AirSpeed VW Community Forums
General Forums => Member's VW's => Topic started by: Custom76Bus on August 21, 2004, 02:30:03 PM
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Hey all, my name is Gavin, the proud owner of, you guessed it a 1976 Westy B).
It's completely gutted. Bought it mid-customization from Geody in Pt Coq. It's going to be a lot of work but a lot of fun also. Went to the show on sunday to check out some other busses to get some ideas.
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major items to note:
Engine swapping to a water-cooled 1984 Jetta GLI motor
re-doing the interior, porobably in a tweed.
it's already lowered, have to wait until she's all toghetrher before i decide if i want to lower more
mounting some 16x7 inch mags on it
installing custom stereo/alarm
tinting the glass(plannin to use solid glass instead of the jalousies - am I crazy?)
re-gelcoating the fiberglass poptop
mounted some porsche 914 seats.. they'll work fine for now but i think i'll change em somtime
Have to deal with the 'custom' dash also - gonna confuse me i think :wacko:
thats all i can think abouts now. My intention is to have it runnin/legal-ish by hopefully october now :rockon: :rockon: ... who knows though. i'll try to keep yas updated on it :)...
oh my vw website (http://vw.norquaydesign.com)(not updated that much) has some more photos :)
Talk to yous all soon :).... oh, and don't hate me cause i'm watercooled :blush:
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oh yea, its my first vw. It'll be a fun jigsaw puzzle for me lol. :rockon:
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sounds like some fun! keep us posted on how things are going
Mike
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Welcome!!!
The question really is will you come out to play with the rest of us type 2s @ Mission?(https://airspeedparts.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbase.com%2Fimage%2F31796347.jpg&hash=a892c5cff437adc1e4ab7ec121820de02586fdef)
;)
Yes your'e right that greeny, is 76BUS and well thats me Needles/Butterball :lol: :lol: :lol:
As for the solid glass, I went for that because I prefered the look. But lets just say, that when its a hot summer like it is this year, and your 85 year old mother is sitting in the rear seat next to a amp/sub woofer, 2.0 litre engine...... it gets a little hot back there... :o
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Nice to see that bus will get finished, Geody put a lot of hard work into it.
We love Bay windows here so you should fit right in :D
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gkafer loves rice!
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Oh yea, I'll be taking her out for a run or 2 at mission... don't you worry ;). Thanks for the welcome :D I'll keep ya updated. looking forward to getting the rest of the parts together from geodyt's place so i can really get an idea of wht i still need. It'll be fun :DD
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Engine swapping to a water-cooled 1984 Jetta GLI motor
You other Bays look out.... and I am glad you chose \"Custom76Bus\" as that is a way cooler name than \"76 Bus\"
B) B)
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go back to bed old man
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Nice to see another bay on the form can't have enough of those on here . Btw Nice :rockon:
Matt Street
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Hey Matt, Props Brotha, You should start your club now.... 4 Bays that is enough, you guys could have a Mad Props get together at like a Zellers or Walmart parking lot as they are big!! Or maybe the new Best buy....
Jump on this Matt, Now is the time for the BAYS to RISE!!!! werd
B)
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Welcome Gavin! Looking good
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Got the wheels back from the machine shop for thier modified fitment, used to be on an A4. I think it's looking alright, still need to install my new gr-2s. Gonna do that tomorrow. Car is virtually empty so the interior and power train should make it a little lower too mebbe.
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might not be evryones cup of tea, but it'll do me fine for now ;D
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so you are sticking with the water pumper set up! nice thats the way that bus should be done. As for the dash put a speedo in the flat part or in a split window pod and then put a monster tach on the left side in the empty space. Geody was going after a clean look for it and he wanted to have a very minimal type set up like a split window bus. I will be stoked to see it drive when it is done
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Yeppers, h20 baybee!
I'm gonna try and do the dash in a simliar way... we'll see how it works out :).
Here's some pics of the work i did this weekend, sandblasted the floors all out and painted..
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That;s some \"Zero-Rust\" paint we've put on... hopefully that'll help. I'm probably gonna go over that paint again with the body colour... just so it looks all good. I'll see, may just leave it black as its covered anyways :blink: ...
Hoping to get the windows tinted this week, trying to find some charcol/gray tint B) ... so if i get those tinted and in, then its basically ready to start interior re-assembly/customizin. Although i'm planning to start working in the engine bay soon, as a good interior with no engine gets me no where!!
