OT any of you have or play with old VW buses

Well wondering and would like to hear your stories. Yes that legendary micro bus. Not to popular around me now (they were once the rage) The old split window is very scarce. Would be fun to have or go to tractor shows in!!! So do any of you restore them? I am feeling old as no one (almost) around me would be able to work on them. Kind of like the flathead Ford or Detroit diesel.

There are a bunch of cool VW bus restoration videos on YouTube- one by a California carpenter doing a full-rotisserie restoration of a VW single-cab pickup. Seems like nearly every part is still available for them, and a bunch of guys who have a secret hoard of them out back.

Why wouldn't anyone be able to work on one? They are amazingly simple and easy to work on. There is a tone of info on them and a jillion old manuals. It is one of the first vehicles I ever worked on. I had a friend who had one. During a Chicago winter, we pulled the engine with just a floor jack, removed the interior seats, and put the engine in there and rebuilt it. I want to get a bug and rebuild it with my grand daughter for her first vehicle. There are after market seats with better safety belts and four wheel after market disc brake kits to make it safer than the originals. Find one and do it your self. There are a bunch of sites on them. If I remember correctly, there is a particular Porsche engine that will bolt to the trannie if you want more power. All the engines and parts are small enough to ship without breaking you. There are a few special tools but we always managed to rig something that worked. Get a van with the pushout front windows and you won't need AC. They are all very cold in the winter but did incredibly well in the snow with all the weight over the drive wheels. A lot of fun, if you like that sort of stuff.

I am by no means an expert on them but years ago you could buy aftermarket engines
and some were like 2500cc and 140 hp (or some such) When they first showed up to any extent it took awhile for us to get them figured out. I mean in the 1950's Trust me with todays auto mechanics they would be lost!!!

My first car was a split window bus (camper). I would hate to drive one today. You might want to look a prices----they are in crazy land

HAD 58 CARGO VAN, 36 H.P., CENTRIFUGAL ADVANCE...POWERHOUSE...BE BLESSED, GRATEFUL, PREPARED...

My parents had a 1978 VW pop up top camper model. Had the larger 1800cc engine in it. Was a nice van with the bench that made into a bed and the pop up top for another bed. Built in Ice chest, sink and closet (all were small). Heater worked pretty good in that one.

I was a teenager back then and if my parents knew what all went on in the back of that van they might just come back from the grave to give me a good one.....

Would love to have it back in as good of condition as it was when dad traded it in for that hunk of junk diesel Rabbit.

I made a nice 1967 using an 1800CC opal ohc engine and dagenheim 4 speed, coupled to a three speed ford trans and a Datson 280Z independent rear end. 13 speeds forward and 7 in reverse. Jim

Back i nth 70s I have 2 of the VW vans and some 6 or 7 bugs. I have a split window 1957 bug that I sure wish I still had.

Not picking a fight with you, but if I can, and I am certainly no Evan Einstein, start with lawn mower engines, to a Bridgestone mini bike, to various other motorcycles to the VW, to a 70 Cutlass S to tractors, to diesels without any real formal schooling in any of it and get by, so can others. Sure, you make mistakes, some cost money, but that is how you learn. I know you can do it and have a blast doing it. I bet you can even figure out a flat head or Detroit.

