bought my first

[-gameboy-]

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/motoracergabe/PICT0077.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/motoracergabe/PICT0075.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/motoracergabe/PICT0078.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/motoracergabe/PICT0076.jpg

there it is. i bought it from an old man last saturday. i got a good deal on it. i paid $1000. it's a '71 w/ stock engine (rebuilt) and carb (replaced). it runs really well and i am so happy that i bought it. back at home (el paso, tx) me and my brother have a '71 squareback. he's driving that over there right now. i'm in phoenix going to school and plan to move back around next april.

the guy gave me the service records back to '94 with it, he said he has the others back to '71 also but justs needs to find them. on the last service it says "need CV joint bushings replaced and repacked soon" (something like that). the interior is really trashed, he used it to haul his huge dogs around. but over all it's really solid. there is some surface rust, nothing major. as you can see in the pics the engine was really taken care of.

i can take it on the freeway with no problem, it does better than my squareback. i cruised around quite a bit this last weekend with no problems until last night. i was driving back from school at around 9pm, and at a stop it just dies! as if i just turned the key off! the lights and stuff are on still, i start it with no problem. at every stop it dies (or wants to) i give it little bit of gas to keep it going. it doesn't idle rough or anything, it just dies. it idles really well and drives great, i just hope it's not a huge problem.


anyone in the pheonix area? maybe we can get together and hang out...?

well... i love the bus!
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'73 bay window
'77 baja bug
'71 squareback

[Randy in Maine]

Make sure that you valves are correctly adjusted, points right on the money, the timing is at the Bentley spec as is the idle speed. Would be nice to know athat the distributor is advancing and retarding correctly and has a nice smooth advance/retard action when your light is on it. No "static timing" for this stock distributor, got to have a light. Make sure the vacuum hoses are hooked up correctly and you have no vacuum leaks.

Also make sure the idle solenoid cut off valve is tightly attached to the carb and is infact working.

There should be a wire that starts at the coil, travels to the solenoind and then continues on to the electric choke. With the key in the "on postition" but not running, remove the wire from the solenoind and listen for a click. If it does not click 8 out of 8 times, replace the solenoid.

[visibleink]

Gotta love 71 buses!
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

[Crippler]

hey little bro, get yourself a Bentley manual already.

71 is a good year huh. now you have your OWN car to mash around with. i think the square is getting rebuilt next week. then when it gets back, i am gonna order the alternator and start on the stereo wiring. w00t.

we need pictures of the VWs together.
laters
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1973 VW bus

[steponmebbbboom]

nice bus.

that distributor is an 009. They dont have vacuum advance and dont perform well because they cant adjust timing to account for load. You need to get an SVDA distributor (with vacuum advance) either from California Imports or from aircooled.net. The ac.net distributor is more expensive but is recurved to fit your engine and application. It also comes with after sales support which no one else really offers. As of now that is the supplier I recommend.

[Randy in Maine]

Also order yourself up 4 of these http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=251598201 and buy one of these also http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=5796

Then go here and read up....

http://www.type2.com/bartnik/cvjoints.htm

It will take you about most of a day rebuilding them but then they are good to go for about 30K when they get repacked again.

[Desertbusman]

Hey it's good to see another bus on the Arizona road. Your engine looks like it's correctly put together, as far as an original configuration goes. And you even have a preheat hose setup. Don't think I've ever seen one around here before.
First- spend your $30 and get a Bentley Manual. You can pick one up at Karl's or BAP. They're in the phone book.
Then go to the maintenance section of the Bentley and start going through all the regular maintenance proceedures. You will quickly find out what's in good shape and what needs attention.
As far as the stalling at idle, start with adjusting the carb. Do it exactly as Bentley says. These carbs are apt to need it from time to time. Today we started to shift from nice weather into our desert weather. If my carbs need tinkering with it's always at the weather transitions. Spring and Fall. Don't worry about changing your distributor. At least not until you take care of all the maintenance items and drive it a while to get used to it. Many of us here favor the 009's. Our prefered dizzy. Maybe it's because of our low humidity and high temps. Just be sure the timing is set the way a 009 is set and not the way a vac advance distributor is set.
Actually, with the total well being of your bus, the challenge will be in another month or so. And how well it does in the heat.

Tomorrow night (Friday) around 7 or 7:30 there should be a bunch of VW's at the Sonic Drive-in in Tempe on East Broadway Road. 2nd Friday of every month. Usually from a handful of them to a big bunch. They come and go. All types.
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71 Superbug
71 Westy

[dopey]

nice bus! i think that one dent might be a bit hard to take out though, the one at the back.

[-gameboy-]

well i got it fixed. a couple of the vacuum hoses were loose and cleaned the idle jet. it's idling really good now. i'm gonna take it next week to get the valves adjusted along with a good tune up, i'm gonna order the CV joint boots and put those on also.

but man i love this feakin' bus. it's awesome! everyone always waves and says "nice ride!".

i'm all hippy now
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'73 bay window
'77 baja bug
'71 squareback