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ernstben Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Manchester, Mi
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 11:43 am Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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BarryL wrote: |
Are you certain that your ground strap to the transmission is good? Is the wiring correct to your starter? Have you tried prying the starter away from the bellhousing before tightening it? Do you have the same voltage flywheel as starter gear voltage? |
It's a brand new ground strap and I did my best to clean the connections on both sides when I installed it. I've gone over the wiring to the starter and gone so far as taking out and soldering the connections on the headlight switch. The ignition is new.
What do you mean, prying the starter away from the bellhousing? It slides nicely into place when I install it and I can hand-tighten the bolts til snug. Earlier this year I counted the teeth on the flywheel (109 or whatever was correct for 6v) assuming that had to be my issue. I also went through my old receipts and definitely have a 6v clutch and pressure plate which fit without issue. So... I think the flywheel is good to go. _________________ Ben
'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project |
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BarryL Samba Member
Joined: November 01, 2004 Posts: 14271 Location: Casa de Oro, California
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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ernstben wrote: |
What do you mean, prying the starter away from the bellhousing? |
Try to make the whole starter be up and the opposite of the way gravity makes it settle into the holes. There's usually a little slop. Just trying to get the armature shaft as far away from the flywheel as possible. |
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ernstben Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Manchester, Mi
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 7:05 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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BarryL wrote: |
ernstben wrote: |
What do you mean, prying the starter away from the bellhousing? |
Try to make the whole starter be up and the opposite of the way gravity makes it settle into the holes. There's usually a little slop. Just trying to get the armature shaft as far away from the flywheel as possible. |
Ah...! I gotcha. Will give that a go tomorrow. _________________ Ben
'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project |
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Spike0180 Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2015 Posts: 2269 Location: Detroit, Michigan
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:20 am Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Ben,
I hope you will take down your for sale ad, you have a sweet bus and are so close to being able to just enjoy it this summer. It's just a starter issue, take a weekend and "hammer" it out. You can do this, it'll be working soon. _________________ Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp
Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic" |
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ernstben Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Manchester, Mi
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:34 am Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Spike0180 wrote: |
Ben,
I hope you will take down your for sale ad, you have a sweet bus and are so close to being able to just enjoy it this summer. It's just a starter issue, take a weekend and "hammer" it out. You can do this, it'll be working soon. |
Thanks for the encouragement! I actually have reinforcements (retired aeronautical engineer dad) on the way. He's not leaving until we've either solved the problem or run out of beer.
Truth be told, I've already found my next project and my interests have shifted a bit; the for sale ad was always going to go up. The starter issue just slightly accelerated the timeline! _________________ Ben
'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project |
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ernstben Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Manchester, Mi
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:12 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Great success! I had installed both starters multiple times over the last couple days, but never had any success getting the new one to fire. Had the bright idea to test it in the spare trans I have and found that it was extremely sensitive to orientation for some reason. Installed one way, it wouldn't kick out the bendix, a slight twist a mm in one direction and it would. So... we repeated that with the new one in the car and wirh some twisting and prying, got it to be both bolted up and functional! Woo hoo!! _________________ Ben
'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project |
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Spike0180 Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2015 Posts: 2269 Location: Detroit, Michigan
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 10:06 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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ernstben wrote: |
Great success! I had installed both starters multiple times over the last couple days, but never had any success getting the new one to fire. Had the bright idea to test it in the spare trans I have and found that it was extremely sensitive to orientation for some reason. Installed one way, it wouldn't kick out the bendix, a slight twist a mm in one direction and it would. So... we repeated that with the new one in the car and wirh some twisting and prying, got it to be both bolted up and functional! Woo hoo!! |
Good job! Glad you got it working. Sorry to hear you're moving on. Another ACVW? Or something else? _________________ Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp
Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic" |
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ernstben Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Manchester, Mi
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 5:37 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Spike0180 wrote: |
Good job! Glad you got it working. Sorry to hear you're moving on. Another ACVW? Or something else? |
Thanks! There is a strong possibility an old Volvo and I might be crossing paths in the near future...
To the bus though!!
