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b-man Samba Member
Joined: May 20, 2008 Posts: 498 Location: So Cal
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 12:14 am Post subject: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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I stopped driving this truck sometime in 1995 because of some mechanical issues that needed to be addressed. The transaxle began popping out of 4th gear making it pretty much impossible to drive on my 38 mile freeway commute. The exhaust system had an annoying leak that was causing the engine to backfire upon deceleration and the steering wheel was developing a bit too much play, making driving a chore. Probably the extremely wide tires taking their toll on the drag link pivot bushings or maybe the steering box.
Why did I let this fine old truck sit for so long before getting around to fixing it? Life gets in the way sometimes and I was getting into American V8 muscle cars that I had always admired. I’m a VW and a Pontiac hobbyist and I’ve been spending the last couple of years getting back to my VW roots where it all started for me.
Now some pictures as it sits now.
That’s the factory canvas and hoops, probably original to the truck but I can’t say for sure. The canvas has shrunk a bit from sitting, perhaps it can be stretched back out by adding some moisture to the canvas.
Original paint on the dash and inside the cab. NOS Safari windshields that I acquired back in the early 1980s. I paid a lot for them, basically traded a freshly painted 1961 sunroof bug that needed all the glass, an engine and complete interior that at the time I valued at around $1500. The Safari windshields came with everything except for the glass which I was able to get at my local VW dealer.
I converted the bus to front disc brakes using factory spindles that I sent to the Bus Boys. They welded caliper brackets onto the spindles before rebuilding them, the price for the work was $350 if I remember correctly. The discs and calipers were pirated from a ‘71 bus at my local Pick Your Part salvage yard, all OEM parts are used in the conversion making it easy to get replacement parts in the future.
As you can see there’s a bit of surface rust on the rotors from sitting so many years, a little sanding should clean it up pretty easy. The front beam is still stock width and lowered the ‘old school’ way 3-1/2” by cutting and turning the center of the torsion tubes and TIG welding the cut sections.
The rear suspension has been converted to IRS using components sourced from the Bus Boys. The $350 conversion kit consisted of six parts which included a pair of special length axles, trailing arm pivots that clamped around the torsion housing and a pair of modified spring plates. I used a set of trailing arms and rear drum brakes from a ‘70 Type III Squareback to complete the conversion.
Trailing arm pivot clamped to the torsion tube.
The wheels are 16x8.5” 1984 Corvette ‘salad shooters’ that I found in the local Recycler newspaper, this was back in 1989 long before the advent of the internet. I paid $200 for the set of 4 wheels and later picked up a fifth one for $50 to use for my spare. The backspacing measurement on the Corvette wheels is 5.875” for those of you who are wondering.
How did I get those wheels on there? Some pretty basic machine work and a lot of luck is how. I had purchased the wheels originally for another project but on a whim I pulled off one of the front wheels from my single cab and laid one of the bare Corvette wheels against the drum. It looked like it would fit within the confines of the wheel well so I crossed my fingers and ordered all of the front disc brake and rear suspension parts.
The ‘71 bay window front rotors come with a 5 on 112mm bolt circle. A friend at my work drilled the rotors for the GM 5 on 4.75” (5 on 120.65mm) bolt pattern and I pressed in some 12mm studs from the backside of the rotors. There was barely enough room on the rotors for the larger bolt pattern, I had to grind some of the flanged portion of the back end of the studs to clear the inside of the rotor hat. The hot rod gods were smiling on me that day.
The face of the front wheel is pretty much even with door and dogleg, giving the truck a very wide track stance.
The rear drums were originally 4 on 130mm which of course is the standard late VW Bug, Ghia and Type III lug pattern. No matter where you tried to drill the new GM bolt pattern you always ended up running into one of the 4 lug holes. So I simply installed a lug bolt into one of the holes in the drum (actually the drum hub, which on a Type III is separate from the drum itself) using red Loctite and cut the head of the lug bolt and ground it flush with the hub after the Loctite cured.
With the offending hole plugged without having to weld and distort the hub the drum/hub assembly was drilled for the GM bolt pattern. One of the two factory bolts securing the drum to the hub was omitted since it would have interfered with the new wheel mounting face, no issue leaving it out as the drum wasn’t going anywhere.
You can barely slip your pinky finger between the outer fender lip and the tire sidewall.
