1967 Velvet Green Deluxe

[shanks]

The stars finally aligned and I was able to pull the trigger on a Volkswagen I have always wanted. Like many of you, I had the opportunity to purchase similar buses at various times in life where it was not feasible. If I only knew how the prices would change... I have been seriously looking for about 5 years and came to the conclusion earlier this year that I would likely never be able to get into a 21 or 23 window bus that was within my ability (and price range) to restore. I was on the verge of purchasing a 15 window when the deal fell through and I began searching again. And up popped this one here on the Samba. This bus came out of eastern Oregon where it has lived for the last 25 years, and likely for its entire life. The PO bought it in 1995 and drove it daily for many years before it became an occasional driver. He only performed routine maintenance on it in the time he had it.

See my gallery for a bunch of other photos.

The good and the bad as I see it,
-Bus is original with no major modifications
-Looks to have been damaged and repaired on the left aft side but doesn't appear extensive
-No nose damage
-The rust is minimal compared to most that I have looked at. It will need a front floor, small areas of the cargo floor, and small areas of the pans
-The rockers look to be in great shape
-All the original trim and jail bars were removed by the PO for polishing and never put back on, they came with it
-An extra set of deluxe trim, a set of OG skylight windows, and 4 OG popouts were included
-All the glass except the windshields is OG and in great condition
-The interior is complete minus the driver door panel and middle seat kick panel, though it is in rough shape
-The middle and rear seats appear to be OG material
-Sunroof is complete but needs new canvas
-Engine has been rebuilt and has no number on the case, 1500 single port I think
-Factory gas heater installed in engine compartment
-Doors are original and gaps look great
-Looks like paint has been re-sprayed in original colors
-Numbers match between engine compartment, m-code plate, and air box
-Missing all 4 hubcaps
-Found tool kit and jack under rear seat
-Dash is original and uncut with original (I think) radio
-Front seats have been re-covered
-Bolts for front seat shoulder belts welded to pillars
-M-code plate and paint code sticker intact behind front seat
-Battery tray is rusted out
-Sunroof handle is missing
-Front bumper has no holes for trim
-The bus is running and drivable

The plan is to restore this one to original condition keeping as many of the OG parts as possible. It will be a long process for sure but I will be able to drive it as I go. I will be doing most of the work except the metal work and paint. It's likely 1.5 - 2 years from getting the metal work done.

Since it arrived at its new home in Colorado on September 23, I have been taking stock of everything and working on a few things that needed addressing. The rear shift coupler was separated and required replacement. I installed new axle boots, adjusted the brakes, adjusted the clutch, and installed the oil bath air cleaner. Now I am trouble shooting the lack of tail and brake lights. Then I will be taking the buffer to it to try and remove the oxidation and surface rust.

Stay tuned for updates!
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1965 Beetle
1967 Deluxe Microbus
1969 Squareback

[ryans65]

damn thats a nice 21W, congrats

[DubStyle]

Right on! The stars don't always align and you did well.
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Anthony

SBS #1
SBS #1 on FB

"The original & best lowered Split Bus website/club"

[oakman]

Great looking bus, you must be stoked!!
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Brandon

[obus]

Thats a great find. Nothing like a sunroof bus imo.
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July 1959 Mango Standard Bus aka Obus L346 L347 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=256592&highlight=
June 1973 Pumpkin Orange Thing aka Othing L30H
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=711775&highlight=
1960 Paprika Red Karmann Ghia Convertible aka Schatze L452 built 5/20/60
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=
66 21 window bus built 8/31/65 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=777273

[earlywesty]

Excellent bus! At first glance it looks like og paint, in which case repainting it would be a crime.

[WildIdea]

Very nice, congrats! Looks like a great place to start from. Interested in watching where you take it from here.
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1977 Sage Green Westy
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=691987
1965 SWR Walk-Through Standard
1960 211 Panel American Camper Conversion

[velvetgreen]

try some CLR on that nose and see what a difference it makes

[shanks]

buseric,

It could be that there is original paint on the back part of the bus. I'll know more when I polish it up. The front doors and nose have been repainted. Hard to see in the photos but there is a definite color difference and you can see the underlying green layer where the paint is chipped. There is some evidence that the nose may have been replaced though there is no damage to the adjacent metal. The folded seams on each side seem to be a little off.
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1965 Beetle
1967 Deluxe Microbus
1969 Squareback

[EverettB]

Nice 21!

Post some images of the folds if you want...

They should be pretty smooth looking so if they are wavy then you are probably correct it's been fixed.

If the front's been repainted, it might match when polished up but it might not, I've had a couple Buses where a door or part of the nose was repainted many many years ago and they would not polish up for a perfect match... just different paint and fade from years of oxidation. It still looked pretty good all polished though.
_________________
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Everett Barnes - [email protected] | My wanted ads
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[shanks]

Here are a couple of photos of the folds on the nose. It may be a bit hard to see in the photos but it seems there is some waviness to the folds when I run my finger along them. Also they don't seem to be as crisp and thin as the folds above the nose along the windshields. That's the only reason I suspect the nose has been replaced. No other evidence that I can find yet. I've hit the white paint on the nose with 0000 steel wool and it cleaned up a lot of the rust stains as you can see.

A question for the masses. There is a two position switch located on the left side of the speedo housing forward of the steering column and just above the column bracket. Any idea what this switch is for?