Parents had a '64 Deluxe Micro Bus that had a large sun roof that was very handy for hauling things like refrigerators and doors as you opened the top and let the cargo hang out the top, didn't even have to take it off the dolly. When they remodeled our house they took all the seats out, lined the inside with cardboard appliance boxes built a ramp that went from the house window to the sunroof and filled it full of plaster, lathe and other construction debris, yep it was pretty handy. I made a couple of months in a '66 standard Bus but it dropped a valve and after a March week end in Michigan with only a Honda CL175 I got my bug back together and never fixed the Bus (really should of). I got tired of being cold and about a year and a half later I bought a Renault LeCar (Clinton County Michigan was known for really bad roads, the LeCar was the only small car I found that dealt with the chuckholes), this was maybe not one of my best automotive decisions, heck it was probably an automotive indiscretion. The Renault got me through college before it started having problems(yes I know real surprise right?) at about 3 years 48,000 miles. Since then its been a handful of new and used Fords, a 1/2 ton GMC that I suspect had about 270,000 miles on it before it came to my door, a new Honda that's been with us for 26 years and 300,000 miles, for the last 10 years a Dodge Grand Caravan (the wife likes it) and a Camry inherited from my mother and almost immediately given to a daughter(okay it was a year, for me and vehicles that's not very long). I still longingly look at VW buses and think it'd be fun but if I had a choice it would be a Westphalia with the wasserboxer (water cooled)engine or a Subie conversion. They were a little more civilized and SWMBO has indicated she might be game for week or so long trips under such accommodations which is funny as I pegged her as a class A motorhome kind of gal. Of course for a while I had a rusted out '66 Olds Toronado and always thought that 425 Olds and TH425 transmission would of worked well in the back end of a VW bus but I wasn't sure I could handle the wheel stands.

I drove a bus in college. I bought it at the Mennonite Relief Sale auction. At the time it had well over 200k miles on it (I think it was 270k), had been on four continents, and was on its fourth engine. By the way it hemorrhaged oil, I decided to build a new one and giving it its fifth.

Ah, the times. We would pile in 9-10 people and some coolers and drive to Wichita for concerts. At the end of the concert we would go through Newton to hit Driers Donuts just when they came out of the grease at 3am. With all that beer and a dozen donuts in every gut I ended up driving in silence listening to the screaming motor all the way home.

I was really poor. In the winter I would hang plastic behind the front seat and close off the back so I could get a little heat up front. I had to replace the front wheel bearing but didn't have the cash to pay someone to press out the race so I used the old one. It had such a vibration at highway speed that if you drove farther than an hour it shook everything down and you had to stop and find some toilet paper. I should have kept some with me. A mooch friend asked for a ride in college (it was two hours one way). I was never asked again.

There are so many stories - blown master cylinder and flying through a light with my eyes closed and the horn blowing. Throttle sticking cresting a huge hill and the ride down the other side. Everyone in town using it when I didn't have money for a new ignition tumbler - it had a toggle switch and button.

Those were good times. I still have a 69 hardtop and 77 convertible Champaigne Edition beetle that I show and drive on nice days. I have the '67 bug I bought in high school that needs to be redone. It's in original shape but I just want it spiffy like it was new. I also have a '69 Karmann Ghia I bought from a family friend - the original owner. His daughter drove it to high school so it has a little road rash so it won't be left original. It has 112,000 miles on it I believe. I drove it up until about 10 years ago when it barfed out a spark plug chugging up a hill. It's an auto stick.

I also have shelves of parts from body panels to heater boxes. It's kind of an addiction. I've branched out a little into just meaningful machines so I'm not sure I will buy any more. I don't really have rom in the sheds anyway!

I liked the Ford Econoline vans better.

How many miles did the air cooled VW engines hold up for? A neighbor rebuilt his engine about every 40,000 miles.

For what its worth Flat head Fords, Dodge and Detroit I sure worked on a lot. They don't bother me much. Never did much with VW helped a few others there used to be some gurus that did them (like small engines. atv's etc) The vw gurus are all dead at least in my area now!!!

During the course of history, I have had a few, including the now ridiculously expensive 21 window unit. I ran a VW/Porsche shop at the time. Planned a trip for a week with a girlfriend in my '60 slabside - 1/2 way home from work it burned a valve. Went back to the shop, pulled the engine, replaced the heads (from in house rebuilt stock)and was only 2hrs behind schedule. Did LOTS of rebuilds and repairs - very easy to work on. If you could jack up and block a Beetle, you could drop the engine on an old tire without damage. Ahh, good memories.

you had a vw bus in the 70,s? I hope your not one of those dreaded hippy types,,,,,(lol)

