1978 Champagne first bus

[airschooled]

Don't over-adjust the steering box to compensate for shortcomings in other rods.

Have a helper QUICKLY snap the wheel back and forth through the free play while you put your hands and eyes on each steering components. The drag link is the #1 suspect, which is easily replaceable but takes some time to dial in, if its your first time. Tulsa, 2020 Tour, anyone?

Robbie
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[Alan Brase]

Would not be all that hard to make that side straight again. I'd use a Spitznagel Dentfix. It just spot welds the end on, then a slide hammer to pull back the dent a little. Just gotta work it out- last in, first out. Kinda like an old time slide hammer puller, but no holes to fill.
Badly inked areas like the panel flanges you'll have to get behind them with a sharp tool and reform the factory bends.
I've got a 1983 Vanagon 50k mile original paint car that some young woman tried to drive thru me while I was stopped on the road.
I'll try to save some of the original paint.

I've got some experience pulling collision damage, but right now I'll have to make do with improvised equipment.
That's a brand new genuine VW inner and outer rocker laying on the floor, if I need them. I hope I don't.
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Al Brase
Projects: 67 sunroof bug, 67 Porsche 912 Targa, 70 Westy
Dec 1955 Single Cab pickup WANT 15" BUS RIMS dated 8/55, thru 12/55
To New owners: 1969 doublecab, 1971 Dormobile
Vanagons:
80 P27 Westy JUL 1979, 3rd oldest known US
83 1.6TD Vanagon, 87 Wolfie Westy daily driver, swap meet home

[Brian]

[secretsubmariner]

Thanks Jason! I appreciate you man.

Robbie, thanks for the quick tip - the drag link is something I hadn't even researched yet. Found it at bughaus for $65, seems easier than torsion leaves! I'll follow that guidance and eventually report back with what's what. and DUDE, I totally want you to come through Tulsa. Fingers crossed, but there's always next year. I'm going to take some vacation from work next time you're around so we can hit the town together. You're always welcome here!

Alan, thanks for the insight. Sorry to hear about your Vanagon dude, that color combo is one of my favorites on those. I appreciate the tips, but Ill never be a bodywork kinda guy. I understand the basics about rust conversion and treatment, and I'm leaving it at that for now. There are too many tools and supplies and knowledge needed. With all my other hobbies and activities there is just no way I'll ever get into bodywork.

Pretty much every time I take it out, a stranger asks me if I'm going to paint it. Don't they understand how much I spent on these OEM scratches and dents?


Brian, I wish you could join Robbie on a trip to the midwest. I've only ever driven two other buses, Stu's Maisy and a 1968 deluxe that my friend was selling several years ago. There really is no better feeling than driving your own. It's dope! Oh, and no window trades for the moment, sorry bud! The Champagne has a lightly green-tinted glass. I can't part the windows from the car. I'm doing a modest stock build, with some reversible light modernization to suit my needs. My next one though (don't tell my GF there's a next one just yet) I will definitely be wanting to get a little more wild. It will absolutely be a late bay with sliding windows, and you'll be first on my list for a window trade
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-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[notchboy]

[secretsubmariner]

I'll spare the pics but the accelerator cable stretched or something on me and I lost the pedal while cruising today. I was going like 39 uphill, all was good, then I had sort of a lugging and my cable popped. I managed to coast up the rest of the hill and into a neighborhood. It was tight. That's the current #1 contender for power loss right now. Throttle wasnt opening the right way.

My 500 miles of shaking out the bugs continue.
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-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[secretsubmariner]

After looking at the cable, I saw an enormous amount of slack between the throttle body and the firewall.

No wonder the pedal stopped working. How TF did this happen?
Here's a crap pic...during diagnosis. Previously I maybe had 1.5 inches of leftover cable poking through the barrel. This image shows I have way more than that.

I'm pasty as fuck in this lighting but it was 95 degrees with humidity at 1,000,000% so I didn't bother taking the time to get any gofundme #vanlife portraits of the issue lol

So, all of a sudden my cable just grew 2 or 3 inches? It looks awesome like I said before, tightly wound, no fraying, mostly clean, but dry. So dry. I lubed the crap out of it before I reinstalled.

There was also a piece of hose between the metal tube and the firewall, something I didn't notice prior to engine install. I think this may have been a leftover band-aid I tried out when I had a brief spell with dual carbs and I had to move the cable a little bit. I don't know. Maybe that was hanging it up somehow, and when it gave out, the slack was released? That doesn't really make sense and I don't have the energy to focus on random theories.

