A Pick-Em Up Truck Tale - 1968 Double Cab

[SamboSamba22]

With great gratitude to John (jtauxe) I received the original blue PVC tilt a couple days ago. Now this thing is ratty, faded, torn, and everything else. BUT! It’s an original VW canopy. And I’m grateful to have it.

The plan is to use the canopy as a template for making another new canopy, using the original hardware for new components, location, sizing, etc...

So here it is, with zip ties and all. The canvas has been in storage, so the material needs to be stretched before it will completely attach to the gates as intended.

As you can see, the front and rear sections have separated from the main top section of the tilt. The work of getting all of the things back together is still in debate. I’m not sure of the best route to rejoin the canopy, this is a vinyl/tarp like material. Thoughts?
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The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[nynone4]

NICE!

I have a '70 crew cab and also recently purchased a Brazilian tilt canopy (can height) that is a similar rubberized canvas material. Mine is in similar condition and I had planned to have a friend use it as a template to build a replacement as well. Curious to see what you end up doing to salvage the original. I'll be watching!
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>>Looking for any and all Vic Williams, Peoria Illinois dealership items.<<

[Wasted youth]

[jtauxe]

That PVC canopy looks better than I remembered, but then, I never tried actually putting it on the frame.

Folks, that is the original blue 1978 canopy that came on the now-4-door DC.

I hemmed and hawed for a long time about repairing/rebuilding it, and then came across a NOS PVC one (which I still have but will be putting up for sale). Later, I decided that I want a cab-height canopy instead, and that will have to be built custom.
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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

[SamboSamba22]

[SamboSamba22]

[SamboSamba22]

Through relentless searches and communication with the very knowledgable and kind people here on the Samba, it’s seems that the 5-Rib 002 transmission (built for type 4 engine) never had the input shaft swapped or shorten to mate to a type 1 upright engine.
Basically the input shaft was bottoming out on the gland nut and eliminating endplay within the engines. (my logic and theory)
I have paperwork that came with the truck stating that the transmission was swapped out from the original to this 5-rib (pyramid) in 1992. I wonder how many motors it claimed?!

Image of the 5-rib transmission input shaft measured from the end of the guide tube for the throwout bearing:

I took this time to put a 3-rib transmission I cleaned up, and went ahead and cut the 11mm clearance needed from the type 4 input shaft to create the type 1 shaft. As can be seen here:

I am going to be putting in a brand new 1600 dual port for distance and reliability. With the engine and transaxle out, I took liberty to finally do something about the sad and ugly engine bay. Doesn’t make much sense to have a nice truck and not paint the engine bay does it?

So I blasted it, taped off a bunch of stuff and shot Epoxy primer and L87 single stage Pearl White. A engine bay refresh let’s say.

Reading the TDS, I was able to topcoat the epoxy just over an hour, so I did just that. Here is the freshly shot Pearl White (L87):

FINALLY PAINT! I just hated how ragged the rear looked compared to the rest of the truck. With a shotty respray decades ago, rust in a couple spots, a Klassicfab funky green battery tray, I had to do something. With a warmer weather window, I took all day to blast, strip, prime and paint, so glad I did too.
_________________
The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[SamboSamba22]

Upon numerous inquires from friends and strangers alike, whom all were just in complete misery that my bumpers were still rusty, mismatched paint, and chipping in their years of neglect, I finally painted them the correct Cloud White.
Reused all the original stuff, though my rear splash pans were really rough. New front bumper hardware from WW.

This past Saturday I drove up to my friend’s shop to change the ball joints on the bus. Using his lift, his ball joint press and tools, and his decades of experience, I was able to achieve some sore muscles, new ball joints, but mostly the knowledge on how to do these correctly.

Post Replacement. Total time just shy of 4 hours.
First 1 1/2? Locating all the necessary tools...

The driving experience after replacing the ball joints is just so much nicer. To actually have the front suspension articulate and function properly, I’ve gained peace of mind and the creature comforts of the Bay beam.

Shortly to be followed by my points burning up...but I died off in front of a nice neighborhood, which prompted a nice cameo.

Nothing like a breakdown on the way to your mom’s birthday lunch
_________________
The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[70Crew]

[SamboSamba22]

[SamboSamba22]

So the family has a camping trip planned for this weekend. We’ll be headed up to Bull Shoals from just south of Little Rock, which is going to be about a 400 mile round trip. Coming up to nearly 500 miles on the new engine, I decided to do the follow up break-in interval inspection on how things are coming along since the build.

Happy to say, with a magnetic oil drain plug, there was just the tiniest amount of “goop”. The drained oil also had the slightest amount of metallic sheen. Very pleased with that discovery.

