Bought a bus! Questions:

[Paulie]

Hello all -

Well, after a few weeks of searching, I bought a '72 bus! It has had a amateur restoration (lots of mud, but at least it is a pretty decent job) and a 50/50 paint job, but it has a recently rebuilt transmission, new tires, GREAT interior with all the cabinets and new upholstery, new canvas for the popup and ran well on the test drive (and on the 15 mile trip on the freeway coming home), so for $1000 I figured I can't lose... naturally I have a few questions:

-There is no spare tire... What size/type rim do I need? Anyone know a good source, or should I just start scouring the junkyards?

- I was looking at some owners' manuals for various years, and some of them indicated that the air cleaner sits in front of the battery... There is nothing in front of my battery, it's just sittin' there. Am I missing something? The previous owner indicated that it was not the original engine and that he thought it came out of a more modern VW - any way to tell what engine I have?

-There is no bunk in the popup, and it is missing the rear part of the popup that bolts to the roof (I think it is only there for cosmetic reasons - the previous owner said he had a "roof rack" for it but it was at the painters and I would have to pay him $200 additional if I wanted it - I figured I could come up with something - any suggestions?

-The owner says he has had intermittent problems with the fuel pump - best way to test? Suggestions?

I will try to post pics in a little while... this forum has been invaluable! Thanks to everyone for all the help!

-Paulie

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

A picture would be really helpful for engine id, and to see if anything is missing. Is it Fuel injected? Electric fuel pump? If so you can take it off, and use it to pump gas from one container to another, hooking it up to a battery. Don't run it dry though, the gas is what cools the pump. I'd go looking for a spare at the junk yard, or check the local classifieds, sometimes people clear pout their stock of old vw supplies, and you can get stuff really cheap! There wouldn't be a bunk up top, just a narrow canvas cot. You can build a bunk up there though, use 3/4 inch plywood, and a couple of pieces of angle iron, and a foam matress. You ought to find out if the guy has the fibreglass part, or just a roof rack. Unless you find one in a junkyard, it might be hard to find just half of the pop top. If its not the fibreglass part forget about it. Good Luck, Jeremy

[NeverHadaBeetle]

Manuals from 1972-74 are the only ones that would apply very well for your bus. The air cleaner you read about was probably from a 1975-79 manual and those engines had fuel injection. It's very doubtful your bus has been converted to fuel injection so the fuel pump is probably a small electrical type used for carbed busses. A 1972-74 would have originally had a mechanical pump, but if the engine is "later" then it doesn't have a port for the mechanical pump. The electric pump for carbs is rather inexpensive at about $35 new so if you are having problems with it then just replace it with a new one. Wiring is two simple wires; one hot with key on and one ground. You could check the wiring, but I wouldn't bother too much testing the pump since it's cheap to replace. Spare tire? Find a salvaged bus or Vanagon (1971-up) and get one. I sell them all the time at swap meets for $20-$25 so they are not expensive enough to bother with shipping. Salvage yards are your best bet. Good luck with your new toy.
_________________
"Well, we shot the line and we went for broke
With a thousand screamin' trucks
An' eleven long-haired friends a' Jesus
In a chartreuse micra-bus."

[Paulie]

Jeremy -

There ain't a cot, bunk, or nuthin', just a big hole in the roof with the pop top over it. It appears the cot or whatever else belongs there was taken out altogether - how did it work - was it on a sliding track, or did it fold out? I actually found someone local parting out a '73 Westy, I'm hoping I can get some stuff off him... after doing some search, I have noticed that the fiberglass part I am missing is often referred to as a "roof rack" so I guess that's what he meant, although I can't imagine why he was having just that part of the pop top painted. The top is installed with the rack at the rear of my bus, so I can't imagine not having it would cause a problem with rain or anything while driving, so I might just leave it alone or try to kludge something together.

NeverHadaBeetle -

I have been looking around for fuel pump info and I've found about a half-dozen different models (electric, mechanical, Bosch, etc) ranging from $30-$150, Guess I'll just have to get in there and see what I have...

-Paul

[Karl]

The cot was a single person folding unit mounted on the passenger side [right] of the opening. With age, the canvas dry rots and splits in the middle. 68 was one-year-only because of the additional mounting bolts. 69-72 were the same. 73 will NOT fit a 68-72 bus. It is one-year-only. It mounts on the drivers side [left]. 68-72 Westies were built on sun roof buses. 73 has a larger opening because it is not a sun roof bus. Here is a pic of it from the 68 owners manual:
http://www.geocities.com/thegreatjose/VW/68westypage14.JPG
Look at the ends of the base where it mounts to the roof.
Here is a pic of the 73:
http://www.geocities.com/thegreatjose/VW/73westypage18.JPG
Look at the way it is mounted. The whole cot is longer also.

[Paulie]

Karl -

Thanks for the pics, that clears up a lot. I was more concerned with getting the luggage rack and possibly the sink & fridge out of the donor bus... anyone have any idea if the luggage racks are interchangeable between a '72 and a 73'? They look the same in the pics...

-Paul

[sixfootdan]

The rim is a 14" i believe it is 5.5" wide. The bolt pattern is 5X112mm. 71' up thhrough all the Vanagons will have that rim.
_________________
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GO SEAHAWKS!!!

[Karl]

Yes, the rear luggage rack is the same.
If the 73 still has the front pop top hinges, GRAB them quickly!
They are one-year-only. VW got smart and redesigned them. 73 hinges are made of flat stock steel and are sturdy. 68 to 72 were crappy aluminum tubes that bent when you looked at them wrong and the center pivot falls apart.

[Shallot Tzu]

hey paulie- On the note of your aircleaner, if your system is carbureted there should be a metal shelf next to your battery, unless someone cut it out like mine, that the original aircleaner sits on. It is a big monstrous tank looking thing full of oil. The untrained eye probably wouldn't guess it as an air filter. A rubber hose runs from the aircleaner and over to the top of the carb where it clamps on. thats the way my 71 is, perhaps it different for a 72. As long as you have something on top of your carb, an aftermarket air filter or whatever you should be ok although there is debate on whether the original air cleaners which use oil are better than the replacement paper ones. make sure you have a little stack ( 3-4 inch piece of hose) between your filter and carb if you have a short aftermarket one. Good luck with your new rig!
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'71 Westy

[Amskeptic]

[quote="Shallot Tzu"]hey paulie- On the note of your aircleaner, if your system is carbureted there should be a metal shelf next to your battery, quote]

For earlier buses that shelf would be there, but a 1972 Bus has the air cleaner sitting on top of the crankcase, dual carbs to the sides.
Colin