'71 Deluxe - Now with Super Secret Subaru Swap!

[DadWagens]

I liked the "feet" belt buckle, haha.

This bus was cool but kinda looked like it was barely held together. One speed bump and it was going to turn to dust.

Anything missing?

 

[gninnam]

Very nice pictures and so jealous of the weather 8) :mrgreen:

That last bus wouldn't be legal on the UK roads :shock:

 

[DadWagens]

My biggest gripe other than the lack of shade at this show is how close together the show cars are displayed.

And finally, my Dad and I brought my sister in on our tradition- we go to Fat Mike's Pizza after every Bug O Rama for a pitcher and a pizza.

In project related news, I stripped my engine of all the tin and put them in my friend's parts washer. The Oil Cooler was leaking so I need to clean out all of the crud from the cylinder cooling fins and replace the cooler seals. It's going sloooowly, but it's going.

 

[DadWagens]

Very nice pictures and so jealous of the weather 8) :mrgreen:

That last bus wouldn't be legal on the UK roads :shock:

Yeah it's really horrible living in California .

I don't know that I would even want to drive that last bus. I certainly would park it in my driveway and hang out next to it though :lol:

 

[gninnam]

..... I certainly would park it in my driveway and hang out next to it though :lol:

:lol: :lol:

 

[Barkafer]

Some seriously cool rides there man. I am particularly drawn toward those lurvly patina rides for some reason :roll: :mrgreen: Keep em comin P.

 

[DadWagens]

Chris, I wasn't aware of your penchant for patina :lol:

I think I'll probably only make it to one more show this season- the Wolfsburg's Wickedest show here in town in mid-October. I had plans to take the deluxe to the show but I'm starting to think I won't reach my goal. Which I'm okay with 'cause I don't want to stress out and get burned out on this project.

BTW I just picked up a new 2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDI (Golf Wagon for you Europeans). I love it. I don't even miss my A4.

 

[DadWagens]

Well I have been making some slow progress on the deluxe, after being distracted by the recent purchase of this for my wife:

Rust free, complete, original paint, running, driving, 1969 280SE with A/C.

Now on to the Deluxe progress. The cooling fins between the cylinders were clogged on my engine so I had to spend a lot of time cleaning that out. I had my tins washed in a parts washer and gave them a quick and dirty two coats of semi gloss black when I got them back:

Checked the endplay which was way too much and then pulled off the flywheel to check the thrust bearing which was totally loose in the case :shock: ! I'm gonna throw it all back together and run it for now and then rebuild the blown engine that came with the Deluxe a little later.

Last weekend I cleaned up the cargo floor which is totally solid with some surface rust.

Washed the rubber mat and put it back in. I also clamped down the middle seat. I need some more clamps, I only have two.

Other than that I put on my chrome front emblem (which came off of the firewall of a bug I bought when I was 17), put in the inner cargo door handle and some new sunvisor clips.

 

[gninnam]

Deluxe is looing good 8)

As for the stacked headlight Merc............Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm :mrgreen:

 

[DadWagens]

Thanks man!

Yep, my driveway is lookin' pretty good these days...

Just don't laugh at the wack rice exhaust on the merc! I've already dropped it off at the shop to get the stock stuff put back on. It'll drive much better and quieter soon.

And if I can convince my wife, maybe we'll eventually be rollin' like this? :shock:

http://snail.s4.bizhat.com/snail-post-18117.html

http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2005

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/06/01/car-feature-gt-gt-aired-mercedes-250s.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[gninnam]

Those Merc's look so good no matter what stance they hang (glad the 'zorst is coming off )

 

[Barkafer]

Niiiice Merc P. The bus is comin along nicely too.

 

[DadWagens]

Thanks fellas! Even though you two guys are among the few that comment, I know that folks are watching as I keep seeing my photos pop up on other forums like volkszone, volksforum and type2addicts.

So I got a package from Old Speed yesterday:

Once I put them on I can return my core spindles and then I'll order some adjusters from Wagenswest. I'm getting pretty fired up on the Deluxe now. I can't wait for Thanksgiving when I'll get some time off and hopefully get some hours in working on it!

