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Post by PICTUP on May 25, 2015 8:52:05 GMT -8
And no that was not 75 kilometers per hour!!! Ol' Leadfoot couldn't help himself as usual... But it was FUN!
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Post by Volktales on Jun 8, 2015 19:12:05 GMT -8
Still doing a few things to the Type III. The fuel gauge has been occasionally working since the car has been returned to the road. I already knew it was the sender at fault, and Don had ordered a replacement from CIP. As usual, the product was misrepresented, and what arrived was a "white box" piece of crap instead of the expected VDO sender. I was not pleased, so made an attempt at repairing the original sender. I had attempted to pop it apart before, but was unable to get the tube portion of the sender to detach from the top. This time it worked well using a suggestion from none other than busdaddy of The Samba fame...
He suggested removing the sender from the tank, and then bolting it back on upside down to secure it. Once doing this, the tube portion pulled off easily. Then you are able to see how bizarre these early senders really are. The donut shaped float rises and falls as the fuel in the tank does. Those tiny "hair" wires make contact with the float and depending on position makes a variable resistance back to the fuel gauge. What actually goes wrong normally, is the ground side of the circuit fails.
If you look carefully, you can see one of the hair wires goes to the insulated connector on the left which connects to the fuel gauge wire on the top side of the sender. The hair wire on the right attaches to that circular copper ring which is grounded to the sender housing via a rivet. Corrosion forms under the rivet and continuity is lost. The solution is to drill through the top of the housing and solder a wire directly to the copper ring. The other end of this added wire features a ring terminal that is secured via one of the six sender mounting bolts. This immediately restored the sender to full working condition and was not that difficult to do. The Samba features other nice pictures of this procedure as well. This also applies to 1972 and earlier buses too. Later bus senders are very different and have their own set of problems...
And on another note, managed to pick up this era correct plate. Will be useful when this car eventually is collector plated...
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Post by Volktales on Aug 3, 2015 21:26:32 GMT -8
Not much else to report on this at the moment. I have been continuing to drive it everyday and have just completed the first 1000 miles. It has been completely reliable, but lately the brakes have been acting up. Other then cleaning things up, the only thing we did was to pump new brake fluid through the system. This dislodged a lot of gross looking goo at the time and I knew that replacing the 46 year old flex hoses would be wise. Naturally I didn't get around to doing this, and now the issues are starting. A trip to the north end of Nanaimo and back revealed that the right rear brake drum was getting hot. This was in conjunction with the brake pedal feeling harder then normal. It was time to take a look, and Victor reluctantly got the job...
Although not shown, type 3 brake drums are nice in that they are not part of the hub like Beetles, and can be removed easily without undoing the big 36 MM nut. The linings still looked fine and the wheel cylinder was neither leaking nor seized. Pressing on the brake pedal revealed that the brake shoes activated easily, but were very slow to retract. The original flex hoses are collapsing internally and must be replaced. Should be here some time this week...
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Post by Volktales on Aug 8, 2015 21:28:16 GMT -8
It was a busy day at the shop today... One of my many bosses was working on his truck, so myself and Don used the opportunity to do some work on the Type III. Actually this was the second job, as we had already replaced the starter and flex plate on my '69 Chevy truck in the morning...
Hard to see, but I am tightening the left rear flex line. I was surprised to find the two rear flex lines are not the same from side to side. Naturally this is not what I ordered so we used a slightly too long hose intended for something else for now...
The old line on the left front shows how NOT to install it. Midas replaced the caliper years ago but reused the old flex hose. If you do this, you MUST loosen the inner connection and allow the hose to swivel to its correct location. The "mechanic" did not do this, and as a result the hose was twisted into an unnatural position. Don't make this unfortunately common mistake...
This is how the hose should be installed. Tightening the inner connection determines how the hose "droops". This is because the inner connection is adjustable, but the outer connection is not. Once bleed, everything seems fine once again and back onto the road it goes...
Wish I had a hoist at home...
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Post by Volktales on Aug 26, 2015 20:21:18 GMT -8
So meant to post this picture a while back but forgot...
This picture shows the original right rear flex hose. Above it is the supplied hose from CIP. Notice any difference? Even though that is a bus part number, they claim it is correct for the Type III. And it is for the left side, but not the right. Checked out a bunch of VW parts websites, and most said the supplied hose was correct for 1969. Nope. Some sites DID admit the hose was correct for swingaxle applications, but none said anything about IRS like the '69. And none gave any part numbers for the correct hose. For now I have a different hose temporarily installed, but it does not have the correct retainer clips to work properly. Anyone know who has the correct part available!!!
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Post by mitchy965 on Aug 26, 2015 20:54:38 GMT -8
try isp west type 3 parts
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Post by Volktales on Sept 6, 2015 19:41:00 GMT -8
So the replacement hose is on order. The "correct" part does not seem to be in production for this application. Supposedly a longer hose is available for late baywindow buses that will be close enough for the type 3. We will see...
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Post by Volktales on Sept 6, 2015 19:51:21 GMT -8
So this is how NOT to do body work...
