My New 78 Sunroof Deluxe

tootype2crazy · Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:19 pm Post subject: My New 78 Sunroof Deluxe

So I picked up a new bus today. It is a highly original 78 Sunroof Deluxe with what appears to be Cali FI, more to come on the engine later. I got it running for the guy I bought it from and then he sold it to me some time later. I paid a really good price for its condition imho. It is very solid. Have a look:

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has some dents, but rockers are solid

Frame is totally solid and has original paint. Soon I will be cleaning this and waxoiling the entire underside.

This is the worst of the rust. It looks like the sunroof leaked down into the seat hold down area and rusted the bottom plate away here. The rest of the rust is non-penetrative.

It's funny its almost exactly the same color as my house.

Rocker on other side is good.

Nose was dented up but I managed to push out the big ones with my feet just now. It probably won't be hard to make it look good.

Sadly, it did not come with the middle seat. It's a good thing I have one in my basement from my other bus, although its brown. All this upholstery will be redone eventually anyway.

The sunroof is thoroughly caulked into place and held in by pieces of wood and a bungee cord. The owner included a second set of sunroof parts in addition to what's on the bus and I have another set in my basement so I should be able to get something going with this sunroof since the cables are being reproduced.

Front floors are solid.

This is the original paint and I was tickled to see this sticker:

All in all this is a super clean bus for the midwest. There is a good deal of surface rust to deal with but other than that it is solid. Even the battery tray is intact. I will be spending the next few months derusting the body and getting it ready for paint.
_________________
air-cooled or nothing for me
1978 Sunroof Deluxe Bus (daily driver)
1978 Transporter (mom's, making into a camper)
1970 Single Cab 2.1 turbo/EFI 6 Rib, 78 front beam, vanagon backing plates on rear (project)
2001 GTI VR6 (wife's)

Collie · Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:58 pm Post subject:

Awesome.

hoagy86 · Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:58 pm Post subject:

nice bus im up in Peoria Illinois good find for around here as im 3 hours away and buses are not common.

tootype2crazy · Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:55 pm Post subject:

jtauxe · Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 3:54 pm Post subject:

Excellent. I've been looking for just that bus, since I know a guy in town with a Delorean. We want to go in a parade with him in the DMC and me in a terrorist white-over-blue sunroof bus, chasing him around. Would that not be a hoot? Can I just borrow it?
_________________
John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

tootype2crazy · Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 5:38 pm Post subject:

scarygary · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 4:56 am Post subject:

Great bus!

tootype2crazy · Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 8:45 am Post subject:

Well I have been scraping off all of the old undercoating that was cracked and falling off on its own. What a dirty and thankless job. I plan on stripping out the wheel wells to bare metal and then covering them in POR-15 even though the factory paint is in good shape. I plan on driving this bus as my daily driver and I don't trust the factory paint to keep the salt at bay. The rest of the underside is going to get sprayed in cosmoline or waxoyl.

Also I pulled the m-code on this bus and it is a California spec 78. The engine is original and I believe it has never been pulled and the bus has only 89,000 miles on it. I plan on taking off the exhaust and converting it to 72-74 style exhuast so if anybody wants the Cali spec exhaust let me know. The CAT is welded to the muffler but most of it seems to be in good shape including the heater boxes are solid. It will be a couple months before I get to that project though.
_________________
air-cooled or nothing for me
1978 Sunroof Deluxe Bus (daily driver)
1978 Transporter (mom's, making into a camper)
1970 Single Cab 2.1 turbo/EFI 6 Rib, 78 front beam, vanagon backing plates on rear (project)
2001 GTI VR6 (wife's)

tootype2crazy · Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:22 am Post subject:

Well an update on this bus's 'original' engine. I thought I had a sticky or collapsing lifter. I pulled off the rocker cover to take it out and notice one of the springs is sitting farther out than the rest. D'oh. It dropped a valve seat and pounded the valve into the head. So out the engine came. I switched engines with the freshly rebuilt one in my 79. This engine got a used head and will go in the 79 to be sold.

Here's the head:

I also put new brake calipers and rotors on it, bled the system, and adjusted the rear brakes. Stops on a dime now.
_________________
air-cooled or nothing for me
1978 Sunroof Deluxe Bus (daily driver)
1978 Transporter (mom's, making into a camper)
1970 Single Cab 2.1 turbo/EFI 6 Rib, 78 front beam, vanagon backing plates on rear (project)
2001 GTI VR6 (wife's)


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