A coupla VW projects......

[kombi1976]

If you know anything about VWs then you'd know what my username means.
Kombis are basically a model of VW bus and here in Oz all VW buses....pickups, buses, panels and campers.......are referred to Kombis.
I've owned 3 other Kombis before:

• an orange '76 Camper (my first bus)
• a blue '72 Pickup (an unstarted projected I forced to sell by my sanctimonious brother )
• a white-over-green '77 9-seater bus (sold just before #1 child was born as our other car was SLIGHTLY more sensible).

My current 2 projects both don't run but one will very soon and hopefully the other will eventually.
 
In 2000 I was still living in Sydney and hadn't even taken up hunting at that stage. I was completely enamoured with buses at that stage and having finally gained my drivers licence in 1999 after many years of health problems was busting to get some interesting vehicles. We had the '76 camper at the time but I wanted an early model bus......a split windshield as their called. As such my brother I went and checked out an unfinished project: a '67 Panel. She was straight with little rust and a lot of the gear needed to upgrade the mechanicals. AUD$1200 later she was home and we called her Kitty - Kitty the splitty. But funds prevented us doing any work. Here she is when I bought her:
 

 
In 2002 when we were living in Orange and had $2000 worth of rust and panel repairs done by a VW expert. But when we moved to our current town money was again short so nothing happened for the past 4 years. This is how she was after the rust work when we moved her to our present town:
 

 
Fast forward to 2007 and my wife is expecting #3 so we were faced with a decision about another vehicle as our present dual cab 4x4 is too small. After various suggestions which, due to my wife's obsession with older looking and impractical cars, were met with contempt I on a whim suggested spending the money on our long term project the, '67 Panel. There was silence and then I was asked to outline the plan. So, about 6 weeks and a $15k bank loan later we're well on the way to putting the Kitty on the road. The work is being done by Steve Muller of Kombi Rescue in Sydney. Here she is on the trailer ready to head to Steve's place.....
 

 
She's being fitted with a '74 VW bus ball joint front end, front disc brakes, rear IRS suspension, larger drums, brake booster and a transmission from a 1303 Beetle. Kitty will be lowered with adjusters and fitted with a dual carb 1600cc engine, a bull bar to defend the fairly flimsy metal on the front end from roos, a rear seat/folding bed and 3 person middle seat along with child seat mounting points and inertia reel seat belts where possible. She'll also have rear windowed doors from a bus so there's light and air in the back. The colour is going to be Desert Sand, basically the Afrika Corps Wehrmacht colour, and it'll have flattening agent added to the paint to give it a matt, military look.
 
So for obvious reasons I'm getting excited and am looking forward to finally driving Kitty. Since the baby is due in October she has to be finished by September so we can drive her around a bit and iron out any problems. Believe me, I'm counting the days! If people are interested I'll keep you up to date.

[kombi1976]

Now, this is a bit of a long story. Our local SSAA branch president is a top guy and mate of mine. He has a lot of mechanical and technical know-how, is a carpenter by trade, ran an auto repair business in Sydney some years back and can fix anything through his skills on all sorts of stuff. He also has a shed the size of half a basketball court with a small lathe & mill, arc welder, dropsaws (wood and metal), grinders, scroll saw, drills, kiln, compressor with painting and sandblasting gear......he even has a full size wheel alignment tool! BUT his arms were completely ruined due to a work injury and so he can only do stuff for a short time and cannot lift heavy stuff.
 
He's been saying "When I get my shed cleaned up I'll......" for as long as I've known him and his kids were supposed to help him but they live a 100 miles away so it's been crazy. As such I offered to help him do it. It wasn't entirely altruistic. There were dies and a timney trigger he'd promised me, but more than anything I wanted the guy to be able to enjoy fixing and making stuff again and the place is a real mess. Interestingly in his yard, along with about 9 other cars (Saabs, Renault 12s, Nissans and minibus!) is a '72 VW Panel that somewhere along the way was converted to a camper.
 
As I mentioned before, I owned a 72 Pickup (and no thanks to my rotten brother! ) and loved the look of the nose. These are called "Low-Light" Bays as they have the wide "bay-window" windsheild characteristic of '68-'79 VW buses but on the earlier low-lights the indicators are lower mounted and the entire car is more rounded. They also have smaller tail lights, althought the cross over to the later Bays is 72 so these have the low-light nose and tall tail lights. Confusing? Well, its enough to say I love them. The low-lights are more curved and softer looking......but they're getting fashionable and rarer too. So our president made me a deal; once the shed was cleaned up we'd pull the bus out of the yard, roll her into shed and fix her up. The bus was mine and he knew it was going to a good home. And why not; he has the know how and me the muscle so he could enjoy the company and satisfaction of the getting done and I can learn a HEAP! Best of all, I don't end up in doghouse for bringing home a rusty bus. :)
 
Now, in the pursuit of buses I've learnt the hard way......rust never sleeps. In fact when everything else IS sleeping rust is wide awake and having a wonderful time. And the Panel/Camper is no different. Here she is...... :undecided:
 

 
A horror story you may well say, and you'd be right. There are rust bubbles in sills and door bottoms, holes in cab floor in front of the driver seat, the vent on the pop-top roof is long gone which probably encouraged what seems to be moss on the cargo floor, and it about 5" into the dirt. Here's the nose:
 

 
I won't show the interior.....it turns the stomach. But the rear seat/bed looks like a real item, not a dodgy knock up. Here's the tail:
 

 
And yes that's a cattamaran leaning on it. There's a LOT of work there but you have to start somewhere and my mate is also buying a new MIG soon. Plus, if my initial welds are pretty bad I won't be devaluing a solid vehicle. I know......I'm crazy. But it'll be fun. Plus I'm considering keeping bad paint, colour matching it when I do rust repairs and leaving the lichen and water and rust stains on. Then we can slam it for the traditional rat look. Should turn heads. The engine will stay pretty standard. I'll up date this now and again too.
 
BTW, I'm after a name (female, of course, so not Rusty!).....any suggestions?
I thought of Courtney (Love of the rock band Hole) 'cause she's filthy and has holes but my wife thinks it's just wrong so I'll probably have to change of.

[Alboy]

I will try and scrounge up a pic or two of my old bus. Had a '66 back in 77-78. Sold it to move my new bride and son from Florida to New Mexico. Wish now I had trailered it out.
 
This one is similar but mine had less rust and better paint. It would have been a lot better ride than what I managed to buy in NM too.

[Alboy]

On a a name for your second bus. How about Mae West. She was built big and comfy with lots of rounded parts.

[kombi1976]

I will try and scrounge up a pic or two of my old bus. Had a '66 back in 77-78. Sold it to move my new bride and son from Florida to New Mexico. Wish now I had trailered it out.
This one is similar but mine had less rust and better paint. It would have been a lot better ride than what I managed to buy in NM too.

I feel your pain, Alboy.
And you're right......it would've been a better bet to trailer it, even if it sat safely under a tarp for the last 30 years.
Believe me when I tell you that the $15k my '67 is costing me to put on the road is quite a bit less than what they fetch as a running vehicle.
 

On a a name for your second bus. How about Mae West. She was built big and comfy with lots of rounded parts.

That is actually the nicest one so far suggested, but as it turned out the bus beat you to it.
I took the family out to my mate's place for a drive so they could have a look at her and fished an old insurance form out of the glovebox to check out any past details.
Check out the number plate No. on the insurance certificate......
 

 
I think Eve is a nice name, don't you?
Better still, in a way, the bus chose her own name, which is very cool.

[Alboy]

Excellent approach.
 
Do you pronounce that like eave or evie? The second one seems to fit better to me but of course it is not my bus.
 
Recently i have been looking with the idea to get another. So far the price range is running between $1,000 for the picture I borrowed above to $21,000 for completely restored. I want a good running one but restored to show room new will not be necessary.
 
Keep us informed with the restoration with pictures, lots of pictures!!!

[kombi1976]

Excellent approach.
 
Do you pronounce that like eave or evie? The second one seems to fit better to me but of course it is not my bus.

I pronounce it like a double-E.......Adam and Eve.
 
 
 

Recently i have been looking with the idea to get another. So far the price range is running between $1,000 for the picture I borrowed above to $21,000 for completely restored. I want a good running one but restored to show room new will not be necessary.
 
Keep us informed with the restoration with pictures, lots of pictures!!!

Well, a good running one is pricey these days and the "low-light" Bays are also beginning to gain value.
But I'll keep you informed on both.
The '67 should see the road in about 2½ months but I don't expect the '72 to see the road for about a year.
The missus was very cool about it all.
We chatted briefly about it and although she's skeptical she said I could put it on club registration so I can still drive it now and then on weekends and enjoy it but not have to suffer the AUD$700 to AUD$1000 it costs to put a car on the road outside of running costs and repairs.
And speaking of pics, here are a couple more of the '72.
We went out on Saturday arvo to show the kids the bus and also because my wife had to get out of the house......she was getting stir crazy.
The boys loved it.
Here they are ready to cruise.


 
The cabin floor is like a freakin collander......full of holes!
But when I pulled up the mat I found this colour underneath:
 

 
A mint green colour?!
Much nicer than the paintbrush-applied blue paint.
My mate and I conferred and decided Eve will look much nicer in that so she'll get a respray will be done colour matched to the floor paint.
The engine shelf also mercifully avoided rust holes despite the damp particle board on top of it.
 

 
It's just surface rust.

[kombi1976]

More news for this thread.
Following the horror run with my dual cab pickup being written off and the purchase of the Patrol I have had good news on the VW front.
First of all, I've scored a 74 VW Panel for free, gratis, from Steve Muller.
Another client bought it to pull out the driveline and suspension from it so the stuff could be installed on a Splitwindow (pre-68) bus and Steve was left with the '74 sitting on stands in his yard.
The advantage of the '74 is that it only has pinhole rust in the driver's floor, not stuff you can put your fist through and overall it's very straight and has no windows or holes cut in it.
Here's a few pics.......

 

 

 
As you can see, it's lacking the mechanicals but makes up for it in the "lack of freakin big messy panel butchery" department.
Now I just need to organise with Steve to get it to my mate's place. :undecided:
 
The second is that the 67 Panel is presently being painted and should be finished this week.
I won't be able to get down there for a fortnight but I look forward to seeing the finished job. :)

[recoil junky]

All you need now is a 400M w/Aussie heads, Edlebrock intake/carb, 10.5:1 pistons . . . . . . . . .

My father in law of all people is a Kombi nut also. He had one when the wife and I first got married. Had it for a coon's age then traded it off on a Toyota pickup. I'm thinking he wishes he still had the Kombi instead of the 27 foot motor home.

RJ

[kombi1976]

See that's what I love.
Shoe-horning a watercooled engine 4 times the original size into an aircooled car.
That's gotta be easy.
Just one question........what does the M mean on the end of 400M??

[recoil junky]

MODIFIED. It's a factory Ford thing. Started out as the 351 (5.7 liters) Cleveland, then they made a 400 cu. in. (6.6 liters) out of it with a different crank and pistons. Of course the 400 needed bigger valves and intake  manifold and somebody got the idea to put the heads and intake on a 351 so they called it a modified or 351M. Later the 400 got even BIGGER valves which wouldn't work on the351M so they ended up with a 400M.

Pretty easy to make power with, but pretty expensive. You really have to watch how much compression you end up with because the bottom and won't handle it. You have to be REALLY careful when boring them out so you don't get the cylinder walls to thin. The guy that did our block "x-rayed" the block to see how much oversized we could go and .040" was it. Luckily it cleaned up at .030" over.  High RPM is out of the question, but it's easy to build one for torque instead of HP.  6000 RPM would be pretty scarey. The Bronco will end up with a rev limiter set to 4500 RPM. I'd like to put it on a dyno to see what we end up with as far as torque and horsepower.

