Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years
Page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Next
Forum Index -> Split Bus Share: Facebook Twitter
Reply to topic
Print View
Quick sort: Show newest posts on top | Show oldest posts on top View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
b-man
Samba Member


Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 498
Location: So Cal
b-man is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 8:14 pm    Post subject: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Long story short, I purchased this '56 Panelvan up in Washington state back in late '83, towed it home to So Cal using a homemade tow bar behind a Chevy LUV mini pickup. I drove it for about a year before it was unfortunately hit in the rear which caused it to roll over onto the passenger side. Had the body pulled back straight, a donor B-pillar was grafted in and some used doors, a deck lid and apron were fitted. Kind of lost interest in it because it was not what it used to be (all OG paint, super-straight) and sold it to a family member.

Fast forward to August of 2017, I took possession of it again after many years of neglect. Last tags expired in early 1993, probably sitting since 1992. Due to a curb-slapping incident it ended up with a bent drivers front spindle and bent rear stub axle. Along with all that it's in need of a complete brake overhaul, gas tank cleaning, and everything else needing attention on a 62-year old bus.

As found in the backyard where it languished for over a quarter century.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


1959 36hp engine that I picked up back in '83 for $100.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


A few spare 36hp engines, one is a running 1956 bug engine. Cab divider was a NOS piece I picked up at a S.O.T.O. meet back in 1984.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Nice original paint uncut dash.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


So as you can see I'm starting off with a very nice almost rust-free bus, I see it in an entirely different way now as compared to when I sold it about 33 years ago.

Rather than repair the original transaxle and front end I'll replace them with some good 1966 units that I've had sitting around since about 1989. They came out of my 1966 single cab pickup when I did a suspension swap, with some minor attention everything will be in roadworthy condition. This will save me some major cash and upgrade the braking and handling, the '66 front end still has the factory sway bar intact.

Now up on jack stands with the entire drivetrain and front end removed.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I had originally planned to do the front end swap first, but getting the clutch cable out for front end removal required taking out the engine to get access to the very stuck and stubborn clutch cable adjusting nuts. Once the engine came out the original split case trans was next in line.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


After the transaxle was out I spent a few hours cleaning up the frame horns and straightening up the cradle a bit.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


After removing the fuel tank I spruced up the engine compartment with an old wash mitt and some full-strength Simple Green.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


In need of a new battery tray but otherwise in nice shape.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here's the big-nut transaxle I'll be using. Overall the gearing would be too tall for the little 36-horse with stock 27" tires but I'll be running tires that are only about 25" tall, some 165/80-15s. The two lower gears will be very close to the original gearing, third a bit taller but not excessive and top gear will add a bit less than 2 mph at 3000rpm over the original setup so we're good.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here are the tires I'll be using, the bus was loaded down to full capacity and then some with spare parts in this pic.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Picture from 1984, with 165SR-15 Michelin XZX tires all around. Wasn't it great when those Michelin radials were relatively cheap and plentiful?

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Klassic Fab reproduction bumper, fitted up before the tear down began.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


While removing the drivers side front brake hose I twisted off the end of the line, just as well as I wanted to run DOT-5 silicone brake fluid so all new hard lines and every other part of the the hydraulics are all best off being new.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


So out came all the lines. With the entire underside accessible with everything out of the way it's time to get it done.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


You're pretty much destroying the main line down the frame removing it, but the other lines can be removed pretty much intact and can be used as a pattern to bend them up. All by hand, no bending tools needed other than an old rubber brake line end to hold the line end when making a bend very close to the end of the line.

