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Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:28 pm

So this journey actually began 3 years ago with a different bus, a 1974 orange & white transporter. While picking it up, we also saw the seller's 2 other buses, one of which was a red camper with a rusty frame, and another (which wasn't for sale), a beautiful rust-free '71 Deluxe, white on sky blue. Well the '74 ended up being a much bigger project than anticipated, and we ended up selling it about a year or so later. Fast forward to yesterday, I was browsing craigslist when I came across an ad for that very same '71. Unfortunately, it was (while still reasonably priced) way out of my budget. I set it aside and went to sleep for the night. Upon checking my phone the next morning, I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw that the price had dropped significantly, making it a great deal (no idea why, this was never explained). I immediately called the seller, left him a deposit, and this morning I hopped on a ferry to go grab my newest find. It ended up being better than expected, with new suspension, drive axles, starter, glass pack muffler, and nearly no rust on the entire vehicle. I then learned that it had been brought up from Lake Tahoe about 9 years ago, making it one of those california gems. I happily handed over the cash, grabbed plates & a fire extinguisher, and began the drive home. Unfortunately, while the bus was running great, we ran into some electrical issues. Here is where I need your help; the bus would die after driving about half a kilometer and wouldn't even turn over afterwards. We remedied this by hotwiring past the janky ignition (which would sound the horn continually upon removing the key :roll: ) and managed to start it again. Shortly after, without much progress, the bus died again, and we lost power to the dash completely. No amount of fiddling with wiring would bring any power to the wire that (we think) came from the starter, a heavy guage red wire that we used to start it earlier. We know the battery has charge, as the radio was working fine the entire time and we tried a circuit tester on the terminal. Any ideas what may be going wrong? The bus is currently parked on the side of the road, a ferry ride away from our home back on the mainland. I hope to rent a U-Haul and pick it up this saturday. I'll include some pictures in a follow up post. Thanks in advance everyone!! :D

Wed Aug 16, 2017 10:25 pm

Here is the bus in the background when we picked up the '74 a few years ago

Here was the bus today

The interior, early westy seat & late westy full width bed, neither of which are original to the bus

The 1600 engine, which is in fantastic shape as far as we can tell (no oil leaks anywhere, runs nicely)

Broken down in the middle of the road :oops:

The kind seller coming to help us in his vanagon

Pushed it to the side of the road

It's current resting place until this weekend

That's all for now folks...

Thu Aug 17, 2017 6:53 am

1971 Wiring diagram. If you haven't ordered the Bentley yet, do so. It's a life saver.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/wiring/bus_8_70_usa.jpg

Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:54 am

these old cars are very easy to 'hotwire' and make a quick makeshift emergency 'harness'

you need a wire from the Battery +pos to the coil (+15 terminal)
this can be accomplished with a vinyl wrapped coat hanger or dog lead if needed.. provide power to the coil. you'll need to remove the wire to turn off the engine.. you can put a simple switch in the middle of said wire.. even a household light switch would work as a switch to interrupt the path.
all that the stock switch does to run the engine is connect the battery +12v to the Coil +15 terminal. you probably want to disconnect the old wire that came/goes to the coil so you don't back feed the faulty system.

then you can run a wire from the starter terminal and touch it to the +Pos on the battery.. this will energize the solenoid that will get the starter cranking..
it can be loose. it only gets power if/when you touch the batter post..

use the key to unlock the steering.. but it's not necessary to run and drive..

protect all bare wiring ends and connections from shorting out.. that'd be bad okay.

as for tail lights and such, have a car follow you. and/or buy these magnetic emergency lights from your flaps. and put them on the back, few people will question an old VW with flashing stick on lights..
https://www.google.com/search?q=magnetic+emergency...mp;bih=896

Sun Aug 20, 2017 9:54 am

Yesterday we returned to pick up the bus...

On the ferry

Unloading...

Made it!

Decided to clean up the interior

Oddly enough, the power to the dash has mysteriously returned, although we believe the ignition is bunk and needs replacement, as it doesn't spring back the key upon being pushed to the "start position". I was also poking around my engine, and I saw that there was about half a quart of oil in my airfilter, I've heard this is common but how can I fix it? Also, I do already happen to have a muir book and bentley from my last bus. Thanks again everyone!!

Sun Aug 20, 2017 10:01 am

I saw that there was about half a quart of oil in my airfilter,

I believe you have a stock "oil bath air cleaner" in your bus. It's supposed to have oil in it

Sun Aug 20, 2017 10:28 am

aeromech wrote: I saw that there was about half a quart of oil in my airfilter,

I believe you have a stock "oil bath air cleaner" in your bus. It's supposed to have oil in it

Ah okay, thanks for clarifying. I thought it was a bit weird.

Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:08 am

Congratulations
IIRC the Air cleaner service is in the owners manual and in the Bentley.
Owners manuals
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/
Air Cleaner ID T2
Good luck
Tcash

Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:05 pm

Took the time to sandblast the front emblem and grille (both were painted with a brush at some point), will spray paint with Rustoleum heritage white when the weather warms up a bit.

