The Good Karma bus.....1965 Velvet Green Westy

[AS350driver]

The wheels are just Krylon gloss white. I just cleaned them up and sprayed them, old tires and all, and took them to Big O for new tires once the paint cured a bit.

[AS350driver]

And, off its wheels again for brake work. The good news was that the engine runs perfect after dismantling down to the block to clean out the rat nests and debris. I also moved California back to the center if you notice little things

[BarryL]

You are a many type helicopter pilot, right? So, perfection maintenance is in your blood? Did notice the off-center plate along with how well it goes with the badge.

[AS350driver]

Well, at least the FAA gave me a little plastic card that says so....🚡
Looking at the pic again, I'm slightly too far right of center now. I will get California lined up perfectly this afternoon, though. The bus may drive "out of trim" if I don't fix it.

There. Fixed it lol

[AS350driver]

Back when I dropped the pedal pan and removed all the rat mess, it became obvious that a lot of work had been done underneath right before the bus went into its 17 year hibernation. The master cylinder, drag link, swing lever pin, and associated hardware looked new. The master cylinder was totally locked up, however. So I put a new master cylinder in Tuesday night, but had to fly out to Laredo, TX Wednesday for a 14 day detail. My friend Alex was able to work on it a few hours Wednesday night. He removed the motor (again) and fixed the leak on the fuel tank. He pulled the drums and .....everything looks super good

[Eric&Barb]

Brakes may look great, but at very least you will need to remove each brake cylinder to take apart, inspect, clean out any rust, use a brake paste to coat the bores, or just replace each cylinder.

Looks like the brake adjusting stars/bolts need anti-seize put on them.
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[AS350driver]

Got the bus running and driving enough to road test it a little. Brakes only needed soft lines and a master cylinder. They work awesome. Wiring is another issue. Real mess from rat damage. The alternator could not be persuaded to work even by bypassing the harness. So pulled the motor again to install new alternator and rehab wiring.

The bus rides great, the motor purrs, and the tranny seems fine though. Just needs electrical help. I finally finished rubbing it out with polishing compound.
Removed the seats to go to apholstery. More rat nests of course!

[Eric&Barb]

You will need to loosen up the axle boot clamps and swivel the boots to the 3 or 9 O'clock positions as viewed from inner side of the tires. Tighten the small clamp last and push the outer end of the boots in about 1/4", and tighten the small clamp to hold it there. Failure to do those steps will result in boots tearing up all too soon.
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[BarryL]

[64 ragtop volks]

looking good! yours has the black steering wheel/coloum and e brake, i see some with the white, do you know if mabey just later velvet westys had the white? like the so42

[AS350driver]

[AS350driver]

[AS350driver]

[AS350driver]

Got the motor back in and now have working alternator and wiring is at about 70%. I had ordered WW window frame rubber and felts so tackled that. Thought I'd need to wire brush and apply rust treatment to the doors under the window frames like my first split bus, but found nothing but dryness. Re-used all my original bolts and fasteners, none were rusty. This bus is spoiling me with its lack of rust.

[AS350driver]

Drove (and pushed about 8-10 times) the bus around Tucson today. After about 4 miles going down Camino del Cerro I pulled in at I-10 to get gas. When I removed the cap there was a big swooshing sound that I think was suction. The bus ran smooth but very very weak. 45mph tops. After refueling and leaving the cap off, I could make 55 ish.