I mounted a dual master cylinder, I had ordered a '67 unit from Rock Auto but it turned out to be a bay bus master which actually worked out better anyway. With a 1/4" spacer and a minor mod to the pushrod assembly it clears the pedal pan without having to notch it.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I cut down the brake pushrod clevis by less than 3/8" (.335") and used a Type I pushrod without modifying it, everything fits perfect. Bus pushrod on the top, bug pushrod below along with the bug pushrod holder for reference.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here's the bug pushrod installed in the bus clevis and the piece I sawed off for reference.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


As you can see the pushrod assembly has just enough room to come out for length adjustment without having to remove the master cylinder. I have yet to fabricate the master cylinder spacer, so I used whatever I had laying around to space the cylinder for mockup.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Pedal pan fits nicely.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


A couple shots of the new chassis lines, sure is nice to have the front end and transaxle out of the way.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Been taking advantage of all the room with the front beam out of the way to address the pedal assemblies, will soon be replacing the pedal bushings and seals and cleaned up accumulated crud on the steering box and linkage.

Lots more to do, but a good start. Thanks for reading.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
khalimadeath
Samba Member


Joined: June 24, 2014
Posts: 768
Location: Reno, NV
khalimadeath is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 9:40 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Good stuff. I'll be doing the same with the underside of my bus soon.
_________________
The United States Constitution
(c) 1787. All Rights Reserved


1970 Bus Westfalia
1964 Kombi
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
easy e
Samba Member


Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 3930
Location: 1 hr north of Santa Barbara
easy e is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:06 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Nice re-capture... and work! Looking forward to watching.
_________________
aka: Evan
Spreadsheet for Bus RPM, based on gearing & tire size (Excel format)
Searchable, click-navigable 1958 Bus Parts List
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Instagram Gallery Classifieds Feedback
KombiMadness
Samba Member


Joined: December 09, 2011
Posts: 388
Location: Sunshine Coast, Australia
KombiMadness is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:48 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Great story! You owned it, then had a 33 year hiatus and now you are making up for lost time and then some. Great continuity and very unusual since most busses have changed hands more times than can be counted......
I love that NOS cab divider Cool
_________________
My brother & I on the roof of Dad's Splitty circa 1967 - I'm the half pint with the skinny legs!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
Saul Koll
Samba Member


Joined: September 28, 2008
Posts: 191
Location: Portland
Saul Koll is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:25 am    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Really cool story. Cool panel! I got my first buses in the early 80's. My how things have changed.
_________________
"I wish you could smell the smell that's coming from the bus"...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Facebook Gallery Classifieds Feedback
type2rescuemaine
Samba Member


Joined: March 04, 2016
Posts: 336
Location: Maine
type2rescuemaine is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:34 am    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Sweet roof rack!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
nlorntson
Crazy VW Lady


Joined: March 13, 2004
Posts: 3776
Location: Twin Cities, MN
nlorntson is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 7:26 am    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

How are you going to mount a later transmission nosecone to an earlier nosecone mount?

Different mount? Adapter?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Gallery Classifieds Feedback
62DoKaGuy
Samba Member


Joined: May 22, 2011
Posts: 1276
Location: Surprise, AZ
62DoKaGuy is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 7:47 am    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

nlorntson wrote:
How are you going to mount a later transmission nosecone to an earlier nosecone mount?

Different mount? Adapter?


Beat me to the punch! I've seen this adapter, which seems to have good reviews, if you wanted to go the simpler route without hacking the originality: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1318980

Fortunately (and still in a way unfortunately), my '59 SC had long been modified for later tunnel trans. I'd try to keep the split-case mount in tact and use some form of adapter...my $0.02.

Cool story too on how the panel has bounced back and forth!
_________________
,,Wenige Menschen denken, und doch wollen alle entscheiden.'' -der Alte Fritz
EverettB wrote:
...I went at it from both ends but going from the rear didn't seem to do anything, although I did spray some rust breaker in there...

