|
Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 4, 2021 19:50:21 GMT -8
I'm going to be making up a some new hard lines for the brakes on my bus. Where is the best place to source the end fittings and lines locally? Anything in particular that I should watch out for?
|
|
|
Post by Rob Sannes on Mar 5, 2021 13:45:03 GMT -8
Hey Mark Try bavarian they might have something laying around or Reagh maybe. Just remember you need a line with a bubble flare wich might be harder to find at lordco. Then I guess cip1 or avr would be next after that. Good luck and good work so far.
|
|
|
Post by mitchy965 on Mar 5, 2021 14:14:29 GMT -8
lordco stocks bubble flare in asian and european flavors.
|
|
|
Post by Volktales on Mar 5, 2021 21:39:13 GMT -8
I take it you have a bubble flaring kit??
|
|
|
Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 5, 2021 22:05:17 GMT -8
Princess Auto has a Power Fist one on sale that I'm going to buy. I'm expecting the Ghia will need new lines too, so I figure making my own makes the most sense, especially as the rear end of the bus is now completely custom.
|
|
|
Post by Volktales on Mar 7, 2021 19:46:01 GMT -8
Just for fun, here are a couple of pics of the VERY rotten '68 Mark is pulling some parts from... I like that, um, "battery box"...
|
|
|
Post by magikbus on Mar 8, 2021 10:47:28 GMT -8
So Russ, who stocks the "bubble flaring kit"? Stan
|
|
|
Post by Volktales on Mar 8, 2021 20:45:30 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by magikbus on Mar 9, 2021 19:13:33 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 13, 2021 21:00:06 GMT -8
I've been continuing to beaver away at this. The bus has had four wheels on since last week, which was the first time since late October. I was able to build the brakes up on the bench, which made a nice change not to be kneeling on the floor trying to force those awful springs and twist the locking washer thingies into place! The shackles for the trailing arms fit nicely and the trailing arms are in position. I set the spring plates to approximately OG height and the wheels fit nicely under the arches.
|
|
|
Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 13, 2021 21:14:08 GMT -8
Fitting a late model Beetle gearbox into the bus involves using a late model Split bus nosecone. I had one which I had kept from my straight axle setup, which I fitted to a 69 - 70 twin sideplate Beetle IRS gearbox. Fitting this into my bus requires an adaptor plate to go from the two bolt late model Split mount to the early style donut mount. I had a hard mount in the bus with my straight axle setup, but I preferred having a rubber mount to take out some of the vibrations. Wagenswest sell a product that they call a lollipop. It is essentially a polyurethane donut, with a drop plate to fit the two bolt transmission to. They're expensive and they're sold out of the US, which means expensive shipping. I've also heard a lot of reports of polyurethane not lasting very long and being prone to squeaking in service. So, I researched the heck out of alternative methods and found what I was looking for on thesamba. There were lots of pictures of this style of mount, but someone had converted measurements from imperial to metric and messed them up. So, I started with paper, pencil, ruler and set squares and drew up my own. I then took my plan to Unlimited Fabrication to have the pieces waterjet cut. The main piece and the rectangular drop plate are 3/16 inch steel and the two spacer pieces are 1/4 inch steel. This gives around 1/8 inch between the two plates, but holds the transmission in the correct position. The photo's were taken prior to paint, whilst I was mocking up to check the fit. In the end, it wasn't cheap, but was less expensive than the Wagenswest product with a 1:1 exchange rate and I had no postage. I probably saved myself around $100 CAD, had fun doing it and can say that I did it myself, although I outsourced the cutting because I didn't have appropriate tooling. It uses an early Bay front mount, which can now be changed without removing the transmission. Although it looks like it hangs low, it is actually above the height of the transmission cradle.
|
|
|
Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 13, 2021 21:22:24 GMT -8
My last job of today was to prepare the heat exchangers. I decided to go with the Dansk high flow heat exchangers and Vintage Speed Sport exhaust system supplied by AVR. AVR matched CIPs sale price on the heaters and gave lots of good info. I was impressed with them. They pointed out that the flanges on the heaters would not line up with those on the VS exhaust, and would need to be cut off and the extra set supplied with the heaters welded on in the correct orientation. The additional flanges are actually intended to be welded onto the header, but it obviously made more sense to weld onto the steel heaters than onto a nice shiny new Vintage Speed exhaust system! I put the engine in a few days ago and mocked everything up to ensure it would all fit together. Then today, I cut off the flanges and welded on the new ones in the correct orientation. Tomorrow, I should hopefully get some paint on the heaters. Then it is brake lines and start to put it all back together!
|
|
|
Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 13, 2021 21:33:36 GMT -8
I forgot to mention that I also did a dry install with the axles and CV's. The angles worked out perfectly with 22 degrees of drop with the wheels off the ground. At 22 degrees there was no apparent binding. This is the maximum articulation for the 944 CV joints, so unless I decide to have a go at jumping the bus, they should be well within their limits once the weight is back on the wheels.
|
|
|
Post by CrazyBrit on Mar 22, 2021 17:53:08 GMT -8
Any advice on when to replace brake hardlines? Bear in mind that the bus spent most of it's life in Oz and is in incredible condition underneath.
The main front to back line looks decent, but I can only see half of it, because it runs along the chassis rail. I suspect that it is original.
It looks like a fair sized job to replace it and would be a major pain to replace with the engine installed because of where it mounts by the transmission. Is this something that I should just do due to age alone?
|
|
|
Post by Volktales on Mar 22, 2021 21:42:42 GMT -8
If the lines are not rusty (both outside and inside), then they should be fine. I had to replace all the lines on my '66 Beetle, but all the rest of the fleet run their original metal brake lines. When I restored my '67 Cougar, that car was completely stripped down to a barren shell, and I reinstalled every original metal brake line as they were minty...
|
|