Been troubleshooting wiring issues to fix the tail and brake lights with some success but still don't have blinkers. The info on here has been a huge help! I'll post details in a dedicated thread so others can find it if need be. I did put new tail light housings in because the old bulb holders were shot. Also put new front blinker housings in.

I have a Brazilian fuel pump installed and it is weeping fuel from around the area where the dome attaches. I've tried tightening down the screws with no luck. I'm thinking I need a rebuilt fuel pump from Bill at SparkWerks. Unless you guys have any other ideas.
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1965 Beetle
1967 Deluxe Microbus
1969 Squareback

[EverettB]

It's hard to tell in the pics but it does look a little wavy to me mid-way down o the right side.
On the left side, is it smashed in above the lower hinge?
It looks really strange there but it may just be some black discoloration

Hard to say...

The speedo pod switch is to turn the rear overhead dome light on/off.
If it's not working and you have power to the rear when it's on (switch in the up position), make sure the rear light is in the off position and the connections and mounting screws are not dirty. Good bulbs too but it's usually just dirty connections.
_________________
How to Post Photos
Everett Barnes - [email protected] | My wanted ads
"Water is the only drink for a wise man" | "Communication prevents complaints"
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[BarryL]

Do you have factory defrost in the rear glass?

[oakman]

[shanks]

No factory defrost in the rear glass. Everett says it is for the passenger cargo light. I'll check it out with a DVM to see.
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1965 Beetle
1967 Deluxe Microbus
1969 Squareback

[EverettB]

[shanks]

Ah, that switch. I believe that switch operates the gasoline powered heater installed in the left side of the engine bay. Is this dealer or factory installed, or something added by a PO? Can anyone provide any info on this heater based on the photo below? The heater does not work at this time. I'm thinking I will refurbish the heater to see if it will work but that is a ways down the road.

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1965 Beetle
1967 Deluxe Microbus
1969 Squareback

[BarryL]

Oh wow how cool. Looks to be a Stewart Warner Southwind. Killer.

[EverettB]

Yes, it's a Southwind.

They were dealer-installed in the USA.

I don't remember that relay with all the wiring that is on it being part of the heater setup so that may be for something else.

The Southwind heater usually had a on/off/pull knob located under the driver's seat.
My '63 15-Window used to have a Southwind heater and the knob is still there:

Another pic of a '64 Bus with one that looks pretty clean:

Someone recently bumped this Bug thread that has some resto info:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=736471
_________________
How to Post Photos
Everett Barnes - [email protected] | My wanted ads
"Water is the only drink for a wise man" | "Communication prevents complaints"
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[shanks]

Update here for the past month. Finally got most of the wiring issues sorted out so that I have brake lights, tail lights, blinkers, and warning lights. Took a while and a huge thanks to the folks here! The details are here if you are interested: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=117369&highlight=

Short story is there were numerous misconnected wires at the fuse box area and I had to replace the 9-pin box, fuse box, tail lights, front turn signals, and oil pressure sender. Still don't have reverse lights, high beams, or front parking lights but those can wait.

Now it was on to the fuel pump that was weeping fuel. First time pulling the engine on a bus and it was harder than I suspected. The two lower nuts were easy to get to but rust and dirt had them jammed so the studs came unscrewed from the case. The upper right nut was easily accessible from behind the fan shroud. The upper left bolt was a royal pain in the ass! For this motor there is a round threaded insert in the case with a bolt coming through from the forward side of the bell housing. It took me at least 30 min to figure out the right combination of socket handle and extensions to get to the bolt. Then, the access was so bad that I could only get the bolt to turn one-click on the ratchet each time (and only if I held my mouth right, hah). So another 30 minutes of ratcheting before the bolt was out. There has got to be an easier way to access this bolt...

Here is a photo of the engine with the apron removed and the old fuel pump. You can also see the location of the oil filter to the left of the crank pulley.

Once out and on the stand it was relatively easy to replace the fuel pump. I got a new rebuilt unit from Bill at Sparx Werks. Wow! It looks brand new! 108mm pump rod with slightly less than 13mm of extension. I had to install the copper hard fuel input line which took some pondering before I figured out the correct routing.

The pressure plate and throw out bearing look to be in good shape.

While the engine was out I checked and adjusted all the valves and inspected the tin. Looks like all the tin is in place. I didn't pay attention before but noticed that I have a doghouse oil cooler with flaps and a thermometer installed. Yay! I'm still not sure what size the engine is. There are no numbers stamped on the case. Maybe a 1600 single port... It will be going back in so that I can drive the bus until the time of metal work. Then it will be gone through.

I got the two lower engine studs cleaned up and reinstalled in the case with a bit of loctite. I'm thinking I may have trouble with the upper right bolt on install. It was stuck in place with dirt so I didn't need to put a wrench on the head to remove the nut. Now it is cleaned up and will spin freely. Judging by the access to the upper left I suspect this will be a problem here.

While the engine is out I figured I may try to check the fuel sender since I don't get anything on the gage. Is there a way to check the sending unit with a DVM? I assume I will have to pull the tank out to do that?

Any other items to be done while the engine is out? Engine seals are in good shape. Does the fuel pump outlet need to be safety wired for a rebuilt unit?
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1965 Beetle
1967 Deluxe Microbus
1969 Squareback