This blog will follow my 1961 VW Bus Project
- August 8, 2014
My brother-in-law sold me his Rail Buggy with a 2276cc motor. Plus, there were parts of an 1835cc and a 2110 cc motor in the mix.
The 1835cc got a new total rebuild (including CW crank & Piston set). It has a Bug Pack 1061-10 cam, and a single 2-barrel Dellorto carb. John from Auburndale is putting it into his 1967 Single Cab truck.
(hope to have a picture soon).
- NEWS FLASH MAY 22, 2014
I spoke to the previous owner a week ago, and the title arrived TODAY...
3 1/2 month wait...Wow...
I will post some current activity, then go back to past activity as I get a few spare moments.
- February 17, 2014
Since it was Presidents' day, I had the day free to work on the Bus.
I finally was able to pull the BUS into the shop at Roy's house.
On Friday, I did most of the brake work outside the shop using a floor jack., but I still needed to finish them and work on other related issues.
So I was able to finish the Right Front wheel, installed the second wheel cylinder repair kit and repacked the wheel bearings on that wheel.
I checked over the front suspension, thinking I would need to replace lots of parts. Turns out most everything looks great and seems to be tight. I only needed to adjust the steering gear adjuster 1/8 turn to take out the small amount of play in the steering.
There's over a dozen grease fitting, and they ALL took quite a bit of grease!!! The rubber suspension stoppers are shot, and I'll probably need to get a new steering damper and definitely need new shocks.
The gear shift linkage needed a bushing at the front (which I had ordered last week), so that went on today too. The clutch got adjusted and I took note of other various parts that will be needed to make EVERYTHING 100% functional (i.e. heater control cables, right side E-brake cable, rubber body plugs, missing hinge screws, etc.)
Then, I got to working on the Rear Suspension issue(s). The MAIN problem is the broken bolts that holds the torsion arm plate to the Gear Reduction box on the swing axle. Here is a video:
The bus is back home. Working on electrical system. Brake lights are now working and trying to figure out the turn signal wiring...I also got a new speedometer cable. That's installed and now I can see how slow I am going.
I finally was able to pull the BUS into the shop at Roy's house.
On Friday, I did most of the brake work outside the shop using a floor jack., but I still needed to finish them and work on other related issues.
So I was able to finish the Right Front wheel, installed the second wheel cylinder repair kit and repacked the wheel bearings on that wheel.
I checked over the front suspension, thinking I would need to replace lots of parts. Turns out most everything looks great and seems to be tight. I only needed to adjust the steering gear adjuster 1/8 turn to take out the small amount of play in the steering.
There's over a dozen grease fitting, and they ALL took quite a bit of grease!!! The rubber suspension stoppers are shot, and I'll probably need to get a new steering damper and definitely need new shocks.
The gear shift linkage needed a bushing at the front (which I had ordered last week), so that went on today too. The clutch got adjusted and I took note of other various parts that will be needed to make EVERYTHING 100% functional (i.e. heater control cables, right side E-brake cable, rubber body plugs, missing hinge screws, etc.)
Then, I got to working on the Rear Suspension issue(s). The MAIN problem is the broken bolts that holds the torsion arm plate to the Gear Reduction box on the swing axle. Here is a video:
And, I am still way under my $500 budget!!!
- February 21, 2014
The bus is back home. Working on electrical system. Brake lights are now working and trying to figure out the turn signal wiring...I also got a new speedometer cable. That's installed and now I can see how slow I am going.
- February 27, 2014
Removed the rear window and replaced the rubber seal. While I had the window out, I threw some window tint on. See the GALLERY for the BEFORE pictures of the rubber seal.
The charging system has not been working, so I disconnected and opened up the Voltage Regulator. Looks like it had been submerged in water... Cleaned it up and Voilá... We have a charging system!!!
- March 1, 2014
This weekend, the windshield rubber gaskets were replaced... Still waiting on the title....
- May 2014 (see the May tab for more pictures)
I have been getting the transmission back in, and painting things along the way.
The gear reduction boxes were replace with a set from a 1964 Bus.
The ratio is about 10% taller, which is in my favor...
The left side had noisy bearings, so those were replaced and now its as good as NEW.
The ENGINE had a bad wrist pin on Cylinder # 4. That was a quick repair. Triangle Auto in Winter Park had a bushing in stock. Central Florida Speed and Machine pressed and reamed it to fit the same day...
While I had the BUS on the lift, I repaired the LEFT (bottom) wheel cylinder and repacked the wheel bearings (the inside seal uses leather, and is reusable! It must be original).
May 15: I just have a couple little things to button up and she's road-ready.
Next 'major' repair will be the swing-link bushing in the front end (this is like a Pitman arm bushing). It will significantly tighten up the steering.
Another thing I will need before a long road trip will be taller tires... The original factory size was 15". Current, they are 185/60 R14. If you know anything about tires, you will know how SMALL these tires are compared to what they SHOULD be...
No comments:
Post a Comment