I added a third brake light in the rear hatch and I'm quite happy with how it functions:
Also, the interior is all tied up at this point:
After a trip around town running errands:
_________________ Ben
'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project |
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SixVolt Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2004 Posts: 1136 Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:19 am Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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It seems when someone acquires a "new" VW they start a thread detailing the project and future plans. I just acquired this bus from Ben and thought it might be nice to just keep chronicling its history right here.
I was actually looking for a split single cab, but when I saw the ad and went to look at it I thought the panel would be a nice balance between the single I wanted and my old '59 Westy that I regretted selling several years ago.
Ben turned out to be a super nice guy. He did a ton of work on this bus and its all quality. We both agreed a replacement trans is likely in my future and with that trans will have to come a more powerful motor. I'm pretty much a stock guy, so were not going crazy.
Ben had a bunch of other VW parts, including engines and what will be extra transmissions, so we worked out a deal for everything and I trailered it home with the help of a friend.
Its going to need a repaint, (probably in a matte finish) but the color works well with my '57 oval.
I'll keep the story of this bus going in this thread.
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ernstben Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Manchester, Mi
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:28 am Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Happy to see it settling in to its new home nicely. I can't help but think that it's happier being surrounded by so many of its own kind.
Super excited to see what you do with it! _________________ Ben
'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project |
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ToolBox Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2004 Posts: 3439 Location: Detroit, where they don't jack parts off my ride in the parking lot of the 7-11
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 9:33 am Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Sean, It's so nice of you to buy Fergus a new shaggin wagen.... |
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Spike0180 Samba Member
Joined: June 06, 2015 Posts: 2269 Location: Detroit, Michigan
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 12:02 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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SixVolt, Congrats on the new panel. I'd say this is a nice looking bus and was at a very fair price. Glad you're keeping the thread alive, we look forward to more updates. _________________ Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp
Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic" |
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SixVolt Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2004 Posts: 1136 Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:30 am Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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I知 in a little over my head on the electrical. The ignition switch and starter were replaced by Ben. The headlight switch is original. Fuse box new. Original wiring harness.
The sometimes starts/sometimes not persists. Normally I知 the idiot who throws parts at problems, but this time I知 counting on an expert from our local LEAKOIL bus club who knows automotive electronics.
So I知 sure Bruce will fill in the specifics of what he found, but along the way I learned a lot about voltage drop tests and how important they are.
I took the bus out to his shop and The evaluation of where were at started.
First observation was what nice work Ben did and how this really is a now rust free west coast bus.
One thing I did was blow up and laminate a wiring chart. Roughly $20 for everything from Staples or Office Depot.
Still have to work through that leaking rear seal.
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oakman Samba Member
Joined: February 05, 2014 Posts: 1715 Location: Edge of the Desert, Ca
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:45 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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SixVolt wrote: |
I知 in a little over my head on the electrical. The ignition switch and starter were replaced by Ben. The headlight switch is original. Fuse box new. Original wiring harness.
The sometimes starts/sometimes not persists. |
I had a problem like this on my 65 Westy, still 6 volt. My bus has a factory steering lock so switching out the ignition isn't as easy.
I installed one of these and it has cured the starting issue completely:
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111998611
They have a 12v version too. _________________ Brandon |
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SixVolt Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2004 Posts: 1136 Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 3:44 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Just a quick update on the bus. As I indicated, I took the bus to my friend's garage where he has a lift and he was able to go over a few things.
The starter issue was caused by voltage drops on both the positive and negative side of the starting circuit. The grounds had to be cleaned and in some instances wires and connections were replaced including those at the headlight switch and ignition switch. I wasn't savy enough to do it, but knew someone who was. Once that got sorted out, she starts fine. Ben already put in a new battery, a strater and cables, so it was just having a pro work through the issues. The bus will need a new wiring harness this winter.
That pesky leaking rear axle seal leak has been (hopefully) eliminated. The axle threads were pretty buggered and the nut wouldn't tighten. My buddy Bruce went through that and added a new seal and cleaned it up so we have our fingers crossed. The tranny is going to have to come out anyway, so we'll live with it till the end of the season.
Turn signal switch is kind of funky. If you turn left and allow it to self cancel it puts out the driver's side brake light unless you play with the arm a bit after the turn. When the harness comes out, a new switch will go in.