On the inside I ground off about 1/3 of the bolt head on one of more of the bolts securing the trailing arm to the spring plate, again you can barely squeeze your pinky in between the sidewall and those bolt heads.
It’s important that I use tires with the narrowest section width in the size I’m running, 205/55-16. Different manufacturers make their tires either on the smaller or larger side for any given tire size, so I have to pick a tire with a sidewall that doesn’t extend past the rim lip. Yes it’s that tight back there.
Underneath it’s rust free, this truck has never had any rust repair.
The treasure chest is excellent, all still in original factory primer. Note the extenders for the spare tire hanger to accommodate the much wider spare tire.
The separator in between the fuel tank access panels was cut out and welded back in place by the previous owner who removed it temporarily in order to install a 20 gallon aluminum fuel tank that he fabricated. That big tank was a nice thing to have when I was commuting 400 miles every week to work, filling up only about once a week sure was nice.
Inside the engine compartment is all original paint, just needs some cleaning and it will look great again. Been so long since I looked I had forgotten about that bed floor support member that some previous owner thought he needed to cut out. Maybe I’ll replace that but it’s not high on my list of things to fix.
First things first, getting that transaxle fixed. I was previously using a later ‘73 and up gearbox with a 3.875 ring and pinion and .93 4th gear giving me a 3.60 final drive ratio. It was great on the highway in 4th but the first 3 gears were a little on the tall side for a bus. This transaxle was a freebie, all I had to do to get it was to take the entire wrecked car (rear ended) off the owners hands.
I decided to gear the truck a little differently this time around. Freshly rebuilt ‘69 -‘72 Type I IRS transaxle, the rebuild was done by John Burns at Transaxle Engineering in Chatsworth CA. Gearing is all stock with a 4.125 ring and pinion and 3.80/2.06/1.26/.89 gears. The 4.125 gear drops the first 3 gears down enough to get the truck moving better/swifter and combined with the .89 4th gives me a 3.67 final drive, very close to where I was with the ‘73 gearbox.
At 65 mph it will cruise at 3223 rpm with my 24.88” tall 205/55-16 tires, I think there will be enough fan rpm to keep the engine cool and not so much highway engine rpm that it runs too hot. I’ll be running a stock 1600 single port with a stock muffler and tailpipe.
The transaxle case was in such good condition that I told John not to paint it the usual black. I’ll soak it with some Gibbs Penetrant to preserve the bare magnesium finish, perhaps the transaxle will reject heat just a little better without paint clogging up the pores in the casting.
Engine to transaxle mating surface was resurfaced.
The clutch fork was reinforced for reliability by fully TIG welding the legs to the shaft.
I bought the good stuff that the racers use to lube the transaxle, Swepco 201 80w/90. Can’t hurt to use what many consider to be the best gear oil available.
And we’re off. _________________ 1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle |
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put-put...whee!! Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2003 Posts: 154 Location: Hooterville
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:14 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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Great to see you reawakening yer Single Cab Bart! Seeing what you've accomplished with the '56 Panel, I have no doubt this will again be a thing of beauty in relatively short order. What a clean truck to restart your build from!
I absolutely can identify with the comment about life sometimes getting in the way. Glad to see you returning to yer roots my friend!
Thom _________________ 60 DC
61 Deluxe
64 SO-33
65 Riviera
66 Deluxe
67 SO-42 |
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ryans65 Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2016 Posts: 1254 Location: Yulee FL
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 6:55 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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that's one gnarly ass single cab, glad you are resurrecting it! |
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Braukuche Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004 Posts: 10968
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:44 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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A barn find in your own barn! _________________ Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now
1973 Ghia convertible |
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AS350driver Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2016 Posts: 1340 Location: Tucson
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:59 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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Let’s just fast forward a bit.....never mind the SC for now. Tell us about the 54 deluxe you parked in the backyard back in 1990, or that 62 subhatch you forgot you left at the in laws lol |
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vwuberalles Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2003 Posts: 1355 Location: Richmond, VA
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b-man Samba Member
Joined: May 20, 2008 Posts: 498 Location: So Cal
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:33 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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vwuberalles wrote: |
That's awesome, I love it! Are you going to leave the Corvette wheels on it? they look great. |
Thanks everyone for the kind words.
