TheSamba.com :: View topic - Adam's 1955 Wolfsburg Semaphore Kombi Build

Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:35 am

Okie Adam wrote: Skim wrote: Heck yeah Adam

Hey man, like I said, seeing the work you're doing to the 15 inspired me to get off my ass and get something done.

You getting ready to sizzle some bacon soon. I look forward to it. Is your donor metal from the old dove blue panel that got hit?

Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:43 am

Skim wrote: Okie Adam wrote: Skim wrote: Heck yeah Adam

Hey man, like I said, seeing the work you're doing to the 15 inspired me to get off my ass and get something done.

You getting ready to sizzle some bacon soon. I look forward to it. Is your donor metal from the old dove blue panel that got hit?

Some bits from that bus will end up on this bus but the donor corner I'm using came with the 55 when I bought it.

Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:27 pm

Travis Woodard wrote: D-rick how about that mango you have?

yeah...I'm about 8 1/2 years into my 10 yr plan with that one.. :wink:
maybe soup '19

Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:30 pm

The years will pass like sand in an hour glass!

Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:19 pm

Sub-scribed! :wink:

Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:21 pm

Any updates on this beauty?!?!?

Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:13 pm

As a matter of fact....

I got to spend some time on the 55 this weekend. I finally got all the spot welds drilled on the factory seam Friday night so Saturday I got the section I wanted trimmed and started working on fitting it.

Some friends stopped by Saturday to help me get the bus moved from beside the garage to on the driveway. This is getting serious!

At some point in this buses history it has had some work done on the rear as well as the front. Well, the luggage surround had been installed incorrectly. I decided to go ahead and pop out the bad piece as it would give me access to weld in the corner at the factory seam.

Other that that it was cutting and fitting, fitting and cutting. I went with a mid beltline cut to use the structure of that bulge to my advantage come welding time. My hope is there will be less panel warping with the dome stucture.

By the end of the day Sunday I had met my goal for the weekend. The corner is fit within 1/8" of where I want it to weld it. I have been taking measurements off my 60 project bus in the garage and I am going to borrow some measurement off of the Church Bus, thanks to Travis, to make sure I have it as right as it can be.

Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:15 pm

The battery tray and lower corner under the battery tray will be some evening projects this week. Hopefully over the holiday weekend I will get some time to fit them so I can get some finish welding done!

Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:55 pm

That corner has changed the whole look of that bus!
I’m excited to see this project come full circle great work!

Sun Nov 19, 2017 6:54 pm

Curious what month this bus was made? I'm guessing March or April of 55

Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:16 am

Mr. OGPaint wrote: Curious what month this bus was made? I'm guessing March or April of 55

It is an early April bus.

Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:49 am

Okie Adam wrote: Mr. OGPaint wrote: Curious what month this bus was made? I'm guessing March or April of 55

It is an early April bus.

Cool! Probably an American spec bus made just before bullet turnsignal were introduced.

Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:50 am

cool project!
I have an April 55 36hp 20-****** engine, just in case, pm.

Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:15 am

Mr. OGPaint wrote: Okie Adam wrote: Mr. OGPaint wrote: Curious what month this bus was made? I'm guessing March or April of 55

It is an early April bus.

Cool! Probably an American spec bus made just before bullet turnsignal were introduced.

I agree however my plan is to run euro headlight buckets with fluted lenses and an early KM speedo I acquired years ago.

djfordmanjack wrote: cool project!
I have an April 55 36hp 20-****** engine, just in case, pm.

Oh, that's tempting! A correct 20- motor doesn't come along often.

Tue Nov 21, 2017 5:31 am

I am amazed sometimes thinking about the buses that used to be cut up. This bus got its fair share of cuts but the most odd one to me is by far the removal of the roof bows. Luckily the roof didn't receive much damage during the removal and the roof survived for years afterwards.

I got some donors cleaned up and ready to install.

The worst part about this and probably the saddest is that two original stationary windows from the driver's side got splattered with sparks and slag from the removal.

Tue Nov 21, 2017 3:19 pm

It’s crazy to me to think someone was using a 55 Kombi for a parts bus. Even 10 years ago it’s hard for me to believe that.

Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:29 am

It's been a little bit since I had an update but this past weekend I made some progress. There were some measurements that seemed off to me on my bus and before I put in the rear corner I wanted to find out what was what. Travis drove the church bus over to my place so I could measure another Wolfsburg Bus. It's always nice to have him for a visit and I appreciate the 2 hour drive he made because it cleared up a bunch of stuff. It was good to have these two buses together too. Pretty cool!

My apron mounts told the tale. They were almost an inch closer together than his. The hunt was on to find the discrepancy. The driver's side corner has signs of filler but after some investigating it looks more like that corner has been off before. Things started standing out at this point that weren't quite right. Something had either come loose, was put together incorrectly, or had been hit and knocked out of place again. No matter, it has to be fixed so I took pics and noted measurements off Travis' bus before he headed home. The triangle support is probably going to have to come out but for now I am going to get the passenger side firmed up so I have a solid point of reference.

So back at the passenger side, I was pleased to find, after measuring Travis' bus, that the fitting I'd done on the corner was spot on! So next on the list, I started fitting the battery tray in. There's still some trimming to do on the inside edge. The bus is supposed to have a one piece battery tray/engine surround so I will butt weld the two pieces and grind it smooth.

I'm ready to get the donor lower corner cut and fit but I ran out of daylight.

It doesn't look a lot different at the end of the day but I know all I accomplished and it feels good!

Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:07 am

what kind of tires are those?

Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:54 am

andre b wrote: what kind of tires are those?

They are just some bias ply rollers I got for free a while back and put on there. They are 7.00-15 and it'll hardly turn up front without hitting the body. I wish they fit better because I think they look great on there! I plan on putting 6.70-15 on there when the time comes.

Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:56 am

if you go with a 670..look up Power Kings bias plys...there cheep and a stiff side wall for light trucks,,,good luck