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The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico
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SlowLane
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:08 am    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW México Reply with quote

jtauxe wrote:
cdennisg wrote:
You could install a valve cover vent kit if you think crank case pressure may be an issue.

You are not the first to suggest this. I'm going to look into it.

If you've not read it yet, I recommend Len Hoffman's treatise on crankcase breathing as part of your research.
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cdennisg
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:20 am    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW México Reply with quote

SlowLane wrote:
jtauxe wrote:
cdennisg wrote:
You could install a valve cover vent kit if you think crank case pressure may be an issue.

You are not the first to suggest this. I'm going to look into it.

If you've not read it yet, I recommend Len Hoffman's treatise on crankcase breathing as part of your research.


Interesting read. I wish they had done some testing on a stock, daily driven street car instead of a full race dry sump track car, though. The many differences in the use of the two engine types may show glaring differences in the results.

His findings are definitely on point, and understandable. I like the description of what/how/why crankcase pressure exists and the problems it can cause.
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SlowLane
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2018 11:44 am    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW México Reply with quote

cdennisg wrote:
SlowLane wrote:
jtauxe wrote:
cdennisg wrote:
You could install a valve cover vent kit if you think crank case pressure may be an issue.

You are not the first to suggest this. I'm going to look into it.

If you've not read it yet, I recommend Len Hoffman's treatise on crankcase breathing as part of your research.


Interesting read. I wish they had done some testing on a stock, daily driven street car instead of a full race dry sump track car, though.

Well, they were trying to get at the root of problems they were having with their race engines, so why would they even bother with a streeter? It's not like their primary motivation was myth-busting for the Samba community.
I think the implicit message is that if a fancy-pants ventilation system isn't necessary for a full-blown race engine, it sure as heck isn't necessary for a stock street-driven engine.
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cdennisg
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2018 3:45 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW México Reply with quote

SlowLane wrote:
cdennisg wrote:
SlowLane wrote:
jtauxe wrote:
cdennisg wrote:
You could install a valve cover vent kit if you think crank case pressure may be an issue.

You are not the first to suggest this. I'm going to look into it.

If you've not read it yet, I recommend Len Hoffman's treatise on crankcase breathing as part of your research.


Interesting read. I wish they had done some testing on a stock, daily driven street car instead of a full race dry sump track car, though.

Well, they were trying to get at the root of problems they were having with their race engines, so why would they even bother with a streeter? It's not like their primary motivation was myth-busting for the Samba community.
I think the implicit message is that if a fancy-pants ventilation system isn't necessary for a full-blown race engine, it sure as heck isn't necessary for a stock street-driven engine.


Didn't mean to strike a nerve, I was just commenting that testing on their race engine, though important, maybe doesn't directly apply to a stock wet sump system (VW or not) that is not driven at full throttle for hours on end with hard cornering. Maybe it does. Who knows?

No need for a fancy pants vent system. A basic one costs under fifty bucks and does the job just fine. My last one was bought at a swap for ten bucks as I recall. Worked great on my 1776 in a 57 standard bus.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:58 am    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW México Reply with quote

SlowLane wrote:
If you've not read it yet, I recommend Len Hoffman's treatise on crankcase breathing as part of your research.

Hoffman's article seems very much oriented towards his racing engines and "spirited" driving conditions. I don't drive at 6000 RPM.

I still think that the valve cover vents might work, and it is simple enough that I will try it. At this point, I don't have any other ideas, anyway. I'll post results in the other thread about this topic (starting around page 3 or 4 of https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=552034), since this is a build thread.

Back to the build soon...
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:36 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

In July of 2014 I turned my attention to lighting issues.

Although the truck was fitted with front and rear fog lights from the factory, I wanted to have driving lights up front, and a fog light in the rear. The rear fog light is much brighter than the stock rear taillights, so I intend to run with that most of the time in the dark, for rear end visibility. Here in New Mexico, we don't get a lot of fog, but having extra light at night on the dark roads would definitely be helpful. Hence the switch from fog to driving lights up front.

The original dual position fog light switch (part 111 959 631) was in the dash, but had got rather cooked. I'm guessing that some PO put in a more powerful bulb than was original. I replaced the orange cover with another original one I got somewhere.