 A 350 Chevy is way cheaper to build but everybody and his dog can do one of them.

Oh, the woes of a hot rodder.

RJ

[kombi1976]

Small block Chevs are common as muck and they're boring too.
To be honest, my choice in non-VW muscle would be this......
 

 
It's an Aussie '72 Ford Falcon XA Coupe.
These cars are fat in all the coolest ways and are fairly closely related to the Torino.
This model is actually the 351C 4V powered GT Falcon but I would happily give it a miss and fit a standard '72 Falcon Coupe with the turbo charged Tickford-built 4.0l six-cylider engine from the current Falcon XR6 Turbo and it's matching Tremec T56 gearbox.
Ford actually de-tuned the 6-cylinder turbo to keep it's power output lower than the 5.0l V8 that is used in the Faclon XR8 and I believe is the same as the current Mustang plant.
So with a variable wastegate, better intercooler and re-chipped engine computer it'll easily flog a V8.
On top of that, with sensible pedal work, it'll be 3 times more fuel efficient.

[recoil junky]

That's a cool Falcon. Very unlike the American Falcons of yore. It's a carbon copy of a Torino, that's for sure.

Gotta admit computerized engines are great. So much power from such little space. The 5.4 liter Triton in the Expedition is impressive. I've driven the new Mustang with the 4.6 V8 and it's awesome. And you are right, fuel efficiency is the name of the game now, plus they seem to last forever. The 5.4 in the expedition had 140,000 miles and the old red 93 Buick w/a 3.1 V6 has 240,000 on it. But these new engines lack something and I can't put my finger on it. Oh yeah I can too!!!!! You gotta be a rocket Scientist to work on the bloody things!!!! If you don't have all the latest computer diagnostic equipment and the "check engine" light comes on it's off to the shop where you can spend $200 right off just to see "what the computer says" Bloody flippin' bastards get you in both ends before you leave.

The light came on in the Expedition , so I took it to the Ford shop and they said it was "an errant code" what in the bloody 'ell is an "errant code"??????? Nothing to worry about they says. I told them to bugger off, I wasn't going to pay for the computer test if all it was was an errant code. They said something about not giving me my keys, so I went and got my mate who is the sales manager at this dealership (also former county sherriff) I got my keys back and told them they would never see any of my Fords in there again.

Nope, give me a carbuerated big block V8 any day. I'll make power and still be able to fix it myself.

RJ

[kombi1976]

Carburettored engines are easy if you know how to set them up but with a laptop and some easily obtainable software you can reprogram an EFI engine to whatever you wish.
And I wouldn't be heading near a dealership for love nor money.
This missus and I had to get 2 more keys for the Patrol as we'd only got one with it when we bought it.
They have microchips so we had to order them in at $80 a key.
The dealership said they'd be in the next day.......they weren't and that was Friday.
So my wife goes and picks them up on the Monday and they told her to get them cut like the original and then bring the car back to code the keys.
On Tuesday arvo after work I take it in to get the keys coded for the car and suddenly we can't get them coded until THURSDAY because they have to take the ignition bbl out!
So with little choice I book the car in for Thursday 1pm and the missus has to drop me at work on Thursday and fiddle her day around it.
She turns up at 1pm and the girl at the service counter tells her there's no booking.
At that point my missus pops a vein, and she's a very patient and mild mannered lass.....afterall she's married to me and hasn't smacked me with a length of pipe and buried me in a shallow grave.
She tells the girl it's our 4th visit to the dealership, we're sick and tired of the run around and she's disgusted with the service.
The girl at the desk says "We might be able to get it done by 5pm" and the wife rips in again and says she needs the car for 4pm so there's no way we will wait until 5.
At this point the rough quote for the coding was around $100.
At 4pm we arrive......the Patrol is done and the keys coded.
And the price? $44 for both keys coded.
Funny how a threat pushes stuff down.
So my advice is don't go near a dealership unless you HAVE to and make the mongrels pay if they give you any gyp at all.