4/62 Double Cab
5/61 Panel (sold)
4/59 Single Cab (sold)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
vwuberalles
Samba Member


Joined: October 18, 2003
Posts: 1355
Location: Richmond, VA
vwuberalles is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:20 am    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Nice rebirth! Are you going to paint it or just clean up what's there? I kinda dig it with the mismatched panels, they just tell more about your history with this bus.
_________________
1973 Superbeetle: 1st car, owned since age 12. Update thread --> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9919140#9919140
1967 Kombi: Owned since age 17, Dad's retirement project.
1966 Beetle: My new project. (SOLD) Build thread--> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=678040
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
b-man
Samba Member


Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 498
Location: So Cal
b-man is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:22 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

In order to mount the later tunnel trans into my early bus originally equipped with the split case trans I'll fabricate some adapter plates patterned after these ones generously shared by Samba member Jason:https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=583119

Rather than buy a commercially available urethane adapter or $400 special nosecone I'm going the cheap route so I can use those funds for essentials. No matter what, I will not cut/weld/modify the bus chassis in any way to put in the tunnel trans.

I'll make the adapter plates from 1/4" thick mild steel plate rather than the 3/16" thickness used by Jason. The added material thickness to play with will better allow me to 'tune' the fore and aft location of the transaxle. This is to avoid getting the rear tire toe in out of spec which causes rapid tire wear.

I measured from the face of the engine mounting surface on the original transaxle to the saddle mount in the center using a straightedge and a caliper. The dimension I came up with was .255". Once everything is bolted in for the first try with the mount plates I'll record the resulting new measurement and either mill down the plate(s) the appropriate amount or add shims to hit that .255" dimension.

Right now my plans are to get it going down the road and make it usable for its originally intended purpose, to haul stuff around. I don't plan in the near future to do much to the body other than to preserve what's there. As you might have noticed I've stripped off most of the light gray primer using thinner to try to expose as much of the OG Dove Blue paint as possible. I think that white passenger cab door was originally Dove Blue as well so I'm going to give it a go with some paint stripper and see what I can get.

Thanks all for the positive comments and feedback.
.
_________________
1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
aa390392
Samba Member


Joined: March 28, 2007
Posts: 3602
Location: So.Cal
aa390392 is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:24 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

I like what your doing and how your going about doing it...mechanically save and a well savored bod..bad ass.
Cheers Thomas
_________________
.
getting grumpy & less tolerant!


55 ragtop
56 delux sedan
56 Kabriolet
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
b-man
Samba Member


Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 498
Location: So Cal
b-man is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:45 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

I won't be doing any highly-skilled rust repair, panel replacement or any extensive restoration work on this old workhorse. However I will be searching out and replacing whatever is worn out mechanically to make for a safe and enjoyable driving experience.

Severely worn original clutch cable clevis pin and clutch cable clevis end with ovaled-out pin holes. This is an area that's very commonly in need of attention on these old buses.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


In contrast here is the new replacement clutch cable and clip-type pin. I purchased a reproduction clutch lever but I'll use the original one instead, reasons being the original has a much tighter fit (actually a decent press-fit) where the slot engages the clutch pedal shaft plus the hole for the pin isn't worn appreciably. The pin fit on the original lever actually feels about the same if not better than the fit on the repro part.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Old crusty shift coupler that's about ready to delaminate next to the new repro part. The old coupler was still working but for how much longer is anyone's guess.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The fuel tank is still in nice shape and looks decent now after a scrub down with a brass wire brush and some Lime Away, I won't paint it in keeping with the clean up and refurbish theme. I did a rinse out with some clean gas and got most of the fine silty rust out of it that I expected after sitting for over a quarter century. After that I used a length of chain and shook it around and rinsed it again, loosening up a little more rust. I'll chain-shake and rinse it a couple more times and call it good.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The fuel tap looks good after a cleaning in gasoline with a toothbrush, I'll rebuild it and reuse the original screen filter which is in surprisingly nice condition.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Broken brake pedal return spring next to the new replacement part. Just another reason you need to take apart the under cab controls and inspect the various parts for wear.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The shift rod is still in good condition, one of the few pieces that I'll be painting before reinstalling it.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The original shifter guide bracket has long ago been replaced with a later part, a commonly worn item that was metal on metal originally rather than having a replaceable plastic bushing. I'll replace the bushing and space the later bracket downward a little with some washers to better align it with the bottom of the early straight shifter.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