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


So, the wiring... I made a drawing of the original wiring for the fog light dual position switch and its functionality, and another drawing of how I modified it to operate how I wanted with the driving lights. That is, with the first position to light the rear "fog" light, and the second to light the driving lights up front. With the drawings, it will be easy to return this to its original function if someone desires.

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Remains of the original rear fog light wiring were still in the engine compartment, wired into the main harness as a black wire with a purple stripe. But the last bit of what used to go to the lamp seems to show some evidence of a fire. That's interesting. There must have been an engine fire at some point in this truck's past. I added the missing wire to the rear fog light with a quick disconnect so that I could remove the bumper easily, and mounted the light below the left rear bumper, using the factory holes in the left "battery tray" area and in the bumper. The light itself is a still-available Hella light.

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That definitely improves night time visibility!

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The front driving lights, which are also still available from Hella, mounted to existing holes in the bumper. I had to explore through the bondo on the nose to find the original wiring penetrations, but there were there! I cleaned out the 10-mm holes and fitted them with the proper fog light grommets (I'll have to get the part number off those).

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These will light up the night!

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There's a lot more discussion about fog lights in this thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=351546

I also fixed the original fresh air fans (a.k.a. ambulance fans). One was simply jammed.
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1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:37 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

From another thread...

Stuartzickefoose wrote:
My favorite repairs are lighting Smile nice work!! Very cool. Can you take a pic of the wiring to the driving lights through the nose? I thought only headlight washers ran wires through the nose...hmmm. Cool fact to learn!


If you liked this one, just wait until you see what lighting I did for the double cab. Interior overhead switches for all four doors, lighted side markers front and rear, plus blinking side lights on the B-pillars! Stay tuned to that thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=358956

Here is where the 10-mm holes are located:

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

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The grommets are special, and when I find the pair I have set aside for the Doka I will post the part number.
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, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 1:15 am    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

Huh… Learn something new every day on here still!

Also digging the SI tape measure. Cool
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 1:25 am    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

asiab3 wrote:
Huh… Learn something new every day on here still!

Also digging the SI tape measure. Cool
Robbie


That’s what I said!
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 3:10 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

jtauxe wrote:
The grommets are special, and when I find the pair I have set aside for the Doka I will post the part number.

About those grommets... They fit in 10-mm holes.
Here is a photo of a pair:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


And they are available from VW Heritage:
https://www.vwheritage.com/311949149b-grommet-13x5mm-vw-spare
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1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:42 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

Back to it...

Come March of 2016 it was time to revisit the instruments. I started by replacing the metric speedometer with trip odometer with a newer unit from the late '70s, and replaced the black face with the original gray face from the 1975 unit. The odometer read 182842 km, but no one knows how far this truck has traveled anyway, so it's arbitrary.

Next was the instrument cluster housing. This truck had a housing type that I had never seen before, and it was pretty torn up. I happened to spot a much nicer one for sale from Germany, so my guess is that this is a European style of instrument housing.

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


I like the semiotic symbols for the heater and fresh air controls, especially:

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The idiot light cluster on the left I replaced with better parts, and new face, still in gray. Things are looking much better!

Now for the clock. This is original to the truck, but it does not work. So, now I dived deep into the world of clock repair. After removing the clock mechanism from its housing, which involved a lot of careful prying of the brass ring holding the glass in place, I discovered that part of the nylon gear shaft was sheared off where it was reduced to a pin that went into a hole in the housing. This is not surprising, since it is a nylon gear and a metal housing. I was trying to think of how to fix that pin when I happened to go to my dentist. To get a crown installed.

I like my dentist. She knows that as an engineer I like to see what is going on with all the neat tools and techniques used to keep my teeth in my face as long as I can. She had a cool way of installing a very small screw: You'd screw it into the pilot hole until it was just snug enough that it would twist off, leaving a clean end, embedded in at the right torque, even. Brilliant! And, given the size of the screw, this would be perfect to replace the nylon pin end of the gear. Now I just had to get the pilot hole right. I drilled it with my finger drill as best I could, and the result was satisfactory. (Sometimes that I all can hope for.) I screwed in the miniscrew and pinched it off - a new metal pin!

