Bringing a '73 Westy back to life...

levi20AE · Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 9:01 pm Post subject:

Thanks.

Got around to welding in the v-band fitting for the muffler. No more exhaust leaks for good... i hope... One of the copper nuts decided to destroy the threads on the stud. That was a pain to remove. Does anyone have suggestions on high quality hardware for those nuts? I have used aviation quality "jet nuts" in the past for turbo to header applications but that seems over kill here.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Found another picture from last weekend with the bus in it.

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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 8:21 pm Post subject:

this weekend I got around to toying with the carbs and installing a dual bank battery charger on the bus.

My idle has recently sounded like it was missing so I decided to clean the idle jets and install jet doctor kits to prevent future idle circuit clogs. Well after installing the jet doctor kit the idle still didn't sound super smooth but was better, but that could have been the carb syncing as well... I went ahead and added a set of short velocity stacks to as well to see if they helped the midrange torque.

The battery charger was from ProMariner, its the Prosport 20 model and was extremely simple to install. It automatically charges the house and starter battery anytime power is connected to the 120V.

Today the upholster and I finished making the curtains, child's cot and a privacy screen from the front windshield. The material is from sunbrella so it should hold up to the elements and resist sun fading. Here is picture of the cot and privacy screen. I'll post pictures of the curtains when the leather arrives for the straps to hold the curtains in place when they are tucked to the sides.

We are taking a few days off at the end of the week to drive down to LA do some camping along the coast. While we are down there we will drop off the Type4 along with all the Raby bits with Adrian at Head Flow Masters. Adrian use the junkyard motor as the core for building a motor as near to a Camper Special as I can afford. I still need to buy an exhaust for the Type4. The Vintage Speed setup looks really promising since it used the early heater boxes I installed on the later motor and its also pretty compact so its likely to clear whatever new receiver hitch that needs to be built around it.
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

matt94gt · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 9:49 pm Post subject:

Wow awesome build! Im looking at getting a bay window bus and converting it to a camper. How difficult was it to get the vagon stuff in there? I also want to do the same seat covers as you went with. What about the sink etc? I dont think I would want to do the stove but sink would be handy. I went though your pics which helps but any info would be appreciated. Wondering if I should just go with a bay camper interior or the vagon.

levi20AE · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:06 pm Post subject:

If you haven't bought a bus yet I would get a later model and use late bay Westy interior. The most difficult part was cutting up early bay folding bed brackets and moving the bed to the other side and making it work with the vanagon base. The stove/sink/fridge unit was pretty much a drop in after trimming with a jig saw and putting the holes in the floor.

Loaded the motor in tonight and got all the parts together for delivery.

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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 7:17 pm Post subject:

Got the motor and parts to Adrain at Headflow Masters about a month ago. Can't wait to hear beck from him and pick up a fresh new motor.

Made it out to some local trails to explore a bit this afternoon.

Link

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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:44 pm Post subject:

Been experimenting a lot with carb jetting and timing to get the best performance at higher altitudes lately. We had been planning a trip to San Fransisco for a few weeks and this time we wanted to not do the monotonous drive up the central valley. We decided to go through Yosemite and spend a night and a day checking it out before proceeding on to the Bay area. The fat jetting I was using before would not work well getting over the mountain passes. I have swapped to smaller 110 mains and 170 air correction jets. The airs really help with leaning the motor out when trying to climb in second and third gear at higher altitudes.

Here are a few picks from the drive the last two days.

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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 10:28 pm Post subject:

Heard back from Adrian at Headflow Masters and the TypeIV motor will be ready for dyno tuning and pick-up on October 4th! It's been a few months since the drop off so this is great news and I can't wait to hear it run. Went a head and sprung for and VintageSpeed exhaust since there was some extra time to save $$$.
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

Brian · Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 3:28 pm Post subject:

I need to head to his shop this week, maybe I'll check out that motor for you Wink

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levi20AE · Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:01 am Post subject:

That would be sweet to hear how it's coming along!

