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Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:52 am

Engine breaking in. Timing and jetting off?

What is your jetting on the carb and how did you set the distributor advance?

Sat Mar 12, 2016 10:14 pm

Not sure on the jetting and timing. In all of the posts I have read it seems that the 009 Dist. is not the most MPG friendly. The timing and jetting were done by the engine builder. I will have to investigate further.

On another note, I have continued to strip the paint. While working on the passenger side upper rear corner I came across a bondo patch about 8"W x 4"H. I felt on the inside of the patch area and it seemed to be a smooth indent. I pulled out some metal working tools I borrowed from a buddy of mine and started to chipped away. I then gave a few stiff blows and bondo chunks began fly.

As you can see from the pics the bondo was approx. 1/4" thick at its greatest! After about a half hour of effort I had it worked out. There were also a dozen or so BB sized dents that I worked out as well. Having never done any metal work I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:01 pm

As mentioned previously, I was not fond of the amount of interior wood my bus came with. I removed the wood roof panels this past weekend. Roof has some nice patina that I really like but found six crudely tack welded metal patches that allowed the PO to bondo some small holes in the roof. These holes will be fixed correctly once I am done stripping the paint off of the roof.

BTW. Can anyone tell me what type of wood panels are in the above pic?

Also, bought some Dove Grey and Silver White spray paint from WW for my hub caps and rims.

Hub Cap Prep

Hub Caps Painted (Dove Grey)

Looks much better. Lots of interior items in the works. Will post in the next week or so.

Fri Apr 08, 2016 8:46 am

Wanted to post another pic of the inner roof patina. I dig it!

I mentioned the crudely welded patch. The are about 6 of these. Below is a pic from the inside.

Pic from the outside

The hole looks small enough to where you can probably spot weld and the grind. Thoughts?

I am going to buy a welder and try and teach myslef and then see if I can make this any better.

Last question. What goes here?

I would like to find what ever it is unless it is too expensive. If that is the case, I may just get a magnet and cover up.

Fri Apr 08, 2016 8:58 am

I really like how the paint is turning out! Setting the valve lash on the right looks like it would be super frustrating

Dubskii wrote:

Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:14 am

Dubskii wrote: The hole looks small enough to where you can probably spot weld and the grind. Thoughts?
I've never done it but people have told me that if you press a copper block against the inner roof hole you can weld the outer hole and form a fill.

Dubskii wrote: What goes here?...unless it is too expensive.
Ambulance fan = expensive.

Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:37 am

see if it is just the cover for an ambulance fan, if so, get a regular cover

if the fans are in there, you need to find a switch for it. either way, don't throw it away

Sat Apr 09, 2016 3:14 pm

Dubskii wrote:

BTW. Can anyone tell me what type of wood panels are in the above pic?

Looks like 1/8" birch ply on the doors, and some sort of laminated flooring on the floor. Think "Pergo", but it could be any brand.

Your bus should have chrome hubcaps, but if you like them painted go for it. Not sure if that has been mentioned yet.

Bus is looking good.

Sat Apr 09, 2016 3:18 pm

Also, on the low MPG readings, are you just going buy the stock speedo/odo? They are notoriously inaccurate after many years of use/sitting. use a GPS to know for sure.

Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:04 pm

Malokin Martin wrote: I really like how the paint is turning out! Setting the valve lash on the right looks like it would be super frustrating

Dubskii wrote:

Can't be done without removing muffler. It's only four bolts so relatively painless.

Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:08 pm

IMO, Nothing better than a samba 11 window..

Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:37 pm

mandraks wrote: see if it is just the cover for an ambulance fan, if so, get a regular cover

if the fans are in there, you need to find a switch for it. either way, don't throw it away

Good to know. The fans are not behind there. I will keep it as is and use a magnet or something to plug the switch hole for the time being.

cdennisg wrote: Looks like 1/8" birch ply on the doors, and some sort of laminated flooring on the floor. Think "Pergo", but it could be any brand.

Your bus should have chrome hubcaps, but if you like them painted go for it. Not sure if that has been mentioned yet.

Bus is looking good.

Thanks for the info on the 1/8" birch ply. I am assuming it is fairly common and therefore I can find it at Home Depot. Never have purchased that stuff before.

Interesting comment on the hub caps. No one had mentioned it before. I thought I read somewhere that all Kombis came with the painted caps???

cdennisg wrote: Also, on the low MPG readings, are you just going buy the stock speedo/odo? They are notoriously inaccurate after many years of use/sitting. use a GPS to know for sure.

I was going by the odometer reading and then doing the math at the pump. Will try to verify with GPS.

This past weekend I got a lot done with the interior. I have been picking and scraping away all of the old factory soundproofing for some time now. Finally finished it up, ground away any rust and treated the metal.

Before:

After:

I then began to paint the birch (thanks cdennisg) panels with L345 Light Grey rattle cans from WW.

I also finished the flooring. Below are the various layers I put down in an effort to 1) quiet the interior noise level and 2) to be able to lay the checkerboard laminate tile.

Not sure I like the checkerboard as it may be a little too flashy for me. As you can see from the picture, at some point I will need to replace some portions of the cargo floor. The way I did the flooring does not allow for me to remove it without destroying it. So I will roll with it as is for now.

