At last! My '64 Split Panel!

[GavinHuart]

Understood. Guess we're in for a bit of an adventure . Thanks again fig and I'll be sure to update.

[GavinHuart]

I found these two diagrams on the net. Can't seem to find the corresponding nomenclature but you can see that the diagram for the early type reduction box doesn't have a nut to hold the stub axle at the back side of the bearing, yet the later one does (as fig knew).

I wonder how it stays in situ?

[GavinHuart]

Hi all!

I wasn't able to get to sort out the leak on the rear wheel this past weekend, but we are scheduled to strip it down this Saturday and see what's potting. We're also slapping in the new front slave cylinders .

Despite it's weepy wheel, I had to use the bus today for it's first "big haul" Being the 1st of the month, it's D-day for my mate's business to start so all the stock and equipment he bought needed to get to Discovery in Sandton. We packed last night and roared off this morning by 6am. I was little worried as I'd driven the bus almost everyday prior to finding the leak. It had stood for almost two weeks so half of me expected it not to start. We took the risk, loaded it and this morning fired her up and she roared to life . FANTASTIC!

I can't believe how differently/perfectly a bus drives when there's a little weight in the back . I was SO impressed! The normal bumps and irregularities on the tar were just sucked up buy the heavier weight on the suspension. Lovely to drive!

Here's a couple of pics. No comments on the packing (I'd started out quite orderly on the bottom few layers but after ten trips up three stories of stairs, things were tossed in rather untidily towards the end ). It may not look like much, but there's about R40k's worth of equipment from pots and pans to table cloths (the heaviest of the lot surprisingly), chaffing dishes and pretty much all the other equipment for a catering business, barring the kitchen sink and the fridges - they are already there .

Check out the (crappy) pics of the leak . The inside of the hubcap has been cleaned out since and is waiting patiently to be put back on when the dreaded leak is fixed.

All in all, this bus saved umpteen trips to and from Sandton in an ordinary car. Couldn't have done it without it .

[GavinHuart]

Hi chaps!

What a weekend! Humblest apologies for there being no pics on this next update, we were too covered in grease and oil to handle a camera!
I got to Pierre's and we hauled off the drums to: A - replace the front slave cylinders (which actually weren't that bad ) and B - to sort out the rear RGB leak.

The slave cylinders went in without event. Nice point to note, the new slave cylinders bought from Rui, have only one bleed nipple shared between the two cylinders on each wheel which makes bleeding them that much easier - mine's a later '63 so fortunately Rui had the slave cylinders needed in stock.

We then moved to strip the rear leaky hub and replace the seal again. We noticed that the passenger wheel also had a minor oil leak so we did them both. We renewed the seals, got everything tightened up and got the bus on the ground and then witness a perfect stream of oil run down the wheel rim on the passenger side rear wheel . We couldn't believe it! Up the bus went and we stripped it all off again and redid the lot for a second time. Upon getting it on the ground, there it was, the same fate of brand new RGB oil trickling it's way down the rim . By now my patience had totally worn out. Pierre fortunately kept his cool. Everything was installed like clockwork so it could only be a 'parts' issue that was giving us grief. After much deliberation, and alot of foul language on my part , we decided to do something drastic; replace the whole gearbox and RGB's as my gearbox was jumping out of fourth in any case. I was anyway going to have to replace, or have it fixed, soon so now was the ideal opportunity.

At 4pm we started pulling the engine. That came out easily, as they do, so then it was onto the box. Pierre had another tried-and-tested gearbox and set of RGB's in stock so we moved that into my bus. It was a bit of a mission as this one was the larger nut gearbox which meant a bit of extra wiggling and jiggling was needed. We got it bolted in though . Pierre then dived into his Aladdin's Cave of goodies and found a brand new clutch and pressure plate which we fitted to the motor . We got the motor in, everything else bolted tight, and went for a spin. BLISS! No more whining from the gearbox at all , a lot more clutch and no jumping out of fourth! I'm so thrilled! The ratios are obviously different too so highway cruising is a lot better now .