So for now I have 2 accelerator cables on order, and my old cable has been adjusted. It responds nicely, the throttle has a broad range again. I haven't taken it for a spin yet but I will soon. I guess I've just lost a little bit of confidence. 130 miles, zero breakdowns. Then 2 breakdowns back to back. I'm already almost out of free AAA tows for the year I guess these are those fabled shakedown miles I've read about - the first 300 or 500 miles after sitting and rebuild are when you really face the little things that can go wrong...right? Somebody please tell me it's going to be okay

Next time, I'm DEFINITELY bringing my tools with me when I drive.
_________________
-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[secretsubmariner]

I managed to swing a brown rubber cargo mat from the classifieds here. Took it upon myself to scrub the cargo floor and wash the mat before swapping out the carpet.

It looks really good in there, but the bolts I have for the seat arent long enough so my middle seat cant bolt down yet.

Here's some cleanup pics:

The mat hanging out to dry:

Some evidence of the wreck, a torn seat cover:

And the fade from the OG corduroy color to what most champagnes exhibit in present day:

I guess I'm gonna need to nab some longer bolts and I'll be ready to roll. No more orange fibers hanging in the air from the old carpet lol.

I didnt go all out on the floors yet, when my GF and I get a bigger house next year I plan to solve a lot of my surface rust all over the bus. It can wait another year or two, I've got my eye on it.
_________________
-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[secretsubmariner]

The bolts I acquired from bughaus a few years ago are a few mm longer than the other bolts I had, so I did some swapping and gog the middle seat mounted on two bolts. I'll get a few more to finish it up soon. Looks good! I even found some better screws for the deluxe slider door floor strip.

I also realized that my champagne middle seat kick panel broke...
Good thing I have a spare! Unobtainium!

And I found a little brown screw cap, so I put it on a screw lol. I have the brown metal cover for this area, but I'm holding off until I get the seat pedestal mats. Then this area is going to really come together!

That's all for now. Waiting on bughaus for my little order, spare throttle cables and a new Bowden tube. My current one is split pretty badly and I think its contributing to my rough shifting.
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-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[notchboy]

That turned out nice
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[secretsubmariner]

Thanks, man! Still keeping my eye open for a brown front floor mat and walk-through mat
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-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[secretsubmariner]

Robbie stopped by the ol' Cherokee Nation for some fun on Tulsa Time.

He did most of the labor this time, trying to keep my somewhat recently injured back on the road to recovery.

Front shocks were swapped out with new, resistor pack for the fuel injectors replaced, a full-ass tank of gas added, steering box adjusted, blower fan harness plug repaired, ignition circuit repaired, engine properly timed. Drives pretty good now! Lots of power, no hesitation, and just a little bit of CRUD in the fuel filter.

The power wire to the fuel pump was only crimped on to about half of the strands of the wire. I wonder if that contributed to that pump failing early? It whined and pissed and moaned constantly. The new pump (red in the picture) is quiet, uses the proper rubber mounts, and has all around been far more pleasant that the way-too-expensive-to-have-already-shit-the-bed bosch fuel pump.

Thanks again, Robbie! Let's do it again sometime!

Buddy and Fatman

Fatman and Littleboy

Pumpin' ain't easy

Robbie with the fabled AFC FI manual

Didn't take a lot of pics, but the bus is finally (again) back (again) running (again) pretty good! We played lots of frisbee, drank a shit ton of beer, and ate some tasty food. It was tight.

Next on the list: interior upgrades, wiper relay, wax, match the remaining lock cylinders to my key, passenger side window seals.

Thanks for tuning in!
_________________
-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[notchboy]

Sweet.

Robbie needs a haircut.
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[secretsubmariner]

Well, we did trim each other's pubes, so we got that going for us.

We were wearing masks, don't worry
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-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[notchboy]

[Kirk]

[Kirk]

[vwwestyman]

[Kirk]

[secretsubmariner]

Damn boys! I didn't notice this thread had replies. Kirk, glad to see you're still kickin'! And You're taller than you look in pictures! LOL

Lately the bus has been driving really well. Lots of power in all gears, no complaints except my gas gauge is on and off working correctly.

ANYWAY- No period of high-bliss comes without a little issue popping up to say hello.

I have a question and I'm having a hard time narrowing my search.

I noticed while driving that my brakes feel kinda funky. I can push the pedal down about 1/3 of the way, and it kinda feels like I'm braking, but then I hit a "wall" - as in the pedal is not as easy to depress, and stopping becomes more effective at this point.

I bled brakes at the same time I replaced my rear shoes and brake hardware, it must have been 5 years ago, ish? In that time I've only put like, 100 miles on the car (because of rebuild and, and, and)

What does this sound like? Should I bleed the brakes again and see if that improves? I read in a thread that brakes should be bled every two years....not sure if that's accurate. I'm hoping my MC isn't starting to poop out on me, so some steps in the right direction would be super helpful.
_________________
-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI