Meet Greta, a 1976 Westy. Let's make her beautiful again!

[Bala]

They seemed to match the paint very well.
Looking good!
_________________
1976 Westy

1966 Beetle

[RONIN10]

Oh glory days! What a benefit it is to have a vastly more experienced solely committed to your bus for a day and a half!

Amskeptic paid me a visit this weekend and man did we get a lot done:

* Swapped out the transaxle with 1st and 2nd gear totally shot for a rebuilt unit from Gary's Transaxles (just on the south side of Lake Youngs, about 5 miles from me!)
* Replaced my oil cooler as it looked like a likely source of my damnable leak
* Adjusted the valves and timing, tuned the AFM. Found a bad injector and replaced it. Engine now idles stably!
* Installed new Lobro CV joints on my freshly powdercoated rear axle shafts. Heard bad things about the Lobro boots so used the Rein boots instead (purchase from Go Westy) which seem to the best candidate for CV boots at the moment.
* Fixed my turn signal no-cancel condition
* Verified the wiring was good for my horn and replaced it with a new one.
* Took out the out 1970-ish wiper motor with the incorrect wiring scheme and put in a replace from a 1978. Wipers now shut off when told to.
* Amskeptic took it upon himself to lube all my hinges and such.

There's still a lot to do going forward, but the major stress of the bad transaxle and lack of idling ability are now gone. Back to restoration proper.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[RONIN10]

So I actually got out and, you know, camped in my camper. My son and I took a couple days and drove from Renton out to the Olympic Peninsula. It was about a six hour drive with stops and such. Given my recent troubles I was a little nervous but felt a field test was necessary.

We drove south through Olympia and headed up the inland side of the peninsula on Hwy 3.
About a third of the way there, we stopped for lunch in Belfair:

After, Bremerton, Silverdale, etc. we connected to the 101 and things got pretty remote. Not a lot of cars on the road. Greta was performing great though. I had learned the day before we departed that I would need to remove the trans again to get 1st gear replaced but all the other gears were operating smoothly. This was my first big drive after the trans replacement so I felt like was a bit into uncharted waters.

Of course, as soon as I had began to get comfortable, the bucking started. This issue cropped up over the last week or two. It wasn't something that had existed before Amskeptic's visit so I had been keyed in on the changes we made during his visit. Transmission was on my mind but seemed unlikely. Of course the ignition system seemed the most likely culprit, but I wanted to be systematic about this, and really what seemed to be it in my mind at least was the faulty fuel injector we replaced with a spare from my old engine. Nonetheless, it was either fuel , air, or spark that was being intermittently interrupted.

Given that my mind was on the fuel injector, I began with the fuel delivery system. Fuel filter was replaced, a fuel rail pressure test conducted, and a tank full of Lucas Fuel Injection System Deep Clean consumed. All to no avail. Time for the trip came up so I packed a tool bag, spare parts, camping equipment and set out hoping for the best, but expecting the issue to arise again. Now that it had, I more or less muscled my way through about 15 minutes of bucking before things settled down again. We made it to the campsite and settled in for the evening, my mind quietly whirring in the background.

After some activities the next day, I took some time out to investigate Greta's engine compartment. Pulled the air cleaner, AFM, and heater hose and sure enough a little puddle was under the #1 injector mixed with a bit of grit. I wiped it up, replaced the injector with yet another spare, buttoned everything up, and off for a test drive. Seemed to go well. Later investigation showed no leaks even with overnight rain (in the event I was misled about the source of the leak).

Camping greatness ensued and by the time we had reached the Port Townsend ferry on the way home, I was pretty confident the issue was resolved. Here we are waiting for the ferry after 3 or so smooth hours of driving.

I was so happy upon my safe return home I ordered some tires. Nokian Hakkapelitta C Van tires. Free shipping to boot from TiresByWeb.com.

So next up? Powdercoat rims, mount and balance tires, and get the trans a new 1st gear. Gonna be a hectic couple weeks. After that brakes.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[Pinetops]

Your bus is looking great. If you powder coat your wheels, you will want to read up on removing the powder coating in a couple areas before reinstalling. Some folks have had their lug nuts come loose after powder coating!!!
_________________
"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[RONIN10]

I had to drop the engine and transaxle last night to get it back to the rebuilder to fix 1st gear. Got that done and dropped off this morning so I thought I would take some time to clean some of the crud that had accumulated on the underside of the body near the transaxle. Here's what it looks like partway through:

Hit it with a scraper and brass wire brush. A distinct reduction in crud. Hopefully, I'll get more done tomorrow.

While I was working on that, the FedEx guy came by and dropped off these:

I usually do my own powder coating, but I'd rather flip these wheels a little faster than I could do it in the evenings so I called around the area to find a powder coater to do my wheels in Argent Silver. One had a commercial order and wouldn't have free time until 3 weeks from now. The other wanted $85/wheel. So I'm going to spend the next week shopping around a bit more before I settle on someone. Greta's new shoes will have to wait a bit.

