1959 Kombi/Deluxe Rebuild Thread

[Navydave73]

Hello all. Well, we have finished my son’s bug......well almost...still need to build the motor but he has a loaner for now. The deal was i had to wait until the bug was done before i could start the bus project.....that day finally arrived last Saturday so here is the build thread. Gonna take a while

[Navydave73]

I found this ad on Samba back in January. I waited for my moment and it came on Presidents’ Day weekend.....Momma wanted couches if i was getting a bus so off to Arizona we went. These are the pictures from the ad.

[Navydave73]

Here it is, in all its glory. We decided that we were going to walk away and just call it a good family trip if the bus was a total rust bucket

Dude had a cool yard

So, clearly we did not walk away!!!!even had the original 36HP motor! It looks very rusty, but actually it is not that bad. A pretty solid bus except for the drip rail. I think this is one of the “From Arkansas” Buses in another ad still on here so i expected rust. Compared to what we went through on the bug, this should be easy, just bigger

Garage shots next to the Project Bug

Messing around with some paint colors. The bus is originally Dove Blue, we are going to convert to a deluxe so we need a two tone scheme. My sons bug was originally Arctic, that’s a white with a little bit of blue so we are going with Dove Blue and Arctic.

[Navydave73]

Found a set of bumpers on my road trip to Phoenix for work
According to the spec manual, my bus was produced 7 days after the start of the 59 model year so i have High Tailights, they didn’t drop down lower until later. So my honeycomb tailights are at the same height as a ‘58. The ad for this bus originally said ‘58 but i brought the spec book with me to verify just in case and it turns out, 59.

I needed all 3 rows of seats. This base was on craigslist as a vanagon seat, research here told me that the early double cab rear seats are the same as the front bench on 62 and earlier full width. This pedestal was even the early one for a 59 DC. Didn’t need it, so i sold it for cheap. I will make the back rest of out of late model rear seat upper.

I kept the deluxe trim off the 66-67 bumper to be fitted onto the slash cut bumpers i have which are correct for this 59.

Sweet baby blue i saw at Pomona swap meet

[Navydave73]

Ive been sitting on a set of EIS Safaris for a while and this weekend was “Go Time”. I’m a million miles from being on the road but i had to work on something. The safaris are in, the seals suck so i was following the Safari thread. Looks like CIP1’s German seals are the best and a lot of people like the McMaster Carr trim. I’m having my neighbor/Machinist make me the screw plates for the safaris so I don’t have to use sheet metal screws.

I have question for you home-hobby builders. Looking at my front clip rust, it looks like there was a fire in the field where the bus sat for years, some fire rust evidence. But looking at my pitted rust...what can i treat this with for now? I follow Burlyhammer’s thread and copied his MasterCoat idea for my sons bug. I paint-brushed the MasterCoat on the underside of the bug and painted over it for preservation. My plan with the bus is to get it on the road ASAP while i replace sheet metal. Otherwise, i will lose the family’s attention....it will just be a time whore in the garage. If i go from this to show car by myself, we are talking a significant amount of time. If i go from this to this with new brakes and tires, then I’m on the road in early spring...replacing sheet metal as i go. So what can i treat this metal to paint over for a couple of years before i cut it all out and replace with Klassic Fab? I know i can leave it, but i can make it look better in the meantime.

[Navydave73]

Someone painted with the same crappy red primer that EVERYONE seems to have used in the 70’s or 80’s, the bug was the same color. Also, house paint appears to have been used and is flaking off like crazy.

But the body lines are awesome! The panels are straight, all the doors line up nicely. It needs a lot of work, but this is the straightest bus i have ever had. The damn-hippie-wheel well-cut-syndrome is slightly different on this bus, someone took the time to roll a bead on the cut. I really had to look at it to be sure that i was seeing a cut wheel well.

The dash looks like crap, very little dove blue remains but the metal is nice. Thin lip parcel tray is trash but i bought another one.

[Navydave73]

The side look pretty sweet. Too bad there is so much rust at the bottoms that need to be replaced, hope i can get them as straight as they are now.

I’m still in the assessing phase of what i have and how much needs to be cut out. I may still make my own rotisserie for the bottom, especially when i do the belly pans and cargo floors.

I originally thought about Grumpy’s deluxe roof kit, but I’m waiting for a complete replacement roof from Wolfsburg West, they should be here soon and ill see what it looks like. Supposedly, it has all the skylights and sunroof stampings plus the inner structure. My roof needs enough work, that i think this is the best way to go.

[type2rescuemaine]

Wow, cool project! Lots of work you guys have in front of you. Excited to see progress!!

[gunbab]

[Navydave73]

Ill see what i have, but probably not. I just happened to walk by it at Pomona Swap meet. Beautiful, not sure what the color combo is, might just be a cal-look job but it looked like a stock VW color, maybe bug? Too light for Dove Blue but still beautiful.

