"Helga" Matt's 65 bus restoration thread - Austin TX!

[Pinetops]

I love the bus, congrats. Ill stay tuned for your updates.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Longboardluv]

We were able to cut the shift rod coupler off but now the two tubes are fused together. I've been hitting them with a torch and am trying to twist them apart using two pipe wrenches, but it's not budging any suggestions??? I'd like to reuse the front one, but i know I could it off and get a new one.

got the trans out and cleaned up, new trans mounts front and rear, need to replace right side seals. will but new boots on when it's back in the bus

shiny new tie rods! still need to do the drag link

[khalimadeath]

Look great! If only there was an easy way to strip all the dirt and rust from the bottom and recoat.

[zozo]

[Longboardluv]

okay, zozo your bus is too damn pretty underneath that's all i gotta say about that!!

after a couple of tries i got both pieces glowing red and let them cool on their own

then after a couple of hours I pb blasted them and used the pipe wrenches and they finally started moving a little. I just kept working them until they came apart!

it felt so good to get those separated and see them out of the bus!

had this little brush for the dremel which was perfect to clean out the gunk, i also hit the whole outside of the front shift rod on the bench wire wheel to get all the old paint off

cleaning everything (including nuts and bolts) on the wire wheel

then repainting it - this is the shifter boot

front wheel axel covers

This is front shift rod with it's first coat of paint.

it was time upgrade some of my tools, these are 1/2 (which I didn't have before) and will end up going in the bus' road tool kit. 25% off each one at Harbor Freight!

[Malokin Martin]

Whoa... I normally think HF stuff is total crap... But the color thing is pure genius. Nice work on the bus also

[silkvw]

Embrace the rust and enjoy your bus.
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'64 single cab Big Bend Bus Bash 2015 '16
'59 camper BBBB 2017 '18 '19 '20 '22 New Mexico
'70 Ghia........Bonneville,........TX Mile,........142 mph......(sold)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=641871&highlight=

[Col_Forbin]

I picked up those pop outs last night so they are in town now... let me know when you'd like to meet up n get them!
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Goin' where the climate suits my clothes
Levon the 66 Westy:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=655780
71 Deluxe Bay

[Longboardluv]

hell yeah Silkvw! Thanks Col, I'll text you tonight!! THANKS

the shuttle cocks on the shift rod with a little grease ready to go back in

I had cleaned out the tunnel with a leaf blower and carb cleaner

rear rubber seal installed, also with a little grease

new MC vs Old

got the old one out

this is the front of the shift rod not the sun light coming through the floor, i'll have a lot of work getting the cargo floors all sealed up

now cleaning up the ends of all the hard lines soon i'll be squirting brake cleaner through them all and putting it all back together.

[Pinetops]

[zozo]

Fine so far. No issues whatsoever. I've not done the center section, yet. I'm claustrophobic and just can't. I don't have a lift and just can't bring myself to be that far under it. (It us what it is.)

In hopes that it'll help, I want to check out a lift in the $2-3k range.

[Pinetops]

Good deal, I'll probably do the same to mine then. The finish is nice, you can apply it in sections and its durable, sounds perfect for me.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Longboardluv]

The bolts holding the shifter were a little toasty, so i went ahead and replaced them.

Was able to figure out the correct way to get the front shift rod all assembled and ready to go back in, but had a really hard time threading the rear bolt

turns out I need to re-thread the damn thing, you know what they say about reproduction crap.

cleaning up the shifter

nice and clean now, ready for a little grease

Just need to throw the boot on and I'm good. I also got a shift extension from bullidriver steal works but i'll put that on later. Next I'll install the shift rod coupler and get back on the brakes.

[BarryL]

It's amazing how "one with your bus" you feel when the action of shifting is right on click-click.

Don't know 'bout yours but something I've discovered is the replacement nylon shift guide get real sticky especially against paint and once the grease dissipates. I end up going under the bus and just expand the spring clip off the nylon guide and leave it on the shift rod out of the slide path.

I guess you could spread the spring clip to not have it be so tight but anywho fwiw.

[Longboardluv]

Isaac helped me clean the spring plate with the dremel tool

I got all the lines disconnected an the ends cleaned up, then sprayed brake cleaner through them all

brake lines all back together and ready to go! I still plan on cleaning all the gunk off this area

my friend eric hooked me up with his old rear glass!

anti-seize on the shift rods

they are back together with the coupler and grub screw, just need to safety wire it in.

[Longboardluv]

Friday I ordered my front seat cushions and covers from SewFine. They are going to look really close to stock (mesh grey & black) It's going to be about five weeks before they make it in but that's okay because there's work to be done!! Made quite a bit of progress this weekend. The plan was the clean the wishbone area and transaxle with easy-off. It ended up taking off the paint, Whoops! So found two very similar colors in home depot and ended up going with "Matte Harvest Orange"

shiny exposed metal, whoops

ended up getting a 27mm wrench (adding to the tool bag) to remove the trans support so it too can be cleaned and painted

all primed up

since this is an area that no one will really see much I'm okay with it just being a close match. When I go to paint the nose, I'm actually going to have the paint color matched and put in a spray can.

ended up going with option #1 on the top

i think this ended up being a good "mistake" as now the area is really clean

after hitting it with the wire brush and mineral spirits, it too was hung from the painting tree!!!

Ended up cutting out what was left of the battery tray using an angle grinder and mostly the dremel.

This actually went really well and I'm really close to having it fit nicely. I plan on getting in there with wire brush and taking all the surface rust off. Then we'll weld in the new tray. #OneStepCloser !

[Longboardluv]

I'm trying to figure out a way to get both heater boxes pumping heat to the front. I'm going to have to make something similar to this or find a flexible pipe that can be put it. It's going to involve cutting the floor and welding.
I found these pictures of someone that did this same thing recently.

[Longboardluv]

Made a little progress on the accelerator pedal. Realized that the whole linkage is pretty much toast so I'll be ordering a rebuild kit from Wolfsburg West. Was able to get the pedal pin punched out, but that needs to be replace. The pedal spring broke off at the base, so i need to figure out how to get that little booger out!

this all needs to get replaced

took a few good hits with the hammer to punch out the pin

this will get repainted black soon

underneath that little area is the bottom piece of the spring that needs to come out.

[BarryL]

[Longboardluv]