[Shotgunhemi]

Quote: Pretty easy to make power with, but pretty expensive. Thats right recoil junky. The 351M and 400 Cleveland were purely built for torque, hence them being used in trucks. They were never intended as a performance engine and just will not rev because of the long stroke. Parts wise is a night mare because of the taller deck height you cant use a standard 351 Cleveland manifold 4v or 2v. There are not many after market intakes for this because it really isnt worth hottin it up. Im sure it will do the job just fine though.
If you want power for the street, you would be better off with a standard 351 Cleveland block with 4v heads with a hydraulic cam. Now thats a decent street engine. You mentioned the 'Aussie' 2v heads. They were closed chamber 2v used on 302 Clevelands down here. You guys in the states only had the 2vs in open chamber. Ive got a set on one of dads engines, shipping might be a bit much though
Yeah you dont want to really go over .30 thou with a Cleveland if you can help it.
 
Tell you what I gotta find a Mach 1 soon or im going to go nuts! Got a nice Cleveland nascar 4 bolt main block lying around, with a set of 4v heads just waiting for a rough solid lifter cam and Shelby high rise intake topped with a Boss 302 vac sec 780 Holley and also a set of Carrillo rods. Now thats a seriously fun engine hehe.
And yep Chevs in general are common and boring
 
Quote; Nope, give me a carbuerated big block V8 any day. I'll make power and still be able to fix it myself.
Thats just what my old man says hehe. Who am I to argue with a bloke that can get an easy 600 horses from a Dual carbied Boss 429? :
Its quite easy to hook up EFI to a 351C too. Holley make a pro-injection kit. Bit expensive but worth it in the long run.
 
Andy, gotta love or Xa/Xb coupes How crazy are PhaseIII prices down here? A friend of ours was offered a cool 1 million, no thats not a typo, for his. Wish dad still had both of his! I love the pic of your kids sitting in the front seat lol.

[recoil junky]

Give a listen to this,

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/recoil_junky/IMG_0159.jpg

CRANK IT UP!!!

http://s64.photobucket.com/player.swf?refURL=http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/recoil_junky/%3faction=view¤t=MVI_0166.flv/&file=http://vid64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/recoil_junky/MVI_0166.flv&fs=1&os=1&ap=1

Torque at it's finest mates!!

The 351 Windor is a much easier engine build. That's what the 69 Mustang has in it. As soon as the bronco is out the door the mustang will be up on stands and we'll start to work on it. There's still a few things to do before the Bronco can be put back on her feet but not too much longer.

RJ

[recoil junky]

Give a listen to this.



Pure Ford torque! CRANK IT UP!!

http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/recoil_junky/?action=view¤t=MVI_0166.flv

The 69 Mustang has a 351 Windsor in it. Much easier to build and less expensive too. It will come into the shop as soon as the Bronco gets back on the ground. Still some things left to do but it won't be much longer.

RJ

[recoil junky]

THe Mustang has a 351 Windsor in it. Much easier and cheeper to build power with.

You want to hear power? Give a listen to this and CRANK IT UP!!!

http://s64.photobucket.com/player.swf?refURL=http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/recoil_junky/%3faction=view¤t=MVI_0166.flv/&file=http://vid64.photobucket.com/albums/h191/recoil_junky/MVI_0166.flv&fs=1&os=1&ap=1

Don't know why the link is so long, I must have mucked something up

RJ

[recoil junky]

Just a ? If'n it's 1310 hrs 9/AUG/07 here in Colorado, U.S. of A. what day and time is it in the land of Oz?

Yes I'm serious

RJ

[kombi1976]

Put it this way.
It's now just after 10am on the 10 August 2007 here in Eastern Australia while it's just after 6pm in your part of the world.
That means you're exactly 16hrs behind us.

[recoil junky]

Dang it, no wonder I'm always late

Well, I'm off to the shop to work on exhaust system for the Bronco. I'll be glad to get it all done. It's taking time away from  my shooting nad I want to work on y 300RUM a bit before it's time for elk hunting. I'l post some pics of the home fabricated exhaust on the 69 mustang thread.