For sure the ‘vette wheels are staying, they pretty much define this truck and set it apart from the crowd.
I do have a set of plain steel wheels, two 15x4” and two 15x6” that I might swap onto the truck on occasion, they’ll be painted gloss black and I’ll run them with chrome lug nuts. I have a good used set of 145/80 and 165/80-15 tires I will use for now and later perhaps a set of wide white walls. _________________ 1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle |
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nineteensixtyfiveVG Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2009 Posts: 456 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:41 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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the vette wheels are rad. I want to see a pic from the back with those wide tires. |
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kafer60 Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2005 Posts: 363 Location: Fredericksburg, Va
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:07 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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I have the same IRS set up in 65 SC, after installing and find the correct length axles it looks pretty good. The more you twist the half clamps on the the torsion tube the more it change your camber. _________________ Can't polish a turd!
"Midman- Seems to have worked well for Ted Bundy."
"seems like the right front tire is flat at the bottom, rest looks pretty good"
"The hardest part about business, is minding your own" |
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b-man Samba Member
Joined: May 20, 2008 Posts: 498 Location: So Cal
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 8:58 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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Started on the pickup project this weekend by hoisting the engine up onto the stand so I can do some cleaning and swap out some parts.
Some of you may have noticed the big Gene Berg 3-1/2 quart sump. The cornering ability of this truck makes the sump an absolute necessity so I don’t starve the bearings due to lack of oil pressure.
I’m stripping all the tin off of the engine to repair a few cracked pieces and I wanted to replace the intake manifold (I painted it with Pontiac Blue Metallic engine paint in a moment of poor judgment, plus that’s what I had on hand) not only because it’s the wrong color, it has a completely clogged heat riser tube. I have an identical replacement manifold that luckily enough has a clear heat riser. I’ll be installing a new Dansk replacement muffler and tailpipe, this 1600 is going to be as close to stock as I can make it.
Brazilian single oil pressure relief case, drilled and tapped for a full flow oil filter. When I had this 1600 built back in the mid-‘80s I had the builder use German Mahle 85.5 pistons and cylinders, a new case and new single port heads along with a stock cam. Pretty sure he added a shim under the barrels (I think I can see them) to lower the compression a bit, it’s probably somewhere around 7.0 or 7.5:1. This engine was originally built to go in my wife’s 1956 bug (no sump) and keeping it simple and reliable was the goal for her daily transportation.
I have a couple of 30 PICT-1 (VW 47-1 & VW 75-1) carbs that both were originally on ‘66 1300 bug engines, not sure if I’m going to use either of them since they’re not equipped with the Power Fuel System that ‘66 bus 1500 30 PICT-1 carbs were equipped with. I do want to replace the Solex Brosol 30/31 carb I was last using on it with a professionally rebuilt (by Tim at Volksbitz) German 30 PICT-1 and team it up with a matching 113 905 205K vacuum advance distributor.
I painted the clutch arm on the transaxle black and then gave the bare magnesium case a good soaking with Gibbs Penetrant. The Gibbs should soak into the pores of the casting and offer some corrosion protection, it’s used by hot rodders to protect and preserve the patina on rare Halibrand magnesium wheels so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Patiently waiting.
_________________ 1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle |
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SHSC Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2001 Posts: 1785 Location: Oklahoma City
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:15 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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I remember seeing your truck in Hot VWs or VW Trends, probably show coverage. Nice to see your truck is still around.
Always liked the way the wheels looked on your truck. _________________ DKB |
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Mr Margaret Scratcher Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2013 Posts: 245 Location: Cambridge UK
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Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:42 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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Your stance at the front is very similar to that on my single cab - reckon we can start a flush wheel, filled arches antidote to the narrowed beam craze?
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vwuberalles Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2003 Posts: 1355 Location: Richmond, VA
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Mr Margaret Scratcher Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2013 Posts: 245 Location: Cambridge UK
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Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 11:44 am Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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vwuberalles wrote: |
Mr Margaret Scratcher wrote: |
reckon we can start a flush wheel, filled arches antidote to the narrowed beam craze? |
Yes please!!! |
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Mr Margaret Scratcher Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2013 Posts: 245 Location: Cambridge UK
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Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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vwuberalles wrote: |
Mr Margaret Scratcher wrote: |
reckon we can start a flush wheel, filled arches antidote to the narrowed beam craze? |
Yes please!!! |
What about a "Bit of string for an engine lid stay" craze? |
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b-man Samba Member
Joined: May 20, 2008 Posts: 498 Location: So Cal
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Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 5:35 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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In order to start getting some cleaning done on the suspension and engine compartment I put a stack of small pallets under the rear tires and a pair of jack stands under the front frame rails and got busy.
