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Fri Apr 12, 2019 11:32 am

Lee Hedges wrote: I scrounged the workshop for a replacement 6V relay and found one.
Yo Lee, is it too late to post a photo of what is the diagram on the outside of the relay cannister in the far left photo?

Sun Apr 14, 2019 10:07 am

The far left pic is of the 12V relay that I'd found. I replaced it with a new 6V one that got things working again. The front panel covering the wiring has been installed.

Sun Apr 14, 2019 10:41 am

Lee Hedges wrote: The far left pic is of the 12V relay that I'd found. I replaced it with a new 6V one that got things working again. The front panel covering the wiring has been installed.
Do you remember if the 6 volt one had a diagram on it or a Hella part number if it was Hella?

Tue Apr 16, 2019 5:37 pm

I got it from Wagon Werks and they still have the 6V one listed. It has a diagram on the cylinder.
https://www.wagen-werks.com/turn-signal-flasher-unit-1963-to-1965-type-2-bus-6-volt/

Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:15 am

Nice truck! How do you like the big bore 40hp? Did you have any clearance issues with the piston skirts on the AAs?

Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:55 am

The Big Bore 40hp (1385cc) is stronger than I'd anticipated. Pulls 3rd gear to 40mph with ease & cruises at 60-65mph with reduction boxes on freeway. No issues so far but it's only gone 200 miles. I love the stock look with the extra power for getting up hills & carrying loads.

Sun Apr 28, 2019 3:13 pm

Despite cleaning the multiple 6V ground straps, replacing the 6V starter with a new one from AutoZone, & replacing the ignition switch with a 1963 one the key was still not starting the engine reliably. If I turned-off the engine it would restart with the key within 5 minutes but longer than that it wouldn't work. That was frustrating, having to crawl underneath the starter with a long screwdriver to get it going.

So my buddy Pedro Sainz told me he had a buddy that rebuilt 6V starters and gave a 10 year warranty, so I decided to take one of my original 6V Type 3 starter motors and let him work his magic for $50. This weekend Pedro brought the rebuilt starter to the workshop and we installed it. First turn of the key and the engine roared to life! Proud to know it took a T34 part to fix my T2. Thank you Pedro! Now I can take-on the many jobs with the truck like getting bark for the pool area, taking the junk pile to the dump, and getting to/from events without looking like a douche under the truck.

Thu May 23, 2019 8:56 pm

Driving the truck has made it clear that I need to get the vent windows replaced, as the wind makes it too cold for my wife & daughter to enjoy driving. So I decided to tackle the entire door window frame at once. Made a list of seals & bits I needed from Wolfsburg West and placed the $400 order.

Removing the door window frames began with the two door edge bolts. These were both rusted tight so it took the channel locks & an impact driver to remove them cleanly. The two 13mm front bolts came out easily, as did the two 10mm nuts on the bottom. Removing the hardened seals was fun, chipping away one section at a time until it was all gone. Used the grinder to strip the rust & paint off and the wire brush driver to get to the tight places. And then primed & painted the frames Light Gray. I masked the new WW vent window frames that came in bright white and painted them Light Gray as well. It bugs me a bit that the vent locks are chrome (vs the original black) but it's something I'm going to have to live with.

Next step is to install the frame seals.

Thu May 23, 2019 9:07 pm

Great work, looking forward to the next part of your window frame restoration, as I have the same job coming up soon.

Sat May 25, 2019 9:30 pm

The door window frame reassembly process went well but took a long time to get it right. The slider bars & divider bars were stripped & repainted. The door frame seals were the time-consuming part. The top seal over the edge was a real pain. After using silicon lubricant I still was unable to pull the seal around the edges. So I finally tried a pair of channel-locks and like magic the seal slid right around. I left the ends attached, as I read they will shrink-up after a year. The vent window seal was much easier than I'd expected. And the painted vent window went in easily. The lower bar was not able to be removed as the thin slotted screws were stripped. So I installed the two glass pieces and slid the felt pieces around the glass. Worked really well with no issues. The center divider bar had a metal hook piece that prevented it from falling down. And the slider bar went in easily & mounted with the new screws. Not sure if the screws should be painted or not. Mounting the assembled window frame into the door shell was really easy after the base seal was mounted. The door closed firmly & solidly, so all is good for the driver's side.

Sat May 25, 2019 9:43 pm

Looking good.

I believe the window slider latch plate screws were not painted but plated the way you have them now.

All the used ones I've seen are always sort of dull and crusty with no paint, like the plating simply wore down over time and from weather.
The overhead vent plate screws are like that too.

Did you do seal #37 here too?
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/wolfsburg_new/door_co...cfm?type=2
Maybe I can't see it.