RJ

[kombi1976]

Good luck with the 300 RUM, RJ.
My 8mm hasn't ever really settled into a load and it's driving me nuts.
If I could just work with a standard load it'll be much easier.
Never have hassles with the 303/25 or the 25-20.
I just want to reach that point with the Mauser.
 
And MORE fun abounds with the Camper.
Steve Muller passed on the '74 Panel he was going to give me as it was taking up too much space in his yard and I didn't sort out transport for it.
I'm a little annoyed that he didn't even let me know he was giving it to someone else, just told me when I asked him about it, but he has plenty of other Kombis passing through the place all the time so we're going to try and find another one.
What he DOES have is a '75 Single Cab Kombi Pickup and I used to have a '72 that I loved but never got started on.
So we may be trading parts for me to take that off his hands.
He reckons it deserves saving and I reckon it'd make a cool shooting vehicle. :smiley:

[Nelsdou]

Just came across this thread and enjoyed reading about the Kombi's.

This VW was my hobby car for a few years, a '66 6-volt swing axle bug w/sunroof


Rescued it from a backyard in Santa Fe, New Mexico where it sat for years after being smacked into a curb after a brake failure.  I installed a new front axle/frame assembly, new brake shoes and pistons, bearings, drums, new gas tank, windshield, reupholstered the seats, rebuilt the engine, new carb, new clutch w/ throw out bearing, repaired the bottom pans, replace the starter solenoid pinion "sleeve" (now that's a whole story in itself), a couple of tires, and "adjusted" the rear torsion bars for a level, but stiff ride.  Now that sounds like a lot of "restoration", but not counting my time, my total investment in that car was no more than $1,600, tops.

I hate doing body work, so I took the crumpled front left fender off and "beat" it back to shape using hammers and shaping irons.  Drove it 'round town for several years with a personalized license tag "Jezebug".  What's nice about VWs in New Mexico is that they don't rust out due to the climate, so I never bothered to paint it.  Anywho, when I moved to the big city I just didn't have the room so I sold Jezebug to a bodyshop guy in a VW car club, so she's probably in a better place now.

If I had kept it, she'd probably be transformed by now into a Baja bug, pulling me back into the mountains.

Nels

[kombi1976]

Mate, top story.
Your Beetle sounds like it would've made a top "rat-look" bug.
Do you have any more pics?
 
BTW, my '67 Panel got sprayed and I should be going up on the weekend to have a look at it.
I'll post some pics when I get them.

[Nelsdou]

Kombi,

Jezebug wasn't much of a beauty because of my lack of enthusiasm about body work, so I'm a bit short on pics.  I always thought the engine design was clever, easy to pull out of the bottom of the car, and overhauled it on the work bench using stone-age tools.

Had a devil of a time cleaning out that heat riser on the intake manifold.  It was plugged from exhaust gas crud, allowing the intake manifold to "freeze up" below the carb.  A plastic jacketed metal rope cable with an exposed frayed end put into the riser and the other end chucked into an electric drill motor finally did the trick. It ran like a top after I put in new pistons, rings, cylinders, and a valve job.  Average gas milage was 26 mpg.


After I shot a nice size bull elk one season, I bleached the skull, but for a while had no place to put the dang thing.  Had to park it on top Jezebug in the garage for a while unitil I could get a place to hang it.

Note the near fender I beat out with hammers and sprayed primer on.  She had a metal retractable sunroof that fit so well it's hard to see.  Must have been a sheer accident in manufacturing.

Good luck with the paint.

Nels

[recoil junky]

Love the hood ornament Nels!!!

A friend and I made a roll cage and put a 67 bug engine and front end  in it. We failed to put seat belts in until we rolled it and I fell out. I was not hurt but it didn't take us long to come up with seat belts.

Stone age tools? A Snap-On rock and pliers?

Yes kombi, we'll have to see the beasty after it's been "shot"

RJ

[kombi1976]

For all those interested in the progress of my '67 check this out:
 
http://www.thehunterslife.com/forums/showthread.php?p=66716#post66716