I have a new steering wheel being delivered next week. More interior pics to come as it gets completed next weekend.

Sun Apr 10, 2016 11:16 pm

All buses had chrome caps until 59-ish, I think. I don't know the exact date. I do know that yours would have come with chrome caps. But, dove blue buses look good with painted caps, so go with it!

Home Depot may not have birch ply that thin. You will likely need to find a lumber supplier that carries stuff for cabinet builders and such.

Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:48 pm

New steering wheel was delivered today.

Had to go the barndoor route. Definitely a step up and super excited to install. I have been prepping my current wheel with hefty doses of PB lube for the past couple days and reading up on several removal threads.

I have been collecting some and will pick up the remaining black knobs etc this week and install this coming weekend.

Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:35 pm

Over the past couple of days I got all studied up on different steering wheel removal procedures on the various threads. After work today I put several methods into action.

1) Left the nut loosened and flush with the top of the shaft, pulling up with my knees and hitting the shaft and nut with a hammer. (Result: Didn't work)

2) Tried banging the underside of the steering wheel with the hammer.(Result: Didn't work and damaged my steering wheel)

3) Rented a drum puller and bought two larger washers. I cut the washers so they just cleared the diameter of the shaft and rotated them 180deg and taped them together and to the shaft just underneath the base of the steering wheel. Pulled my horn wire so it was just below the rim of the shaft. Used another washer over the shaft for a reinforced fulcrum. The center pin of the two jaw puller was placed on the fulcrum and the "claws" placed on opposite ends of the double washer. I cranked and cranked and nothing happened. I was pretty frustrated by now. Then I remembered what someone else mentioned that used this same method...The two metal surfaces (shaft and steering wheel base) if heated would expand at different rates. So I busted out my heat gun and gave it a shot. I was careful to only heat the steering wheel metal for a few minutes. Then I set my contraption up again and turned...........Old steering wheel slipped off damn near effortlessly this time.

Washers:

Old Steering Wheel Removed:

Old vs New Front Cab

As you can see I was able to finish up painting the interior panels and get them installed.

Old vs New Cargo Area:

I love the way it is turning out!

Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:38 pm

Keep up the good work. Looks awesome.

Sat Apr 16, 2016 11:31 pm

Trying to make my bus more complete I knew I had to ditch the homemade rear seat that the PO had built. Along the way I had picked up a bay window middle and rear seat to use in my bus but wanted the more authentic flat back seat.

Old Pic of the PO Built Rear Seat:

I was able to sell the two bay window seats and took a gamble and picked up the repop flat back rear seat that are for sell here on The Samba. Seller did not have any feedback so I was a little concerned. Prior to purchase I had the seller send over a few pics of the construction and measurements of the total width of the back and bottom portion as well as the legs to ensure a good fit. Everything checked out and I even compared the pics of the repop to some pics of an original flat back rear seat. Everything looked great and close enough to the frame of an original. Below are some pics of the repop flat back rear seat.

Overall I am very satisfied with it. Seat is very solid, comfortable, well constructed and it came painted. Must have taken some time and patience to produce.

I also had the opportunity to take my bus to its first show last week. I know not its really a big deal to most but the fact that is was my first entry and I did it with my two sons was very special to me. My boys and I had a blast!

While there I picked up the rear seat back and bottom coconut pad, felt wadding and the seat bracket for my new flat back seat. I will try to get these fitted and post the results.

Sun Apr 17, 2016 7:54 pm

Your bus is looking great!
First show, and with your sons, now that's exciting!

Mon Apr 18, 2016 3:28 pm

Thanks to all for the positive feedback.

Started on the recovering my repop rear seat back and bottom. The layers that I have on so far are the following:

1) Black speaker carpet
2) Felt wadding from WW
3) Coconut pad from WW (more on this later)

The seat back went without a hitch. Everything fit perfectly.

The bottom was a different story. Same layers went on but when I got to the coconut pad it was about 1.5 inches too short.

As you can see from the pic above the frame fits nicely but the coconut pad is obviously stops short.

In reading some upholstery threads I believe the coconut pads weren't used on the earlier buses but the WW coconut pads cover years 55 through 79. Not sure if it the coconut pad doesn't fit because it is a repop seat or if those pads aren't really meant for the earlier seats (the latter sounds kind of stupid as I write it...) even though that is how they have it advetised.

I can do one of two things.

1) Cut both sides of the pad and center it up on the seat and fill in the edges when I put the seat cover on.

2) Ditch the pad and use the cotton batting.

Thoughts? Anyone have the same issues?

As far a seat covers I was thinking of going with the Sewfine black vinyl not piped or pleated covers. I haven't seen any reviews as of late though.

Tue Apr 19, 2016 3:17 pm

Your rear seat did not have the coconut pads. It was burlap and cotton batting only.

Front seat bottom would have the coconut pad.

IMO since you already bought the correct flat back seats, it would be better to get the correct black vinyl covers. The Matt Miller covers are your only option I believe at this point for a correct, pre-sewn cover. They are really nice, but expensive compared to Sewn Fine/TMI. The correct bulk material may be available somewhere else however.