This is probably the most common rot spot on any Type III. The tops and back of the front fenders, and around the headlights always rotted on these cars. This often happened early in the car's life and were frequently "repaired" back in the day. Unfortunately the "bodyman" who repaired this car, deserved a kick in the ass for his efforts...
Pulling off the huge gob of filler with my hands revealed what really went on underneath. How about bashing down the original body work with a hammer and stuffing the dented and rusted metal full of fibreglass. Then sculpt to shape, cheap out on the primer, and spray on the colour that was several shades off. Job done, clock out and head to the bar. Guaranteed to last until the first rainstorm... Those replacement fenders are currently in the attic waiting patiently...
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Post by Volktales on Oct 26, 2015 20:21:15 GMT -8
Well with the changing of the seasons, the Fasty has been put away for the winter. It survived six months of daily driving, without complaints. There were a few minor problems with the fuel gauge and brake hoses as previously mentioned, but that was basically it. The car ran fine for the 2900 km that was added to the odometer, bringing the total mileage up to 37,800 original miles. As the weather got colder, the heater was put to the test and worked quite well. For reasons I can't explain, the car smelled fresher with the heaters on! I wouldn't want to expose it to the worst of winter weather, so it is now nice and dry in storage. It was fun that during the entire summer, my daily driver was the 1969 Fastback, with the 1969 Chevrolet truck available as back up. For winter use I am moving on up to my "modern" driver, which is the 20 year old Civic that is soon to roll 380,000 km... I had to relearn how to drive as the old VW 1600 has decent torque and needs little revs, while the Honda is most definitely the opposite of that...
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Post by Volktales on Apr 27, 2016 21:35:14 GMT -8
It is that time of the year again...
Changing of the seasons...
Removing the shrouds of the winter storage. Been sitting here since late last year. Would it start?
Of course! It is a Volkswagen after all. Actually it took a few attempts, but soon was purring away. And it had to because it was immediately put into service as my daily driver for the next six months! My time with my $400 Honda Civic has come to an end. In retrospect I am highly surprised the bright red "Satanic" Honda( "666" License plate), never caused me to get a speeding ticket in the 30,000km I added to the odometer. My kid is taking it over, and I am sure he will enjoy it as his first car... Which means come November of this year, I am stuck driving my wife's old Tercel. Life back in the slow lane again...
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Post by Volktales on May 2, 2016 20:39:10 GMT -8
So back driving the Fastback again has revealed something interesting... The clutch pedal was always stiff in this car and the "bite" point is quite high. This means the clutch and pressure plate are worn but it is still quite driveable. In contrast the Ghia has a near new clutch, pressure plate, and throw-out bearing, as well as a rebuilt cross shaft, pedal cluster assembly, new cable and guide tube. The difference is amazing as the Ghia's clutch is so light and smooth in comparison. It really does make a difference when you service every part of a specific system. When the Fastback's engine is eventually pulled, it will most certainly be getting a complete new clutch and all control components re-lubricated...
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Post by Wongai on May 3, 2016 6:35:26 GMT -8
Looking good! I wonder if you will be missing that air conditioning this summer. Perhaps you will just need to drive faster.
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Post by Wongai on May 3, 2016 6:36:28 GMT -8
Looking good! I wonder if you will be missing that air conditioning this summer. Perhaps you will just need to drive faster.
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Post by Volktales on Sept 5, 2016 19:50:37 GMT -8
Haven't said much about this car all summer. That is because until today, I haven't done a thing to it except put gas in it... I did notice that for the last while the performance seemed a bit off. Checked the points today, and sure enough they were wearing and closing up. Given I didn't even look at them for a long while now, this is not surprising. A bit of file work and resetting, and the power is restored. I will eventually do a Pertronix conversion on this one too however... It is also looking more and more like this car is the winter project for this year...
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Post by Volktales on Nov 13, 2016 0:55:38 GMT -8
Well it is the changing of the seasons again. The Fasty completed another six months of service without incident. And more importantly it has deserved some more cosmetic work this winter and will be getting it! This will be its new home for the foreseeable future. It is time to deal with those rotten fenders and what we will find underneath them... First up is to remove the trunk liner, and then carefully peel off the glued on side panels. These came off without effort. And of course we find a bit of rust under their. This was expected; it just remains to see how serious the rot is. Now first I removed the bumper which was strait forward. Only four bolts hold it on, and three came out without a problem. The fourth moved back and forth a bunch of times but unfortunately snapped part way out. Bummer. Next it was unscrewing the radio antenna base, then dealing with the lights. The headlight ring removed easily with only one screw holding it in place. The light unit itself was more reluctant as one of the screws was seized, but it came out with a bit of persuasion. The multiplug for the headlight connector was carefully removed without damaging anything. Then the wires can be pushed through the hole in the headlight bowl, and they stay behind with the body. The signal light is held on by two small screws in the lens. Once this is removed, two bigger screws secure the housing on which came off easily. Then on to the main fender bolts... Continued...
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