Picked up a second set of 40 IDFs for a great price from a local this weekend to use for dyno testing. This way we can drive the bus down to Adrian's this weekend and get a night of camping on the coast is as well.

The VintageSpeed exhaust was also delivered to Adrian this week. I love it when a plan comes together!
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:10 am Post subject:

Friday afternoon we drove the 320 miles to Carlsbad CA. Drive was good aside from the high 90 degree air for the first three hours across the desert. Got to the campsite after hitting up a local brewery to pick up some beverages for the evening. Costal camping was the best even if it was in a state park. South Carlsbad State beach was quite for the most part and the sites were large with good foliage barriers between adjacent sites.

The next morning we got up early to make it to Headflow Masters by 9:00 which was only about 20 minutes away. After arriving Adrian and I went right to work bolting on the new-to-me used carbs and linkage kit. Everything went together easily but we did find some gummy old gas clogging three of the squirters. We pulled the tops off and cleaned those out and drilled the mains to 145 and then later to 155. Initial startup went real easy but the wife forgot to press record... Adrian ran the motor for about 15 minutes varying RPMs and monitoring oil pressure to make sure everything was good. After everything was checked out and the motor sounded really healthy we loaded it onto the floor of the bus.

And we were on our way.... Just after leaving the parking lot the clutch pedal on the bus fell to the floor. I thought, man I'm glad I just put a spare in the back a few months back. Got under the bus to find the cable had several frayed wires but it was not to blame. Under the rear torsion tube where the hardline for the clutch cable is weled to a bracket, the tube and bracket had both snapped in half. Using some vice grips we were able to hold everything together and get the bus back to Adrian's. Adrian was nice enough to move a car and let use use his MIG on a Saturday afternoon. After two hours of scrapping away underbody gunk, cleaning everything, and making a new sturdier bracket we were back on the road. I can't say how appreciative we were of Adrian letting us use his equipment and basically shower in his sink.

We decided at this point to make lemonade out of the lemon, instead of head out across the desert in the hottest part of the day we decided to go checkout a three or four of the local micro brews there in Vista. The trusty 1776cc did get out fully loaded down bus home with only having to drop to second on the Cajon Pass once.
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

wcfvw69 · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 9:06 am Post subject:

That's a sweet looking motor there! Growing up in that area, I loved to camp at that park in tents. It's very nice and open as you stated.

You'll have to post some video's of that engine running in your bus!
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levi20AE · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 5:39 pm Post subject:

Finally got some time to get the motor running on the stand and install a new thermostat and bracket. This motor came with none of the thermostat parts at all.

Also got the parts together to install the thermostatic sandwich plate for the external oil cooler. Its a really tight fit to install one of these in a Type4 and still use the stock filters. I ended up having to run the lines over the top of the plate and underneath the factory oil cooler, being sure to give plenty of clearance for the engine support cross bar. For now ill just loop the line around until its installed in the car.

As an early Christmas gift I went ahead sprung for some offroad recovery gear as well.

If anyone has the 73-75 engine tins that go around the lower front side of the cylinders and both of the lower tins that protect the pushrods let me know. I am on the hunt for the last few tins to get this motor complete.
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 4:42 pm Post subject:

The another semester is in the books and so we took a vacation just after turning in the final papers. Went down to Carlsbad St Beach just outside San Diego for a few nights and then down the Baja peninsula to Ensenada Mexico. It was a great trip and picked up some remaining engine tins to finish up the Type4 motor and a few heater components.

Had a birthday in December as well. Here is a pic of the cake and a gift my brother's girlfriend made.

Promise to get more actual work done on the bus over the next few weeks.
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

Stuartzickefoose · Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 6:40 pm Post subject:

Next time your in carlsbad, look up asiab3... Wink

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levi20AE · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 7:19 pm Post subject:

Good to know, thanks.

