TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:53 pm

Here is my 1974 Safare Camper I purchased on Ebay back in September of 2020. I have always loved Hightop's, so when this one came up for sale I jumped on it as it seemed really solid. Needless to say there were a some hidden issues I found upon inspection after winning the bid and going to get it. While loading it on the trailer it barely wanted to drive onto the trailer and seemed to be lacking in power. Almost all of the window seals were dry rotted, the light lenses were deteriorating, and once I got it home I found a lot more. Nothing was too bad, I just wished the seller had been more forthcoming. Regardless I am trying to make my way through correcting them all and getting the Bus to where I want it.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:01 pm

Once I got it home and unloaded I went to work. Cleaned it up, threw some T-shirts on the seats and started dreaming...........then I did a basic tune up. Oil, plugs, wires, shifter bushings. The carb linkage was trashed, shifter coupler was trashed, shifter plate was cracked apart, distributor was trashed, coil was dented in, giant hole cut out behind the passenger seat. So I went to work and started repairing and or replacing all the bad parts.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:15 pm

Nice high top! Is the camper interior original? 😍

Still rocking the factory dual carbs? Most 72-74 high-tops I work with seem to have them, in various state of (sometimes dis)function.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:17 pm

I ended up fighting with the progressive carb and could not get it to run well, so I ended up getting a set of Dual 44 IDF's from a friend and installing them along with a 009. We got it to run decent and I felt as if I was making headway. I ordered some window seals and swapped them out, removed the bondo from the left rear quarter and rattle canned it, put a few patches in the windshield frame, coated the windshield frame with master series silver(it will have to be replaced eventually), cleaned and painted the track covers, swapped in a solid left rear glass(smokers window was rusted out), made some curtains, made some new tables, bought some new panels from Werksburg and installed them, installed a new wiper switch, installed the correct ignition switch, fixed all the wiring behind the dash, painted the upper dash, got rid of a lot of the ghetto fixes that had previously been done, fixed the speedometer, replaced the brake warning light, got the shore power panel and outlets working, and made some new seat covers.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:47 pm

Well.........the motor decided to start making one heck of a racket. Quick test by pulling plug wires isolated the noise down to the 2-4 side. Compression test was ok while the leak down test results showed all were cylinders leaking by the rings. So while my son was home on Christmas break from college we pulled the motor. It appears that someone left part of the flap system installed and therefor not allowing enough air to flow across the oil cooler. I am not a Type 4 guy so I could be wrong. Needless to say I had to park the bus for now, the engine is on the stand, and I am still trying to finish my Son's 62 Bug. I believe I am gonna convert it to run a 2180 Type 1 this spring.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:52 pm

airschooled wrote: Nice high top! Is the camper interior original? 😍

Still rocking the factory dual carbs? Most 72-74 high-tops I work with seem to have them, in various state of (sometimes dis)function.
Thanks! As far as interior I believe part of it is original.........but who really knows. A previous owner at some point removed the sink and water tank and installed 1" plastic counter tops. Motor is toast so I am probably gonna do a 2180 Type 1 conversion.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:30 pm

Those flaps are in The correct default position for having no or faulty thermostat. The spring keeps them open even though to you it looks closed on the oil cooler side. That is how it's supposed to be for oil cooling.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:33 pm

Sorry just noticed no linkage for flaps but the flap that is there would give you oil cooling

Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:39 pm

crownline wrote: Sorry just noticed no linkage for flaps but the flap that is there would give you oil cooling
Gotcha, just seemed odd to leave one flap in with no other parts.

Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:39 pm

Doodoob wrote: crownline wrote: Sorry just noticed no linkage for flaps but the flap that is there would give you oil cooling
Gotcha, just seemed odd to leave one flap in with no other parts.

The flap you have is supposed to scoop air and force it through the cooler. Without the other pieces of the flap system (the rod and the 1-2) flap, the oil cooler flap will probably just flail about in the air stream. The system isn't that hard to set up but you need all the parts. Even if you don't have a working thermostat is worth sourcing the other flap/bar.

Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:36 pm

Nice machine, I love the Safare camper design, to me it's like the perfect use of available space, especially the booth style seating. Any chance of seeing beds set up?

Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:49 pm

TheMonk wrote: Nice machine, I love the Safare camper design, to me it's like the perfect use of available space, especially the booth style seating. Any chance of seeing beds set up?

I will try and snap a few pics this weekend.

Sat Jan 16, 2021 4:11 pm

What a pain....... replaced all the fuel hoses for the gas tank and vent system on the Bus. Then I took some pics of the beds as requested.

Mon Jan 25, 2021 3:17 pm

Here is two more hack jobs a previous owner did when they removed part of the spare tire well and the sink.
Not much else going on at the moment other than collecting parts for some s/m repairs. I picked up a used 68-71 mustache bar and frame brackets, a spare tire well, Creative Car Craft fiberglass Type 1 conversion tin, and both battery trays.The bar needs a bushing replaced and straightened. Its a little twisted.........nothing a little heat and a press can't fix. Just got to find a press and a bushing that is the correct size.

Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:33 am

I decided to go ahead and pull the transmission out to get it overhauled, then I pulled the gas tank and freshened it up, stripped the interior, cut out the old crusty battery trays, stripped back the paint and filler for metal repair, and pulled out the remaining piece of the spare tire well.

Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:04 am

Made a little headway over the last week. Had to fight with the battery tray on the right side for a while but I got it in. Ended up cutting out part of the left side inner fender well so I could try and straighten up the metal.

Sun May 09, 2021 9:41 am

Made some more progress but didnt get to finish as my welder ran out of gas.

Sun May 16, 2021 4:08 pm

Made some more progress this weekend. Spare tire well is fully welded in and seam sealed. Welded up a bunch of random screw holes as well and then threw down some almond paint. I also discovered the Safare hatchet job they did for removing the roof cross brace. I will have to address that once i get around to pulling the hightop off. I also installed a sending unit access.

Sun May 23, 2021 1:29 pm

Picked up my Transmission from the shop on Friday and pressed on with cleaning, painting, and installing sound deadener.

Sun May 23, 2021 3:02 pm

Looks really great so far!

Remember to remove the paint from the mounting surface of the starter.