Also ordered a bunch of new parts (ignition switch, retracting seatbelts, gates fuel hoses, ebrake handle, etc). Currently putting together a new fuse panel to replace the faulty melted one in the bus, also on the search for some new tires (so expensive!!)

Sat Jan 06, 2018 6:12 pm

Here are some photos of the fuse panel we put together, seems like it should work pretty well. It will be mounted to this panel that we pulled out of our Mazda truck, directly behind the steering column:

Currently just waiting for the paint to dry :D

Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:34 pm

Anyone know what might cause a sloppy shifter? Mine feels like I’m moving a chopstick around in a a square-ish bowl full of milk and mushy cereal. Really kinda hard to find gears :lol:

Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:25 pm

dumptuck wrote: Anyone know what might cause a sloppy shifter? Mine feels like I’m moving a chopstick around in a a square-ish bowl full of milk and mushy cereal. Really kinda hard to find gears :lol:

Sure do. Start with the easy stuff before doing the hard stuff.

1) check the condition of the shift coupled
2) Check the condition of the forward shift rod bushing
3) remove the tear shifter. Clean, inspect, and lubricate. Then adjust.
4) Check the condition of the nose cone bushing and hockey stick
5) consider dropping the tranny and going inside the nose cone to inspect the ball and the bracket for damage.
6) pull out the complete shift rod and rebuild it using new birdies. Clean and lube.

Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:29 pm

aeromech wrote: dumptuck wrote: Anyone know what might cause a sloppy shifter? Mine feels like I’m moving a chopstick around in a a square-ish bowl full of milk and mushy cereal. Really kinda hard to find gears :lol:

Sure do. Start with the easy stuff before doing the hard stuff.

1) check the condition of the shift coupled
2) Check the condition of the forward shift rod bushing
3) remove the tear shifter. Clean, inspect, and lubricate. Then adjust.
4) Check the condition of the nose cone bushing and hockey stick
5) consider dropping the tranny and going inside the nose cone to inspect the ball and the bracket for damage.
6) pull out the complete shift rod and rebuild it using new birdies. Clean and lube.

Sounds good, thanks. I’ll look into that once we get it driving I suppose :)

Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:14 pm

Is there a better way to adjust the alignment? First and second are centered instead of being to the left and third and fourth are in their normal-ish spot.

aeromech wrote: dumptuck wrote: Anyone know what might cause a sloppy shifter? Mine feels like I’m moving a chopstick around in a a square-ish bowl full of milk and mushy cereal. Really kinda hard to find gears :lol:

Sure do. Start with the easy stuff before doing the hard stuff.

1) check the condition of the shift coupled
2) Check the condition of the forward shift rod bushing
3) remove the tear shifter. Clean, inspect, and lubricate. Then adjust.
4) Check the condition of the nose cone bushing and hockey stick
5) consider dropping the tranny and going inside the nose cone to inspect the ball and the bracket for damage.
6) pull out the complete shift rod and rebuild it using new birdies. Clean and lube.

Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:12 pm

Have been getting quite a bit of snow lately...

Sun Feb 25, 2018 6:05 pm

Began refreshing the curtain situation today...

Here's the old curtains, not so bad huh?

Nevermind :shock:

Here's the new yellow plaid fabric, will post a pictures when they are finished in the next few days!

Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:52 pm

Crossed the border the other day to pick up some cheap jalousies in nice shape! I know their disadvantages and how many people don’t like them, but I just can’t help but love their classic look, especially on an early bay :D All they need is some new rivets and a good shine.

Also painted the grille & emblem Rustoleum Heritage White, unfortunately it’s just a touch more beige but it’s not too noticeable in real life. I’ll probably paint the grille niagra blue again in the future if I can find a good match, however it will do just fine for now.

Got the bus running again on the weekend too, runs like a dream everything works perfectly (except the lowbeams :-k ) Just need to figure out how to mount the flashers under the dash and install my new Gates fuel lines, and I should be ready to go campin’ :D :D :D

Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:57 am

Here is the roofrack I’ve been working on recently, just finished the welding & put on a primer coat! Very sturdy :) :)

Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:01 am

dumptuck wrote:
Here is the roofrack I’ve been working on recently, just finished the welding & put on a primer coat! Very sturdy :) :)
Looks good man! I have to assume that's not your home shop, that's a ton of metal on the rack on the wall!! :lol:

Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:05 am

scrivyscriv wrote: dumptuck wrote:
Here is the roofrack I’ve been working on recently, just finished the welding & put on a primer coat! Very sturdy :) :)
Looks good man! I have to assume that's not your home shop, that's a ton of metal on the rack on the wall!! :lol:

Hahah I wish, I’m actually volonteering at a fabrication/welding shop for a highschool program and this is what I’ve been building in my free time :D