69 'Old Blue' Microbus

[streetboy]

Well good news! the 'bus shelter' was erected yesterday and the boss has given the thumbs up The clincher was when she remarked 'Ah, I ilke those three little windows' :lol:
Three tie down straps both ends and one in the middle, all secured to 'hooked' anchor bolts set in the concrete under the gravel to make shore it doesn't try to take off. And it got a good test last night with strong winds and lashing rain and thankfully was still outside in the morning.
I had put one end up but decide to roll the door up to let the air run through as it was bellowing with it down. And the best news is that even with both ends open the bus was nice and dry. Well pleased
So not the blot on the landscape I had envisiged.

plenty of room down the sides.

 

[rockandrollcamper]

Street Boy, I love this. I was contimplating something similar. I take it you had to remove your massive cb aerial to get it in? :lol: :lol:

 

[streetboy]

Good spot :lol: you have a keen eye my friend
Reason for the shelter was it had the hieght so I didn't have to take the roof rack off :roll:

 

[streetboy]

Dragged the bus into work Saturday and spent a productive 2 hours waxing all the internal cavities. I was amazed to see upon the removal of the door cards that the original membranes were still intact and undisturbed:shock: I was also able to cure the sticky locking on the key, seems that the 41 year olf grease on the interior lock/handle had gone very hard making it hard to lock. Cleaned it up and its all working nicely now

Having use of an air fed wax gun makes life a lot easier, and with the addition of 10% degreaser per pot full made sure the wax gets everywhere. I also drilled some additional holes too in the inner quarter side panels to ensure wax got down to the rear wheel arches, and also drilled three holes per side in the inner tops of the front wheel arches to make sure they are well protected. I can live with three small rubber grommets knowing they aren't going to rot out. The drain holes in the doors and sills were all clear and with a little opening up I was able to get the nozzle in to flood them.
So thats all the waxing done now inside and out and I can start reasembling the interior. I do need some silly little items such as the chrome tailgate clips, a plastic arm rest bung, door card rubber inserts and rear quarter trim screw covers. Overall the trim panels are pretty good and need just a little work to make good.

 

[streetboy]

Hmmm, planned paintwork is not going to plan due to other commitments right now, and the fact I'm getting a real buzz from just driving it!

Did treat myself to a couple of pressies for Christmas. Nice patina overiders (which will be painted) and a middle seat kick panel.

 

[froggy]

Looking good mark 8)

 

[streetboy]

Not much been going on with 'Old blue' for a while apart from fitting new cab door and hatch seals, but with a planned trip to France in April the engine is coming out and the oil leaks will be have to be sorted.
First time taking one of these out for me :shock:

I've been thrashing out in my head over the last few days just what to do while the engine is out, do I go for new barels, pistons and heads or not? But The compression on all four cylinders is good and she runs and pulls well, so I've decided to leave well alone for now especially as were going on quite a long run to France. (If it aint broke don't fix it) Just decoke the head, relap the valves and fit new oil seals.

I will also be changing the heat exchangers, pipes and tinware seals etc (missing) and getting to grips with changing a snapped heater cable. Still chewing over wether to fit a 4 into 1 or stick with the original type rear box set up.

So all being well with the leaks fixed, new gaskets etc we will be rockin

 

[panic_fan]

Nice Bus! Love that color....looks very familiar! Dont see many of the Brilliant Blue around.

 

[gninnam]

Nice bus.

Regards the 'zorst - i'd stick with standard if you are planning to travel (just my tuppence worth)

 

[streetboy]

Hiya panic_fan, yeah its a nice shade of blue

Itake it the bus in the pic is yours? very nice. Hmm, I really need to get round to painting mine :roll:

Hiya gninnam, Not sure which way to go regards exhaust, things have changed a bit since my last post. Now opted for a rebuilt 1641 with mild cam and chopping my old lump in :shock:
I've put a lot of thought into this over the last few weeks and decided as I have had a little windfall, now would be the time to get the engine sorted. I'm going to have this old bus for while so want to get it up to scratch mechanically.

Booked the 4th & 5th of March off (wed/thur) which gives me a 4 day run (first timer)including the weekend to get it up and running before Volksworld. Roll on

 

[panic_fan]

Hiya panic_fan, yeah its a nice shade of blue

Itake it the bus in the pic is yours? very nice. Hmm, I really need to get round to painting mine :roll:

Yes sir, that is mine!