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Zero-Rust paints = good stuff.
Nice choice, it's all I use.
Your bus looks pretty damned good man. :rockon:
Congrats...
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Well... finally got the engine bay all blasted to the point I wanted... and a nice big sandbox has been created under, on and around the bus!! hah. Been fiddling mainly with some interior pieces... trying to figure out where things go and what screws are made for what area!! BLAH!! long process that'll be!!
Oh oh oh... got my quaaaality brazilian smoked tailights and front turn signals last week... lined em up and they look great!! Still waiting to get a few pieces of glass from the tint shop - actually they';re waiting on me to drop off the front windows and vents... I'm trying to line up a new passenger piece of glass as mine has a harsh scratch.
Checking out the price of gauges now also... gonna probably just get some nice silver/white faced Autometer gauges... Gonna have to break down and buy new window seals almost all around too as the PO cut the windows out!! Poor seals.... need a few door seals too... :S... $$.... not to mention I've got to get the side door kits with the felt and seals and such...
OH OH OH!! Have you ever wanted power windows in your bus?? With any luck mine will have em!! I've got motors all hooked up and installed onto the regulator-cord-thingy all i need now is some power to test and see if they actually work!! I stripped em outta a 1986 Maserati Biturbo... this van's gettin all the options ;D... I think i'm gonna give up on the idea of power locks thou as I think the lockin mechanism would need too strong of a motor.
Thats about all for now... waiting on a shipment of B-Quiet Extrememe sound deadener. Click 'here' (http://www.b-quiet.com) for their stuff. Wish me luck, i'll be posting more photos on my site soonish... i'll let ya kno. :D
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WOW !!!
Its so kool to see so many baywindows around.!!!
Good luck! :D
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Heya,
Just applied some of that B-Quiet Extreme sound deadener and have been pleased with the results so far, only done one side panel(opposite the slidin door) Man-O-man has it made it much more 'solid' sounding than anything else on the bus though. Greatly impressed so far! Looking forward to doing the whole bus basically, should make it much quieter inside... untill I crank the system ;D... hopefully the vibrations will be down too :D.
I'll post some pics soonish. Baby steps right? :wacko: :blink:
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Hey Gavin.
I did the complete interior of my bug in it and it turned out great. Really happy with how quiet it is and now its very very quiet cruising down the road. You can actually have a conversation with it.
Its held up well over the last year even when I guttend my upholstery out I was quite impressed with how it held up. Oh yeah cut any holes in it before you lay it down:p
-Kirin
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Well I've got a few photos up of the process so far... I've put a few hours of work on it and I'm over half way through my 100sqft of sound deadener. Makes a nice difference. Fairly easy to apply too. If you're wondering why I put it all over the rear cargo area, its because it'll all be upholstered.
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::More Photos:: (http://vw.norquaydesign.com/gallery/pt2?page=3)
I've selected fabrics now for the reupholstry of the interior... I'm gonna cover all the old wood paneling and door panels with two tone blue/wht probably. We'll see when it actually gets completed though!! Might be fitting the '84 GLI motor this friday. Looking forward to getting it on the road !! Oh, picked up all the remaining pieces of my glass from the tint shop today. Looks GREAT!! Can't wait to get the windows installed(probably next week).
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Looking Great! I like the wheels, are they 14\" or 15\"?
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16 inch :D
They seem to fit fine... no apparent rubbing with the 205-55s either. We'll see once I actually take it up and down the street though :unsure:
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Hey looks like everything as comin along great. Looks like some kick ass progress over the past couple of months . You'll love the B-Quiet sound dampning on the road. If you're doin some big custom audio get a surpentine belt system out of a MK3 Golf CL 93 and up it will allow you to run the newer larger alternator and be much quieter at the same time. Most early alternators only put out 60 amps and the newer ones put out up to 90amps.
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If you're doin some big custom audio get a surpentine belt system out of a MK3 Golf CL 93 and up it will allow you to run the newer larger alternator and be much quieter at the same time. Most early alternators only put out 60 amps and the newer ones put out up to 90amps.
