68 panel - a long story short ish

[metz]

Did not pass the DMV inspection. They will not allow it being dropped with the beam only and wants me to use drop spindles. That would be easy enough if I had a late bay setup, but the offering for early drop spindles is extremely limited. I've only found one product that I would trust, which is the Frenchslammer one: https://www.vintageautohaus.com/pieces-volkswagen/...wagen.html

Problem is that they are out of stock and he is not currently making more. If anyone know of a pair that is available – please let me know!
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[SamboSamba22]

[metz]

Thanks for the tip, Sam! The five week lead time put me off, and now I've spoke to the guy at at Vintage Autohaus. He can sort it out for me quickly if I send in my stock spindles.
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[SamboSamba22]

[Jim Hunter]

This is sad to hear Metz...
Yearly inspection becomes harder every year also down here...
I am sure that they will be able to source a core pair of spindles to modify do not send yours...

Good luck

Jim

[Vee Dub Nut]

[metz]

Thanks for all the input guys. I ended up sending my cores to France. For me it was the best option. From what I can find online he delivers great quality stuff and he did them in only a couple of days – so they are on their way back now. Since I'm getting the bus approved with a dropped beam and spindles, having spares isn't something I need.

In the meantime I dropped the beam to see if I could squeeze out some extra height, change the swing lever shaft and bushings, and clean it up a bit.

Dropping the beam did not go smooth. I've done it a few times before without issues, but this time it jammed itself on the way down and it was a royal PITA to get it loose. Of course it turned out that I'd forgotten the clutch cable, so it was me that was the royal idiot. Nothing like spending the night in the garage feeling useless.

The next evening was the opposite. Working in a standing position with all the parts and tools readily available was enjoyable. I used the Febi kit with tcash and Amskeptic's writeups for reference.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=597889&start=0
http://www.itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtopic.php?t=3164
http://www.itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtopic.php?t=3165

A 21mm socket fit perfectly to push out the old bushings with my homemade press and an impact driver. Seen above I'm pushing the new ones back. The rest of the installation went smooth as well. Can't wait to try the steering after this fix.

Then I cleaned up the beam and touched up scratches with some black paint. Ready for going back up and get spindless and brakes fitted.
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Forgot to post this picture from before I started picking pieces of it again. Putting the bus to good use with a trip to the junkyard. Really looking forward to driving it again – hopefully before winter.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Spindles are back from Vintage Autohaus. Looks good. Bus should be back on its wheels this week.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Been a while, but I've not been lazy. Actually quite the opposite.

So, stoked to get the spindles back I mounted everything back together. I thought it would be bolt on, but had to trim off a bit on the CSP caliper brackets that was conflicting with the spindles. Always modify the cheapest part, right? Not much and merely cosmetic. So with that done and everything bolted up, we lowered the bus back down and took it for a test drive.

As you can see, with the new 4cm dropped spindles, the bus is low. Too low, in fact, and I'd already raised the beam to its max setting and it was now rubbing from time to time. On the plus side, the ride was smoother. But that doesn't really do much when it's not usable and never going to pass inspection.

A lot of time and money spent and the result was mere frustration. We went through the options, and after a nights sleep, the only viable one was to drop the beam again and start surgery. Hurray.

The issue was that the guy that made the beam placed with adjusters so that the highest possible setting was too low. They needed to come off so we could modify the slot and weld the splines back on lower on the beam so that the adjuster became usable again.

So here's many hours compiled into a few photos:

Anders did an excellent job on the welding and with some paint slapped on, spirits were escaping from the big black hole.
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

With more adjustment I could raise the bus more, and we were off to get a new wheel alignment and dyno it.

To get the alignment gear to fit we had to raise the rear quite a bit, but with that done it was smooth sailing. The previous place had set the front wheels to +1.1 camber, which was contributing to the rubbing, looks crap and drives bad. I asked this guy to change it to the other end of the spectrum and he managed to get it to zero. That actually eliminated what was left of rubbing when turning.

