Almost have a Bus -- My Story

[richparker]

Way to go mechanicjay, you have great enthusiasm! Sounds like bus is happy you found it.
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’63 Deluxe Build

[Stuartzickefoose]

Just did valve cover gaskets...dang it!


Save my number somewhere, I won't be on the samba regularly for a while.
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Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[Pinetops]

Even though it needs to be gone through mechanically and cosmetically, I think you bought yourself a good bus. It looks really solid. The Riviera top is a bonus, especially vs a '73 westy.

See if Volkzbitz will rebuild your stock carbs. They will be as good as new. He can rebush them and install a screw-in fuel inlet which prevents the too common problem of the press fitting popping out and fuel shooting all over the engine.

http://www.volkzbitz.com/home.html
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[mechanicjay]

Thanks everyone.

I snapped some detail shots of oil leaks. As you can see EVERYthing is wet, with a significant amount of washdown in various areas.

The trick with tracking an oil leak is basically to find the clean spot in the middle of the gunk.

First shot is the what I hope is that the corner of the valve cover gasket and not something like the pushrod tube.

The next series of images, while not great, shows lots of wetness up at the oilcooler, then where it's washing down the side and backside of the engine and the ultimate drips on the bottom of the case:

Like I said, I need to pull the top tin off confirm, but if I had to guess, I'd say the oil cooler seals are shot which is a majority of the leak.
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1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile.

[mechanicjay]

[mechanicjay]

[wcfvw69]

On your oil cooler leak, don't do what I did and assume it's just the oil cooler seals. Pressure test the oil cooler before reinstalling it. I didn't and on my type 1 powered bus, it required me yanking the engine out a second time to replace the cooler.
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
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**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours**

[mechanicjay]

[mechanicjay]

I dug into the bus bit today, I just started stripping the interior, figuring it had to happen sooner or later. I was a little dismayed at what I found. I expected some rust, but oy....

This was the "new" floor the PO put in, you can see the Z-bed hinge lifting on the the one side.

It turns out this is because there was no material for it to bolt to underneath. The worst spot is in front for the rear driver's side wheel well:

At this point, I'm assuming when the PO took out the old floor and saw how bad it was,he chucked a new sheet of plywood down and stuck a sign in it. Buyer beware. I'm actually not too upset, I would just have appreciated an honest accounting of the issues the bus had.

What's the recommended approach for this? Should I weld in small patches, or cut out a big section and try to get a large patch from a donor?

Here we can see moisture free to flow in through the Shore Power hookup:

The one I'm actually most upset about is behind the spare tire on the front:

As you can see the metal is torn, allowing water to flow into the front of the bus, not quite sure how to handle that one right now either.

Anyway, I was planning on addressing the mechanical issues quickly so I could hammer the bus around for a bit, but I think the rot holes are pre-empting the minor mechanical issues.

I'm going to go enjoy a beer now.

--Jason
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1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile.

[mechanicjay]

Assuming money was no object.

Would you go for a full replacement floor section:
http://www.busdepot.com/j11765

Or a panel that you can cut and patch in:
http://www.mamotorworks.com/VW/product/cargo-floor-section-59-length-x-15-width_316072

Since it's a camper, I'll be adding in my own reinforced seatmounts regardless, so I'm not worried about having the stock mounting locations.


Suggestions?


Also, looking up front cab floorpans, I see the part listed for 68-72 and 74-79. Mines a '73, suggestions?
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1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile.

[Pinetops]

Sorry you found more rust than you expected.

If the rest of the floor is solid I would cut the rust only as far as it takes to get to good metal and weld in patch sections. If its all crusty, a whole cargo floor would be a better option.

Those front tire carriers are notorious for causing damage unfortunately.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[busdaddy]

[notchboy]

Well, I think Ernie would want you to repair it right the fist time as you will never have to do it again in your lifetime

The rose colored glasses loose their tint the more familiar you are. Just don't let it breed contempt. That water intrusion back by the rear wheel well is most likely that rear wing window. Happens to all of us. When replacing the rear driver side rubber - I used a piece of glass from the pass side and eliminated that stupid wing window. No more leak.

Keep pluggin along brother!
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[Ernie Punkin]

[mechanicjay]

Oh gosh, no contempt here. Ultimately I understand this is a 43 year old vehicle. It has way less rust than my 35 year old F100.

As I was enjoying my nth beer tongiht, sitting on the the rear parcel shelf, talking with my FIL, I kinda decided, that getting the replacement panels and doing it right, once, the first time is really the only way to go. The only issue is that it adds a *alot* of unanticipated expense and delay (most of the delay is saving up for the panels) to the project.

I have pics of the whole and the 4 corners as requested, which I'll post a bit later.

There's no wing windows in this one. But the fiberglass top look like it had a nasty leak at some point along with the main seal on the side slider. Looking at it closer, I think this thing rotted from the inside out, due to water intrusion. A real bummer.
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1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile.

[mechanicjay]

Pictures as requested:

The whole floor:

The driver's rear corner you can see above.

Pass rear:

Pass front:

Drivers Front:

The cab floor. Since there are no parts listed for a '73, I'm assuming it was a transitional year? This was built 9/73. Anyway, what can you guys tell me from a pic of the whole cab floor?

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1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile.

[69Weekender]

First off, congrats on the new set of wheels!

I am interested to see what you do with the seat belts.
My 7 and 9 year old neighbors ask me every day when they can ride in the bus. I have good belts up front but the kids have to stay in the back. I currently have no seat belts in the back and with it being a folding seat I have no clue how to mount them.
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Mitchell
ISO any California Road Runner Camper parts or info
1969 California Road Runner Camper: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=646780
2015 Toyota Tacoma V6 4x4
Past:
01 Honda Insight, 06 Beetle TDI, 77 Toyota, 96 Geo Metro, 06 Tacoma, 13 Jetta Wagon, 05 Jetta, 96 Corrado VR6
Other ICE Machinery: Alco 251F 16v & 8v

[mechanicjay]

[busdaddy]

Those floors don't look horrible, your best option is to find some genuine German metal from another rusty donor, the middles of the floors don't rust often, that way it's the same thickness and profile as the floor. Those patch panels work OK, but are often thinner and don't quite match up with the ribs in the floor, I'd rather spend an hour drilling welds for a patch part than F'ng around making the new sub par peice fit. All will require some finessing in the corners where the flat parts and stampings are, luckily your floor is covered up so solid counts more than look, it's not a naked panelvan going to Pebble beach.

As for your seat belt issues consider a trip to the autowrecker, all seatbelts regardless of brand fit the same bolt holes, you can likely score some really advanced units for the whole bus for less than one of those JK units costs after shipping, worth a look.
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[mechanicjay]