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


So, I crank up the clock on the test bench again, and it looks to be keeping good time! Whew! But in the morning, it was about 4 hours slow. How odd. I reset it, and looked at it after and hour and it was bang on time. I left it again for some time, and again, it was four hours slow. Well, I'll be damned. How does that happen?

Turns out, the gear that I had fixed the pin on had another problem: It was actually split in one spot, radially. This added a gap of about 1/2 tooth on the gear at the outside end. So, most of the time, everything turned just fine, but whenever the smaller drive gear got to that point on the large one, it got choked up, but would eventually free itself.

I decided that this repair was impossible, without a replacement gear, so I abandoned the effort. Set the clock to 4:20 (duh) and installed it back in the instrument panel. I think it will have to be replaced. Or not. Clocks are cool, but with the amount of time my buses sit with their batteries disconnected, resetting clocks takes time (ha ha) and takes a toll on the clock (ha ha ha).

Here's where I wrote about it in the road log:

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With that, the instrument panel was restored to full function except the clock.
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"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
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1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 2:06 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

One of the other basic and typically deferred maintenance items is lubrication. I replaced a clogged Zirk fitting and a just plain missing one on the beam, and the squirted a lot of grease in there!

Now back to the back of the truck...

I knew I needed to get back into some engine work, like replacing the flywheel that Sanchez had implicated. (I later found this to be a false diagnosis.)

I removed the engine, cleaned it all up, and replaced the mismatched tin.

Put in the new flywheel, with the nice Saba seal (bought several from GoWesty while I could), and set the endplay to 0.005".

I tested the thermostat with a heat gun and a laser-guided thermometer, and it opened at 60°C, just like it is supposed to!

The PO had the oil pressure switch up on an unsupported stalk, which made me nervous, so I put it back to how it should be.

The distributor got a cleaning and inspection, but it all checked out.

I replaced the alternator with a rebuilt unit. May as well, since the job is infinitely easier with the engine out.

I also refinished the engine compartment, which was definitely needed.

While I was back there, I rebuilt the tail lights, using new housings (lined with reflective aluminum tape) and the old bulb holders, which if you can clean them up are much better than the new ones.

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


I actually had to repair a lot of the engine compartment wiring, since there had apparently been a fire at some point, and some numbnuts had used some of those destructive pinch barrel connectors for some sort of additional lighting hookup. Man, I hate how those chew up your wires!

While I was in the mode of working on the lights, I rewired the front fog lights (which I will be using as driving lights, so a bit of rerouting of wires was necessary) and the rear fog light. Since these were all part of the factory installation, the original purple/black wires were still in the harness!

And while I have the wiring stuff out, how about a proper wiring for the radio. Ah -- the radio. The M-Codes have a special code (098) that specifies that the radio installed at the factory is a Blaupunkt Ingolstat. After a great deal of searching, I found a working one in Germany and had it shipped over. Unfortunately, it is missing its face plate, so if anyone has a proper face plate, PLEASE let me know! It is currently sporting a chunk of ABS plastic.

So, working, eh? Well, let's just try that out on the bench. I hook it up to a 12 V power supply and an old speaker and fire it up. First station I find is public radio, and... get this: The radio starts belting out Richard Strauss' Ride of the Valkyrie! I kid you not. Not only is this a real German radio, it is playing, for the first time for my listening pleasure, perhaps the most definitive German music. And it is victory music. That was a very special moment. This goes in for sure!

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and, in the dash, awaiting a correct faceplate...

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"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:08 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

Major maintenance, continued...

Let's take a look at that fuel tank. Fortunately, these are relatively easy to remove in a pickup, compared to a kombi. You just take off the fire wall panels to the front and scoot out the tank. I cleaned the tank and discovered what I hoped I would not: pinholes. In my view, if you can see pinholes on the outside of the tank, it is time to scrap it.

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It doesn't look all that great inside, either:

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And any repair -- well, if it fails, the results could be catastrophic, so it's just not worth it.

Here is the original tank in its habitat:

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

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And, it so happens that I have a very nice spare tank that I retrieved from a 1977 FI bus, so I'll use that, sealing off the fuel return port. That way, if anyone might like to convert this truck to FI, the tank is already done. The only downside is that it is not the original style. So the FI tank got a nice paint job.

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But before it can go back in...

...oh, my that fuel tank compartment under the bed is in need of some TLC.

