When purchased:
At home, pre-cleanup:
And cleaned up some:
Top done in black:
And bumpers:
Inside:
Currently it has 15" wheels with T1 pattern, using adapters to mount. Suspect while the options for tires is greater in 15" (not by a lot but I can at least find some 15" M+S, can't seem to find much in the way of an aggressive tread pattern in 14". My BFGs are going to stay on Ducky), running the adapters isn't going to be the strongest solution. Also, the 185s that are currently on those rims don't look like they will clear the rear wells under much compression, although they might help with taller tire clearance in the front? So, what do I have for 15" wheel options in the early bay wide five pattern?
Rear coilovers, do I ditch or keep them and get some bug ones for the front? The PO said they were factory, but since no one seems to ever have seen factory coil overs, I question if that is true.
Motor is a 1776 (still needs to be assembled) The case is a MOFOCO case of unknown vintage (universal so I have to have the bosses drilled and tapped for the bus). I had it and the crank checked out a few years ago by a machine shop I trust with VW stuff, it checked out fine. The motor was pulled and disassembled by the PO after it spun a main with just 300 miles on it, must have shut it down QUICK because no damage to the dowel, crank journal, or the case.
After looking things over, I can see why it spun. It was setup for full-flow, then he put in a full flow 26mm Berg pump... with the plug on the crankcase side of the pump properly plugged, but no outlet on the pump cover - it is capped. So is the return on the case :(.
So, if I understand how the system is SUPPOSED to work, the plug keeps the oil from going into the crankcase, instead goes out through the outlet on the pump cover to a remote filter (have the setup from the PO still in the package, unopened), then from the filter back to the case? If so, then with the outlet capped, the motor wasn't getting any lube?
Soooooo, I'll be doing it up the proper way when I put it together, now just curious if I should use the external cooler that is also in its box, brand new? I'm looking to use it mostly in nicer months but do want the ability to use it when the temps drop as well. Would the secondary cooler be overkill and possibly counter-productive to longevity? I'm shooting for reliable and adequate bottom end, most likely won't see frequent if any use above 50-55mph. I'm now living in rural northwestern Maine, closest 'highway' is a good 2 hours away:). Temps rarely exceed mid-80s in the summer and can be sub-40s (or sub-zero) easily 6 months out of the year. Yeh, AC isn't one of my planned upgrades :D.
I will give the PO credit, it appears he took a run through some catalogs of who's who in parts. The case and 041 heads are MOFOCO, crank is a CB, cam Engle (100), Mahle 90.5s, pump, sump, and carb linkage all Berg, carbs were gone through by Lowbugget according to the receipts I found, converted to alternator, and a Pertronix module (009 but I also have several SVDAs that I could use, would have to tap and tee the intakes for vacuum. Planning on having a spare distributor with points all set up to go...just in case), so at least I'm starting with theoretically quality parts. The motor was in a Bug, came with the stash of parts that I got when I bought the Westy. I have a header for it that I'm thinking a single quiet pack on?
Obviously (or not judging from posts on TOS...) I'm going to replace all the soft and hard lines for fuel and brakes ASAP. I have ZERO rust repair to do, not even at the base of the windshield :D.
Keeping the sink - Vanagon Westy cabinet - and hooking up to a collapsible bladder that I'll only fill when needed as well as shore feed if available, side cabinet modified for better storage, same with under the bed and jump seat, and add a house battery. I was going to replace the jumpseat with a small cube fridge with a pad on top, but then got my hands on a medical supply cooler that fits perfectly inside the base of the jumpseat. Since I don't plan on using shore power often, that seems to be a better idea. I have an old Coleman liquid fuel camp stove along with a 2-burner and a single burner propane unit. Those I'll use outside of the bus for cooking. I'm a ketogenic food blogger as a hobby, my food is important :D. I have a White Stag side tent that I got for free from a buddy, need to fab up poles as the ones he gave me fit a true Westy tent.
Since we don't have children and I hope to have most of my storage worked out below, does anyone one know the weight limit for the pop top hinge mechanism? I'm hoping at minimum to mount some fishing poles up there, hoping that maybe I can also add brackets to hold a couple of long guns.
Up front, will keep it pretty much like it is as far as configuration. I will need to mount my CB. I also have a Motorola 2m ham that is setup to work as a repeater. I figure it makes more sense to have it function as that for my hand held to boost range instead of being only able to transmit and receive when in the bus. A simple dipole run up a tree when parked should work. I will retain shore power wiring as well as add my 1500w inverter, but will try to keep most of my electrical accessories 12v for efficiency and swap out the incandescent lighting for LEDs.