Engine compartment and frame horns are cleaning up nicely, there’s plenty of original Velvet Green in good shape underneath the grime.
Nice battery tray.
Some old gas and some rags cleaned up the front suspension with a little work, I hit the disc brake rotors with some 180 grit sandpaper, each one took about 5 minutes to clean up.
Moving forward. _________________ 1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle |
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b-man Samba Member
Joined: May 20, 2008 Posts: 498 Location: So Cal
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Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 9:31 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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Did a few more things to help get the single cab back in shape, I drained the 25 year old 92 octane unleaded (non-ethanol) gas from the fabricated aluminum fuel tank. There was just a little over a gallon in the tank and it looks very clean. I poured about 2-1/2 gallons of clean new 87 octane in there to rinse out any old fuel residue, since the tank is aluminum there’s no rust issues so I see no need to go to the trouble of removing it for cleaning.
I finished wiping down the front beam with some rags soaked in old gas. Note the chips in the paint from 90K miles I put on the truck while commuting on the 118 freeway over a 5 year period, unfortunately there were a lot of gravel trucks traveling the freeway back then.
Here you can see where I cut and turned the center back in the late 1980s for a 3-1/2” drop. Old school.
I pulled out the rubber floor mat for the very first time, I needed to remove the shifter so I can replace the crumbled shifter bushing and of course clean and grease the entire assembly. I haven’t done any cleaning yet but I like what I see, just some minor surface rust which is nothing to be too concerned about.
Previous owner cut this hole for a hidden stereo installation, something i really forgot about and really can’t see from the drivers seat anyway.
Shift rod and guide both look very nice, all I had to do was polish up the area where the bushing rides with some Scotchbrite to remove some old bushing and grease residue which had hardened up after a quarter century.
The main shift rod cleaned up nicely, both of the nylon bushings are still flexible and barely worn if at all. I’ll grease it up and leave it be other than painting the very front of the shift rod to keep it from rusting .
Here’s one of the front wheels. This particular tire brand (Remington) ran on the larger side and rubbed a little more than what I had on there before and were a bit too wide to fit inside the rear wheel wells.
Rub marks on the passenger side dog legs.
Same rubbing on the drivers side but not quite as bad. Rubbing occurred mostly at full bottom of the suspension and on tight turns, it wasn’t a big issue as the truck was very driveable and used as my primary transportation for many years.
I painted a set of plain steel wheels I’ve had sitting around, a pair of 15x4” (space saver spares) and a pair of 15x6” (‘79 Buick) with some gloss black Rustoleum rattle cans. Just in case I want to change the look of the truck from time to time, I’ll mount some 145 and 165 black wall radials or a set of 165 wide whitewalls on them and run them bare with chrome lug nuts.
_________________ 1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle |
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WestyWanter Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2017 Posts: 459 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 10:13 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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This is super sweet, I'm a vanagon kid, but im saving up for a split in a few years. I live in San Diego maybe I'll see this sweet rig out and about in SoCal!
Also funny, I was born in 1995... it hasn't be on the road for as long as I've been alive! |
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nineteensixtyfiveVG Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2009 Posts: 456 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 10:51 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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man, those wheels came out super nice. I love the vette wheels though. |
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b-man Samba Member
Joined: May 20, 2008 Posts: 498 Location: So Cal
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Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 8:38 pm Post subject: Re: 1966 Velvet Green Single Cab Pickup - Sitting Since 1995 |
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I like the ‘vette wheels a lot. I am kinda having a hard time picturing it with another set of wheels since the big wide ‘vette wheels really do set this truck apart from all the rest.
Got underneath laying on my side with some old gas and some rags again and got the rear torsion and trans cradle cleaner than it has any business being. Hopefully whenever I have to work on it in the future I won’t always end up with my arms covered in grease.
It’s fun when you uncover something cool like the VW logo, manufacturer’s name and the part number for the center of the torsion where the splines are located.
_________________ 1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle |
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