Ben's '59 Panel Project

[ernstben]

[ernstben]

Went camping the other weekend. With the Ghia, it was a struggle finding enough space to put a couple odds and ends for a show. With the bus, the bigger issue seems to be keeping the stuff from rolling all over the huge interior. Lots of fun!

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Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ryans65]

Your panel makes me want a panel!

[ernstben]

Well, slowly finishing things off. Added a ton of interior panels:

Just saving the pennies for a seat cover kit and I'll be out of things to redo. There are a couple niggling little details that I'm dragging my feet on:

- I need to redo the rear axle seals because there's a slow leak on both sides
- The reverse lock-out doesn't work for whatever reason
- It runs great with the aux valve on instead of the main tank, must be some gunk clogging the valve
- Generator light stays on dimly at idle and always has the faintest of glows
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Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Eric&Barb]

VW dropped those locking tab plates later so those RGB mounting bolts can be rechecked for tightness. Which you need to do over the next 300 miles a few times....
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[EverettB]

[Eric&Barb]

[ernstben]

[BulliBill]

Nice looking panel! I love mine too (a SWR June 1959 DD Panel).

Save up your pennies for the only really nice kit made by Matt Miller, incredible quality and a perfect repro of the original material. Not cheap, but well worth it! I have three of his kits installed on my fleet.

Bill
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[EverettB]

Maybe the lock out plate is worn out?
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[ernstben]

I replaced the original lock-plate with a new one based on your advice from earlier in the thread. The old one was totally worn out:

It not working probably has more to do with the doofus installing it and less to do with the part itself. I'm sure I'll get it sooner or later...
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Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ernstben]

I'm still here!

I fixed some of my issues over the course of the last couple months, but some still remain. I had to drill out the mounting plate for the shifter to position the whole shebang further left. That got the reverse lock out working again. I also flushed my tank out for an entire afternoon, so I think that's settled as well.

The starter has gotten worse though. Over the course of the last week or so, the starter has slowly ground to a halt so I decided to drop the engine and take a look. The flywheel has some moderate chewing, but the starter bushing was literally disintegrating. Like, into dirt:

Now... I'm thinking that the main culprit here probably has to be an over-exuberant PO grinding out the bell housing and eating into the space for the starter bushing:

Still though, after buying a new bushing and sliding it in there, I figure I could give the open ends of the space for the bushing a little love tap to "trap" the bushing in place. The new bushing immediately cracked and I was able to crack the entire broken side apart with my fingers. Aren't these supposed to be brass?

Is this transmission hosed because of the amount the PO ground off?
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Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Eric&Barb]

Starter pressure against that bushing is not in that direction of the open side of the transaxle case. Note where the wear is in this thread.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=677099&highlight=starter+bushing

Starter bushings are made of copper or it alloys, but in a different way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilite

Probably timer to invest in an auto-stick self supporting starter...
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[ernstben]

[Eric&Barb]

[ernstben]

Well, the plot thickens. I chatted with some folks who sell specialty starters here on thesamba and they didn't think that a 6v self-supporting starter was going to be easy to find.

One of them suggested I change the starter and use some JB weld putty to "lock" the bushing in place. Even with the overly ground area, the bushing only had a tiny amount of play in the hole. So, I dropped the engine, installed the bushing, cleaned the whole thing well, built up the area with the putty and let it all harden.

I also bought a new rebuilt 6v starter at autozone. I installed it and everything went together beautifully. Then, I spent a couple hours cleaning each tooth on the flywheel from where it had some chewing.

Ok, if you're still with me: once everything was back together, I hit the switch and nothing. No click, no nothing. A screwdriver across the posts yielded a couple spins of the starter, but subsequent attempts created only light sparks.

Reinstalled old starter and the exact same symptoms arose again; it'll spin but will only engage with a "BANG." And that's only sometimes...

Anyone want a solid '59 Panel with starter issues? I'm about to lose my mind.
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Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ryans65]

Dude you weren't kidding!

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2180140

I dont have a clue what is going on with your starter but it sounds like one of those nagging problems that just takes all the fun out of it. Good luck. I'd love to buy your panel but I can't swing it right now.

[ernstben]

The fun for me is the "fixing them" part, not the "owning them" part, and this bus is 98% of the way to where I wanted to take it. I was hoping to get the starter sorted before I put it up for sale, but alas, my energy is already being siphoned away to the next project.
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Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ernstben]

So, I spent the day swapping starters and solenoids around, and I think I've deduced that there is some sort of interference issue with the starter gear (bendix?) shooting out to engage the flywheel. I say this because the old starter has the same symptoms regardless of solenoid. Also, if I plug in the new starter, the solenoid can't push the starter gear out at all.

I think this would explain the issue where the starter will whir for a couple seconds and then, once it's vibrated itself past whatever slight interference issue there is, it shoots out and slams into the flywheel.

Anyone had any issue like this?
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Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[BarryL]

Your bus will probably be sold by the time you read this but...