I also pulled the plugs, knowing the bus has been running rich, with much idle time and engaged choke with the cold weather, short drives around town. I went ahead and changed the spark plugs since the were just sooted to something terrible. Discovered a broken clamp on the rubber boot on the dual port intake manifold. Changed that out, perhaps that busted dude was contributing to some of my 3rd gear pull hesitation.

Tracked down a NOS vacuum canister for my distributor, which I installed yesterday. Very pleased to have the proper advance again. Had to jump hoops to find distributor grease, but Amazon came through with some Lubicam.

Embarking tomorrow morning for the hilly Ozark’s, I’ve got fresh oil, fresh spark plugs, a functioning advance canister, adjusted carb, full tank, and a list of camping gear to sort this evening. I’ll be bringing plenty of tools, being this the first true shakedown of the engine and bus’ relationship.

Hope you guys have a damn good weekend, springs almost here.

Sam
_________________
The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[jtauxe]

Looking so nice!

I had the same issue with the bumpers on my 78 DC. It was all finished and beautiful, but the bumpers were still in faded Krylon, with chips and all. Looks good to have everything done.
_________________
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

[SamboSamba22]

A little recap from this past weekend’s adventure.
Location: Bull Shoals State Park; Bull Shoals, Arkansas
Total Mileage: 352 miles
Average MPG: 16.53mpg


Took off mid-morning Friday, headed up to Northwest Arkansas. This terrain is very hilly and curving, slicing roads through the beautiful Ozark Mountains. Much of this area has the Buffalo River carving it’s way through the hills, much to be seen and admired from the roads, with some great turn-off points if one wanted to expand their sight-seeing. If you guys have never been, and find yourself in the area, the Buffalo River is a great spot, many drop-in’s for floating and lots of lodging/campsites to enjoy the wonderful state of Arkansas.

This is an overflow cove/boat drop in on the lake side of the lake. The White River is fed by this lake, controlled by the Bull Shoals Dam. Built in 1951, it’s still within the top 10 largest dams in the United States.

The White River may ring a bell to some, for it’s the number 1 river for trout fishing in the United States. The Game and Fish spend hundreds of thousands maintaining and stocking the river with Rainbow and Brown Trout, bringing people from all over the world to some damn good fishing. Fortunately though, this time of year was just before the waves of people started, so the campsite was quiet and mostly desolate.


The first night was COLD. Low 20’s, camp was directly to the river (which of course is dam fed), winds, and you’ve got yourself some cold toes in the morning. We had fire both morning and night.

One of my favorite things is getting away from all the lights to appreciate the stars. Nothing like a cold night, without light pollution to gaze at the millennia. Capture here with iPhone’s “night photo”. Yeah, I know. You want pretty time-lapsed images, hit up google.

This was the first real camping I’ve done in the double. My setup consisted of a tarp across the tilt (it rained Sunday night), stationed in the bed of the bus my small 2-man tent, an air mattress, my Slumberjack sleeping bag, and all my miscellaneous gear.

Full size air mattress and tarp setup was pretty legit, though I’m thinking of getting a larger tarp to have rain coverage on both sides. I’m also thinking about getting a canopy from a sporting shop (the bug netting ones) removing the canopy aspect and using the tilt to hold everything up for spring/summer camping. The roofing will be again, a larger tarp for wind and rain coverage. This will allow leaving the side gates up, and using the tail gate as the “door” for the make-shift tent.

Overall, a damn good time. One thing I noticed there was a lot of 3rd climbing the hills. Not that I think it’s off by much, but since replacing the vacuum canister on the distributor, I’m going to double check my timing, I feel as if I can advance it another couple of degrees for better climbing abilities. I need to get an alignment, and investigate the chatter I’m getting from up front. I’m leaning towards a wheel bearing as it’s relative to speed and tire rotation. Nothing like a 300 mile shakedown trip. I plan on attending the Foul Air 500 later this month. A 500 mile road trip VW caravan through the Ozarks of Arkansas and Oklahoma, as I’ve wanted to participate for some years now.


Happy cruising,
Sam
_________________
The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[Wasted youth]

So glad to read your trip report! Good for you for getting out there and living it, man. Envious!

I know you know that you can do the front end alignment all by yourself. I learned on this forum how to do it from solid people before me. My ‘73 tracks nice and straight after the front beam refresh.

[EliasP]

That truck looks really good! I like that condition, fresh and nice, but not so overrestored that you don't dare to use it. I like the chapel and the logos too.
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Why have a good looking face? You can't even see your own face!

[SamboSamba22]

[SamboSamba22]

[Wasted youth]

Put a handful of pine sawdust in the steering gearbox like a pimpin’ used car salesman. Guaranteed to quiet it down and make it feel nice and tight!

[Wasted youth]

By the way, hit up eBay or Etsy and put some period bumper stickers on there. Something like a Nixon sticker or some Carter administration thing.

[SamboSamba22]