1975 Riviera Refresh

[Spike0180]

Rear Main. Oil gets pushed back along the center of the engine case from the wind while driving. That is my guess. Also, clean off your transmission and bottom of your engine, it'll make leaks easier to follow.

P.S. nice looking bus, and good job so far with your refresh.
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Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[LazyLightning75]

Thanks for the response, Spike 0180. Yeah, everything is a mess back there and I need to clean it up. After reading more about that seal, the symptoms sound correct. After a good drive, when I pull it into the garage and shut it down, I get a quick baseball sized pool of oil. Sounds like it requires an engine pull to fix. If I pull the engine, there is a fair amount of other work I'm going to want to do, too. Is it okay to drive as long as I watch the oil level, until I'm ready to pull the engine?
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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[LazyLightning75]

Conquered my tie rods! Seems like a minor accomplishment, but they were really stuck on there. After pounding on them for an evening, I had to go down to O'Reilly's the next day and borrow their tie rod puller and pickle fork. Still was not an easy job. Good thing I'm not a mechanic for a living - no one would have their car ready on time.

Rubber boots were shot.

Finally got them free with this puller from O'Reilly's, pickle fork, big hammer, PB Blaster, and lots of cuss words.

New tie rods installed and torqued to spec. Also installed a new steering damper.

My heater tube looks likes it's smashed flat above the beam. Wonder if that's part of the problem with my lack of heat?

I also finished up the vent line replacement. Here's one that was held on with electrical tape.

Started another small project to replace a missing cap on my wiper. As seems to be typical, found a few other issues.

Wiper grommet was trashed on both wipers.

Replaced wiper grommet, added some new wiper blades, and painted the wipers.

While I was tinkering around the front of the bus, I decided to replace a broken screen behind the fresh air grill. All of my hinges for the fresh air vent flap were broken. Replaced those and lubed the fresh air lever in the cab. Works quite nice now.

I also pulled the spare - which was totally flat and got a better look at the damage behind it. Ouch. That will need some attention in the future.

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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[LazyLightning75]

My clutch had a noticeable chatter in first and second gear, so I thought it might be time for a little maintenance. The cable seemed to be in okay condition, but it was obvious that it hadn't been greased in a while. Ended up replacing my clutch cable, clevis pin, and Bowden tube. I kept the old one as a spare. After the work, we took it for a spin down to the American River Parkway. We brought a few cold drinks and a picnic lunch and watched the mergansers and mallards float down the river.

When I pulled the old clevis pin out, I couldn't believe how worn out it was. I imagine it was only a matter of time before it failed.

The old Bowden tube also had a well worn groove down inside it.

New Bowden tube installed.

Adjusted the pedal free play with the wingnut and greased everything real well.

Photo op at the American River Parkway.

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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[wcfvw69]

It's quite amazing how much damage is done to these VW's from simple lack of preventative maintenance. As I went through my 70' buses mechanical systems, so many original parts were worn out from the lack of grease and oil. Grease is cheap and usually the labor to grease or oil the parts isn't much either. There needs to be a sticky on all the parts of a bus that should be greased and or oiled with the frequency of it being done.

Here's what my clutch cable and hook looked like when I removed them. Dry as a bone with no grease. Another member had his bus for decades and greased and lubed everything on a regular basis. His clutch hook and pin looked brand new at 150k miles.
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
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[LazyLightning75]

Tinkered around some on the bus today. She's been idling rough and the engine will die at the first stop sign near my house. Once she's warmed up, the idle improves. I knew I had a split elbow where the vacuum line attaches to the aux air regulator, so I replaced it with piece that Airhead Parts makes. She seems to be running stronger now. All the vacuum lines need help, so I've added them to the project list.

Finished a couple of other small jobs. Replaced a piece of missing tin below the pushrods and replaced the seals around the clutch and brake pedals. No more open holes! I figure if I tackle a few small jobs here and there - I'll have this bus where I want it in about ten years.

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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[SteveSharpe]

curious where you found the hinges for the fresh air vent flaps? ours are cracked and broken but haven't found them online. Would like to replace the rubber too but haven't found that either.

[LazyLightning75]

Wolfsburg West. Click on the link below and it should take you there.

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211259159
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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[SteveSharpe]

Great, thank you! That link is exactly what I needed. I see they also have the seals but they are out of stock at the moment
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211259157

[scrivyscriv]

Just found your topic and the bus is looking great!

