TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:45 am

EverettB wrote: 67s don't have a strap, they use a clamp

See this thread
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=240883

I thought i am gonna post this in here instead of starting a new thread..
A little hint that might come in handy for 67 bus owners in the future. 8)

So during a roadworthiness check of our 1967 bus (US-import, now in Europe) by the authorities, a mechanic criticized that the battery in our bus was moving around and therefore has to be fixed in place.

The thing is - we knew that a battery strap is for 1950-1966 models only and the 1967 already had this clamp (as pictured above - 82).
But in our particular case - the clamp was too high for our battery bottom bar - so there was air in between and it didn't touch the battery. See picture nr. 2 below:

Luckily a friend, who also owns a 67 bus here in Austria, told me that he had the very same problem and how he fixed it quite easily:

There is such a thing as a "Batterieklemmleiste" or "Batteriebodenleistenadapter" as it is called in german. I am not sure about the right english translation - maybe terminal strip?
VW parts number: 000915413
or
BOSCH parts number: 0189999020

Anyways - it is normed and fits every battery as it has 3 pins that you just plug into 3 holes that are in the battery bottom bar.
This useful adapter improves the height of the side bottom bar of your battery from 10mm to 19mm and therefore the clamps finally has contact. As seen on the photos below:

Such a simple thing. Probably only costs a few cents in production and helped us immensely. I found it for around 2€ in the local ads.

Mon Nov 10, 2025 4:25 am

---- :!: ----
Oops! :lol:

By looking at the previous comments i just realized that we also mounted the clamp bracket upside down which might have caused the error :lol:

vs.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Mon Nov 10, 2025 6:39 pm

I still like your way with the rubber piece better.

Mon Nov 10, 2025 9:38 pm

That rubber bit - 000915413 - is available from VWoA dealers for $5.

Tue Nov 11, 2025 9:35 am

Yeah you really have got to check the prices - i have seen it here in Austria and Germany for like 10 € on ebay, for 2 € in the local ads and on a parts dealer site also for 1 €... but that wasn't worth the shipping just for that one article.

And also just to clarify: it is plastic, not rubber.
A simple plastic bar to clip onto the battery. Surely also can be easily 3D-printed too.

Wed Nov 12, 2025 4:24 am

AustroBus, are you saying if you flip the clamp it will not need the rubber part?

You gave me an idea for a fast fix as I unfortunately purchased/installed the wrong battery tray for my 67 bus of which the strap doesn't fit properly. I don't understand why the strap is too short. Maybe I need to elevate the back end of the bolt to gain more reach? If not I am thinking of ordering 2 clamps one for each side to hold the battery down. I hope it works without too much modification.

AustroBus wrote: ---- :!: ----
Oops! :lol:

By looking at the previous comments i just realized that we also mounted the clamp bracket upside down which might have caused the error :lol:

vs.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

RIP Metalwizard, Kelly Brown Jr., super nice guy.

Wed Nov 12, 2025 5:59 am

LAGrunthaner wrote: AustroBus, are you saying if you flip the clamp it will not need the rubber part?

I just went into the garage and gave it a try.
:arrow: battery clamp now in the correct position :lol:

Without the black plastic part:
It still wasn't fixed and i could move the battery..

so i added the black piece again to the battery bottom: and now it is tight again.

disclaimer: as we replaced our battery tray, somehow we forgot about the walls.
so please don't take our bus as a reference regarding the correctness of battery trays for 1967 buses.
Have a look at kenshaprio2002's pic to see what i mean:

kenshapiro2002 wrote: What's this walls purpose? I assume it's a separate piece welded on top of the tray? The new KF tray I have doesn't have this so I have to remove it? Reuse it? Fab a new wall?

Source

Wed Nov 12, 2025 6:42 pm

It's hard to tell by the shadow but the bracket bolt area is slotted.

Is yours? You should be able to move the bracket away and let it down onto the ledge.

Thu Nov 13, 2025 1:38 am

BarryL wrote: It's hard to tell by the shadow but the bracket bolt area is slotted.

Is yours? You should be able to move the bracket away and let it down onto the ledge.

Yes, mine is. But the moveability isn't the problem. It's way more that the clamp reached too high and therefore didn't fix the battery down as it had no contact. Maybe the side bootoms of modern batteries are just more flat than back in the 60s.
However, my problem is now solved by the black plastic clip line that added about 1cm in height.

For all fellow readers - here is what BarryL ment by "slotted":

Tue Nov 18, 2025 1:12 pm

I made a battery strap to fit an off the shelf 12 volt battery.

Bus fuel tank straps are same as battery straps.

A spot welder makes it easy to weld like factory.

I also had it powder coated black for durability.