1956 front beam, I'll keep it in storage for later on if I ever decide to put this bus back to original. The passenger side shock bolt end broke off while removing it, the driver side already had the threads drilled out of the shock mount during a previous broken bolt and shock replacement.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Serial number on the passenger side travel limiter.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here's the original split case transaxle, I don't think it has ever been removed before.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Original donut front nosecone mount. The two rear saddle mounts looked very good and were likely replaced at one time.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Driver side stub axle is bent enough to make the rear tire wobble by a couple of inches. The uneven gap between the drum and backing plate indicates it's pretty badly bent.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Now here's something right out of the hackers hall of fame, take a look at the passenger side backing plate and how it's bent inward by a crazy amount.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Well, how else do you remove the brake shoes in order to free up up a stuck brake assembly without having to remove the drum? Some hack did this to move the bus from a previous resting place to another location in the back yard during its 26 years in limbo. Aaaack!

Bent-up brake shoes and broken wheel cylinder. Classic. Rolling Eyes

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Did a gasoline and toothbrush cleaning on the transmission saddle, will reinstall it as-is in keeping with the no restoration theme of this project.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


That's all for now, thanks for looking!
_________________
1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
EverettB Premium Member
Administrator


Joined: April 11, 2000
Posts: 69733
Location: Phoenix Metro
EverettB is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 9:52 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Yes, that shift coupler would have come apart pretty soon.

The transmission mount out nice!
_________________
How to Post Photos
Everett Barnes - [email protected] | My wanted ads
"Water is the only drink for a wise man" | "Communication prevents complaints"
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Facebook Instagram Gallery Classifieds Feedback
BarryL Premium Member
Samba Member


Joined: November 01, 2004
Posts: 14216
Location: Casa de Oro, California
BarryL is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:41 am    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

b-man wrote:
The original shifter guide bracket has long ago been replaced with a later part, a commonly worn item that was metal on metal originally rather than having a replaceable plastic bushing. I'll replace the bushing and space the later bracket downward a little with some washers to better align it with the bottom of the early straight shifter.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

That original white glide works far better than any ever made since.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
b-man
Samba Member


Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 498
Location: So Cal
b-man is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:42 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

BarryL wrote:
b-man wrote:
The original shifter guide bracket has long ago been replaced with a later part, a commonly worn item that was metal on metal originally rather than having a replaceable plastic bushing. I'll replace the bushing and space the later bracket downward a little with some washers to better align it with the bottom of the early straight shifter.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

That original white glide works far better than any ever made since.

Interesting.

I'll try to keep it if it's not damaged. The split in the bushing is positioned at top right now, it needs to be shifted to the side according to what I've seen here on the forums.
_________________
1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
EmpiGT
Samba Member


Joined: January 27, 2005
Posts: 2597

EmpiGT is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:59 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

You said the pass door looks to have been dove blue, But on the inside I see dove blue painted over sealing wax red. and with the deluxe trim holes on the outside I wouldn't strip too far or you'll have a swr/bg door on your bus
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
b-man
Samba Member


Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 498
Location: So Cal
b-man is offline 

PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 12:50 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Been getting a few things cleaned up and trying to find time to get work done on the '56, my work schedule has been pretty heavy lately so it's hard to accomplish much.

I do have a couple of friends helping me out with a couple of items in the meantime. Today my friend Gary (an engineer at my workplace) is doing me a big favor, he's cutting out one of the adapter plates I need to install the '66 tunnel type big nut transaxle in place of the original split case transaxle.

Gary has a Fadal CNC mill in his home shop, he did the programming off of a drawing I gave him and now it's almost finished.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Also had another friend Tim (another engineer at work) modify my clutch pedal shaft to accept a grease fitting. He drilled a .140" diameter hole (using a .136" drill, an oversized hole is what you end up with) about 3" deep through the end of the shaft and then drilled two .112" holes (.110" drill) that intersect the main one at about the center of each pedal shaft bushing. Definitely not a job for someone without the equipment and machining experience to pull it off.