I was trying to make it to an alignment shop on the east side of town. After exiting I10 at grant after about 5 miles at 55 on the freeway. As I sat at perhaps the busiest tightest intersection in town, the bus idled like a kitten. I started feeling confident. Once I got the green left arrow and up shifted to second in the middle of the 4 by 4 lane intersection ...the motor went from running perfect to dead as if you'd just turned off the ignition. To avoid certain death I ended up pushing the bus through both red lights under I10 to get to a place to turn right. Opened the engine decklid and noticed gas flowing through fuel filter backwards furiously and swollen fuel hose into carb. Loosened the clamp on hose going into top of carb the least bit and the hose flew off like an out of control garden hose, spraying fuel at least 5 feet in every direction that it swung out of control. After about 30 seconds the fuel flow subsided. Engine is off, bear in mind. I reattached hose to top of carb and the motor, though flooded, fired up and smoothed out within 5 seconds. The fuel filter and hose were bulging with pressure, but motor ran perfect so away I went toward the alignment shop. Made it about 2 miles on grant road (30 mph, lots of red light delays) and poof ...motor dies instantaneously and I coast into a parking lot. Same thing again. Filter furiously pumping fuel backwards, fuel hose into carb bulging with pressure. Loosened the hose clamp slower this time , used a rag to keep it out of my eyes, and endured another gas shower when the hose blew off and whipped around like a garden hose that just burst. Lots of pressure, aerosol like and going over 5 feet. The fuel continued to flow with enough pressure that my thumb could not plug the hose end for a good 20-30 seconds. I also noticed the intake boots (brand new, tight clamps also new, were swelling and spraying gas as well. Checked the oil, no gas in the oil. This occurred 2-3 more times until I fnally made it to the alignment shop, which claimed it was impossible to get the steering wheel at 3 and 9 since it is keyed.

First suspect was that the fuel pump or pump pushrod was incorrect. Long story short, after 5 fuel pump swaps, 2 new fuel pumps , one with recessed rocker and one with rocker that protrudes below base of pump, and measuring rod it is 100% certain the pump and rod were correct.

So thoughts on where this crazy fuel pressure is coming from ? I've tried stacking extra gaskets under the pump, no change. The bus will run perfect for about 10-15 minutes then die instantly with gas flowing backwards through filter and crazy pressure built up. Fuel filter is new and correctly oriented as the arrow embossed on it indicates.

1600 dp, 34 pic carb, 99mm fuel pump rod, and fuel pump with rocker that hangs down a bit below the base of the pump. Tried a brand new pump with the rocker recessed , no fuel flow at all with motor idling and revving for quite some time til it used up the fuel in the bowl.

[wcfvw69]

You haven't mentioned which fuel pumps you're buying. Are they of the $20 dollar variety? Most of them are known to put out excess fuel pressure. During all those fuel pump changes, did you ever check the fuel pump PSI pressure with a gauge? You need to check your fuel tank venting as well.

Right now, there's some NOS Pierburg domed top pumps that your nice bus would of had on it when new for sale in the classified. If that bus was mine, I'd shell out the $100 dollars to buy one and not worry about the fuel pump again.
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[AS350driver]

The one on it now is in fact a Pierburg that I had in my parts stash and the others were Delphi from Oreillys. About $45-50. I've tried 3 of the ones with the rocker that hangs down, the two I tried with the recessed rockers obviously didn't work due to the rod not contacting the rocker. Any thoughts that it could be the rebuilt carb? Float, etc etc?

[wcfvw69]

[AS350driver]

The tank was removed and checked. It was dry and clean inside and was simply cleaned and reused with the sending unit having been checked/cleaned and found to be functional. A new sending unit seal was used. Once it was in and fueled up a pinhole/crack was found to be seeping fuel in one of the lower corners, so the tank was removed and that was welded up and some tank sealant used. I don't recall ever seeing a vent or vent line, just a petcock, strainer and nut on the bottom, which I replaced with a new one. I'm assuming it vents through the cap. The cap is the one that was on it and appears identical to the one on my 64. The seal is cracked and dried up but the cap looks fine otherwise than needing a new seal. It was removed at all times other than the first few miles and fuel stop where is swooshed when I removed it, which I now think might have been pressure instead of suction. The cap may be the wrong one but is off for now. I'm satisfied that the tank is ok as fuel flows normally when the supply hose to the fuel pump is pulled off. The fuel filter has remained clear. I can't think of any reason the tank would cause such excessive pressure with the cap removed and fuel flowing to the fuel pump ok.

Which brings us back around to fuel pumps making too much pressure, or some kind of restriction or back pressure being created at the carb. My plan today is to remove the pump again and add some more gaskets I don't have a way to measure the psi but I'm going to Chirco this morning and maybe they have a gauge.

[Eric&Barb]

Cap is supposed to vent. If OG cap it could just be clogged, if after market cap it could have been designed without vent. If not venting it could pressurize the tank, but on other hand when driving it can cause a tank to get a vacuum.

Best test right now is check fuel pressure.
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