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KollynnBlackpaw Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:04 pm

Hello hello, everyone. First post here in the Bus section! I've recently purchased a 68 Panel bus for my collection! She's had a hard life. She was originally imported to LA, was Neptune Blue with Blue interior, WAS a panel bus, has the 2/3 1/3 front bench seat with a bench in the rear, and has a half-height wall between the passenger compartment and front cab.

On the trailer home, stopped in Olympia AM/PM


Mods done by probably the previous-previous-previous owner:

Painted Orange straight over the Neptune Blue (very poorly done.)
Body Filler over a accident in the right rear.
Un-dented the rear bumper the old fashioned way with a ball-peen.
Strange sticker package of go-fast stripes on the side?
Screws to hold in the interior panels.
Strange sliding-latch systems on the wing vents? Don't ask me why.
No headliner, button-in shag carpetting in the front cabin, no siding inside, and particleboard passenger cab flooring.
Cassette player/AM-FM that seems to try to work! Might be the speakers causing static, might be the stereo.
Ugly-ass 80's Dodge Van style window cut into the panel side. :(
Originally red Transporter sliding door put on, painted over.
Cooling squares(?) cut into sides, asymmetrically of course.
Seems to have vinyl-painted the interior brown, and at some point replaced the driver seat bottom with a off-white one then put a cover on it. Must have ripped the original.

Can I remove vinyl paint without damaging the original underneath it?

M-Plate


Engine


Gettin dirty. Sorry for my ugly mug.


Probably some stuff I'm missing. As you can tell she's had a very hard life and needs some love. All I plan on doing is getting a correct sliding door and patching the ugly window, and making her drive, and just rock it. She has a lot of rust and some smaller bondo spots, her cruddy Orange paint job is chipping everywhere, and overall she would be too much work for my hands and what I make per-year.

Overall her engine is very nice, but will not turn over to start. I believe it may be the starter? My mother said it made a "Click" when I turned the key, but it won't turn over at all. Other electronics do get power. I may have an issue somewhere though as it seems maybe only half of my electronics get power. I need to make a list of working/not working. I have someone in town with I believe a similar year Transporter, so I may have to bug him a little when I see him working at the Tat shop again.



Beauty shot


Interior

Westfalia73 Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:19 pm

Pictures?

We love pictures :D

KollynnBlackpaw Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:21 pm

Westfalia73 wrote: Pictures?

We love pictures :D

Added! I forgot to when I pressed submit the first time, just too excited to share :D

Westfalia73 Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:17 am

Looks like a nice solid bus, not sure about the window in the side :shock:

For your paint question have a look at this thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=

Enjoy, and welcome to the bus world :D

KollynnBlackpaw Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:21 pm

She's fairly solid, just has a lot of issues, especially some lower rust. But I'm just going to make her run and drive and rock it :)

Came home today and the brake fluid I put in her last night to see if the brakes worked at least, is gone, of course. Looks like she needs a new master too. Why do all my cars need a new master cylinder except the one I'm taking parts OFF of?

Westfalia73 Tue Jun 13, 2017 11:24 pm

If your replacing the master a good bet would be to check/change your wheel cylinders and replace all brake lines.

KollynnBlackpaw Wed Jun 14, 2017 12:12 am

Westfalia73 wrote: If your replacing the master a good bet would be to check/change your wheel cylinders and replace all brake lines.

As soon as I can figure out the turn-over issue I'll be working on the brakes. Someone might have honestly just not put the nut back on it or something because there was no wet spot, and absolute 0 in the container, so it must have spilt out pretty quick and I hadn't noticed.

I'm mostly looking into removing the exterior Orange paint (gonna try Graffiti remover) and something I can do for the vinyl paint on the interior. I really want the blue vinyl back but I don't know what I could use :(

Manfred58sc Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:05 am

shag carpet the inside, drive and enjoy! Very cool Bus as is.

