Houston Texas 1969 westy.... my first bus

[barkeep]

well found this on craigslist in houston texas and even though the pics looked like shit, i still decided to check it out.
owner was out of town, and hadnt shown it to anyone, so i begged for the address so i could look in person. he finally
agreed and i drove over.

first sight

looked promising at initial drive up, minus surface rust due to previous owner putting a bra on it and leaving it on while it sat for the last 8 years.

first walk around/exterior inspection

well i had to try the door handle... score! it was open so
intial interior/pop top inspection

westy...nice

poptop exterior... no rips anywhere

so after looking it over, i decided i had to have it and called the owner.
long story short he could meet me sunday (today) and we could talk about price....

extraction pics to come

 

[Araon]

8)

 

[uber cool]

Nice, hope you get it. Always nice when there is an 'as found' story with photos

 

[faux]

This is going to be very nice 8) , what are the plans for it? (Welcome to the site)

 

[easy]

Nice bus dood! 8)

Your plans must be, fix any major rust issues and then wax oil it loving that front :mrgreen:

 

[barkeep]

extraction action

shes out!

rolling for the first time in quite a while

cool, an extra oil sump

and shes rollin out

grave robbin

 

[barkeep]

and of course the arrival pics..

touch down

started to clean out some garbage and and old crap (if anyone is interested in the ultra rare westfalia parrot curtains let me know)

pulled out the front mats, which are in great shape. just starting to get a bit fragile. if anyone knows any products that can retard this let me know.
the cab floor looks fairly decent. just a few small holes on the drivers floor which ill take care of.

did a little clean out and a quick vaccum and even that made a big differance

even in the engine compartment

 

[barkeep]

so when i try to turn the motor over by hand it wont budge (this is back in the spot where it was originally sitting the first time i went to see it) and im all bummed out. but then i turn to my buddy mike "watch, i bet its in gear". i go up front and sure enough its in second. i put it in neutral and try again, but this time it turns freely. sweet. i checked the dipstick and the oil looks clean, abeit having a little "gassy" aroma, so i have a good feeling...

fast forward back to today
so after the little clean up i decide to pop the valve covers.....


well, they were just a bit cleaner than i thought they would be. :shock:

lets just say i have a strong feeling ill have this running fairly soon. and the light orange color is thread sealer, at first i thought rust till i felt it.


i was all excited and hopefull so i stuck a battery on it to test the electrical (yes i disabled the motors ability to turn) and bam!

score number two of the day

one tail light out of the rest isnt bad in my book. and id be willing to bet its the bulb or a loose connection.

more updates as i go along, and any input/comments/pointing out incorrect items/advice is always welcome

 

[barkeep]

ive read up on the testimonials for CLR so i thought id give it a try on the worst part of the bus... the nose

and the majic stuff... CLR

man, if the previous owner hadnt covered the nose with a leather "bra" i bet it would be perfect. well i guess it could be alot worse than it is.

i figured id be doing a few passes with this stuff so keep in mind this is just the first scrub. and it works badass!

passenger door bottom before

passager door bottom after

pulled the headlight ring and nose emblem, as ive heard the CLR will eventually eat away at the finish. cant vouch if this is true or not, but i removed them anyhow.
ill just put some quick before, during, and afters as the weather forced me inside for the time being. ill finish it up sunday and post some good shots.

and a little in progress side by side, before and after

im happy with the results so far, and i think when im done it will look just fine

 

[barkeep]

wrench session....

we bled the brakes and had great pedal pressure so it was on to the motor

had to put on a new cap, and i regapped the points and changed the oil. then the ghetto gas can.

only problem was the ridiculus wiring done by someone along the line.
but onion456 worked his wizardry.

and brad lending a hand whilst the electrical gremlins are chased away

and the spectators

well after a fair amount of attempts......
thats me on the right, onion on the left, and brad as narrator

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFa0MMNNQyY[/youtube]


and because of fuel delivery issues, i just wanted to see if she would run.
and she did

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW3aFe-uCG4[/youtube]

well the ignition problem was driving us nuts so onion started poking around under the dash... and into the night

i turned the key as he was joggling wires around and the motor tried to turn. well at least its under the dash or as i later found out the next day, the ignition... crap

another serious thank you to brad, onion456, omar, and the ladies for spectating. was really amazing meeting you guys. this was a major display of vw commrodery and working towards a common goal all while having a great time.
i look forward to hanging again soon, and of course updates to come...

 

[barkeep]

well, the electrical prob ended up being the electrical side of the ignition switch so after a small parts hunt and a quick study of the wiring diagram i finally got that in and wired up...
also got a new fuel pump and slapped that on a little while ago and turned the key...
needless to say, it was a far better outcome than i expected! (please ignore my giddy coments)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSlttnPEifU[/youtube]


im gonna wash it and finish CLRing the nose and hopefully the rest of the bus. brakes will need adjustment, but that shouldnt take long.
also gas tank cleaning should commence next week.

 

[roland]

Nice bus! I thought the nose surface rust was pretty cool looking actually, but it's gonna look cleaner with the whole bus CLR'ed...

Any plans on wheels/lowering?

 

[barkeep]

so, i decided to go ahead and give the whole bus a light CLR bath. also finished the first round on the nose and cleaned up the pop top a bit...

little before and after action:

ran out of CLR so i couldnt do the back end, but ill be back at it shortly...

 

[aogrady]

Hi!

Nice bus, really cleaned up well didn't it? Been watching your posts on the samba, glad you made it over to Earlybay!

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[who?]

Lovin this dude!

Keep em coming it's giving me great inspiration.

 

[ant]

I also like the patina'd front.............. you are doing some hard graft there fella keep it up

 

[marcher]

That CLR stuff looks "top draw" never come across it over here?????

Top looking bus!!! keep it up

White westy will rule the world one day!!

 

[Airtime]

That CLR stuff is amazing! :shock: The bus comes out nicely! 8)

 

[steve92]

nice bus! great find. keeps those updates coming

 

[barkeep]

Well been working hard at it, hadn't found time to post updates here...
Will so shortly but they are posted in my sAmba thread... Username vdub66gone

As you say. "cheers"