The adventures of Shamus the bus, '72 Dorper conversion

[Volktales]

Nice to see another Dorper on the road and being enjoyed. There are very few of this model remaining. My '72 Dorper is quite different from yours and is based on a Kombi, not a Panel. Dorpers were made in Haney, BC and sold through Westminster Volkswagen. I talked to a guy who worked there at the time and as far as he knew, Dorpers were converted for and sold through this one dealership. I have seen one other in person that still had the original sticker on the poptop, but sadly was unable to take a picture. It was called the "Touring Camper". Glad you are enjoying yours.
_________________
1974 "Restfalia" Camper 2000 cc EFI 2001-
1970 Beetle first car, rotten, yard art 1985-
1966 Sunroof Beetle, restored 1998-
1964 Ghia, ongoing project 2007-
1962 Beetle Beryl,original paint survivor 2012-
1970 Savannah Beige Beetle 2012-
1992 16v GTI, 100% stock 2006-
1991 "Terseo", wife's old daily 1995-
1969 Chevrolet CST/10 (family owned since new)
1965 Gold Corvair Monza 2021-
1966 and 1965 Monza 2022-

[Pinetops]

Just stopping in to say I love your bus. The camper conversion is unique and very cool.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Zman86]

[Zman86]

An interesting side note, our bus was used in a Kijiji commercial out in BC. The previous owner told us about it, then we actually saw it on TV while we were having dinner in downtown Toronto.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ASwgQ7mPlrk

[Danwvw]

That's pretty neat! We had someone buy a photo of our Subaru once we went camping and they wanted to advertize the Park. This could be an overlooked source of income! ah! here is the ad: https://www.tourwyoming.com/play/activities/5-family-friendly-campsites.html
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1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!

[VWDog]

[Volktales]

Here is my '72 Dorper.

I just edited this, as the link above is the same. The link below is a great thread from Tcash


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6904501&highlight=#6904501


Scroll to the Dorper section and you will find some literature as well...
_________________
1974 "Restfalia" Camper 2000 cc EFI 2001-
1970 Beetle first car, rotten, yard art 1985-
1966 Sunroof Beetle, restored 1998-
1964 Ghia, ongoing project 2007-
1962 Beetle Beryl,original paint survivor 2012-
1970 Savannah Beige Beetle 2012-
1992 16v GTI, 100% stock 2006-
1991 "Terseo", wife's old daily 1995-
1969 Chevrolet CST/10 (family owned since new)
1965 Gold Corvair Monza 2021-
1966 and 1965 Monza 2022-

[Volktales]

[Zman86]

This post brings us up to the current day. The clutch in the bus was slipping pretty badly, adjustment was maxed out, and the engine had multiple oil leaks. Since we plan on traveling heavily using the bus, we had to do some maintenance over the winter.

Having never done any major work on an aircooled VW, it took about three hours to get the engine/tranny combo out.

The heating system is in very poor condition, and will be deleted using a set of Vintagespeed stainless headers. Also found the source of the major exhaust leak that sprung up on the last drive of the season.

Separated the engine/trans. Found the clutch to actually be in decent shape, so I'm suspecting the cable was at fault. It will all be getting replaced anyways.

After nearly a month, my engine yoke arrived, along with a order of engine stuff from cip1

It was time to get it to work and start the year down and assessment.

My initial plan was to simply reseal the engine, replace all tuneup items and have the tins/shroud powder coated. However, as I took the tins off, it was apparent the source of the oil leaks were the crankcase breather, leading me to believe the engine has a blow by problem.

I am a licensed mechanic by trade, however, I have limited experience building engines from scratch, so I'm currently in talks with a VW engine builder about building something bulletproof with a bit more oomph. Since we plan on driving this thing across country, I want to have an engine I know is going to be reliable.

That brings us up to date! I'll be updating the thread as things happen from this point forward

[VWDog]

[Volktales]

For better performance, get your hands on a stock 2 litre from a newer bus and convert yours to the factory fuel injection system. Upgrade to the six rib trans at the same time. I did this to my '74 and am very happy with the result.
_________________
1974 "Restfalia" Camper 2000 cc EFI 2001-
1970 Beetle first car, rotten, yard art 1985-
1966 Sunroof Beetle, restored 1998-
1964 Ghia, ongoing project 2007-
1962 Beetle Beryl,original paint survivor 2012-
1970 Savannah Beige Beetle 2012-
1992 16v GTI, 100% stock 2006-
1991 "Terseo", wife's old daily 1995-
1969 Chevrolet CST/10 (family owned since new)
1965 Gold Corvair Monza 2021-
1966 and 1965 Monza 2022-

[Zman86]

Packed up and heading to the engine builders tomorrow. Opted not to attempt rebuilding it myself and leave to someone who does nothing but work on aircooled VWs and rebuilds VW engines for a living. Sending the trans to him as well for a nosecone rebuild. Had planned on doing the trans myself, but we are just too busy at work and at home. Hoping the engine builder will document it for me with some pictures so I can share them with you guys.

[westys74]

Hi, glad I found this thread. we met at the Waterford pumpkin fest car show. Great progress on your bus!
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1974 westy "matilda"
1972 7 passenger "walter" - soon to be subi powered!
1969 type 3 squareback

[Zman86]

[orwell84]

Great bus with a great camper conversion. I hope your engine build goes well. It looks like the flanges for the exhaust headers are stuck in the heads. The builder will get them out. Your bus has rust in the usual places, but not bad at all and it looks like no one has hacked it. Happy trails to you!

[Zman86]

[Zman86]

Some updates! Received some stuff from Vintagespeed. Initial opinion was that it was well made and looked great.

Shifter install went smoothly

However, when I wiggled the shifter after install, it snapped off in my hand.

My email to Vintagespeed regarding the shifter has gone unanswered for the last couple weeks, so I'm probly going to have it welded since I don't have time to wait another 6 weeks for them to send a replacement.

Yesterday, I visited the engine builder to drop off the headers so he can run it on the test stand. He's got the long block assembled as far as possible, and is waiting on the tins/shroud/etc to get back from the powder coaters.

He also got the exhaust back from being ceramic coated, and it looks great!

Our first trip with the bus this year is booked for the June 8th weekend, so it's looking like we are right on schedule!

[Zman86]

Some recent updates. I installed a bamboo parcel shelf.

Also pulled out the shift rod for bushing and coupler replacement

Ready to install

Received this picture late last week, builder was waiting on one more part to arrive and then the engine would be ready for pickup. Received news yesterday that the part had arrived. Pick it up Wednesday, and some friends are scheduled to help install it this Sunday.

In preparation for the engine install, I gave the engine bay a quick scrub with degreaser. Cleaned up pretty good.

Hopefully the next update it will be back on the road!

[Zman86]

Engine arrived last night, looks great! Install scheduled for this weekend

[Zman86]

New clutch installed