SAWEEEEET! Thats good to hear, I've been wondering about a beefier alternator. I'm also gonna buy an aux battery and maybe inverter too... Whow knows where I'll end up..... Nuclear power? lol ;D
That reference in no way means I am a terrorist or searching for any sources. Damnit. I know I'll be added on some super-secret gov't file now. I'll be tracked for the next 20years! [_[ :unsure: :wacko:
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Hey glad I could offer some usefull advice. Dual batteries is a great idea considering to add ons you plan. If you do dual batteries I recommend using a dual battery isolater it will protect your main (starting) battery from dying when you run the accesories (stereo,fridge,etc) for to long when the engine is not running. It will also prevent those annoying bliking lights when you jam the tunes going down the road.If you need a little help just let me know pm me or call 604-516-6214 Phil.
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Well, got all the but the drivers/pass windows in now(Cause I'm trying to make em electric). Looking pretty good if I don't mind saying so meself!
Looking forward to actually being able to lock it if I choose.... although I guess I'll have to find a key for the locks :S.... of course out of the 2 keys I have one of them opens nothing and the other opens the engine hatch! Sweet :blink:
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You can see, sliding window installed great on the sliding door - No More Jalousies.
::More Pics:: (http://vw.norquaydesign.com/gallery/pt2?page=4)
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Hey great progress once again. If you want to make your front windows power and your current tracks and mechs are all good I can sell you a set of aftermarket universal motors
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16v Motor? Maybe? I'm thinking of changing from my 8v to a 16v before I get into all the fabrication for the 8v.
That'd be somethin eh? 16v bus lol... :o... next step... vr6 :P
Gotta go talk to my pal and see if he can work me into a 16v...maybe do a swap with him... that'd be good ;D
As for progress... slow. Got the 8v in and started gettting all the extras put on the engine to see how fitment looks. Gonna be hard to keep the gastank where it is with this system... so I may yet have to relocate it. Hopefully i'll be getting the pop top painted in the coming weeks... once that's on... it should be sealed... watertight-ish i hope! But yea... as for when it'll be running... new estimate - Spring/Summer 2005. Only a year off... LOL... like all projects... always takes longer...
anyone got a cheap bus/sqback to sell me for a driver till then?
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Hey don't laugh I've seen 16V in beetles before and I've heard of a VR6 swap in a type3 notch. The VR in a notch sounds good to me tho
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Yeah, that will be a unique looking westy when it's done!
If you have the opportunity to fix the driverside rocker, please do!
Maybe it's just me; but when I see a nicely painted bay window bus with body seams that dissapear mid-panel, it just cheapens the look of the whole bus.
sweet ride though.
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Well with the help of my BeaterBus... I was able to find out I was missing one of the two lower rollers on the sliding door. So now that it actually has ALL The pieces the bloody thing closes with some ease... a little clunky in one spot but if it closes nice and sound. Yippie! that was a major annoyance to me...
Started jig-sawing out all the new interior panels yesterday out of 1/8th inch hardboard. Should be good, just have to do a nice smooth final cut around it all :S... wish I had a bandsaw!!
I figure I'll put in my insulation(home depot bubble wrap stuff) and then vapour seal everything in the next few days or so. After that it should be pretty ready for the panelling.
Engine is still in place with no real work recently done on it. So its still quite a ways off from running!... I did buy a lcd monitor/tv for it though ha ha... it'll be fun!
Sooooo much more still to do. Hoping my Dad will get his Alfa Romeo outta the garage and into storage for a bit so I can get the bus inside and start some more work(suspension clean up, shocks, undercoating, engine, etc.). Unfortunately my dad is in the hospital with some sort of blood infection??? So the doctors are guessing today... every day they think its something else... grr. Hopefully he'll be home within the week... but who knows :(
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Okay... back to the engine... After more thought... I've decided to sort of... go all out so to speak on the engine.
I'm going to try and get away with putting a 2.0L 16V motor in the bus. Not only that, I'm going to get a turbo for it too. :blink:
I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a clutch that can handle the power of this setup... how will the tranny hold up? Its a 5rib bus tranny i believe. A guestimation of the hp would be in the 175-200 range. Any general thoughts would be helpful.
I should be getting the 16v in the next few days so I'll mount it in and see how she fits. I might look into using the Mega Squirt FI system with a custom intake to avoid the clearance issues. I guess it's all ca$h in the end. At least my bro works at Kinetic and gets turbo's at wholesale woot :rockon: !