 

[streetboy]

Hi Rich, they do look sweet in this colour

 

[streetboy]

Well I am a decisive kinda of guy and usually have my mind made up before I do things. But I really am in a quandry over what to for the best regards my engine :?
Time factors play a big part in this, as I want to take the bus to Volksworld and then to France on April the 15th.
As it stands the engine runs ok and preforms quite well but is loosing oil all over the show. I originally planned to have it out and sort the gaskets and seals, fit a petronix kit, new carb, 4 into 1, lap the valves and decoke the heads, poss rings etc, then stick it all back. I then moved on to prehaps while it was out it would be a good idea to change the top end, b&p's, heads etc. Thinking more on this I thought it might be best to go the whole hog and install a rebuilt 1641 as the bottom end was unknown and could cause problems later. Would seem daft to risk it only to be fetching it back out later. Of couse end float would be a big factor. (can this be checked in situ?)
I have been racking my brain over this for about three weeks, and still can't make my mind up which way to go. :roll:

so do I.

1. keep the original engine, clean up the heads, fit rings, gaskets and seals and go with the bottom end.
2. Fit new b&p's, heads and the gaskets and seals and go with the bottom end........or
3. go for a rebuilt 1641 and transfer my bits over, and have some peace of mind as it has some warrenty.

I've sat and budgeted all the options and can keep the right side of £1500 for a 1641 with and all the other bits I need, some I have aleady tucked away. As I say time to get it up and running is the key issue for me.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Loxy]

Check your existing engine out to see what end float it has if necessary crack it open have a look & then decide from there

 

[streetboy]

Hi Loxy, I guess I could do a full strip down if time would allow. If I go that far I might as well do the mains, thrust, cam bearings, regrind the crank and have the lot balanced.
But may not have the time to do it, sh*t loads of work on, and really need it done in the four days I have spare. I keep leaning towrds a rebuilt long block which would make it achievable for me. Ony trouble is I have to exchange this engine and would liked to have played with it at a later date. hey ho

 

[Loxy]

Hi Loxy, I guess I could do a full strip down if time would allow. If I go that far I might as well do the mains, thrust, cam bearings, regrind the crank and have the lot balanced.
But may not have the time to do it, sh*t loads of work on, and really need it done in the four days I have spare. I keep leaning towrds a rebuilt long block which would make it achievable for me. Ony trouble is I have to exchange this engine and would liked to have played with it at a later date. hey ho

do you know where its leaking from? Whats the compression like? does it run hot?
Sounds like its running ok - I would be tempted to try and save it - but only you can decide if you really have time to sort it or not.

 

[streetboy]

Thats the problem Loxy, if it was running like a bag of Sh*te I would go for a recon. But it does seem to run ok, Compression when checked was around 120 ish across the bores which ain't bad, certainly wants to go when rolling. I would say its not running hot, but can't be sure. Its leaking it seems from just about everywhere :lol: rockers, suspect rear oil seal, stand dizzy you name it. To give you an idea I went up the Safford from Surrey and back in a day a while ago. When I got to staffs the oil was nearly off the stick, topped it up and the same after the return leg. But it sailed up there and back at 60/70mph. Normal use I have to top up at least once a week.

 

[streetboy]

Well well, funny how things turn out. I have taken the plunge and brought a complete ready to go rebuilt 1600 engine, even comes with an engine stand! :shock: Its local to me and I should be in my posession by the weekend
Doing it this way has worked out well as I can keep my old lump and play with it at a later date, and I've saved some dosh to go else where
Just a couple of bits to change over on its arrival and its game on :mrgreen:

 

[streetboy]

The guy who has it brought it from a local to him VW engine rebuilder and its sat in his garage for year since then. He no longer has his bus and decided to flog it.
I've checked out the rebuilders and they seem to know their stuff, so hopefully its going to check out. Picking it up tomorrow and dead excited about getting on with the job
All the other parts are now assembled at home in my spare room ready to go, I was hankering at getting the nod from the boss if it may be possible to stick it on a table in the spare room as well :shock: makes sense as its just inside the front door :lol:

Pics as I venture on my first attempt

 

[streetboy]

Picked the engine up today and all seems pretty sound.

And if you thought I was joking about the front room

Now I had to barter with the boss on this one and it cost me £500 splats for a new leather sofabed but who cares! its in there now :lol:
Now having had a good poke around there are a couple of points. The manifold has a pipe comong off under the carb which I guess would be for a servo? No problem as such as I can block it off and if I do get round to fitting discs and a servo I have it there.

And a bit of a result as it appears to have an alternater fitted, is this an internal regulater type?

So full steam ahead this week. Old engine out next weekend and in between getting the new one up together