After the alignment we followed the dude back to his own garage where he had the dyno.

I got the papers I needed and we headed back home. Nice 1hr drive and the bus is only getting better.

Back in the garage I swapped from J-tubes to the stock heaters and got ready for a new DMV inspection

And for the fairytale finale: Everything was OK. The bus is now approved with modifications: brakes, lowered front beam, lowered rear and engine. With those papers in hand I went to have the MOT check which was also good.

Picking up my plates tomorrow. May they never be separated from the bus again.
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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[SamboSamba22]

All efforts considered and authenticated.

Congrats brotha.
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The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[Trashman]

Looks much better now with the adjusting of the adjusters! Always seems like those last little bits to bring it from 95% to 100% always are the most grueling. Here in the US, it seems like so many people just take their cars to around 90% and leave it there since we don't have safety inspections here, and I know I'm guilty of a few things as well. Props to you for having a fully functional, badass looking, and LEGAL bus!
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Bagged 1968 Neptune Blue "Deluxe"

[metz]

Thanks guys, really appreciate it.

[vintage water]

Hi !!

very nice restoration !!!!


I will have work in 2021 to get my 68 van project back on the road for 2022 I hope!

follow me here https://www.facebook.com/Vintagevwfactory-106778324444696

[metz]

Cheers!

Did some minor work last night, which is way more pleasant than before with the new epoxy floor. Then I had to fire it up, but nowhere to go in this weather. So I drove down one floor, turned around and drove back. Looking forward to longer, more outdoorsy cruising in 2021.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

2021! Mostly been tinkering with other stuff, but last night was a milestone for the little bus. I'd ordered a shortened sway-bar from Vintage Autohaus that showed up and got around to mount it. With drop-spindles installed a few months back I could now also fit the Bilstein shocks.

These were the last pieces of the front suspension puzzle that has haunted me for a couple of years now, so I really hoped the ride would be better than before. If not I wouldn't really have anything else to throw at it.

But... it worked! The shocks now perform like they should making the ride firm, but not uncomfortable. The sway-bar made a huge difference – less roll and less fighting against falling out of the seat when cornering. Also no rub when cornering even though a dropped it a notch.

I drives straighter so you don't need to correct with the steering all the time.

Relieved, happy and motivated.

Previously I'd also ghetto fabbed a bracket for the front license plate. And it didn't fall off.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Changed transmission oil last night and went for a small test ride. I've had a pretty noticeable howling sound in fourth gear, and it's still there, but it helped a tiny bit.

Anders (that you've seen helping throughout the thread) moved into our garage with his pretty quick cal-looker this winter. It's been sitting since 2019 because last years events was cancelled, so nice to see it moving again.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Plugging away at small jobs here and there to getting ready for the season.

Since Stribe is my small bike brand, the company bus needs to be able to transport some bikes. I've been thinking about how to solve it for a while, and I ended up ordering a Fiamma bike rack as pt1 of the solution. The silver finish was a no go, though, so I painted it matte black.

I think that's going to work fine.

Another thing I've been up to is sorting out the floppy side mirrors. Every time you close the door they've been moving out of position, which is extremely annoying. I finally took the glass out and went over every part and tightened it nicely up. Then I had glass cut, 3d printed new seals and mounted it all back togheter. Super nice to have proper mirrors!

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe

[metz]

Been a while, but got the bus down on the ground yesterday and went on this years first proper cruise. Feels good!

Since last time I've wired up the tacho, oil gauges and oil cooler fan. Didn't take a lot of pictures during the process, but it was actually quite enjoyable when I had the tools and time to do it properly. So everything follows the original loom and looks pretty stock. And works! The tacho is the stock-looking kind and fits great, just much brighter than the rest, so I guess it's time to upgrade to LED on those. I've hidden the oil gauges in the glove box, so I can just open the lid to have a look when I want and keep the dash clean.

Then the final job before having it ready for the season was to properly seam seal the rear wheel housing and coat it with stone chip protection.

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68 panel
64 ghia coupe