Fixing Up My Bus - 1978 Kombi!

[Pinetops]

Don't the rear vanagon wheels require a special type of lug nut? Do you know if I could just take the wheels and nuts off a a vanagon and use those same lug nuts on a bay? I wouldn't mind a set of fuchs (or similar) either but really I've got a paint job to pay for before that happens. Plus I have a newish set of hankooks to wear out first!

[Stuartzickefoose]

[Daverham]

yes, you could use nuts from a Vanagon, but you'll need to get two Vanagon's worth, and they are uglier than the ones linked below. More info:

• Vanagons use NUTS on the back, BOLTS on the front.
• Bays use nuts all the way around, but they are not the same nuts that you want to use with Vanagon alloys. Your Bay steel wheel nuts have a BALL-shaped seat. The alloys have a CONE-shaped seat.
• So, if you want to put Vanagon alloys on your bus you're going to need two-vanagon's worth of (rear), cone-seat nuts that are made to work with the alloys.

Save yourself the trouble and get 20 of these nice, capped nuts from T3:
http://t3technique.com/lug-nuts-studs-and-bolts/19mm-closed-conical-seat-lug-nuts.html

Don't forget: You want the CONE seats, not BALL seat.

[Pinetops]

[Pinetops]

[Stuartzickefoose]

[Daverham]

Stuart came over to work off some of his parts tab and I caught him doing god-knows what to my steering wheel. I didn't even ask. He does good work. It's best to just let him do his thing.

Turns out he was chasing down a missing horn wire. Great. While the Teenage Bus Monkey (That's Stuart) did that, I set out to weld up this rusty hole. Looks pretty simple...

But.... after cutting out the cancerous metal (5 minutes) I spent a good 30+ minutes fishing a RATS NEST out from behind it with coat-hangers and a vacuum. The little bastard had pine cones, ferns, seeds, nuts and all kinds of damp, decaying organic matter in there. It was a regular mulch pile, but I got it all eventually. Then dried it out and sprayed some rust-converter all around in there just to be safe. The rest of the surrounding metal was totally solid. No problem.

Onward! Welding in a fresh patch of steel. I used some leftover metal from when I did the rear corner, a few weeks ago.

All welded up.

A dash of primer and close-enough-for-now blue spray paint will get me by until I take her to the body shop one of these days. No filler used at all! I also snuck some etching primer onto the back of it through a little drainage hole underneath.

To celebrate, we drove up to Lynwood to get some caliper rebuild kits, VC gaskets and other fun stuff for another day. That's me on the left, Stuart in the middle and his friend on the right... mike?

Good day!

[Stuartzickefoose]

[Daverham]

I'm at jury duty today and tomorrow. Brought my laptop. So lots of updates for you fine folks!

The old beast is running like a champ and I'm working on her constantly. Little upgrades, endlessly....

3 weeks ago I took her 500 miles from Seattle to Whistler BC. Great trip! Full report here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=518673

Quick Summary:
Camped 4 days in DUMPING rain. Mountain biked a lot. Drank a lot of whisky. Stayed totally dry and happy in my bus with my awning up.

Then, last weekend, my wife and I went camping on Camano Island:

I've added pics to the "wilderness" thread and others, so trying to not over do it here.


Just now, I found this old pic and uploaded it. This is a good "BEFORE" to compare with my "CURRENTLY" pic at bottom. This is what she looked like after I got her on the road. Rusted through in both the front and rear corners.

Recent work has included:
• An oil change (including removing the strainer and a pile of sludge)
• The horn is working now.... via the defroster switch! Defrost was gutted anyway.
• New VWoA dealer-optional roof rack (love this!), which I promptly painted white with thick, oil-based, brush-on, rust-inhibiting paint.

I also have made a few small but significant interior changes:
• I sawed the corner off my table. MUCH easier access to jump seat now (I made that table in the first place, so it's cool!)
• Installed a paper-towel rack inside my little cabinet. I'm ALWAYS using paper towels while camping. This is a great use of otherwise dead space. Perfect.
• Added a couple more hooks to my cabinet. I always have stuff to hang up. Keys, hat, lights, etc. Needed more than one.

Here's the most current pic.

Plans for the next week:
• Lower the rear 2 inches (1 spline) to level her out.
• Get an alignment

[Daverham]

Damn! I can't edit my thread title. I realized a long time ago that my bus wasn't actually a "kombi" - it's a 9 passenger "Transporter" or "Station Wagon" I guess. Oh well.

I've never seen a vehicle with so many &%$#@! different names!

[Stuartzickefoose]

[Daverham]

I'm going to finish lowering the back whenever I can - been busy - fitting it in between dinner and appointments, etc. The rest of this week is madness, all day and night.

Then, I'm thinking a proper alignment. See what effect all that has.

Then the calipers rebuild.

[secretsubmariner]

Lookin' good man! Sweeeeeet bus.
_________________
-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[Stuartzickefoose]

[Daverham]

OK. Sounds like a good idea. Thanks! Meanwhile in my bus's slow return to glory...

Yesterday I finally made a proper cover for PO's fuel sender repair hole. Even though it' always under a mattress... this has been on my mind for years. Maybe I'll sleep better now.

Here's what PO left me, from a previous post:

So I made the trek out to see Ken at the Bus Co. He let me hack a piece of floor from another bus. Much better:

But then that rusty engine hatch caught my eye, so A little sanding and spray paint was in order:

Much better!

Ken also let me rifle through his box of switches where I found this neato red one. Looks like maybe a flasher switch with the graphics buffed off, if that's possible. I punched out one of the blanks in my dash and installed this as my new defroster-booster switch. I love the factory look and feel. And it lights up when it's on. Bonus coolness!

[Stuartzickefoose]

why not run the defrost thru the green, and the horn through the red? swap the lenses, they unscrew to the left. then the horn will be the BIG RED BUTTON ....lol
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[secretsubmariner]

Dude I have the very same looking floor patch! Much better than leaving it open, and easy for when you need to access that crap. Love the light up knob too!
_________________
-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[Daverham]

Here's another batch of photos for my "main" thread here, since it's been a little while...



Here's my bus reflected in a GTI logo, captured at a stoplight on the way home from work today:

A 2008 Google Street View. This was before I bought her (in 2009). This is right where I found her when I responded to the FOR SALE ad. Rats and all:

Really enjoying/using the new rack. Yakima bike rack clamped on no problem:

That's right, she's a SHOW BUS now. NW Vintage Meet, by Cascade Komibs. What a great show:

Here's a good look at my completed lowering job. 2.5 inch drop spindles in front and lowered by a single inner torsion bat "click" in the rear:

One of my favorite camping pics from this summer, Camano State Park, with clovers:

The day after the Vintage Meet we took the ferry over to Bremerton for Bug Nationals. I love getting first position on the ferry! You can just sit in the bus and watch the whole trip. Great!

[Stuartzickefoose]

that last two pics could be added to the busses on ferry's thread thats somewhere around here...
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[Kirk]

I LOVE that last pic. Thanks for sharing.
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