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Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968?
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aeromech
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 8:46 am    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

If you want info on why I don’t think installing disc brakes is a good idea then send me an email or pm
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Thoragaverung
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 12:34 pm    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

consvws wrote:
Talk to vw about every other change they made then. Buy a 73 & up if you are worried. They are reinforced in the front & rear quite a bit. A 68 is like a tin can still. The firewall would be the least of my concern if I was thinking about safety. Too each his/her own, please show pictures of how you do it. I'm curious to see how you get it done.

Conrad


That's good intel. I found images of the 73 and up triangulated framing: that would be the better option. Thank you.

I may start looking for 73's and up. The 68 bus I'm looking at needs too much $ just to go down the road. I collected all the likely parts costs, and even counting zero for labor (mine) the end cost of the bus would be way underwater for what it's worth.

I know these buses will never be as safe as contemporary vehicles and that's not the point. I kind of regard them as a slow boxy motorcycle in terms of occupant protection... But if you can protect yourself better than not from, say, a deer hit, that's something anyway.
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fez68
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 5:57 pm    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

I currently have a 68 bus . I used to have a 71 camper and a 73 tintop yrs ago. I prefer the look of the early bays. I don't have a firewall in mine. But when I bought it someone had screwed a 71 firewall in there with sheet metal screws. I took it out ( and allot of mouse shit and nesting!)

The 71 is a great yr . Pretty much the same look but you get disk brakes and a firewall.

Sometimes its better to search threads for an answer rather than ask it. Its seems like the same people always answer and then they all get into an argument and your sitting there still without an answer. I just built my first engine , i didnt ask a single question on here about it. I definetly had allot. I just kept searching other threads and weeded through people arguing and made my own decisions. best of luck on the bus hunt!
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aeromech
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 7:12 pm    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

1971 is my favorite model and I’ve owned 3.
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Angus II
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

Hello, ^^^
Ditto, on what he said about the 71 Baywindows.
A very classic year. Hence: the one year only parts/options and upgrades. The last of the Mohicans as to say, for the type I engine for the U.S. market export in the VW bus.
Three is a good start...harder to find these days in decent condition though, let alone stock configuration .

But. I'm a cheap old bastard, that doesn't like to do rusted panel repairs anymore and correcting previous owners bright ideas... Yet, 71s were easier to find unmolested and less weathered 20-25 years ago...
I'm glad I found Gus, my latest 71 full westy bus... from the original family/owners, pretty much unmolested five years ago. A very rare survivor at an unbelievable low price...

Oh, and Fez. We don't always argue here....but, good point and observation.
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Thoragaverung
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:54 am    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

fez68 wrote:
Sometimes its better to search threads for an answer rather than ask it. Its seems like the same people always answer and then they all get into an argument and your sitting there still without an answer.


I did do a search first. Maybe I did it poorly but I didn't find much about firewall retrofits. Just about how to remove them for gas line replacements.

TheSamba is one of the most info-rich forums I've seen, and I've been on many, depending on which project car I've been obsessively working on.

My wife asked me last week how many different cars I've owned. I didn't tell her. The answer is 34, and about 24 of those weren't daily drivers. My dailies tend to be nicer going-to-town rigs that I keep 6 to 8 years. All the rest of those cars were projects that I fixed up, enjoyed, and then sold on.

I suspect a Westy will be in a new class: a project car I fix up, enjoy, and actually keep. I'm getting close to retirement now and I'd like to continue enjoy camping but maybe without having to crawl muddily into a tent and sleep with my back on hard tree roots.
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Abscate
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:45 am    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

The people who do answer know their sh*, and will state their opinions too.


The debate over opinion vs facts is easy to sort out and may or may not be relevant to your situation.

Most people should not be throwing disc brakes on these cars to get ‘ better braking’ , they should be fixing their drum brakes first. If you don’t know why not, you definitely shouldn’t be doing it.
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sodbuster
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 3:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

Thoragaverung wrote:
I saw the bus yesterday. It's remarkably rust-free, especially for Minnesota, but needs a lot. I am toting up the parts costs now.

Why do rubber seal kits costs so darn much? LOL.


Most aftermarket companies like west coast metric and wolfsberg west offer "whole bus" rubber kits. One part number does the majority of the bus for one price. offered for passenger models and campers. Idea
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busdaddy
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Is it possible to retrofit a firewall to a 1968? Reply with quote

Abscate wrote:
Most people should not be throwing disc brakes on these cars to get ‘ better braking’ , they should be fixing their drum brakes first. If you don’t know why not, you definitely shouldn’t be doing it.

Exactly, stuff like that is usually the result of magazines promoting what their advertisers are selling, as mentioned above you have to "weed through" opinions and answers to boil it down to the facts.

As for the price of seals?, consider the tooling required to make the parts, that's a major investment by itself, and then sitting on a batch of the product until it sells makes the bank grumpy. Be happy somebody went to the trouble to make parts for a 50 year old machine.
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