TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Aug 14, 2014 9:27 pm

Hello All,

I have always wanted a VW bus (since I was 16) and finally brought one home this past weekend. My in-laws have had this bus since my wife was a little girl. It has been parked in their garage for the last +20 years never being fired up. It's a 69 Type 2 with a relatively stock 1600 engine.

To get it running I had to put some new rubber on the wheels, replace the battery, replace some ignition parts, clean the fuel pump and carburetor of the old fuel-turned-varnish, and drain as much of the old fuel from the tank as possible.

I was able to get it running, though not very well, it doesn't idle all that well (partially due to a vacuum leak) and it pops out second under load. I was able to coax it over to my house where I am planning on a rebuild.

Over all, the bus is in good condition having been in a relatively dry environment for the last two decades. The is very little surface rust and absolutely no rust through (rot). I have a good solid platform for what I hope to be a fun rebuild.

As far as a rebuild goes I would like to do a moderate rebuild with some upgrades so that this can be a fun, safe, and reliable weekend family hauler. My project list is still in it's infancy stage but includes

-Pulling and rebuilding transmission
-Pulling motor and converting to 1776 (there is a good laundry list of things I would like to change with the engine as well)
-Rebuilidng brake system
-Gutting the interior and fabricating my own
-Gutting the vehicle and re-painting the body

Having never taken on a project of this magnitude I am probably getting in over my head. I would like to try to finish the project in two years. I have the advantage of having a full blown machine shop and wood shop to make parts and fabricate assemblies. However I do not have a garage to work on this (garage is my shop) so I will have to work on this in the driveway over a two year period.

Anyways, thanks for looking and for having an awesome forum with a wealth of knowledge.

Here are some photos of the bus before I dug her out of my in-laws garage.

Thu Aug 14, 2014 9:47 pm

That's a beautiful bus. Congrats!

Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:05 pm

Jack_O_Trades wrote: .....................
As far as a rebuild goes I would like to do a moderate rebuild with some upgrades so that this can be a fun, safe, and reliable weekend family hauler. My project list is still in it's infancy stage but includes

-Pulling motor and converting to 1776 (there is a good laundry list of things I would like to change with the engine as well)
-Gutting the interior and fabricating my own
-Gutting the vehicle and re-painting the body
............................
You read way too many magazines, if you want a bus to mess with I'll happily trade you one that needs an engine, paint and an interior, I'll even deliver it.
Fix the brakes and fuel system, buff it, clean out that added camper stuff and enjoy it the way it is, you'll likely find there's nothing else it needs.

Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:13 pm

Nice bus - congrats!

Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:14 pm

:shock: NICE bus!! Seriously, what a score. Love the color, love the OG. Beautiful!

Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:27 pm

I love the look of the early Deluxe models. That's a score.

Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:28 pm

May I second Busdaddy's suggestion of not altering it? It will really hold a greater value, both in cash and eye appeal if it remains original.

But I am smitten with love, of course! You have an exact clone of the bus I grew up with.

:!: PM sent!

Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:18 am

Change oil & REPLACE sump filter screen??

Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:44 am

Im sure your intentions are all good. But as an old man I have learned a couple of things. Go slow. Clean that bus up in detail. To see what is really there. It would be a loss to loose that paint. Why be in such a hurry to GUT anything? Once that happens it is so very costly and difficult to return it to that original state.
Of course it is your bus and you will do as you see fit. I just urge you to be patient. It is a beautiful automobile and a bus like the one I see in your pictures doesnt come around too often. :) :)

Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:50 am

I have to vote for not going very far from stock and original. That bus has overcome crazy odds to be in that condition.
You sound excited and I share that with you. If you make changes, try to make them reversible and retain all the old parts.

Drive it first after mechanical repairs and a clean and polish.

You have a rare and valuable object to admire and to use as a reference for others wishing to return their buses to stock.
This is from some one who gets excited to find factory assembly marks or paperwork under carpet /seats.
Good luck, SF

Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:07 am

When I bought my first bus two and a half decades ago the third time I drove it anywhere was a coast to coast trip. This was done with almost no prep at all and that which I did took only a few days: finding and installing all the missing engine tin, checking the brakes and doing a good tune up and service. If I had chosen to gut it and do piles of upgrades first it might still be sitting out back undriven and my attitude toward these old beast would be totally different.

Do the minimum now to get it safely on the road and save the full restore for later.

Fri Aug 15, 2014 9:28 am

Clean it up, tune it up. Learn the bus and drive it, then rethink all your plans. As said above, it is very nice as it sits.

Fri Aug 15, 2014 11:45 am

Congrats
Here is a little information. Good Luck

Pronunciation (Samba) English

Cleaning+Rodents+Hantavirus
Up in smoke... Bus fires... don't let it happen to you!
Volkswagen Type 2 Bus M-Plate Decoder
Bus VIN / Chassis Numbers
Type 2/Bus Owner's Manuals
Bus repair manuals
Bus parts manuals
Early Baywindow Bus Parts Book
Late Baywindow Bus Parts Fiche
Type 2 Wiring Diagrams
Model and Year Variations
Type 4: Secrets Revealed
Distributor Parts & Specifications
PARTS INTERCHANGE MANUAL
Youtube Videos

There is a ton of information located at the top of the Forum section.

Fri Aug 15, 2014 11:53 am

Thanks for the comments. I understand the sentiment of keeping it stock I'm just not sure I am sold on it. As an engineer, fabricator, machinist, tinker, etc... this is simply not in my nature.

For now I will take it in baby steps but I have a couple of questions (admittedly I have not searched in detail for these answers)

I was planning on initially buffing out the paint but how do you address spots where the paint is pealing? how do you keep the original paint and still try to mitigate any surface rust that may have started. To me the vehicle is much more atractive with a uniform paint job than clinging onto the OE paint with primer patches all over the place. This is my major concern as the bus is now outside and I don't want it to degrade from here forward.

Also, this had the spare tire mounted on the nose, I have seen it with and without the spare tire on the nose. I have a preference of removing the tire bracket, patching the holes, and mounting a VW emblem. Any thoughts on this?

Fri Aug 15, 2014 12:32 pm

Once you gain more appreciation for busses, you'll want to keep it stock.

The paint, if its bad then you'll have to get it sprayed. Not much more around that.

The front mounts are usually spot welded on, so you might have to drill a little to pop it off. Fill any holes except the mounting holes and a new emblem will pop in.

Fri Aug 15, 2014 12:57 pm

Did you get my PM?

Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:02 pm

Brian wrote:
The front mounts are usually spot welded on, so you might have to drill a little to pop it off.

Never seen one spot welded, that would be weird. Normally they have pop rivets or something that looks like a "Red Head". carefully drill these out so as not to enlarge the holes on the bus. The hole pattern you see should be the same as the VW emblem that goes there. Now you need an emblem and the plastic grommets that hold it in place.

Fri Aug 15, 2014 1:49 pm

Wasted youth/adulthood wrote: Did you get my PM?

I did but I can not respond for a day.

Fri Aug 15, 2014 4:08 pm

Is the Bus a sunroof model ? The headliner looks like a sunroof.

Fri Aug 15, 2014 4:30 pm

Yes it is the sunroof model and it still works. I have spent some time cleaning it up and will post photos in a bit.