Of course I could have reinstalled the clutch pedal without the grease fitting mod and everything would have been okay, but I thought it would be nice to be able to give the clutch pedal bushings a little squirt of grease whenever I lube the chassis.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Big thanks to Gary and Tim for helping me get this project a little further down the road.
_________________
1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
b-man
Samba Member


Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 498
Location: So Cal
b-man is offline 

PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 7:42 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Got back to working on the '56 last weekend after the summer weather cooled down a bit. I wish I had as much ambition as some of the other members here on the Samba, but I'll keep going at it and get this old girl back in working order before too much longer. I do have a lot of work I need this van to do for me when it's back in service.

Did some test fitting of the the big-nut transaxle using the fabricated adapter plates and wasn't satisfied with the way things were going. The mounting flange for the engine (bell housing face) ended up nearly 1/2" further back than where the original split-case trans was sitting.

I made the adapter plates from 1/4" thick steel rather than 3/16" so I would have the ability to mill them down a little to adjust the trans forward a bit to fine tune the location if needed. After seeing how far they pushed the trans back I decided to bite the bullet and buy the Fast Fab donut-style nosecone adapter from Rancho Transmissions.

A little pricey at $395.00 but it's a a very nice piece machined from a solid block of aluminum with a nice black anodized finish. Comes with the shifter bushings, seal and hockey stick already installed.

Does anyone here have a preference for which gasket sealer, if any, would be best in this instance to seal the nosecone to the trans? I'm thinking Permatex Aviation sealer, the brown stuff in the bottle with the applicator brush in the lid.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Here's the rubber donut I purchased along with the newly released shift rod guide from Wolfsburg West.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
oakman
Samba Member


Joined: February 05, 2014
Posts: 1708
Location: Edge of the Desert, Ca
oakman is offline 

PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 9:11 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

b-man wrote:
After seeing how far they pushed the trans back I decided to bite the bullet and buy the Fast Fab donut-style nosecone adapter from Rancho Transmissions.



I ordered the lollipop mount from Wagenswest for my Mango. Should be here early next week. I'm going off of what others have said that it won't push the trans back at all (I hope).

The nosecone from Fast Fab looks killer!!
_________________
Brandon
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
b-man
Samba Member


Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 498
Location: So Cal
b-man is offline 

PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 6:37 pm    Post subject: Re: 1956 Dove Blue Panelvan Coming Back To Life After 26 Years Reply with quote

Made a little more progress. While the engine and transaxle are out I removed the main shift rod so I could replace the shift rod guide. I was able to remove the front coupler without too much fuss. I had given it a good oiling a few months back when I removed the front shift rod in order to replace front beam.

Lucky for me it came loose using a small Craftsman puller I had in my tool box, it was the perfect size to get into the somewhat confined space I had to work in. Most of the time these couplers are hopelessly rusted in place and need to be attacked with a cutoff wheel.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here's what's left of the spring steel main shift rod guide, missing one of the guide legs and broken in two.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The shift rod guide fits here in the front crossmember. These early buses use only one main shift rod guide, they don't use the plastic 'shuttlecock' guide bushings front and rear like the later buses.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Shift rod is out, it must be pulled out the back after the transaxle is out.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Sanded off the surface rust and gave it a coat of Rustoleum satin black. After the paint dries I'll get the shift rod reinstalled and put the big-nut transaxle in using the adapter nosecone.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Forum Index -> Split Bus All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Next
Page 1 of 8

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

About | Help! | Advertise | Donate | Premium Membership | Privacy/Terms of Use | Contact Us | Site Map
Copyright © 1996-2023, Everett Barnes. All Rights Reserved.
Not affiliated with or sponsored by Volkswagen of America | Forum powered by phpBB
Links to eBay or other vendor sites may be affiliate links where the site receives compensation.