New to the Club - '64 Split Window Camper

[Eric&Barb]

[Waterborn]

Cool, thanks for the confirmation! Just wanted to be sure before I placed an order.

Have you ever done the armature upgrade from 6v to 12v? Currently running a 6v motor on a 12v system with one of those janky voltage drop pieces. Was looking into getting the 12v armature from WW, but saw a few notes that they are a bit to big in diameter and need to be whittled down a bit to work correctly.

[Eric&Barb]

You can instead install a buck adjustable converter as long as it has at least 10 Amps rating, but higher is probably better:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-DC-15A-Buck-Adjustable...2675836256

If you are good at a little solder/wiring, install a PWM for adjustable wiper speed:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-6V-90V-15A-Pulse-Width...3075821993

Then it is a lot easier to pick up 6 volt wiper motors as needed down the road.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[Waterborn]

Ordered a pair of block adjusters some time ago but could not for the life of me figure out how to hook one up.

[Eric&Barb]

[Waterborn]

[Eric&Barb]

[Waterborn]

Pulled my flip up table the other day to move it a bit forward. When I installed new cushions and fabric on my Z-bed, it extended out about 1" too far to allow the table to come up with the bench setup. When I removed the old table to move I realized that it was pretty rotted and most of the screws had stripped. Eventually I plan to redo the entire interior with the aid of a friend who is an awesome wood worker. For now I just want to rebuild a slightly skinnier table using new wood, hinges (old ones were pretty rusty) and screws. Was having trouble tracking down trim to replace the old stuff, but thanks to another thread here at Samba I located what I need at Vintage Trailer Supply. Going to No Dough in two weeks and can probably find some there, but hoping to get a temporary solution in place in time for the trip.

New template and leg on top of old table

Trim in question that I am looking to replace. Going to get some that is a bit wider so that I can do an inlay top and cover it with resin.

[Waterborn]

Been a while since I posted. Lot has happened IRL and it’s been a bit overwhelming. On the bus front i finally found somebody that knew what they were doing to fix my trans, so no more leaks there. Shortly after that was fixed I got some metal work done on the outriggers, jack mounts and both inside/outside rockers. Have some more work to be done on the cargo floor but need to pull the camper interior out first to provide access to the areas that need welding. Decided to upgrade the engine in the meantime so moving up a notch from my stock dual port 1600 to a 1776. That work should be done this week. Also got in the proper seals for the side windows so need to install those. Finally did more work on the interior table. Started out looking pretty good then ran into issues with the epoxy not setting up due to recent heat and humidity compounded with the lack of a propped garage or shop to work in. Hopefully that will be changing soon but holding off on specifics as I don’t want to jinx anything.

Anyway, just wanted to give a quick update to let everyone know I’m still out here. Will post some pics when I get a moment. My goal is to have my bus ready for BulliBrigade in Daytona in November so fingers crossed.

[Waterborn]

Man has the summer flown by! Never did get those pics up but decided to try to do another quick update with a few photos. Not sure where to start. As mentioned previously, was working on doing a custom table for the interior. The first attempt at glassing the top did not go well, but the design was solid. Found the table trim at VTS but need to get some more for the next attempt. Below are a few pics of the table before I messed it up with a the resin.

Here is a pic of the new 1776 engine that went in about a month ago

Trans is still without leaks and had a new wiring harness put in. Amazing how much nicer it is when all the electrical stuff (blinkers, brake lights, horn etc) works like it's supposed to!

Ran into a couple of issues along the way over the summer. At one point I had to limp home with a busted set of valve rockers. Towed the bust to my mechanic and he stood by his work on the engine which he built. Fixed everything and did not charge me a dime. Nice to know there are still a few people in this world that understand integrity. Below are some pics of my baby on her first trailer tow trip.

One AWESOME development over the summer is that the wife and I bought our first house! It came with a large (45' x 36') concrete slab in back that is completely fenced in, has 110 and 220V power wired to it and is going to be PERFECT for a garage/man cave. Having plans drawn up and hope to begin construction of that early next year. In the meantime here a few pics of the new hacienda.

Found this cool vintage Pepsi cooler that goes well with the blue paint "job" on my bus (using the term paint job VERY loosely here)

Put a vintage 1964 Florida plate on the front of the bus as decoration.

Been wanting to get new rims and tires for the bus for some time now and as luck would have it, events forced me to finally drop the $ on this upgrade. I noticed that my front right tire was heavily worn on the outside tread, to the point that I was concerned about the tire blowing out while I was on my daily drive to work.

So I decided to put the spare that came with the bus on and run on that until the new tires and rims that I ordered came in. BAD IDEA. THIS is what happened after just one drive to work. About halfway to work I noticed a bit of a wobble in the steering, which I had never experienced before. So I pulled over to take a look at the tires. Good thing I did as the spare was literally disintegrating.

Obviously I dodged a big bullet on this one. Another mile or two on that tire and I would have been in a world of trouble.

So new tires and rims arrived yesterday and I had them mounted, balanced and installed today. Then took the bus to another mechanic to have the alignment checked. Low and behold the wear on my front right tire was caused by a serious toe-in issue. So get that alignment checked regularly folks! I was going to have the rims powder coated, but after reading all the blow out horror stories and given my recent close call I decided to stay with the off white color for now. I have four old rims from the old set that I can have repainted at my leisure if I want or I might sell them Check out the new shoes.

Next up is going to be replacement overriders on the front and rear bumper. Just need to paint them first. As you can see, the old ones are toast.

Well that's it for the update now. Will post more pics once I get the overriders painted and installed. In the meantime, Life Is Good in South Florida. Cheers!

[Waterborn]

Hard to believe that it has been over a year since my last post. So much has happened since then. With COVID keeping my wife working from the house I took my bus to East Coast Restorations in St Augustine Fl for some much need metal replacement and some other upgrades, including new safari windows and new seals for the side windows on the cab. They had my baby from May through last week but the wait was worth it.

Cargo floor was replaced.

Once that was done they lined the floor to protect it from all the salt water that I tend to get in the bus.

Cab floor was also replaced and lined.

Bottom of the cargo doors were patched.

Rockers on both sides were replaced.

I finally have my safari windows! So needed here in south Florida for these hot summers.

Front apron was also replaced. You can see what a good job they did matching the old paint job.

Next up, my second attempt at the table for the interior of the bus and rebuilding of the benches and Z bed. As you can see, I am making 3 tables to ensure that at least one of them comes out proper this time.

I drove her down A1A to get back home to Fort Lauderdale and will post pics from that trip later this weekend.

[EliasP]

Looks good! Is it going to be like that or are you planning to repaint the bus?
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Why have a good looking face? You can't even see your own face!

[Waterborn]

Thanks! Originally I had planned to get her repainted in a more pristine fashion, but East Coast Restorations did such a good job of matching the Hippie Paint Brushed Blue that I think I may keep it this way. People seem to love it!

As mentioned in my previous post, I drove her back down A1A and LOVED the ride.

My friend Dave loved the new Safari's.

I stopped by one of my favorite places in Flagler County for a little photo op.

Then we headed down the beach in Daytona. You never know what you will see driving down the sand. I had some additional pics from this stretch of the trip, but apparently they did no meet community muster. Oh well.

Stopped on Flagler Beach for a rest and a beverage.

And ran into a new artist friend along the way.

And took in the sunset near my favorite Taco joint in Cocoa Beach.

Finally got her back in her proper berth.