve for those engines.
PS: The distributor clamp is upside down. The pinch bolt belongs on the right hand side :idea:

Mon Nov 16, 2020 9:17 pm

Jacks wrote: 356 engine in a vintage VW. Always a class act. Love it. Terrific exhaust tips. Is that a 019 “Screamer” distributor I see? Those don’t typically have the optimum advance curve for those engines.
PS: The distributor clamp is upside down. The pinch bolt belongs on the right hand side :idea:
Thanks. It is a lot of fun to drive.

The screamer has been worked, and has a curve more like and 022. The distributor and coil are just a couple vintage speed bling items that look cool, but really add very little to performance. The things that make it really work you can't see.

Mon Nov 16, 2020 10:24 pm

Lind, that's so cool that you have the history of it. It was great to check this most epic bus out in person. I have tried to imagine the feeling of doing 80 mph in that bus on the way down to Octo!! What an epic trip!

Tue Nov 17, 2020 11:03 am

I've already communicated this to both Lind and Adam, but here I go again.

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

I'm also stoked to see this bus being driven instead of being passed around like a museum piece never seeing anything but the inside of a building.

Wed Nov 18, 2020 7:21 am

mr. warehouse wrote: I've already communicated this to both Lind and Adam, but here I go again.

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

I'm also stoked to see this bus being driven instead of being passed around like a museum piece never seeing anything but the inside of a building. Thanks for the props.

It was great to get it out and stretch it's legs. I could not imagine spending that much money on a toy and not playing with it. The buses sitting idle in collections are just stock waiting to be sold to someone who will have fun with them.

Wed Nov 18, 2020 7:55 am

Lind wrote: mr. warehouse wrote: I've already communicated this to both Lind and Adam, but here I go again.

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

I'm also stoked to see this bus being driven instead of being passed around like a museum piece never seeing anything but the inside of a building. Thanks for the props.

It was great to get it out and stretch it's legs. I could not imagine spending that much money on a toy and not playing with it. The buses sitting idle in collections are just stock waiting to be sold to someone who will have fun with them.

Amen gentlemen =D>

Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:36 am

I love seeing this at the top of threads 8) One of my favourite buses in the world, not only being used, but used a LOT! Mega mileage for any Barndoor tbh. Fantastic stuff =D> =D>

Wed Dec 02, 2020 8:31 am

Congrats on the bus! It looks perfect and I will be super excited to see it in person hopefully next year at a show when I can go out west. =D> =D> =D>