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This is one of the most miserable frickin' jobs I have ever done on a vehicle. Good thing I am not claustrophobic! You've just got to squeeze yourself in there, but decide beforehand if you want to go in face up or face down. Both are needed to get the entire confined space cleaned (I used the POR-15 Marine Clean), hit it with Ospho, treated with POR-15, and painted. It was many many hours in a cramped space with not enough room to turn over, and using nasty chemicals. I suited up in my best PPE including an organic vapor mask and went to town. Came out much nicer!

I started with some POR-15 as a base:

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And finished with brushed-on automotive paint from Sherwin-Williams automotive division. They should now have a color map for L245 Light Gray.

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Then I strapped in and hooked up the new fuel tank. Looks lovely!

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Don't forget to wire up the fuel gauge sender.

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Button up those fire wall panels with some 3-M "Strip-Calk" and I can think about that nice space that I will not be in again.

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The PO got a bit carried away with the painting, and painted the gas cap. Razz

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It cleaned up nicely, with a lot of hand work.
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"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:17 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

That's a nice looking truck. Let me know if you want to return that truck to Texas.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:12 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

I had a vacuum leak, and I traced it down to the brake booster, so I pulled it out to send off to Brakes Materials and Parts
https://brakematerialsandparts.webs.com
in Indiana for a rebuild I have used them before and their work always is good.

And as long as I have the booster out, I may as well clean up the area around it, including the crusty bits around the brake fluid reservoir in the cab, right? Well, get some popcorn for this one...

Rather than write it all up here again, I will just refer to the thread that I already wrote on this topic:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=658661

And that's how a vacuum leak caused me to remove the rear window!
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"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:23 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

Ha! Yee! Just how a compression test leads to a brand new engine...

I enjoyed that story when it was written, thanks for putting it in context!
I’ve only laid under the rear seat of a double cab.... those can get cramped too, but nothing like the horrors of single cab gas tanks that Brian had told me about..

BMaP always does stellar work. A client used BusDepot’s new brake booster and found it WAY too sensitive, so he had the original rebuilt by them and the brakes are sublime.

Robbie
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jtauxe Premium Member
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Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 1:54 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

This (2016) is clearly the year for major work of all kinds on this truck, so let's do something different: Upholstery!

The blue vinyl upholstery was in the cab when I purchased the truck. It was not torn, but it was ugly and uncomfortable. And the driver's seat was shot -- rusted to hell and in pieces. Apparently, before one gets to do much about upholstery, one must have good seats to work with.

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Turns out that 1975 was a transition year for seats, and they are of a 1-year only design. Finding a replacement was going to be difficult. After a year or two, I did track one down at Way Out Salvage in Arkansas, and they sent it to me. Note how the mechanism for tilting the back works. It is like the '76 seats, but the spring is just a linear spring. In '76 this was replaced with a torsion spring built into the cross-tube.

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And cleaned up and ready to upholster:
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The 2/3-width passenger seat frame was in good shape, although its attachment to the bulkhead was the opposite of any I had seen on US Type 2s: The seat has a pin on it that slips behind the flat "finger" that is mounted to the vehicle. Here is the flat "finger"

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and here is the pin underneath it.

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Sewfine provided the materials for fresh upholstery. I went with a tweed in a beige-ish tome, since the original seat color was beige, but I can't stand sitting on vinyl. If some future owner wants to restore this to some original basketweave dunkelbeige, that's easy enough to do. The pickup bed makes such a perfect working surface.

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The inspectors approve.
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Headrests were an option since 1973, I expected that the factory would have included them on this truck, since it was so option-rich. So I got three matching headrest covers. I usually use just two, though.

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Like freshly-serviced door locks, new seat upholstery sure does improve the experience! Ah, the little things!
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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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jtauxe Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 3:16 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

Yeah. This happened four years ago... Been busy...

By mid-September 2016, the clean engine is back in, and the Weber carbs are dialed in with some help from Colin Kellogg. This 1800-cc Type IV is quite peppy with these carbs, and the truck, being relatively light weight, really hops. I can roar up Main Hill Road (the main road up into town, from about 5000 ft to 7000 ft elevation) and have to actually slow down for the S-curve at Anderson Overlook. Those who have drive into Los Alamos will know what I am talking about. Check it out on Google Earth!

