77 bus.. mission to wake it up..

[Wasted youth]

I just took some FI rubber line with me to the FLAPS and found brake line that was a snug fit. Can’t recall at the moment, but I think it was 3/16” and then I used the flare tool to swell the ends. I had to spit on the rubber hose to get it past the swell, then clamped with FI clamps.

[srf4love]

definitely gotta get the gnarly spider out.. it was pretty big..

sounds like first thing is fuel tank and fuel lines..

buying a new tank VS cleaning and figuring all that out..

Im definitely the read and follow instructions kinda guy.. definitely want someone to help me do all the things but dont necessarily need a full on teacher..

Again I appreciate you all more thank I can say! thanks

[srf4love]

[cellobus1]

One really important resource is the website www.ratwell.com . He may go into a little more detail than you need for some things, but you will find relevant info on many topics there. I for one have gotten a lot of mileage out of the article entitled "72-79 Bus engine removal." The pictures are priceless. The green Robert Bentley manual for late bay buses is a good resource, with lots of pictures also. Tom Wilson's book, "How to rebuild your VW Air-cooled engine" is a little more user-friendly than the Bentley, and the John Muir "Idiot book" is a highly amusing (but not always thorough) book on all things air-cooled.
_________________
1976 unrestored daily driver Standard bus, "Stella"
formerly, 1959 Standard bus
formerly, 1973 transporter which was 4 years old when it taught me to drive

[Abscate]

[airschooled]

Posting this image again here so we don't have to go back a page to look at it…

You have a solid foundation to work from. My recommendation, after helping quite a few people in the same situation as you: Learn the various parts of the system and how they work. Almost every component in the entire system can be tested with a digital multimeter, fuel pressure gauge, pliers, and some extra wires. Stock fuel injection is VERY friendly to waking up after a long sit. There are only a few components (mostly rubber parts) that deteriorate with time. As stated above, the fuel lines are under ~35psi of pressure, so they need to be in good shape with good smooth clamps. No serrated generic hose clamps, and no braided carburetor fuel line.

All the information you'll need is on here somewhere, and can be found with some searching and posting. From the picture above, a few bits of advice:

- Large vacuum (air) hoses on the intake system should be removed and checked for cracks. A hose clamp on a line like that is evidence that someone previously had a sealing issue, and tried to remedy it improperly. The intake system braided lines should have no hose clamps as designed. (Only the big rubber "s-boot" and fuel lines get clamps.) I can almost guarantee that one or more of these hoses need replacing. GeeBee Racing is a vendor on here that remanufactures them. I'm not sure if his parts have a lifetime warranty, but they might as well. They'll long outlast you and me.

- How are the brakes? The best engine in the world can't save you if those go out… Plan on new fluid at a minimum, and don't be surprised if a rear cylinder starts leaking, or a front caliper is frozen. When was the last time the rubber lines were replaced?

- Come smog check season, don't even go to the tester if the engine isn't purring. A single cylinder misfire will almost guarantee a fail. Find someone with an exhaust gas analyzer to help you diagnose any further issues. Stock engines pass fine unless someone has toyed with the mixture, in which case all bets are off. If you dot ALL your i's and cross your t's, smog is not a hard test to pass. The hardest part is learning the new language of Vintage Volkswagen so you know which letters are which. Volkswagens fail smog when humans miss details, not because of their inherent design.

- How are the tires? Inflate them a few days before you plan to move it so you can see if they need attention.

- Feel free to ignore anyone that mentions carburetors, headers, high performance, and paying off the smog check station to pass you.

- When searching on The Samba, use the "title only" checkbox first for best results. If you have too many results to choose from, put the word AND (all caps!) between the words to specify. Sometimes a Google Custom search of the site (top right) will help you find answers that are buried even deeper.

Some technical info below might help you down the line.

Good luck,
Robbie

"Air Flow Control" (L-Jet) Fuel Injection Manual. Probably the book I refer to the most for FI:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/afc_f...Manual.pdf

77 Wiring Diagram:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/wiring/baybus_77-78.jpg
(You can print this out huge at a print shop and laminate it. It makes using dry-erase markers handy for tracing circuits for troubleshooting.)

Wiring diagram key:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/wiring/baybus_77-78_key.jpg
(If you print the other one, have this one handy!)

Vacuum hoses layout and legend:
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/VacuumHoses.html

_________________
Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[Jetfxr69]

Srf4love- as you can see, lots of help,and support to make this happen. Im in and following with you on mine. Gonna steal your asks and answers for my project.

Keep updating and thanks to all for the expertise and info. I realize most advice and comments come from sunny california, but im digging mine out of FEET of snow way east in NH. Just mentioning in case anyone or someone way over here wants to drink some homebrew and tell stories. Mr Malty here. Hops just cover for bad brew.

[Jetfxr69]

Srf4love- as you can see, lots of help,and support to make this happen. Im in and following with you on mine. Gonna steal your asks and answers for my project.

Keep updating and thanks to all for the expertise and info. I realize most advice and comments come from sunny california, but im digging mine out of FEET of snow way east in NH. Just mentioning in case anyone or someone way over here wants to drink some homebrew and tell stories. Mr Malty here. Hops just cover for bad brew.

[depotmech]

Good luck on your project - I just recently started on mine as well - ours sat for close to 25 years... Suggestion on fuel tank that we did on ours - when you get it out, take it to a radiator shop and have them thoroughly clean it and reline it with a fuel proof coating inside, then pressure test it to be sure you will be leak free. well worth doing it right the 1st time since engine has to come out to access fuel tank.

[srf4love]

[Wasted youth]

Here are a lot of great tips and procedures:

http://www.ratwell.com

[Liveonjg]

[jmarshall024]

good luck. I'll be watching for progress. I started a thread on a 77 fuel injected bus I'm working on in December. Here's the link if you want to see more suggestions from the group.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=710855&highlight=jmarshall024

I ended up pulling the motor using the guide on the ratwell website in order to go through the recommended steps/fixes. I haven't updated the thread in a while, but I got the gas tank out and think that was/is the main issue so spending time cleaning and resealing. I'll post updates soon.

[wcfvw69]

[srf4love]

[Jetfxr69]

Srf4love— big day here in NH. Not sure how to tag into your thread, but mine is “where to begin a resto?”

Challenge laid to ya! Lets git-r-done!

[srf4love]

[420GOAT]

[srf4love]

UPDATE

since the last time I posted I realized I had no way of making this happen working on it myself.. so I took the bus to a shop and they got it running again..

unfortunately that lasted only a day.. drove it home and went to start it up again and it wouldn't start..

took it back and they told me the heads had cracked.. also mentioned that it looks like the camshaft may have been caught on something.. and they said that this particular engine is pretty far gone and would cost more to rebuild than it would be to get a different one..

any suggestions??

[Wildthings]