Vee Dub Nut's 74 Bay Transporter (& Subaru EJ25 Swap)

[Vee Dub Nut]

[Vee Dub Nut]

Well I've owned this thing for almost two years now, and I'm just now FINALLY getting around to polishing the paint on it.

From the very beginning I wanted this "dream Bus" in my head to be an original paint Bus. I'm a big fan of polishing out the original single stage paint which gives it a great shine while keeping all the age and patina to the look. But up till this point I've kept myself too busy on this thing with suspension, engine, and transmission changes, that I never did anything but a normal wash here and there.... until now.

Saturday morning I made a quick trip over to my "local" Harbor Freight with my freshly printed 20% off coupon, and picked myself up a 7" Chicago Electric polish. The very best China has to offer! No ideal how long this tool will ultimately last, but for the money it seems to perform very well (and reviews well online). Armed with my new polisher and some Maguires mirror glaze, I went to town to see if I could coax back some shine in the 45 year old paint. For someone who has ZERO experience doing anything like this, I'm proceeding quite cautiously. I knew I was going to loose some more red in the process since it was very heavily oxidized. But so far its cleaning up well and holding its own. I'm pretty sure I could have used some compound with a bit more tooth, but sill I'm wanting to take it slow and easy. So far I think its turning out GREAT! Got the drivers side cleaned up pretty well, but I certainly still have my work cut out for me this week to knock out the rest of the Bus. Quite a lot of surface area when you really get after it LOL

A few pics

The compound I'm using

I'm VERY happy that the old American flag decal stood up well. I was worried that it might loose out to the polisher, but so far the paint in between the decal buffed right up, "and the flag was still there"

I'll post some completed shots when I finish it. Hoping to get it all knocked out this week and reassembled before the meetup at Mix'd Up Burgers in ATL on Saturday. Wish me luck!
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Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2006

67 Beetle (TBD)

74 Transporter (EJ25 Swapped) - Build Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

See all my VW pics on Instagram @ vee_dub_nut

[soissisc]

Looking good!
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Mark

68 Westy
92 Jetta (oh it is retired)
99 Eurovan
05 NBC
06 Audi A3
72 Westy (I am going to fix it up)

[Vee Dub Nut]

Well I finally got all of the polishing done (we'll mostly). I'm going to do some more work on the roof, but I need to get my hands on some different compound I think. The rest of the exterior is done though, and good coat of wax afterwards. MAN is there a lot of surface area on these things LOL. We are ready for Bugapaluza next weekend in Chattanooga!

A few more pics for the thread. I found it to be VERY beneficial to remove everything I could from the surface of the Bus. The less pieces to work around the better. Makes for a much easier time working and making the body finish even as possible.

I didn't include a picture before in my previous post, but here is the cheapo HF polisher I'm using. I can't complain about its performance at all. If I did this stuff everyday professionally I'd probably buy something name brand and more costly, but for my purposes this thing did VERY well.

Here are a couple more shots I took along the way. This first pic I really like, as it very clearly shows the difference in the finish from polishing. The rear quarter here was done, but the rest was untouched. Quite a huge change from where it started.

I didn't end up with a ton of red left on the rear after it was done. It was pretty faded to start, and obviously heavily oxidized. Looks killer to me though.

I was getting pretty close to being done here. Polished and waxed on this side. In all, I probably polished each side at least twice (if not more in some areas). After I was happy with the finished, I followed it up with some hand waxing to seal it up.

It was quite rewarding getting it all done and driving it over to the in-laws this weekend for our Easter festivities. The temps were nice and the sun was shining. Great day to be out in the Bus.

A little more angle for the reflection

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Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2006

67 Beetle (TBD)

74 Transporter (EJ25 Swapped) - Build Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

See all my VW pics on Instagram @ vee_dub_nut

[Vee Dub Nut]

Haven't updated the thread lately... just been driving the wheels off the Bus.

Took it up to Chattanooga for the Bugapaluza this year. Had a blast. My longest trip in it so far (albeit not crazy long), but it ran pretty well flawless the entire time, expect for a minor fuse problem that killed my rad fans on the way home. Pulled off the road for a quick fix, and I was back on my way in less than 5 minutes. Basically a self induced problem

Also been hitting up local shows close to home.. Cruise the Coop, Caffeine & Octane, etc, etc. I've gotten a lot of great feedback on the swap from all types of folks. Lots of questions, comments, and people poking all over checking things out. This is a pretty typical scene around the Bus. A steady stream of people one after another.

More random pics on my gallery. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

So what's up next... we'll, more refinement. With all the miles I've been putting on the Bus, I've got a real good feel for how well everything is working. I think I'd put the cooling system right at about 95% in its current form. That said, I think I've optimized the current radiator about as far as I can. Got a few theories in regards to its configuration and how it performs, and how to improve it. Picked up another radiator to test those out (slightly larger core size, different tube size and orientation). That will be the next "big" change on it. Past that I hope to finally start poking at the AC idea too
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Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2006

67 Beetle (TBD)

74 Transporter (EJ25 Swapped) - Build Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

See all my VW pics on Instagram @ vee_dub_nut

[dumptuck]

[a1steaksauce]

Saw you at the bugapaluza and the pictures don’t do it justice! Love the paint work as well. I need to get busy on polishing mine. I was at the show in the early bay with the awning.

