Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

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Jdt1976
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Jdt1976 »

I did see that but pics not good on the phone so was thinking it was the shade...
Did look again but still looked like the shade.


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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by acpaterson »

Ohhh very cool.. does look right hey.. nice..
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Tony Z »

A small update

Over the last while I've had to do a little maintenance on the bus which included tracing out a binding front brake problem. Brake shop told me that my discs were worn below spec, so those had to be replaced. Problem remained. Calipers were rebuilt, problem remained. So eventually I had new brake hoses made up and now the problem appears to be gone. Unfortunately, my pedal feels very different now, so I'll need to rebleed the system and/or just get used to it.

I've also had the CV joints apart to regrease them and replace the covers. Thanks to Sean for supplying quality covers.
This came about when I noticed that one of my rear hubs didnt have any grease on the bearings. So yea, I also replaced the bearings and seals, which necessitated in removing the drive shafts which then got me into redoing the CV's.

Then while doing that, I sold the tyres which were on the bus to Eugene. Which meant I had to get my a$$ into gear and do the project that I've been wanting to get to for a few years now.

I fitted a set of Porsche Teledial rims which came off the 84-89 3.2L 911 Carrera
These came with the hard to find 6J front rims and 7J rears. Even the local Porsche guys have told me that the Teledials never came in a 6J size... Thanks Blitz for these.

I did this one properly.
The Porsche PCD is 5x 130mm while the VW is 5x 112mm. So I had to make a plan to get the rims on.
The rear hubs were drilled, countersunk, reamed to size and fitted with press in bolts. Hand reaming 10 holes from a drill size of 13.5mm to a final size of between 14.65 and 14.79mm in 0.1mm steps took a long time indeed. I also sized each hole to a specific bolt to get the fit perfect.
The fronts were done by making a 17mm thick spacer which is bolted to the hub and drilled and reamed for the same press in studs as fitted to the rear. I used wheel nuts to locate the spacer, but to do this I had to source a (hard to find) 60deg countersink tool to use. Normal countersink tools are 90deg.

All fitted and done. New 15" commercial Conti tyres fitted too.
Test driven up to 140km/h without any vibration that I could pickup on.
The pictures an writeup make it sound like it was fairly easy. While not overly difficult, it was a lot of work getting the spacing correct so it all fits properly. I've probably got about 35 hours into this little exercise.

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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Eugene »

Looking good Tony. Now, if you painted the dish black, leaving the outer lip silver, it would look killer!
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by retrovan »

Nice going there Mr Z.

Fits the bus well.

Now had it been me I would ..............Make then black .. :lol:

:TIC:

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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by LesbleuBuggy »

Those wheels are the bomb !!
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Tony Z »

I'm not going to be painting them black unless I am really convinced that it will look the way I want it to.

This little project has led me back full circle to some ideas I had a few years ago but couldnt figure out how to implement without them looking out of place. Dont hold your breath, but there is more to come at some point
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by retrovan »

Tony Z wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:38 pm I'm not going to be painting them black unless I am really convinced that it will look the way I want it to. .....
Why not try Photoshop ..

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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Tony Z »

retrovan wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:44 pm
Tony Z wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:38 pm I'm not going to be painting them black unless I am really convinced that it will look the way I want it to. .....
Why not try Photoshop ..

Herman
go ahead
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by fourier »

Bus looks awesome Tony!

You managed to tick off quite a few items on the maintenance list in the process, so the bus should be well sorted now.

Nice show of skill (and tools) with the wheel mod.
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Wentzel »

Looks great Tony

Glad you could get it to work the way you wanted to.
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Riaan.N »

Great work Tony!

Ja...that is usually the case when one sees something that requires attention and before you know it you’re in a full blown restoration process Glad that you got it sorted!

About the black wheels, isn’t there some rattle spray can products which should be relatively easy to remove...
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by retrovan »

Tony Z wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:00 pm
retrovan wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:44 pm
Tony Z wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:38 pm I'm not going to be painting them black unless I am really convinced that it will look the way I want it to. .....
Why not try Photoshop ..

Herman
go ahead
Aint got photoshop, but maybe someone has, and can do it for you.

Nice to compare with and without black wheels.

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1952 Split Beetle 1835cc
1968 Fastback 2Lt.type4
1972 Low Light Bay Panel Van 2Lt type 4
1975 Fleetline Panel Van 1914cc
2020 MeFusco Beetle Truck 2Lt type 4
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by Tony Z »

With the recent lockdown, most people got to spend time at home with family and projects... Me, well I couldnt get home before the lockdown started as I was at sea when it was announced and still at sea when it started and our borders were closed. Luckily for me though, I managed to extend my work contract so that I wasnt stuck in USA not earning anything, with no-where to stay.
So after a month, the SA government finally arranged a repatriation flight from USA. Well, they arranged 3 and cancelled the last one, with over 150 people at the airport who had paid for a ticket but hadnt yet been issued one... but thats another story for a bottle of brandy when we are finally allowed to buy one.
So, luckily I got onto the first flight, made it to JHB and got locked up in quarantine in Midrand.
Finally I got released and made my way home...
Then I was due to fly out at the end of July to meet the boat again on 1 August, but with borders closed, I had to take the only flight to USA from SA in July, which was on 13 July. So I got to spend a week in quarantine in Boston, followed by an expensive wait for the boat until 1 Aug...
So my 3 months at home was reduced to 2 months and most of this time was spent on maintenance and improvements around the house, spending time with the family and trying to tackle a few small projects. All in all, I got maybe 10 days in the workshop, most of which was spent working on other peoples projects.
But, I did manage to get a little bit of work on the bus.

Firstly I fitted a set of Koni shocks and a Koni damper which I had ordered from Koni about a year before they finally arrived.
Did these make a difference. Yes they did.
Maybe I am just hyper sensitive towards them because I know they are new, but I can really feel them doing their thing and making the bus drive so much more comfortably while still reducing roll. They are advertised as being very soft towards sudden movements (bumps or holes in the road...) but being firmer for slow movements (body roll or braking). I can seriously feel this happening. I've seen a few dips in the road that I've clinched for but in the end, I hardly felt them.
The steering damper is amazing. OK, lets be honest, my steering is pretty good by bus standards, but this damper has improved this even more. The next step is to take the bus out on a windy day to see if the damper helps the tendency to blow off the road. OK, I'm not expecting miracles here, but an improvement would be good - after all, it is still shaped like a brick on wheels.

Image

After doing some rejetting of the carbs. I'm not finished yet, but I took this video so thought I'd share it.
She does drive easier now, but I havent yet had the oppertunity to do enough milage to see what difference it has made on the fuel economy
https://youtu.be/QEZpY_YjW2k


And some videos showing off how easy my bus is to drive - note how little I have to move the steering wheel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY3OS-fKrLg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMcpIW1ICVQ


https://youtu.be/BNDyROaSyyc
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acpaterson
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Re: Tony Z has a Baywindow Panel Van

Post by acpaterson »

looks good Tony. And sounds much better. ;-)
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