Abscate Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:15 am

Quote: Someone might have honestly just not put the nut back on it or something because there was no wet spot

.sigline

KollynnBlackpaw Thu Jun 15, 2017 9:48 pm

Unfortunately the weather is getting shite (Thanks, PNW) so I've not had the chance to work on her yet. I'm wondering what her name will be. I'm fairly certain this one's a gal. I had honestly thought to name them something after Men at Work, as their video for "Land Down Under" features an orange, lowlight panel bus, though a RHD obviously and not in such poor condition. I'll figure it out when I get to know her, I suppose.

As for what I plan to do with her, I need to figure out the brakes situation and why the starter won't go. Any suggestions on that? I can't get to my starter as the nuts on the rims are more stuck than my T3's were, and I've not got an air gun for them. I may get one, however, as cheques have been good for the payweek.

I'm also looking into paint stripper still, but I really don't want to damage the original paint underneath. I had heard graffiti remover somewhere on the thread linked to me, and the paint guy at my shop said it may work, but to give him time to think about it. I'd love to hear any other input.

Apart from that, the first other thing I do will most likely be taking out the remaining particle board and figuring out something I like. I was thinking something alike the "flooring sample" floor some folk may have seen, but using cut 4x4's and staining them all differently. Or maybe go all-out and do flooring last and spend a shite ton on some fancy wood or something. :P

I also still can't find much info on removing paint from vinyl without damaging the original vinyl. It's definitely just paint, as it's flaking in a couple smaller areas, but I don't want to melt it or anything.




Any suggestions you guys have are totally welcome, as this is my first bus and a much bigger project than my T3.

Westfalia73 Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:00 am

[quote="KollynnBlackpaw"]

I also still can't find much info on removing paint from vinyl without damaging the original vinyl. It's definitely just paint, as it's flaking in a couple smaller areas, but I don't want to melt it or anything.

I have had good results with nail polish remover, try a small patch first though and take your time, it shouldn't melt the vinyl if you go slow and steady.

KollynnBlackpaw Fri Jun 16, 2017 10:24 am

[quote="Westfalia73"] KollynnBlackpaw wrote:

I also still can't find much info on removing paint from vinyl without damaging the original vinyl. It's definitely just paint, as it's flaking in a couple smaller areas, but I don't want to melt it or anything.

I have had good results with nail polish remover, try a small patch first though and take your time, it shouldn't melt the vinyl if you go slow and steady.

Alrighty, thank you! I can try that later today hopefully.

KollynnBlackpaw Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:55 am

Well, the nail polish remover does work but it's extreeeemely slow work. I'll most likely end up getting the seats reupholstered, as it's not perfect anyways and will be easier.

I'm getting very tired of finding all the "modifications" the previous-previous-previous owner did. The rear seat is held in place by some u-joints and freely slides around on the particleboard flooring. The back of the seat doesn't actually go into anything, either. I'm working on getting a Westfalia seat to install correctly instead.

KollynnBlackpaw Wed Jul 05, 2017 1:00 am

Sorry about no updates! I've been super focused on getting the Squareback going soon, and attempting to sell my beetle, Oliver. I had a great idea for my sweetheart of a bus, which is turning it into a bit of a mobile workshop for Aircooled! This would be long from now, but I thought it could be a bit of a mini side business, and she'd look pretty with a logo on the side.

I've thought about what to do with the paint and body and am, unfortunately, going to have to stick with what it's like right now. I want to get all the rust fixed and the paint done and all, but I'm not skilled in those ways, nor made of money.

I hope to sell her one day to someone who can do her up right, but for now she will have to deal with it :(

Manfred58sc Wed Jul 05, 2017 5:41 am

I drove my Bus as a dented, rusty heap for 29 years and 400,000 miles. Junkyard engines and transmissions, Mitsubishi seats, plywood beds set on crates etc.etc. I just fixed it last year. The point is, I got out and drove it (everywhere) and had grand adventures! Rock that shit and get some travel threads going.

crukab Wed Jul 05, 2017 5:54 am



Hell yea, sell that Bug & get into driving that ^^^^ Bus !!!