Oh, tach is in and working with no bouncing needle. I just need to hook up the lights. I also need to settle on a gauge mounting system for my CHT. At some point, I'll get oil pressure and temp as well so I'm trying to decide on a 3 gauge solution. Can't seem to make up my mind.

I think that's it. Cheers!
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[RONIN10]

Something I've learned as I've worked on Greta is that it really helps to keeping your motivation up when restoring vehicle is to make sure you periodically do something that is simply fun for the sake of it. It may not be the most practical or inexpensive fix/improvement, but it puts a smile on your face.

In this case, I needed new tires. I could've gotten cheaper tires and I've could've simply mounted them on my rims as they were. This however, was one of those times when spending a little cash brings joy for the sake of joy.

Up close:

To really call it done, I need to get my hubcaps stripped and re-chromed or find suitable replacements. As I recall the bug ones were the same. May have to pillage my son's stash.

I only had time for 1st impressions as I left a day later for a business trip and have yet to return, but I could tell straight away that the body roll was vastly reduced. Related to that, my low speed steering was actually quite nimble.

The only issue I ran into was that they guys that did the work mounted the wheel weights such that the ones on the driver's side wheel hit the caliper. I removed them from the wheel and didn't see any adverse affects when driving at various speeds, but I'm still going to have the shop rebalance the wheel and install the weights so they don't interfere.

So what's next...hmmm...I want to get the bung for my LM2 air/fuel meter installed in my tail pipe. I have the clamp, but with the tail pipe being so short, I think I get a lot of free air interference. My A/F readings simply aren't that stable. Once I do that, I'll be taking a more details look at my AFM settings and ignition system. I do have this occasional bucking that comes up and my cold starts aren't that great. Didn't have any of this before the work Amskeptic and I did in the beginning of August. All of it points to some of the changes we made then.

Much to think about and do, of course.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[secretsubmariner]

Wow, what a great story. So many ups and downs, and in the end it turned out well! That's a sharp looking bus!!

Congrats
_________________
-Tony
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ
1978 Champagne Edition Bus FI
1970 Auto Fastback FI

[Bala]

Powder coated right? They look really good!

[eche_bus]

The newly coated wheels with new tires look very good! I'll chime in about keeping your motivation up, too. It's real easy to get worn down by a pile of tough jobs. Taking one of the easier jobs off the pile when it gets too much helps a lot to feel like you're making forward progress.

Sometimes "doing what you gotta do" means doing something easy for the sake of one's sanity.

[RONIN10]

Thanks for all the kind words guys. It really does help.

What I'm most looking forward too is finishing my son's Bug as it's been such a massive time consumer, but that should hopefully be right around the corner in the next week or so. After that progress and improvement on Greta should pick up a little momentum.

Cheers.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[RONIN10]

Until my son's bug is road ready (damn vent windows), he's been driving Greta to and from school. Yesterday, when I get home from work, he informs me that he couldn't get Greta into 1st gear. Even after the 2nd round of transmission work, I did have issues getting Greta into first gear, it would feel like with was pushing against a wall, but then pop through and lock into gear. Not this time. To get going, you have to start in 2nd. Not a recipe for long term success.

I took today off of work to get some things done around the house and on Greta, but during my drive around town, I experienced exactly what my son was saying. The "wall" was still there, but it would pop through as before and feel like it was in gear, but upon letting the clutch out, the gears would grind. There wasn't any further travel in the stick so I was left scratching my head. To complicate matters more, reverse was acting up simultaneously. I can put the trans into reverse fine, but it initially feels really rough until you get going and then it's a bear to get it out of gear. Second through fourth all work fine.

One of the things that occurred to me was that the engine/trans combo was sitting too far towards the rear of the vehicle. While underneath the bus recently, I noticed that the edge of the front mount for the trans was flush with the limiting stop whereas before it stuck out 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch ahead of the front face of the limiting stop. The geometry of the situation made it a possibility in my mind of affecting the engagement/disengagement. So I loosened up the bolts in the transmission carrier, limiting stop, and engine bearer and put my lifting table underneath the engine to take a bit of the load off. I wiggled the engine forward until it was position where it was before and tightened everything down. Hopeful, I climbed in the driver seat and took her for a spin to the great result of...no change whatsover. 1st still grinds, reverse is still a bitch to disengage. Argh!

Not sure what's affecting this...needle bearing maybe? I do have a call into the transmission guy who rebuilt the trans. Hopefully, he'll have some insight. Not looking forward to dropping the engine/trans for a third time in less than two months. I'm getting good at it, but really, it's a nuisance when other project are pending and I can't get beyond this one. Argh! Argh!