Question about your sliders - what seal did you use? WW's site looks like the solid center window seal will work for the sliders too.. just curious, my sliders and seals need work too.
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[LazyLightning75]

Thanks for the compliment on the bus. While I’ve slowed down on the work, I’m still driving her and checking in on the Samba from time to time. I used the side window seal from Bus Depot for a window without vent/vw sliding window. I’d imagine the WW seal you referenced would work too. It’s a quick job to replace the seal(s), especially with a second set of hands.
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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[Poptopcamper]

Ive had my 1978 Riviera for about 5 years. I've been working on the mechanicals because the bus had been neglected and needed a lot of attention. So I haven't done much cosmetically yet, except to POR 15 some rust spots and paint with a rattle can, paint and replace the pop top seal, and just clean the interior.
I'm curious if your fridge works? Mine didn't have the fridge or the propane burners for cooking. I have the same furniture as you and I have the original Coleman stove for heating the interior and a Coleman mantle light that I guess you light inside of the bus. That seems dangerous! And I have the propane tank that fits under the bus. I wasn't planning to fix those until last, and since that adds weight, I removed them.
I had a 1973 VW bus in the 70s, and I lived in Austin, TX where buses and Bugs were plentiful and parts were easy to find. Now I live in Wyoming and there are maybe 5 bus owners in Sheridan, and I have to order most parts. But with the help of the fine people on this forum, my Bentley and Muir manuals, and being retired so I have time to work on it, my bus is coming along. Keep posting pictures. They are interesting. BTW: nice bus.😎
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If you only have one tool in your tool box, and it's a hammer, pretty soon, everything looks like it needs to be whacked!
1978 VW Riviera
2021 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton
2020 VW Tiguan
2001 Harley Electraglide Classic
1986 BMW R 800cc motorcycle
2002 Chevy Camaro Z28
1999 Harley Sportster 1200 Custom

[LazyLightning75]

Ha! Yeah, the “fridge” works about as well as the air conditioner. If you put a block of ice in the ice-box it keeps things cold (kinda like rolling down the windows for AC). The ice box does have a drain line to get rid of melting water. No stove or heater, either. It’s a pretty basic set up. I am missing the tambour doors for the closet. Still trying to figure out what to do with those. It definitely has a 70’s vibe in the interior.
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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[WildIdea]

I dig your Bus a lot. Its’ coming along great.

[LazyLightning75]

Finally got some bus time over the three day weekend. I wanted to replace my radio with something a little more period correct for the bus. What started out as a relatively easy job turned into a bigger project. Imagine that.

Wanted to swap out this Alpine for an AM/FM Sapphire XIX. The victim:

The replacement made by Motorola for VW distibutors circa 74-75:

First I had to figure out what to do with the speakers since I removed them from the door panels a while back. I decided to go with a single speaker mount to replace this guy in the dash (looks like he’s been in there a while):

While I had the dash out I decided to replace the broken glove box, rust under the front window seal and all the plastic air ducts that disintegrated to dust when you touched them.

Also found a parking pass for Candlestick under the dash.

Found a speaker bracket in the Samba classifieds that worked well with mounting the new Retrosound speaker under the dash.

Also decided to powder coat the dash. RAL 7021 Black Gray color with satin clear coat to knock down the gloss to around 30%.

Riveted a piece of sheet metal to the back of the dash to support the radio where the PO got a little too aggressive cutting the dash and rigged up a support behind the radio with plumber’s tape (not pictured).

New glove box which didn’t fit so I had to extend the existing strap length with a rivet and some extra plumber’s tape.

Dash installed. Rust abated and window sill painted. The rubber seal for the window covers up the rattlecan touch-up paint.

Found a dash pad to replace the old one that was cracked in several spots.

All back together and the radio is in and rocking.

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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[KentABQ]

That looks like a great transformation.
It feels good to see the improvement and know it's due to your efforts, doesn't it?
Nice work!
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-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[LazyLightning75]

Thanks, Kent. It does seem to be moving in the right direction albeit slowly. Wish I had more time to focus on the bus. I’ve been following your bus too and hope to see some updates in the near future!
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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[Spike0180]

[LazyLightning75]

What started out as a broken spring, hole in the seat cover, and torn shorts, well, ended up looking about the same after this “refresh”. But it’s what’s on the inside that counts...

The symptom.

The culprit.

Tore down the seat and I also found the seat frame broken in a couple places, plus two more broken springs.

Looked for some replacement springs and Samba member andrewtf came through with a donor seat - thank you so much!

Time for some seat surgery.

Back from the powder coater, who sand blasted and welded the seat frames too.

Next few steps...hog ring burlap to frame, and glue and trim some extra polyester padding that I added to the horsehair pads.

The seat covers are a bitch to install by yourself. I had to recruit my Son and Dad to help out. The seat covers were also much easier to install over some plastic - I used the bags that the horsehair pads came in.

Seat bottoms reassembled and seat covers reinstalled.

Finished product. Looks about the same as before, but no more torn shorts and much more comfortable than before!

Both seats refreshed and installed. On to the next project...

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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[mikeincarp]

Wow. Extremely impressive. I got many ideas from your posts for my own '78 2.0 Riviera. Do you use the frig? I pulled out mine plus the water tank to get additional storage. Use an ice chest and supermarket bottled water. But then, I go on short jaunts only so far.