 

[Guest]

My best friends wedding...

My Bug and the Grooms mates car which cost him about £4K theres a whole lot of space in that back seat for getting jiggy with it! love the mafia look

 

[Barkafer]

My best friends wedding...

My Bug and the Grooms mates car which cost him about £4K theres a whole lot of space in that back seat for getting jiggy with it! love the mafia look

Proper 'Anthill Mob' J! :lol:

 

[DadWagens]

Sweet rides for your mate's wedding!

We used my VWs in our wedding too, I drove the convertible into the ceremony with all the bridesmaids on board(we had an outdoor wedding in a lotus garden), and my father in law drove my black bug with my wife and mother in law on board. We took out the front passenger seat so it was like a Mexican Taxi, but black and tinted like a limo. It made for some excellent photos which at some point I'll have to post for you.

Back to the deluxe project, I have been very busy. I removed my stock spindles and sent out my trailing arms for new balljoints. I was going to put my spindles on right away to make the bus driveable and then drop my beam later but I've changed my mind. I'm going to pull my beam and weld in my Wagenswest adjusters next since I'm halfway there anyway.

Here's a side by side comparison of the oldspeed spindles vs. stock ones if anyone's interested:

The front end with no trailing arms makes my bus look like I narrowed it 10 inches. Full on Hovercraft status:

Does anyone else have the problem where your bus turns into a giant storage shelf or a shed after sitting for a while? We got new dual pane windows put into the house and garage so a lot of the crap I had to move out of the way ended up on and in the bus. That roof rack is pretty damn useful so far!

So other than the suspension stuff I've replaced the rear main seal on my engine, resurfaced the flywheel and installed the new clutch, put in a new input shaft seal and throw out bearing in the transmission. I put the engine and tranny back together and they're waiting on a engine seals and boots from Wolfsburg West before I can install them back into the bus.

I also replaced the front transmission mount since the tranny had been hanging from the old one for who knows how long. I used the mount from the Camper since the front mounts seem to be NLA. I replaced the shift rod bushings and coupler bushings too. BTW the aftermarket shift rod bushings are garbage and require a lot of trimming to get them to work. I ended up reusing the old front bushing with a new clip because the replacement part fit so poorly.

Next up, install engine and transmission, and drop out my beam for adjuster installation...

 

[creationblue]

Hey Leep, cool bus fella and the Merc rocks 8) I was looking at doing something simular recently, but practicalities with a young family ect put me off...........for now anyway.

Just

 

[Barkafer]

Does anyone else have the problem where your bus turns into a giant storage shelf or a shed after sitting for a while? We got new dual pane windows put into the house and garage so a lot of the crap I had to move out of the way ended up on and in the bus. That roof rack is pretty damn useful so far!

:lol: :lol: :lol:
I have the exact same storage facility in my small garage P!
How goes the work dude? How's the little 'un? Got him on the spanners yet?
Chris.

 

[DadWagens]

Work on the Bus has been even slower than usual since my Mother in law passed away on Christmas Eve from cancer. It was sad and very difficult but sort of a relief as she declined very quickly and didn't suffer for very long.

So... that was a downer. Moving on...

My wife bought me an iPhone for Christmas so now you can expect my pictures to look like **** :lol:

I did get my engine and transmission back in (by myself!). I've also dropped out my beam so I'm ready to install adjusters:

My little sis hooked me up with a Wolfsburg West reproduction tool kit which is pretty cool:

On a side note, I went downtown to a burger joint that used to be a taco joint, and found this very cool USA/Mexico border poster hanging in the men's room.

My boy is doing great, Chris, thanks for asking. Not yet holding wrenches but he can definitely whack some **** with a hammer. 14 months old and pushing out a few more teeth as we speak!

Next up, weld in my Wagens west adjusters and throw it all back together...

 

[Barkafer]

Sorry to hear your sad news P. It's never a good time to go anytime, but Christmas eve....! That must have been tough.

I know what you mean about finding time. I have found no time at all to do anything to mine. Got to make some time soon.

Nice to see you got your beam out. Is that the original colour under there? Chianti Red or the other one? Montana is it?