The fuel tap issue is caused by the cable not opening the valve all the way in the normal (non reserve) setting. When hooked up and you have the knob all the way down, the wire doesn't open the valve fully to allow full fuel to the fuel pump and carb. It creates a starve fuel issue. I've disconected the wire and I'm physically leaving it full on for now and leaving the barell nut off as Ben did until I get the cable to work right.
The motor runs like a top. Very smooth and responsive.
No matter the problems, Ben did a great job on this bus. These are the things everyone has to work through.
Enjoyng the bus. More to follow! |
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SixVolt Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2004 Posts: 1136 Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 4:15 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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A little more on the bus. After experiencing some additional electrical 'gremlins' I decided to pull the trigger and go for a new wiring harness now rather than waiting until winter. I'm pretty weak on electrical, (Heck, I'm pretty weak on everything!), so I enlisted the aid of one of my fellow LEAKOILER'S (our local bus club) who's an expert in automotive electronics.
When I made the decision to get a new harness, obviously the choice was a Wiring Works model, but instead of going with the stock screw terminals and the 6 fuse box, I decided to upgrade a bit. While I'm pretty much a stock guy, I like some improvements that offer greater reliability (and hopefully) safety. So I bought a '58-'63 harness and with that this bus is now getting wired as a '63. My buddy Bruce fabricated a fuse holder for the later 8 fuse spade terminal box that will make my eventual transition to 12V a little easier down the road.
One thing I did was download the diagrams for both the '59 year and the '63 year and had them blown up and laminated. You can email them to Office whatever and they have them ready in an hour. 16" X 20" in color is a lot better than squinting.
My buddy has a lift in his shop so this makes things a lot easier. He has it under control. All I did, besides cleaning some parts and removing or instaling componenets, was watch and stay out of the way.
The one improvement Bruce does to the wiring is he runs three separate wires off the main hot coming up front to independently feed the fuse box, headlight switch and ignition switch.
Here's Bruce's fabricated fuse box holder. Almost looks stock.
A new turn signal switch always seems like a must
One the wiring is sorted out its on to the big nut replacement that still needs to be gone through.
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Busted-bolt Samba Member
Joined: April 14, 2018 Posts: 514 Location: minnesoota
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:42 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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You could use some front mudflaps on that fine bus to keep some of the mud of of of that super clean undercarriage ya got there ! awesome bus ya have there _________________ Vw collection 60 combi ,61 panel ,62 deluxe micro,82 diesel Westfalia,88 Vanagon synchro,98 Jetta tdi,11 Jetta tdi mt ,11 Jetta tdi dsg.
I do all my own work,body,engine and transmission. |
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SixVolt Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2004 Posts: 1136 Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:53 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Busted-bolt wrote: |
You could use some front mudflaps on that fine bus to keep some of the mud of of of that super clean undercarriage ya got there ! awesome bus ya have there |
Many thanks. That undercarriage is credited to Ben.
We've been doing some additional upgrades. Before moving on I thought I'd show how the "new" modified fuse box turned out. Here you go.
I really wanted to upgrade the brakes. I studied all the kits and threads and decided to go with CSP. Expensive? Heck yes! Price aside, I wanted a minimal amount of headaches. A longtime fellow LEAKOILER (Captain Kirk) hooked me up with the install. While these are not "power assist" they're a huge improvement over stock and don't change the look once the hubcap is on.
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ernstben Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Manchester, Mi
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SixVolt Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2004 Posts: 1136 Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 7:23 pm Post subject: Re: Ben's '59 Panel Project |
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Since we're in the dead of winter here in the Midwest, I decided to get moving on the transmission swap. I had a '66 drum to drum big nut sitting in my garage so I took it over to a fellow LEAKOILER'S shop and we broke it all down. I took the center section to a (somewhat) local VW shop (Jim's) and after getting it back, my fellow LEAKOILER Bruce and I got working on the rebuild.
The current trans is a small nut that is functional, but it pops out of reverse on occasion and the shift allignment is somewhat off kiltered, so it needs to be fixed. I've really enjoyed driving this bus well into the late fall. Ben did a great job on everythhing. I'm just trying to improve the safety factors and not get too far away from the stock set up.
My buddy is all about clean, clean, and more clean. Wire wheeling 60 year old axle tubes is no fun, but getting stuff clean pays off in the end.
Here are some pics of the tranny going together with the RGB's.
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