I thought only Hippys had them////lol

Well back in the 70s I set president in the high school I graduated from so not they can not force the boy to cut there hair since I graduated with hair that was way past my shoulder in length. Principal would call me to the office at least once a week to tell me I had to cut my hair. Last time he did that I looked at my watch and noticed it was my fathers break time so picked up the principals phone and gave my dad a call. Told my dad what was going on and handed the phone to the principal. My dad told him he best leave me alone unless I did more then have long hair. My dad told him if he didn't leave me alone he would being looking for a new job. At the time my dad was working as a college prof at Delta State University on Cleveland MS. Never did get called back in after that

Jocco
Check out this guy's video's.
He's done a number of VW's of all sort's.
He brought a '59 single cab back from the dead and has won
several trophy's with it and never painted it.
Mustie1

Jocco
Here's a website that has a good classifieds section.
The Samba

Remember something about 7 long haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse micro bus.

I had a friend that had a new one in the late 70's. Used to have bugs before that. Mighty cold in the winter. Got us around and stuff, but they were warmer when there was a cute girl riding in the back that needed to be hugged...warmed up inside of my coat.

Mark

One of them was Old? lol

One of my friends had one. We went to see a train derailment about 200 miles from home. Almost got there. Clutch cable said by by. I know how to slip shift so I drove it all the way home with no clutching. Made it just fine. He never could get how to shift like that.

If you can do flat heads and Detroits a VW will be a snap. There are many VW gurus who wrote books, many in cartoon form. they are great and have all kinds of tricks in them. The great thing about messing with any engine and the tricks involved in success is they often transfer to other jobs and projects.

I believe we are metaphorical learners. we have great difficulty with abstract learning. We learn by relating a new experience or task to a past experience. the more we do, the more we read, the greater our metaphorical reference library. By messing with a VW, in and of itself won't get you much, maybe some fun, but there are other benefits to messing with one. We expand that metaphorical library, we are able to exercise out core virtues, if we are cognizant of what we do it builds our character. In short, it can make us better. Sell it that way to your wife; the VW hobby will serve to make you a better person.

Got one that had 100k + on the original engine (from original owner - with service receipts). Added about 40K, part of the resale deal was to provide a rebuilt engine. The original was fine, needed a valve job, but crank and cyls were fine. Had a rebuilt in stock, installed it and the new owner was a happy camper. Did a valve job on the original and placed it in a Beetle for a guy that didn't have much $$. Long time ago ,but I know it was still going a year later !

show him the one you posted last week with all the flowers on it

I have been bitten by the vw bug and sandrail years ago. I built 3 sandrails and had daily driver bugs. One was a 62 sunroof beetle. There is a lot of understanding to these engines and transaxels. The gear ratio's of the bugs were mostly 4:12"s. The buses were like 5:38 iirc. The problem with the motors were that leaves and dirt built up on top of the heads by going trough the air cooled fan. After that its life is limited. Also #3 cylinder had the air coming from the hot oil cooler and then cooled #3 cyl. All the other cylinders received cooler air. Also there was only an oil screen, no filter. I would put an extra large external cooler and external filter on them with a high volume pump. Removed the stock oil cooler. There has been about as much modification done with the vw motor as a small block chevy.

I bought a beater in 1970, a 63, for 187.50! It had a couple of burned valves, would only do about 35. I repaired the top end, or would you call it the sides on a boxer engine. New valves and guides and rings, then it would do almost 60, I think it was only a 40 hp. Then I traded it to a Vietnam vet/hippy for a really incredible stereo that he had bought at the PX. I still have the stereo, I bet the VW went to the scrap heap long ago.

did you trade it to a guy from missouri?

I parked my buddies bus. On the base commanders front yard one night. Mayport Naval Station 1971. Shore Patrol wasn't impressed.

Nope, MN!

Just love the air brush job colors on this one.

You must of gotten a haircut when you were in the navy?

Opps, should have added this one too. This is one very expensive toy if you can find one.

I remember I could remove the engine in less than 1/2 hour. When I got the two upper engine bolts loose the rest was down hill. I had a couple beetles. I made a dune buggy from a bus one time. What a waste of time. I still have a good bug floor pan that isn't rusted out,if someone wants to come to California you can have it. Stan