KollynnBlackpaw Sat Jul 08, 2017 11:40 am

I've began tearing out the interior of the bus! Particle board is a bit of an ass to get out as it breaks up quickly. But it's coming! Anyone know how I could get out this hard black glue?

I also need to figure out why the starter won't go, still, however I don't have a jack high enough for the bus :oops:

telford dorr Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:19 pm

You don't need to pull the rear tire to get at the starter. You do need to get a couple of jack stands and a decent floor jack to get the rear end up in the air a bit so you can get underneath easily. I put them under the tube holding the torsion bars near the frame. Make sure that they're on a solid base (like a concrete driveway).

If the starter clicks but doesn't spin, then it's (1) a bad or sticky starter solenoid, (2) bad starter brushes, or (3) bad trannie ground strap or battery cables or connections to the battery.

Clean all six of the cable connections, just on general principle.

Quick test: get the bus in the air. Make sure it's in neutral. Slide under the bus with a screwdriver and short the two lugs on the starter solenoid with the screwdriver (expect some sparks, so make sure that there are no fuel leaks in the area). The starter should spin (but not the engine). If it does then it's a solenoid issue. Remove the starter and remove the solenoid from it. Clean everything. Lightly grease the solenoid plunger and oil all the moving linkage to the starter drive gear. Reassemble, reinstall, and see if it works. If not, replace the starter (the one in the parts squareback should work).

[Like the squareback. If I didn't have a bus, I'd have one of those...]

KollynnBlackpaw Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:34 pm

telford dorr wrote: You don't need to pull the rear tire to get at the starter. You do need to get a couple of jack stands and a decent floor jack to get the rear end up in the air a bit so you can get underneath easily. I put them under the tube holding the torsion bars near the frame. Make sure that they're on a solid base (like a concrete driveway).

If the starter clicks but doesn't spin, then it's (1) a bad or sticky starter solenoid, (2) bad starter brushes, or (3) bad trannie ground strap or battery cables or connections to the battery.

Clean all six of the cable connections, just on general principle.

Quick test: get the bus in the air. Make sure it's in neutral. Slide under the bus with a screwdriver and short the two lugs on the starter solenoid with the screwdriver (expect some sparks, so make sure that there are no fuel leaks in the area). The starter should spin (but not the engine). If it does then it's a solenoid issue. Remove the starter and remove the solenoid from it. Clean everything. Lightly grease the solenoid plunger and oil all the moving linkage to the starter drive gear. Reassemble, reinstall, and see if it works. If not, replace the starter (the one in the parts squareback should work).

[Like the squareback. If I didn't have a bus, I'd have one of those...]

Wow, thank you so much for the in depth help! On e I have time I'll definitely be trying this. I did try hitting it while someone had the key turned to see if maybe it was just stuck, just don't think I did it hard enough. Where exactly will I be shorting if you dont mind my asking? And yeah, squares are awesome! Especially when people ask what it is.

telford dorr Sat Jul 08, 2017 8:55 pm

KollynnBlackpaw wrote: Where exactly will I be shorting if you don't mind my asking? And yeah, squares are awesome! Especially when people ask what it is.
You will be shorting from the battery terminal on the starter relay to the motor connection on that relay. Both are threaded studs. Both have nuts holding their connections onto the lugs.

This "shorting" simply applies battery power directly to the motor part of the starter, bypassing the solenoid. Because the solenoid is not being activated, the Bendix gear on the starter will not engage the flywheel, and thus, the engine won't be cranked by the starter. It will demonstrate that the motor part of the starter assembly works, and that the problem, therefore, must be in the solenoid itself.

----

Way back when, I had a blue '69 fastback that I bought for $500, with a worn out engine. When you drove it, everything behind you disappeared in an oil smoke cloud. I honed and slapped a used set of 85.5mm cylinders on it. After that, it ran like a champ. Stupid thing got around 30 mpg with the fuel injection. Talk about a freeway flyer - it would cruse 85 mph with no effort at all. Sold it to my (now ex-) brother in law. Wish I hadn't done that... Oh well...



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