Here are some photos of some of the service I did while the engine was out.

I replaced the crankshaft seal at the flywheel, as well as the graphite impregnated O-ring and, hmm... I'm gonna need the felt washer. End play seems fine still, at 0.005".

I have never been comfortable with they way the PO had put the oil pressure sender on a stalk:
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That just seems to be asking for trouble, as it would not take a lot of force to really mess up the threads in the block. I reverted to a stock pressure sender:
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May as well replace the dipstick boot while I have it all out and in front of me.
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I forget who it was, but some time ago someone here had recommended using Toyota truck spark plug boots instead of the original VW ones, which I have always had trouble getting to fit. I like 'em!
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I checked the function of thermostat with a heat gun and an infrared thermometer. This works really well to make sure it opens at the right temperature.
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I used new parts for the clutch, including a 215-mm flywheel, pressure plate, and disk.
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All cleaned up and ready to go back in!
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And I still like this Vintage Speed exhaust:
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_________________________________________________________

Some previous owner thought it would be cool to spray paint the engine compartment black, to match the cab interior and storage compartment I suppose. Here it is after I removed all the gunk and grime with POR-15's Metal Ready (pretty awesome grease remover!) and a lot of elbow grease.

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After painting, I took the time to clean up the wiring. Here is where the factory wiring for the rear fog light goes. The factory wire is black with a purple stripe, here replaced wit the purple wire.
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I also like to install a knife switch quick disconnect on the battery ground. This is sooo handy!
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Stuff 'er back in and off we go.
_________________________________________________________

One mile down the road at a stop sign... SMOKE AND SPARKS FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT! OH NO! PULL THE HELL OVER! I immediately turn off the ignition and coast into a parking lot. WTF? I open the engine compartment door to the hideous smell of an electrical fire, and see that the wires to the alternator are burnt to a crisp. Fortunately, that is all that is burnt to a crisp. Some of you know where this is going...

Yes, I had got a rebuilt Bosch alternator at the flaps, the AL75X. Now, this is not my first alternator replacement and I should know better, but I forgot to deal with the overly-long D+ post on the alternator, and sure enough (with just the right motion from the engine) the post touched the alternator cover and BAM! SPARKS AND SMOKE as it shorted out. I should have known better because this is a well-known problem with these alternators, and I have dealt with it before.

The FLAPS made good on it, as well as buying me a new alternator wiring harness, at another $80. This time, I cut short the D+ terminal and even made a gasket for the cover like it used to have.

Just another day in the life of a Type 2 owner... Razz
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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD


Last edited by jtauxe on Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
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babysnakes
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 5:49 am    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

jtauxe wrote:
Good thing I am not claustrophobic! You've just got to squeeze yourself in there, but decide beforehand if you want to go in face up or face down.
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And finished with brushed-on automotive paint from Sherwin-Williams automotive division. They should now have a color map for L245 Light Gray.

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Yeah....no thanks. I'm not claustrophobic just a wee bit larger than I'd like. I am so glad we had the load bed and top hats off on mine when this area was addressed. Cool
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jtauxe Premium Member
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Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:15 pm    Post subject: Re: The 1975 Single Cab that VW Germany built for VW Mexico Reply with quote

Now that the truck was back on the road, it was time to do some other jobs that have been put off. Like servicing lock mechanisms. The front door locks are a PITA to get in and out of the door, but having newly cleaned and lubricated locks that go snap! snap! when you turn the key is a real joy. I use liquid teflon spray on the advice of my locksmith.

The storage compartment locks are in good shape, fortunately, and a bit of cleanup make them work great. I sourced some keyhole covers for these, and need to install them. I'll do that (or someone will) after paint. I also sourced what may be the last two NOS rubber seals for the storage compartment locks. Those are definitely waiting for after paint, so in the mean time I am using some rubber cut to fit. Both storage compartment doors work nicely, and I must say that it is nice to have them on both sides.

Storage compartment lock, without cover and with temporary seal:
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The lock mechanism:
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NOS lock covers from Joanna Lau Jaime in the Philippines. though I do not know if these might be for an earlier design.
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These NOS seals are perfect. They may be the last of their kind. Sure would be nice if someone could reproduce them!
Part number 261 829 569A
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_________________
John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus
, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD
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