[Navydave73]

I’m starting to remove rusty metal and assess the damage. Doesn’t look too bad, but i am going to have to do a floor, front inner valance panel, headlight support panel, out valance, and maybe the bottoms of the A pillars. I will know more after Soda Blast. This weekend will be strip down and start to fabricate the rotisserie.

Anyone have pictures of a front floor replacement for a 59? Ive seen a lot of floor replacements on here but they are all later models with the e brake handle in a different spot than mine. Does the replacement front floor from Klassic FAb come double layer where the shifter and e brake handle are? If not, i guess there is a piece of sheet metal that welded to the frame and spot welded to the floor. I’m not cutting out any more of it until the new floor gets here.

The heater tube looks like someone tore it out. I bought the vertical part on this site from a dude in Europe. It has enough rust that the slide part wont move. Looking inside the tube, there seems to be a flap and spring that shut when you rotate the vent handle. I will try soaking in Marvel Mystery for a month and go from there.

[Navydave73]

I have completed the rotisserie, wasn’t sure if i was going that route but decided it would be easier based on BurlyHammer’s input on his build thread.

The PO must have been an architect or a drafter based on what i found under the seat area, besides rat crap.....

[Navydave73]

The Wolfsburg West Inner valance is a nice sturdy part, but the brackets....unless I’m losing my mind....the passenger bracket seems to have the slot on the wrong side. Maybe it is for RHD but their website says this part only fits LHD. I notice Klassic Fab looks like the brackets come pre welded to the valance, i went with WW in case i needed to tweak on the location.

Now it looks like I’m tweaking on the bracket slot.

[Navydave73]

Nope, not crazy. The passenger bracket was stamped upside down. Can’t say enough good things about WW, Rich crawled under a bus they had in the shop while he was on the phone with me. Swapped out and I’m back in business.

Just copying burlyhammer. Drilled holes, Copper weld, then Mastercoat everything. Will be spraying factory color matched primer over after the floors go in.

[Navydave73]

Wolfsburg West inner valance and Klassic Fab A pillars. The passenger side was a pain in the butt, i should have bought the complete lower section for both sides....it was way easier.

Bug Boy doing some finish welding after I tacked in place

[Navydave73]

I decided to use the bus itself as the jig for lining everything up. I removed the headlight support panel and did some metal repair, then lined it back up with the factory sheet metal holes for the kick panels. That made sure that the inner valance panel was at the correct height before i welded everything back together. Many an evening spent planning the correct order in my mind... the inner valance ensured that the lower A pillar metal was in the correct spot.

Shots of the Klassic Fab lower A pillar on the driver side mocked up in place. I measured the height of the replacement part, then marked the cut line. I cut 1” lower than the line to be sure. Driver door on and off at least 3 times as a jig. The top of the Klassic Fab piece seemed to be twisted clockwise from the base, so i tacked the corner of the door jamb first then twisted and beat it into place.

[EmpiGT]

That is one of the busses out of way out salvage in Kingston Ar. Before that it was part of a guys hoard out of Fayetteville Arkansas. That guy must have bought up every broken down bus from kids that went to the UofA. When I first found that stash in 1993 or so. He had 40 split window busses and a few bugs and Ghia's. Your bus was the oldest on the lot. I managed to talk the guy into selling me a 1963 23 window and a low light ghia vert. The 23 window he wanted $150 for and the ghia he wanted $75 for. So hauled home the bus went back the next week to pick up the ghia, and he changed his mind. He wanted me to buy all or none. $3000 for all.. At the time no place to store 40 plus cars, I past them on to Derrick at way out.
Just a little back story for you.

[Navydave73]

I intend to replace the dog legs but I’m using them for a jig for now.

Door rubber channel is rusted through so i used the lower portion that i cut out to replace about an 8” piece. The KF piece is a little different but i think i can grind it to fit.

I am taking a lot of time to grind and blend the visible areas, but the inner that will be hidden by the nose I wasn’t planning on grinding. Call me lazy.

[Navydave73]

Working the twist in, keeping the door jamb square and working it in with a big pair of pliers.

All welded in and some shots of the rotisserie

[Navydave73]

The next piece will be the front floor, then the nose. I have a question about the floor....KF has the correct year correct floor with the slot for the steering column tube. WW is 20min from my house and has a Bitchin floor but a hole where the column tube goes. I managed to save the little piece that screws in and covers the slot...thinking about just cutting the WW floor.

I like the quality of KF, but WW is right here and their stuff is always awesome.

So my question, under the E brake handle there is a reinforecement plate that doesn’t seem to come on the new floor from WW. Does anyone know if it comes on the KF for 1959? I’m thinking about removing the whole plate and welding it to the new floor. There seems to be some welding around the little hump for the E brake sector gear, where do i cut? I plan to wait until I have the new floor before i cut any of that out. I accidentally cut it a few times, thinking about making a new one....my friend has a bead roller.

THere is a pretty good thread on here but for a later floor. I haven’t found a ‘59 or equivalent. Any help will be appreciated.