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No aircooled exp.+ 78 Champ. Ed. Bus= Interesting build!!!!

124K views 487 replies 52 participants last post by  TorqueU 
#1 ·
So this past wknd I purchased my 1st aircooled vehicle! A 1978 Champagne Edition Bus. Looking to restore it and see how it goes. Granted I have only worked on watercooled vw's but I am up for the challenge. The bus was not running so I have to tackle that 1st. Its stick shift w/ the 2.0 ltr engine fuel injected. I have a vision and trying to make it happen def wouldnt mind going disc brakes all around and possibly air ride susp. A plus is that the bus came w/ dealer installed A/C which I am def going to try and get that working as well. I was told everything is original. So let the games begin!!! This is what it looked like when I brought it home... :beer:









 
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#7 ·
I've seen worse. :p Good luck with it, the old bay windows need some love. Interior and floors don't look too bad. The L-jet injection system is one of the easiest to work on. Where does the rat's nest of red wire coming off the coil go? To the tailight? :D It looks like it's missing the rear foam seal for the engine compartment, it's a strip of foam to close up that gap between the engine tin and the rear and side aprons around it so when you get it running you'll want to replace that.

A good resource for info.:

www.ratwell.com

Those rims are 5x112mm pattern same as Mercedes...ahem:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1161492
 
#8 ·
1st off cool name lol I dont think its that bad either. The red wiring nest was actually just a ball of wires. Theres one red wire going from the ign coil to god knows where, havent gotten in to it yet. Def gonna have to look into the foam seal you are talking about. Havent really found much info on that engine hopefully ratwell.com will help. Thanks for the info rt now its looking like getting the engine running first, brakes, looking into air ride then body work and paint. Should be a lot of fun and money lol Looking to soda balst the whole bus and try to make a rotisserie for this thing to get to the bottom and the top of it. I have been researching like crazy the past 2 weeks but im pretty sure theres guys on here that know a ton of resources that can help this restore come together. As far as your wheels they are nice but im not sure w/ the wheel selection. Ive seen nice sets of Fuch's and im a big fan of the Porsche phonedials. I can dream lol Thanks for your info. Its gonna be a slow build in the begining b/c Im doing a swap on a customers car and I have another one lined up. Once those 2 are out I can play w/ this!
 
#16 ·
curious as to why you're going with an air ride setup. the lowest bays are rolling static.

if you want the versatility that air ride provides in being able to easily adjust your ride height, then yeah i get that....but if you want a seriously low riding bay air isn't going to be the best choice for getting seriously low.
 
#18 ·
Im looking to go low but also be able to have a smooth ride. I will be traveling w/ my wife and kids and would like it to be as plush as possible. I still like a low bus so I can keep the wife happy and me too. lol


Nah just looking out for ya...hate to see you jump in and yet be able to save some time and money in the end result. Just throwing it out there for yooz.

That air cond. Set up inside is rare...never seen one there,only umber the dash.
Thanks for looking out I am aware of how much work this project is going to be. Its gonna be a while before I am done w/ it. Def trying to get that a/c running but cant find much info on that setup. DAMN YOU DEALER INSTALLS! :laugh: Just tried to clean the bench seat and gotta say I am no detailer lolIm at the beginning of a long road but in the end it will be oh so good!!!
 
#21 ·
Def will! I gotta say I am kinda glad its fuel injected over carb.


if you want plush ball joint is it. you can get creative and do a beam raise and retain the ball joint and your plush ride if you're doing this on a budget. air is nice, but not required to seriously lay out a bay and have it be comfy going down the road. i'm lower than most air ride bays and not only can i drive mine at the height i have her at but she's plenty cushy and i have stock suspension geometry :)


that a/c setup you have isn't that rare...what's rare is the section over the driver. that piece of the puzzle is rare as piss. generally the center section was just by itself with two controls that were on a separate pod that got mounted on the dash somewhere....but to have that section that goes up to the front of the bus is very rare. the middle sections will show up from time to time on samba but not so much for the front. you can retro fit what you have to take a newer r134 setup easily enough. :thumbup:
1st off A1 I have to def give you props on your mk1 aba swap thread!! INFREAKINGSANE!!! Def helped me w/ a swap for a custy! Def would like to hear more about your suspension setup possibly see some pix of your ride height as well. What does it take to do the beam raise?
 
#28 ·
...the fab and stance....and s--t everything about A1's bus is exactly what i would do.

not a shiney a--,straight as a lazer deal...been there done that and honestly it takes the wind out of your sails for sure.

my dumpy a--,Sage green,beat to s--t transporter is the bomb,with her 2 liter fuel injected,auto trans an all!!!!

A1,that center section is the rare yes?...or the whole entire roof piece?...either way you would never see that here as the weather never sold the air condition systems as much...

getting into these bus things more and more...i know nothing about em and i think thats whats got my interest...my buddy Nate here in Mass has probablt one of the nicest Bays in the North east...he's part of Broke-Status club
 
#35 ·
A1,that center section is the rare yes?...or the whole entire roof piece?...either way you would never see that here as the weather never sold the air condition systems as much...
the center section is uncommon but it does pop up from time to time. i actually got my mittens on one from someone who was scrapping some deluxe baywindows.

what's rare is that middle and front piece over the driver. very rarely do you see that beast. especially in that good of condition.

As far as the suspension you are running is there any bottoming out issues??? I :heart: the stance and wondering as far as added weight in the rear how does it measure up. Def am not looking for a scraped underside or bouncing all over. I am def liking the raised beam, def a project I feel I can tackle. So if I ran stock 15's I wouldnt have to touch the front seat panels? Also as far as the rear what did you do? Did you move the trailing arms up a notch or 2? I found this link on the raised beam? Whats your take on it?
http://vwrepublic.com/forums/index.php?topic=14.15
bottoming out? well if i take my shocks off and bounce up and down on her really hard she'll hit the frame :D i'm running shocks all around and that greatly helps out. i can't believe people would roll baywindows without shocks...would be crazy to drive and not very plush.

the weight is something to take into consideration. i mocked up my ride height with me in it. i only roll solo in my aircooled so with me in it i'd only drop the front down an additional half inch up front. i do see myself camping and tossing gear in her so i put her at a slight rake to account for the increase in weight in the rear from camping gear. but generally speaking each additional adult will drop the bus down approx half an inch.

i've seen that build. he's a split window bus so he's running a link pin beam. doing a beam raise with a link pin beam is only going to yield you approx 5in raise. ball joint (what your bus has) beam raise will give you a 7in raise. here's a shot of my setup mid process:

that's 6in solid wall quarter inch tubing, stronger than the frame rail section it's replacing :laugh:

yes, even if you go 15's you're gonna have to tub the front to get it down. the rear end, not so much...but you're gonna have to raise your seat height up front if you want to get it down even if you went with 14's :laugh:

my rear end i'm running dropped plates. it moves up the wheel 4.5 inches while retaining the stock geometry....team that together with one or two clicks of the torsions (can't remember exactly how many i did) and you get my ride height.

he he happy wife would want a BMW or a appliance car!!!


s--t my wife's R32 is most water cooled guys holy grail...


it's her "toyota tercel"...:what:
i can't wait till the bottom falls out on MK4's. i so want to cut up a R32 for the motor. that would be an awesome power plant for my vanagon :cool:
 
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