[Vee Dub Nut]

[Vee Dub Nut]

[Vee Dub Nut]

Started working on radiator v2.0 last night. Modified the mounts, and started removing the filler neck. Need to finish that, relocate the in/out pipes, and then weld it all back up. Hopefully I can get it mounted this weekend.

This core is ~25% larger than my current radiator, but more importantly has a different tube size and core arrangement. I've got some theories as to what sort of changes this might make, but we'll see what it actually does once I get it mounted. Should go basically right in the same spot as the current radiator.

In an ideal world I'd like to get rid of my current air scoop all together. There are folks here (including Skills) who appear to be having success without one. Right now my current setup is pretty dependent on it. Anxious to see what sort of changes I might see with this new radiator (if any, fingers crossed LOL)
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Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2006

67 Beetle (TBD)

74 Transporter (EJ25 Swapped) - Build Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

See all my VW pics on Instagram @ vee_dub_nut

[orwell84]

There are a lot of patina horrors out there, particularly the painted on rust and various other versions of fakery. I also don't get heroic attempts at preserving OG paint only to end up with a bus that looks like crap. I'm usually not a fan, but to me your bus is an exception and a good example of how patina should be done, or rather not done, ie faked.

I like the mix of wear and tear with the buffed out shiny original parts. Honest and crisp original body lines. Glad the flag stayed on. Awesome bus.

[Sloride]

Vee dub nut,

I’m watching. I did my conversion several years ago and have always been tempted to upgrade my radiator but haven’t needed to. I would like to go all aluminum for peace of mind in terms of durability.

Where did you get this most recent rad for the 2.0?
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1972 Westfalia - 1.8 VW in-line h2o conversion
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Link to the engine swap:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=565304&highlight=

1964 Ruby Red Beetle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705757&highlight=ruby+red

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Vee Dub Nut]

[Vee Dub Nut]

[Vee Dub Nut]

[Vee Dub Nut]

Guess its time for my "monthly"-ish update

Still haven't gotten my updated radiator finished. Its pretty well been on the back burner between work/life, with any shop time being focused on getting the DTM shroud fitted to the old T4 motor so that I can get my Bug back on the road. That said, I did get all the old in/out tubes and radiator cap holes welded up in the tank. I don't plan to add the new in/out tubes until I can get the radiator itself fitted up under the Bus to make sure I get them in the most optimum spot. Getting a little more comfortable with my aluminum welding, but still a ways to go to make them super pretty. I get some good ones down sometimes, then the next ones not so much. Still a bit hit or miss.

The biggest change in the Bus lately has been the addition of a new full length rack (oh and I guess the awning too since my last post). I've been planning a rack for this thing from the beginning, and now that the swap is essentially done, it was time to get that sorted.

I had originally planned to get one from Chad (builidriversteelwerks) down in FL, but after contacting him, he told me that he wasn't building them anymore. I then considered building my own, but the realities of time and space to do so kicked in, so I've been keeping an eye out for another source.

While at the Bugapaluza a few months back, I ended up meeting Jerry Carpenter of Tanbugwerks. He builds racks of all styles for air-cooled VW's, and turned out he only lived about 40 minutes down the road from me. I spoke with him at the show about what I was looking for, he showed me some pictures of his work, and then we exchanged information. A few weeks later I gave him the go ahead to start building me an HWE style full length rack and ladder. He builds to order, and there were other orders ahead of me, but he put me on the list. Over the course of several weeks my order made it to the front of the line, he got material, and then started building my rack. Yesterday I finally got to go pick it all up. Weather was really crap for taking the Bus out with off and on rain, but I was too excited to wait, and I didn't want my rack taking up space in his shop any longer than needed.

He sells them raw, so I still need to prep and paint it, but I'm supper happy with how it turned out. Grabbed this pic on the way home (right before the sky let loose again).

Made my way over to the in-laws to meet up with the wifey and kiddos, where the sun poked out so I could get a few more with the ladder on it too.

Overall I'm really happy with how it came out. I plan to paint it grey here pretty soon. I'm first going to modify the side ladder a bit. I want to get the bottom of the ladder supported down off the lower rocker area for more strength, so I'm going to get some more tube and extend the ladder down where the legs of the ladder turn back towards the rocker and with a couple more feet there. I'm a pretty big guy, and the current lowest leg position pushes too much on the side panel of the body for my taste. Probably not an issue for someone smaller than me, but at 6'5" and 250lbs, I want to keep all that force on the really strong parts of the body. I'll post more pics when its modified. Hopefully I'll get the radiator finished and installed shortly too.

All for now!
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Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2006

67 Beetle (TBD)

74 Transporter (EJ25 Swapped) - Build Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

See all my VW pics on Instagram @ vee_dub_nut

[richparker]

Looking good! I’m a big fan of the ARB, is that the 2500 with the Go Westy mounting brackets?
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’63 Deluxe Build

[Vee Dub Nut]

[TomWesty]

Nice rack!
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If you haven't bled on them, you haven't worked on them.
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