Sat May 25, 2019 9:51 pm

Next on the list were the shock absorbers & steering damper. These were inexpensive from Wolfsburg West and came in red for the fronts & blue for the rears. Installation was simple. I'm looking forward to feeling the differences.

Sat May 25, 2019 9:54 pm

Thanks Everett!
Good to hear the slider screws are correct. The #37 vertical vent seal was done as well. Slid right into place without even needing to be trimmed. Lots of silicon lubricant made the whole job much easier.

Sat Jun 01, 2019 7:48 pm

Rear shocks (WW) were more of a pain than the fronts. The lower shock bolt pulled-out with the metal shock sleeve and it took 15 minutes to get the sleeve off. Lubricated it first then used a wire wheel to remove the rust on the bolt body, then used a screwdriver & hammer to push it down the bolt til it came off. Cleaned-up the bolts & installed the new shock.

Mon Jun 10, 2019 11:02 am

With the big annual Prado Meet happening on the weekend I wanted to get the truck steering & high-rpm issues resolved. Since I couldn't figure things out it was time to pay for my trusted shop VW Paradise Motorsports to fix them. And sure enough they did. Discovered the distributor had wiring inside that was causing the high-speed sputtering issue. And they replaced the steering components underneath & adjusted the steering box. The results of the work were amazing ... great power sustained at 65mph on the flats & tight steering. I'm very thankful Paradise was able to give Gus an opportunity to participate in the Prado Meet!

On Sunday my buddy Dave MacMartin & I left Poway, headed north to Prado, about a 90 minute drive. Morning temps were perfect and the truck ran great through the gears! 45mph in 3rd and 65mph in 4th. Going up the long hills the speed dropped to 50mph but was sustained up the hills. We lost a hub cap on the drive, likely due to one of the hub cap clips missing. But that was the worst that happened the whole day. At Prado we scored a great parking spot with other Double Cabs right at the entrance. The biggest purchase I made was to get a restored steering wheel from Koch's ($400 in the morning & $350 by 1pm) which I can't wait to get installed. Nothing quite like holding a new steering wheel! I have not yet decided if I'll keep the truck's original solid black horn button or use the beautifully restored Wolfsburg crest button that matches the wheel.

Mon Jun 10, 2019 11:29 am

Black original horn button for the black original steering wheel. If you want the Wolfsberg button then you should of got the repop steering wheel :wink: :lol: 8)

Nice drive up for sure.

Sat Jun 15, 2019 5:48 pm

Having bought a new Koch's steering wheel I wanted to find a steering wheel puller but was unable to find one to buy. I listed a wanted ad in my local San Diego club but no one offered one. So I got super-lucky to have my good buddy Eric Hand from Northern California coming down to deliver an early T34 motor so he brought along the puller he's used in the past.

Disassembly of the turn signal unit was first to gain access to the turn cancellation ring on the underside of the steering wheel. The horn button came off and we loosened the large nut. Eric then spent a couple minutes assembling the puller & tightening it until it popped. Then the steering wheel came off easily. Stripped the turn signal housing to bare metal & painted it black. Wrapped the top end of the steering column with electrical tape to give the turn signal housing something to grab onto to keep the signal unit tight. Then the wheel was installed & new horn button connected. Fantastic job! The new wheel looks great and the turn cancellation works too. Thank you, thank you Eric!

Fri Jul 05, 2019 2:35 pm

Since the truck is going to haul the family & friends I wanted to have a full set of seat belts. I'd already installed the two front belts in 2015. So in the summer of 2019 when the truck finally got on the road, it was time to install the rear set. Wolfsburg West supplied the silver belts with a black metal buckle, just like when they were new. The width of the rear seat has enough room for three adults, so three belts were fitted. Drilled holes into the metal supporting bracket that goes horizontally across the rear seat frame. Large metal washers were used on both sides of the metal frame to prevent anything from coming lose in an accident. The whole process took about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Sun Apr 19, 2020 12:32 pm

With the truck running well as our shop truck & COVID-19 locking us down, it was time to get the rusty areas removed & welded-in with fresh metal. I purchased 25 pieces from Klassik Fab in Colombia and was amazed that all the parts were so easy to buy & inexpensive ($1400). I convinced my good buddy Jack Fisher to do the work. He'd proven himself a capable welder while working on two T34s & Notchback and now he had extra time on his hands at home. Jack worked on the left rocker panel first, then the right rear corner, and the right rocker panel was completed on May 1st. By May 31st he completed the replacement of the rusty front door wells & bumper mounts.

Wed Sep 09, 2020 2:12 pm

On 26 August 2020 Jack Fisher was able to get time for the primer & paint phase. Pedro, Jack, & I spent hours sanding the body with 600 & 800 grit before being wiped clean in preparation for paint. We bought the single-stage acrylic enamel Light Gray L345 paint was supplied by TCP in Mira Mesa CA for about $400.