Got around to requiring the engine test stand today, replaced a few gauges but still have a few to go. Need to finish wiring up the air/fuel gauge and track down another tach. Finished cleaning all the previously missing early tinwear and installed to ensure it actually fit correctly on the later engine. Also installed a new starter from the local flaps on the test stand. It looks really cheaply made but came with a life time warranty so we'll see...

Link

Engine starts right up but i need to properly time it and play with the jetting. If right now I have the D+ wire and the thick red wire hooked up on the alternator. It does not appear to be charging the battery when it runs. Is there an exciter wire that also needs to be hooked up to get the alternator to charge?
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

Tcash · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2014 7:58 am Post subject:

levi20AE · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2014 4:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the tip on the exciter wire. I'll look into the proper way to trigger the exciter wire. The cam was broken in on Adrian's engine dyno the day we finished putting the carbs on, but good looking out.

The alternator That came in the type4 motor was a 70 amp model! No need to swap out. I'm going to look into having the alternator rebuilt prior to installing the engine for piece of mind and also because it's so much easier with the motor already out. There is a place in Van Nuys that sells a rewound rebuild that outputs 115 or so amps. Not sure how long that would live though.
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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 4:41 pm Post subject:

I got the alternator wiring figured out once hooking up the external voltage regulator. The old regulator was allowing the alternator to generate 16+ volts so i replaced the old mechanical regulator with a solid state Hella unit.

The project got a significant set back a few weeks ago after dropping the strainer cover to fix a leak and finding a lot of steel shavings. I cut apart the filter to investigate what all was in there and sure enough there was a lot of metal of various colors.

While the oil was out I was able to get the taco plate off and install the oil temperature sender.

The builder agreed to take back the motor and go through it to find the issue and make the necessary repairs. So last weekend I loaded up the motor in the back of the wife's golf and drove down to southern Californa to drop the motor off.

In the past month we were able to get a few camping trips in. One to the Busses by the Bridge in AZ and a second up to Dixie National Forest in UT. While in UT we did manage to get the bus stuck in over a foot of snow trying to navigate what appeared to be hard pack... After an hour of digging and using the Hi-Lift and maxtrax we were able get above snow and free. In the end it was a quick trip because at some point during the digging-out process the alternator decided to die. I left the bus idleing to melt the snow and ice that the motor was resting on so we could get some weight back on the wheels. Luckily the dual battery setup with switch saved our bacon and we were able to make it home. We had to stop every hour or so and plug in the on board battery charger to get both batteries topped off and then continue down the road switching batteries to ensure we didn't run one too low.

I have also been working on are a modified GoWesty Vanagon rear bumper with swing away tire mount. A few inches from each side will have to be removed from the width and new mount will have to be made but it will have two inch receiver and hooks for directly mounting the single wheel trailer. This will allow us to get the spare tire out of the bus and install the Vanagon Westy closet. I am also building a rack that uses the rain gutters to mount the MaxTrax up on the side of the bus to also free up interior space. Ideally I'd like to have all the recovery gear stored outside the bus for good house keeping and making the wife happy.

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1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:45 pm Post subject:

Got the bumper the GoWesty vanagon steel rear bumper modifications done this weekend. In the end adapter brackets and and some trimming were all that was required to get the vanagon bumper to work on a Bay. For astetics I'll be adding some steel to the top to fill the gaps at the corner between the body and the bumper.

Afterall the cutting and weldingwas done the first trip was to the local brewery.

_________________
1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs

levi20AE · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:05 pm Post subject:

Finished up the steel bumper modifications by adding some plate steel in the corners to fill in the gaps. Also added mounts to the tire carrier to hold the hi-lift jack as well. There are also rings to support the single wheel trailer. I need to make new brackets for the trailer to be compatible. Really happy with the results thus far.

Next on the list will be to re-index the rear torsion bars and install the back cabinet now that the spare tire is out of the way. May build in a concealed storage compartment for documents and stuff while traveling with the lower portion of the spare tire tub that is under the cabinets.

Still waiting on the engine to be completed, it has been a long process with a few drawbacks along the way.

Few pics from an impromptu off-road exploring session this morning.

_________________
1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs


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