TheSamba.com :: View topic - Bob's 1959 Single Cab Pickup

Mon May 31, 2021 11:43 am

MrWhoopee wrote: bobrk wrote:
Looks like I need at least one bulb in the speedo

Is an 80 mph speedo correct for a '59?

Nope! When I got it, it had the 70mph speedo (with a square marking the top speed of 50mph!), but, back in the days when you could actually find splitty parts in the junk yard, we came across this 80mph speedo, which is more correct for the engine and transmission that are in the vehicle. I've driven this back in the day well over 60-65 (indicated). Since this bus is a hodgepodge, I'm less concerned with accuracy and more with having the right speedo for the job.

Mon May 31, 2021 3:14 pm

bobrk wrote: Since this bus is a hodgepodge, I'm less concerned with accuracy and more with having the right speedo for the job.

I'm with you there. While I do my best to keep Rosie looking stock, I've made numerous upgrade mods to improve safety, reliability, drivability and comfort. Her 80 mph speedo hardly does justice to her ability, but the suspension and steering ensures that I rarely demonstrate it.

Mon May 31, 2021 8:02 pm

My seat frames are missing most of the spikes to do the upholstery OG so I’m fixing that problem. I was trying to figure out how to attach them to the frames and came up with the idea of pop riveting them. I had to put 21 on this seat back. These are the ones from Wolfsburg West.

Tue Jun 01, 2021 7:33 am

MrWhoopee wrote: bobrk wrote: Since this bus is a hodgepodge, I'm less concerned with accuracy and more with having the right speedo for the job.

I'm with you there. While I do my best to keep Rosie looking stock, I've made numerous upgrade mods to improve safety, reliability, drivability and comfort. Her 80 mph speedo hardly does justice to her ability, but the suspension and steering ensures that I rarely demonstrate it.
Agree completely. That's why Otto is getting disk brakes as his next step in modernization.

Tue Jun 01, 2021 2:40 pm

bobrk wrote:

Wow, those look really long. Just got done watching BulliBill's Matt Miller video again, and I think it would be very hard to get the covers over those spikes. I do believe I will cut them down a bit.

Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:26 am

Well, I made a seat. Half a seat, actually. Not bad for my first seat. Seats are hard but it's good for me to not expect everything to be perfect. It's a journey. On a seat. Half a seat.

BTW, on that old Matt Miller video, he says go ahead use pliers, the vinyl is tough. It's not as tough as I thought it would be. Be careful.

I think my spikes were indeed too long and I had to stretch the vinyl more than I should have. Despite all that, I think it looks good.

Wed Jun 02, 2021 12:34 pm

bobrk wrote:

Wow, all these years and I never noticed that the bulkhead behind the seats has a hump!

Thu Jun 03, 2021 11:50 pm

Woot, got the seat bottom done today. They look so good and they are comfortable, too, at least for the few minutes I tried them. I put some painters tape on my pliers and worked the vinyl more gently this time. Very happy with how they came out!

Fri Jun 04, 2021 7:27 am

Those came out really nice and smooth, nice work

I might be remembering wrong but I did see Matt Miller use pliers when he did the cover in a Double Cab.
I think they might have been smooth jaw pliers though.

Fri Jun 04, 2021 7:40 am

EverettB wrote: Those came out really nice and smooth, nice work

I might be remembering wrong but I did see Matt Miller use pliers when he did the cover in a Double Cab.
I think they might have been smooth jaw pliers though.
Yeah, and I'd say to take out as much slack as you can. The seat bottom has the coconut pad, so it's much stiffer and easier to work with. I used some big clamps (with plastic jaws) to help this time, and it was much easier.

Anyway, these were from Deutsch Polster and definitely worth the money to get that OG look.

Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:23 am

Slow weekend on the truck.

Started getting this crap out of the door channels. Yuck.

Wired up the brake light switches and poured like a whole bottle of brake fluid into the brake system and still no pedal!

I think this is the most significant perforation rust on the truck

Mon Jun 07, 2021 1:43 pm

Good work on the seats! Keep grinding

Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:06 pm

German Krew wrote: Good work on the seats! Keep grinding

Thanks, that part was fun and so satisfying!

Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:23 pm

Well, finally got the brake system full of fluid, solid pedal, adjusted the rear brakes, e-brake was perfect. Looked under the car, and new puddle! Of course it's in the new stuff I put in, specifically the T fitting added for the dual circuits.

Can't get any wrenches in there, so I guess the bright side of this issue is that I can rearrange this stuff more neatly.

Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:05 am

[quote="bobrk"]Slow weekend on the truck.
Wired up the brake light switches and poured like a whole bottle of brake fluid into the brake system and still no pedal!

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/SearchResults.asp?Search=pressure+bleeder&x=0&y=0

The pressure bleeder that replaced the one I kicked on your roof.
You'll need the correct cap size for bleeding, so measure what you got.
Also bleed calipers with top bleeder, if your bleeders are on the bottom it will never bleed.
It takes very little pressure, so don't pump the handle like crazy.

Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:19 pm

Seats look really, really good. GREAT JOB!!!!!!

Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:37 pm

ach60 wrote: Seats look really, really good. GREAT JOB!!!!!!

Thanks!

As far as the brakes are concerned, I got them bled and even had a pedal, but there was a leak at the "T" I installed for the dual circuits, so I have to take all of that apart to fix it. Maybe this weekend.

Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:43 pm

I got a PM about my modified seat stays, and realized I didn't have a good picture of them, so here you go. This allows the bottom of the seat back to be further back than it normally would be allowing a little more legroom for big guys like me.

I didn't do the mod, my truck came like this.

It just occurred to me, this is why my seat doesn't fit over my spare tire. 😂

Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:54 am

So I decided to move the "T", which put it in a place that my old connecting pipe wouldn't reach. I had an extra rear hard line in the garage, so I made a sculpture. I blame heatstroke from working under the truck in 99° weather! 😂

I will have to bleed everything again, lost an entire MC of fluid working on this. I had an idea of sticking some front bleeders in the MC holes, but by the time I got back to the cylinder, it was empty. I also had reservations about putting those in holes they didn't belong in...

Mon Jun 28, 2021 8:14 pm

bobrk wrote: So I decided to move the "T", which put it in a place that my old connecting pipe wouldn't reach. I had an extra rear hard line in the garage, so I made a sculpture. I blame heatstroke from working under the truck in 99° weather! 😂

I will have to bleed everything again, lost an entire MC of fluid working on this. I had an idea of sticking some front bleeders in the MC holes, but by the time I got back to the cylinder, it was empty. I also had reservations about putting those in holes they didn't belong in...

I have reviewed every page of this entertaining publication and I really congratulate you on the pragmatism and drive to improve that beautiful 1959 SC.
I would like to ask for your help as I think you learned a lot in the process. I am thinking of improving the brake system on my 1966 Westy SO42. I want to put a dual circuit MC but keep the drum brakes on all 4 wheels but I have some doubts:
Does a dual circuit MC give me better stopping power?
Or is it only differentiated by the security of having two independent circuits?
What master cylinder did you use and what is the respective reservoir? You have the link?
I have thought about buying an MC that corresponds only to the 1967 buses in Cip1:

https://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC-211-611-011-Q

But I have also seen that they use MC from buses between 71 and 79 and even from Rabbit ... Do they perform better than MC for 1967 from Cip1?

What function does the adapter play in some MCs?
Well, I apologize for making this interruption in your interesting restoration post.

Cheers fron Chile, Southamerica
Cesar