Shorty's 1969 Kombi

I have traded my Westy in for a '69 Californian Kombi... nothing wrong with a westy, I just always loved these and when I clapped my eyes on this beauty I just could not resist!

Well, here it is, this is the start point.. where the journey goes... who knows at this point!





















There are bumpers, and a tow bar, these have been removed to take the engine out...

A new headlining has been bought for it, as well as deluxe window trims...

Its not yet UK registered and doesn't have an MOT yet either...

The engine..now named The Black Widow in homage to the 5 black widow spiders found in the bus when it arrived here at the Howling Wolf Speedshop.

There is a 1776cc that is going to go in here, this didn't come in the bus, it has been sourced separately...

Anyway, neither Mark Lewis or myself knew what was inside so it has been stripped right down so we know exactly what I've got...

Mahle 90.5 Barrels and Pistons



Empi Outlaw heads with oversize valves, dual springs







Balanced Crank Shaft with 8 dowel's for the flywheel (stock throw)



High lift cam shaft (approx 0,6mm more than stock). If anyone can identify this it would be appreciated, neither Mark or I can work out what it is... we know It's not stock though! There are some marking on there and a green band around the shaft..







Genuine Italian Weber IDF Carbs







A CSP linkage bought in for them..



Breather..



And then case, which I think is Brazilian (?), it's been painted black this evening to reflect the name... The Black Widow!



The case is going to be drilled in preparation for a full flow system

The crank and flywheel are going in next week to check they are correctly balanced...

Took the old and crispy headlining out of the cab area this afternoon..

New roof lining has arrived so time to do some prep - windows out time!









It had 3 x 3/4 opening windows, but these were found to all be corroded past the point of salvage, so solid windows will be fitted in their place...

Gave the cab area a good sweep out..







and finally offered up the badge, just to see what it looks like....

patina'd or new chrome... now there's a question!



and those with a keen eye will notice the new inertia seat belts fitted - to hold the rear facing baby seat...

What's the latest then Carlie-Baby?

Deluxe window seals ordered yesterday from C&C - making excellent use of their 15% off weekend promotion, and my new Engle W110 cam, camwheel and lifters arrived last Friday...

The crank, flywheel, clutch plate and pulley wheel were delivered on Saturday AM to be balanced...

Glad this is back. Always remember lots of pics

Keep up the good work!

While the windscreen is out I wanted to repaint the dash top and replace the split dash pad...

Not easy to get the padded section off! For those wondering, there are it is held on by 4 threaded studs at the intersection of the 3 dash parts, you'll need a 10mm socket and a contortionist..! you'll also need to undo the two nuts holding the grab handle one. Once all 6 are undone you can persuade the pad off...

I've rubbed down the dash top... need to go over it again with some finer grit paper before a few coats of primer and a couple of top coats of satin black... watch this space!

heres the pictures of this weeks progress..

on the last picture it looks a bit scabby under the windscreen rubber on the right hand side, at the bottom of the shot.

Is this just the picture or does it need some attention?

Getting the dash out of a type 3 is a tricky bastard too! not the dash so much as removing the clocks from the dash before it can be removed.

Good work carl

clockwork wrote:

on the last picture it looks a bit scabby under the windscreen rubber on the right hand side, at the bottom of the shot.

Is this just the picture or does it need some attention?

Getting the dash out of a type 3 is a tricky bastard too! not the dash so much as removing the clocks from the dash before it can be removed.

Good work carl

It looks much much worse in this picture than in reality.... There is a bit of pitting and a single pinhole there... It has all been treated with rust converter, and will mostly be covered by the window seal....

I'd make sure that it is 100% solid before the seal goes back in. It's a renowned water collection point in the corners of the windscreen ...

Also, I took the entire dash out when I restored mine. Much easier to work on and check wiring etc. also meant any rut treatment around the windscreen was easier to do.

Looking like your making good progress !

I'd agree, I'd make sure it's 100% solid dude. A tiny spot of weld won't do any harm...

that will be like a pepper pot, all that pitting will blow apart.

nice one, i like this a lot, looks pretty solid, keep up the good work (and the pics coming).

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

I haven't seen my bus this week.... and I miss it terribly! It's hard to put into words, but I never felt like this about my westy.... Itching to crack on and get it on the road... long way to go yet though....

Saving my pennies for a new front end - Red9 Double wishbone.... and still waiting for the crankshaft balancing to be completed.. I was hoping for today, but haven't heard anything and I'm on holiday from tomorrow for a week...

no pics tonight, but progress has been made.... bought a pot of Kurust (? by hammerite), this is the stuff you paint on rust to chemically convert it...

went over the dashboard top where i had sanded, went round all the window frames now the windows are out too - wanted to make sure that there was nothing there before I put the windows back in..

Also did the floor in the back, again, to prevent any potential rust spots initiating...

More preventative measures than cure.. I don't want to do this twice!

Good effort mate!

Updates:

Crank / Pulley / Flywheel / Clutchplate are now all nicely balanced and back from the engine shop where the work was carried out.. I am planning to build the engine next week.. never done it before so a few lessons will be learnt along the way I am sure!

The dashboard has been filled where it was slightly pitted and is currently primed. I need to sand back and put another coat of primer on there before I apply a couple of top coats of satin black.


While the engine is out I am giving the engine bay a good clean - I really like the 'clean' look seen in several other threads, but, as my bus is OG paint throughout, I was reluctant to paint the engine bay - and in fact, after a bit of elbow grease, it's starting to look very nice...

Finally, a friend who is a bit handy with a polishing mop has started work on the bus, we are refreshing the paint before applying a gloss top coat to protect the Californian patina.

Pics of all the above on my camera and will be posted herein very soon!

Sounding good!

Some more pictures:

The Engine bay before I started cleaning it.... it's not finished yet, I'm up to about 16 hours of rubbing with a cloth and white spirit.. getting there slowly!







And the dashboard has been rubbed down, treated with anti-rust, primed, primed again, rubbed down (this is where the photo's below were taken) and since primed again. Plan to get a a very fine grit paper and lightly rub it down again tonight before applying the satin black... watch this space!

Dashboard now painted - Satin Black





And a good friend of mine lending his detailing skills to bring some life back to the flat paint.. these photo's really don't do it justice - it's amazing!





The door hasn't been done, the two panels rear of the door have in this picture...

Onto the rollover jig ready for underside photography, clean then underseal... The underside is immaculate, unbelievably so for the buses years...








The jig will go further, but I chickened out at this angle!!

Ha ha ha, get it right over you tosspot!!

I can't wait to see this on the road Dude!