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Hello :D I got me a '62 Beetle in May'04. I live in Abbotsford and I'm REALLY new to all this. Anyone out there in my area who might like to show me the ropes feel free to message me. Need a Carb. tune up but don't have the tools for the measurements, infact, I don't really know what I'm doing :P Also, my generator light is on...again...a few months ago the armature was in need of rebuilding so I had that taken care of. I bought a new battery, checked my connections on the alternator, deflection is good on the belt and the brushes were replaced when I had the armature replaced, so I'm really stuck as to what on earth to do. Anyone know of a backyard mechanic in my area or wouldn't mind showing me what's what...I'd really appreciate it. Ciao for now!
~vwluvbug :wub:
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Just got Power Locks installed and functional in the bus. Woot!
Found a good heater core at Princess Auto that I'll be putting under the dash for heat/defrost control. Unplugged the old dash gauges and am now looking in fear at rewiring the whole dash... custom gauges and such. Have to mount the fuse panel too(since the air box it was mounted to has been removed by the PO... gawd it looks confusing when you stare at all those damn wires :o... at least they corrospond correctly in the bentley ;)
Slowly coming.
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2.0 16v cool man that should rip one easy way to get more power out of the 2.0 is to swap a 1.8 head onto it they have much larger ports on them and naturally flow much better.
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Heya,
Just figured I'd show some photos of the custom interior layout I'm doing in my westy. Still working on it.
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(That piece of scrap wood was just to illustrate the back board.)
Hoping to have it all ready to upholster within the next week or so. I'm going to be custom upholstering everything... gonna foam and upholster the cooler box too... should make a nice comfy armrest. With this layout I *should* be able to put the sink unit back in if I needed to.
Also, got my monitor hooked up. Not sure how I like its secured position, infringes a little in the head room of the front :S.. looks like it'll work wonderfully though.
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Down
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Up :)
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Another step forward.... one helluva fall back... doh!
So.... Bus gets towed to a shop to get some undercarriage panels cleaned up and installed....
Completed in a day with great results... so yay!
Bus is all sealed up body wise.... But wait....
Wasn't there a pop-top on top when it was dropped off at your shop? - Not when it got here...
Hrmmm.... cause it was placed on top of the bus the night before and roped in at the front... alas it was not bolted down in the rear though...
The Mystery ===] Where the top landed...
If anyone noticed a rather large pop-top panel on 60th ave near 190th on Monday, let me know. Thanks :(...
Apparently the Flat deck driver loaded it up ass-first, so I guess the wind took her after a bump or something, yet he 'didn't notice' anything go flying.....
Sigh.... So anyone have a late model bus pop-top? Cheers.... :(
Guess I've got a convertible bus now!!!!!!!!!! :blink: :wacko: :angry: :blink:
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I know a guy up here that has a 78 westy that he wants $250 for complete with everything. Major rusty but ran well. Tranny is pooched, all interior and pop top with canvas etc is all there. LEt me know. Might be able to take what you need and sell the rest as parts....just a thought
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Man, that is shitty. I did that once, but all it cost me was a $300US cover for my boat. :blush:
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Funny you mention that because I can totaly relate! I was moving in the windstorm on Saturday and loaded my $2000+ mattress and boxspring and my $700 drafting table into the back of my bro's pickup. He drives away before I can say \"maybe we should strap it down\" and lone behold! I get to my place and there's my bro, soaking up to his knees in ditchwater :lol:
Apparently a gust of wind threw my mattress about 20 feet sideways into a ditch (not just any ditch - this was the muther of all ditches) along with my drafting table that sank to the bottom after exploding into a million bits and pieces all over the road first. I had that table for only 6 days :(
Luckily I cleaned the mattress but the table's a gonner.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for that top though.
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Heh... my annual report...
Bus is back in my Garage with some progress happening. Could maybe have going for THIS years gcvws.... not getting hopes up.
Running lines for turbo, doing exhaust this week. Modifying Recaro seats to fit... I get the gas tank back from leakers in a week (had to have some removed for fitment issues with 16v.
Ideal timeline:
Week 1-4 - turbo/exhaust/intake
Week 2-4 - Radiator placement
Week 3-5 - Wiring
Week 3-7 - Remaining items that impede legal road driving(shifter linkages, gauges, shocks, headlights/tailights...
Week 7 = GCVWS....
Can it be done? I really freaking hope so!
Wish me luck eh?