There was a little salve for my wounded heart though. While tightening down the engine/trans supports. This arrived from Switzerland:

It's a NOS 1976 Westfalia 321-073 towbar. It will haul 1200 kg (about 2500 lbs) which is more than enough for my purposes. It has considerable shelf wear, probably having been moved about quite a bit and getting scrapes that surface rusted. But it has never been mounted. That is, until now:

This is the test fit. It bolted up perfectly, aligning better than my regular bumper brackets did. What more bus porn? Okay, twist my arm.

Yay!

Yay!

Yay!

Yay!

That last picture is of the right hand side bumper mount. Strangely, it shows 321-079 paint stamped onto the rear face. However, the plate, appearance, and fitment suggest it's a genuine 321-073 hitch. Yay!

I'm particularly fond of the extra bumper reinforcement I'll have once I put the rear bumper back on.

The paint is banged up enough to warrant getting it repainted so the rust spots don't propagate or worsen. So hopefully get that done in the coming weeks. There's a good powder coat shop by the airport I've been meaning to try for my larger powder coating jobs (smaller stuff I do myself) so this is a great opportunity.

So that was my day. Ups and downs. And exciting as it is to finally get the hitch, the issues with trans has me really concerned.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[photoboy52]

I love it fantastic work!

Cant wait to see more.

_________________
Current
1972 Sierra Yellow Campmobile
1.7L (rebuilding)

'97 Geo Metro 3 door 1L
Tin can on a skate
(Did engine rebuild my self)

Past
1961 Bug Sedan
Thrown Rod (Recently found it still at home now need to get from Nor Cali to SE TX!!)

[eche_bus]

What a great find! Interesting to see how it attaches to the bus, as I've only seen them with bumpers installed.

[RONIN10]

Very simple attachment: 3 12mm bolts on either side. If you get the later model hitch, there a side flange with additional bolts there. I think notchboy has that one. It hauls 1500kg if I recall correctly.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[RONIN10]

No more grinding when coming out of 1st gear. Thank goodness.

On Sunday, my trans rebuilder and I went over my transmission together. It was a great experience to be able to see the guts of my trans and get a little mini-education on the operation of it where I could see the various gear and levers interact with one another.

Turns out the problem was related to the previous replacement of the 1/2 operating sleeve. The fork that actuates the sleeve had come out of adjustment so that it was never really engaged despite 1st gear being fully selected from the drivers position and via the hockey stick in the nose of the trans. From there, it was a simple readjustment and tightening of the securing bolt and then reinstall into the bus.

I also took the opportunity to replace my shift rod bushings. I had done this previously when I rebuilt the engine, but these replacement bushings are not terribly robust so my forward bushing had distorted, releasing it from it's locking holes and allowing my shifter to slop around quite a bit.

Incidentally, this was my first time removing and installing the engine/trans all on my own without using Ratwell's removal guide. I actually found that I preferred to do things in a slightly different order and that other steps were not necessary. Good to have that experience and confidence under my belt. Of course, three removal and installations in under two months will do that for you.

I finished up the reinstall last night around 9:30pm so I only had time for a brief test drive. Long story short, 1 gear no longer grinds. I still need to adjust my stop plate a bit and may shift the whole engine/trans assembly forward in the vehicle about 1/2 inch to give more clearance of the shifter in 3rd gear, but those are simple tasks for another day. Just happy to have Greta back on the road.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[jmstu76]

Was it hard to find that hitch? Did you use a Switzerland Ebay or something?
_________________
James

'76 Deluxe Sage Green Westy
2258 cc GD case 78mm CW crank, 2.0 H-beam rods 5,325” 22mm pin, JE forged pistons with 15cc dish, JE rings, type 11 clearanced oil pump, CB Eagle 2205 Type-2 “Torque Special” hydraulic cam with matched lifters fed by CB Dual Weber 40 IDF MX with 6” foam air filters, currently 55 idle, 130 main, 200 air correction, 32 mm venturis. 27in General Grabber AT2 All Terrains, Berg Shifter, stock '76 exhaust HPC Ceramic Coated. 11/18/2020

[RONIN10]

I've been looking for this or the higher load hitch for well over a year, so yeah, a bit hard to find. I spent a lot of time looking at various European classifieds, club websites, eBay listings and such. Lots of translating. Even when I would find one, it was hard to convince the owners to it through the shipping base, a lot of the time my first approach as an out of country buyer was flat out rejected. I spoke with or messaged known owners here on the Samba for advice. It's a commitment and takes persistence and willingness to drop the cash for shipping.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[notchboy]

_________________

[RONIN10]

I do believe you have two of these, yes? Oh, and the small matter of several Essien trailers? Wipe your mouth! It's unseemly.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[notchboy]

Have you seen the new - un punched Westfalia tags you can buy?
_________________