The Velvet Thread - my '66 21-window bus project

Mateo wrote:

Clear coat it and be done...

CANT DO THAT CUZ THE MOSS WONT GROW

Yea, but it won't blow off in the wind either...

You win some and you lose some.

Satin clear coat

Well, Velvet got her registration and plates in the mail and the dumba$$ DMV made her into a 1967. They said that the VIN# came up as a 1967, so that is what she is. NOT.

Here's her VIN and MCode plates:





They clearly show that she's a 1966 (it's the first # in the VIN# on both plates, after the 25 for Type 25) and that she was manufactured on May 12 (new model years started in August). She came to me a 6-volt, '67 newly 12-volt. I also printed out this page of bus VIN #'s and will be taking all this and standing in the Line From Hell today.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/chassisdating.php

Sorry This is what happens when our government dictates who get hired. And to think next week the same moron will be the engineer for our bridges, high speed rail line. Life is grand

Time for an update!

So, when we returned from BusFest, took a look under her skirt and saw that indeed we had even less RGB bolts left in the springplates. We were down to one on one side and two on the other! Amazing old gal limped along and got Cat and I home though.

PO had done some hatchet job on them by welding, so Ray had to tap and drill and put some replacements in to get it to hold.





So, now that will hold better than stock. In the meantime, I found a tranny with axles and RGB's on CL from a fellow that raced and knew Ray back in the 80's. Got a good deal and so we can drive Velvet while that tranny is being rebuilt.

And the really amazing news: She has a 3rd gear after all! Initially, the shifter wouldn't even go in 3rd, so we have been driving her all along from 2nd to 4th, not TOO difficult since there's so much torque in the stock RG's, she's sort of like driving my Freightliner off the line skipping gears. But, when she was on the rack and Ray was thinking about how much rust was in that front floor pan, how he'd had to cut from the spare clip we got to even weld a section in order to bolt the shifer plate to... Sure enough, underneath that there was a lot of rust debris in the linkage. That is all that was keeping it from going into 3rd! Once that was discovered, we took her out and it does work just fine, but ONLY at acceleration, not decel, then she pops out. Takes a bit of practice, but as long as you don't take your foot off the throttle and slip the clutch a bit when putting it in, she has a working 3rd gear.

Then, the other day I was running errands and, oops, she's dumping fuel! I mean dumping. I shut her down before I had a fire, thank goodness. Turns out the "new" fuel line that Ray got from Napa is already turning to mush for some reason and sprung a leak in the engine compartment. Velvet and I were dang lucky. Ray and Mateo came to the rescue and now she's sitting in his shop while he tries to find some suitable fuel line.

Next, that swaying and fishtailing needed to be addressed, so we adjusted the linkpins that were very sloppy. And lubed them and the kingpins and beam. Took several hours of work due to rust and binding, having not been done in decades, but we got grease in every single zerk. But, still haven't taken her for a test drive to feel the difference until we get new fuel line.

Since she's grounded, Ray wanted to improve on the stock brakes. The brakes are all brand new, but the pedal can be fabricated to be better, you really have to stomp it to get a response. So, to improve the leverage, he moved the hole a bit. Here's a series of pics, starting with the stock (oblong from wear) hole, he filled it, and redrilled one higher up.

Here's the new drag link that we installed a bit ago. And the fabricated throttle linkage above that. And here you can see the brake pedal arm that we are going to R&R and the new master cylinder:



Blasted and cleaned, showing old oblong worn hole:



Filled:











New hole:



Tada! And it didn't put the angle too offset into the master cylinder. If, after we test drive and want to go a bit more extreme, we can do it again and put it further up and remount the master cylinder to maintain the angle.



As soon as the fuel line is fixed, we'll get to see how much better this feels.

I get an 8mm fuel lines from Autohause that is marked BMW with a little wire reinforcement that is wonderful I will try to bring a piece to Bug-o-rama so you can see it.




13311469781 part number

Link

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/cart.aspx?sid=xbssctjpaaxlzm45ky2u3jqz&makeid=800026@VW&modelid=1351965@BEETLE%20&year=1963&cid=22@Fuel%20%26%20Air%20System&gid=6352@Fuel%20Hose/Line



And dont forget the hose clamps

You know old Matt is nice to have around.

Sometimes.

I thought he was building a Ghia

Well, he was as a matter of fact. That's why he was shotgun with Ray that day. Good thing since we needed his help getting her back. Thanks Mateo!

Hey, *if* I ever get *my* motor done, you wanna go head's up?

Yes but I want to take a Honda, or two and a trailer just in case one of us...

We have a little debate on what Honda is faster. 4 dr no 2 dr.

We may also put the turbo back on the 1915 and run it in Don's spare super. I bet Matt would like to play

We will all need to go to Friday Test And Tune... I plan on kicking all your asses. Including the muscle cars. Just sayin'. Heh, heh. I mean that in the nicest way.

It is always best to smile when you kick ass

Hmmm....

Bold statements from a bold crowd.

I am in, I'll take whatever you guys can throw at me.

Although right now she just looks fast, I'll be pushing her down the 1/4.

Let's do it, I would love to run the Duramax at test and tune to see what the 8,000lb truck could do.

I'll run your Duramax against my Powerstroke 6.0 litre.

Maybe Dave will bring his Dodge and we can have a shootout.



Let the black smoke billow!

Hey, I think I hi-jacked my own thread here...

That's the sign of a good Hi-Jacker!

Show no mercy!!!

Welcome to the gang!

Yeah, when you can hijack your own thread.......you're cool with us.

Oh that would be fun... No propane, NOS, Bone butttttttt stock

If we don't bring any propane, what are we going to use to run the grill?

How are we going to cook the hot dogs and hamburgers?

I am just sayin'

"Pay no nevermind to the propane bottle in my truck, it's just for the grill"

Yea, that's it.. lol

Okay, ahem, back on topic, time for an update. Velvet is a very needy girl still and Ray has his hands all over her regularly...

He was driving her home at night to work out any bugs before I could rely on her to get me to work daily while Hugo is down for the count (new motor). What a magnet, he'd stop for dog food and have a crowd. People love these dang things. He got an offer to bring her and the rat rod, both with the same logo, to the Auburn Cruise Night and park them next to the band next Friday. Good exposure!

But sure enough, one morning, the clutch goes in Colfax. He drove her to work without one. I've done this with Hugo many times, so nice to not be stranded.

That day was a work day for me, so I can't recall the exact issue. It wasn't the clutch actually, but the linkage and the cable completely flew off in recoil, does this sound right? He texted me that he only had about an hour to spare and in that span: He pulled the motor, fixed it, put the motor in, and drove her to Toyota for a parts delivery! Show off.

The logo on the side has paid for labor in dividends. Ray has a shop full of aircooled work, which is his heart and soul. Now if Mateo could just work for him more, he could get caught up....

I took her to work, I commute to GV from Auburn every day. She made the grade in the 95 degree heat (Hugo's motor has LOTS of cooling options to compensate for HP in my daily). I need a "Slow Moving Vehicle" magnet on the back though. The stock RGB's really top out at 50-55mph. And she gets fishtaily with the front end issue still (needs another alignment) combined with the camber in the back. Did you know that this bus was rated as a 1 ton? Carrying no weight and no interior, she sits high and tucked up in back, which causes weird drifty behavior. Next on the list is lowering a notch to get her to sit pretty and straight.

Tucked in the warehouse at night to keep her safe.
Waiting patiently to carry me home.





"My other car is a...
Freightliner"



Work horse of the past, work horse of the present.