We finished all of this well after 12am Sunday morning so we were both a little tired. Big ups to Pierre for all his help!

There are still a couple of minor niggles to sort out and then we're on track to strip and respray this Panel by the end of the year Watch this space!

[calooker]

WOW Hats off to you dudes

[Klaus]

Awesome

You need to get some nice wood packing crates for hauling all that stuff. Are you changing the front seats out ?

[GavinHuart]

Thanks Rui! And believe me, there was quite a bit of going on to get us through

@ Klaus, I have plans to do the interior altogether. With this little turn of fate this past weekend, something tells me the interior is going to have to wait a bit due to budget restraints. We're still on track for the exterior though (which is being done exactly the same colour combo, funnily enough).
I want a custom semi-camper interior allowing for floor space still to be used for hauling while having the option to flap down a bed. I also need a few cupboards. The wooden crate idea is brilliant for hauling! Excellent! As for the front seats, I'd murder to have an original set but my bulkhead has been removed and afaik, you can't put original seats in without that. I don't want to reinstall a bulkhead as I quite like the openness of it as it is. I'll get round to conjuring up a plan to get more fitting seats as yes, those Uno one's are rather unsightly .
I saw you SC by the way! It looks fantastic and really cool on Rostyles

[Klaus]

We must hook up for some beer at the club house - maybe do a cruise there one of the afternoons

The SC is looking okay but she'll look at lot better when she's hit with a lowering stick - coming soon !

You should look at those 70's style buckets seat they use for the buggies. They have low backs and should fit nicely in your bus.

[GavinHuart]

a cruise to the clubhouse sounds brilliant! I've only taken the bus there once. Many times with the Beetle though.

Those buckets seats sound really good. If they are what I think they are, they'll sit lower too. These Uno one's a quite high and I'm nearly 7 foot tall so driving is a bit of a mission . I get out like a cripple!

Thanks Klaus and let me know when you're free for a beer. I've not been up that side of the Creek for a while now.

[buggyfan]

We must hook up for some beer at the club house - maybe do a cruise there one of the afternoons

The SC is looking okay but she'll look at lot better when she's hit with a lowering stick - coming soon !

You should look at those 70's style buckets seat they use for the buggies. They have low backs and should fit nicely in your bus.

Buggy seats.jpg

[sean]

Looks like we had very similar problems with the gearbox, leaking RGB's and clutch issues. It seems mine is all good so far.

Good luck with build!

[Klaus]

a cruise to the clubhouse sounds brilliant! I've only taken the bus there once. Many times with the Beetle though.

Those buckets seats sound really good. If they are what I think they are, they'll sit lower too. These Uno one's a quite high and I'm nearly 7 foot tall so driving is a bit of a mission . I get out like a cripple!

Thanks Klaus and let me know when you're free for a beer. I've not been up that side of the Creek for a while now.

Friday or sunday afternoon - sundowners !

Anybody in the fourways / northriding area keen let me know and I'll sort some access codes !

[GavinHuart]

Thanks for the buggy-seat pictures Buggyfan .

Looks like we had very similar problems with the gearbox, leaking RGB's and clutch issues. It seems mine is all good so far.

Good luck with build!

Hi Sean! I reread your experiences with the leaking axle seals and gearbox on your Fleetline. Glad to hear you've gotten it sorted . Mine too is leaking again from both RGB's and slightly from the front of the gearbox (I haven't actually gotten under it to check from where though). Pierre and I have chatted about it and are slightly confused as to why it's started leaking. Mine are now leaking on the inside of the wheels unlike the previous box and set of RGB's which were leaking 'outside' of the wheel. Outside leaking suggests it's the o ring as oil then passes the o ring, travels down the splines on the stub axle and is released at the castle nut. My 'new' set are bone-dry at the castle nut. This got me thinking, and I don't doubt that it's mentioned here somewhere, but I did a fleeting search on The Samba about this and found some rather interesting info. I'm yet to put it to practice, but there's a lot of discrepancy with regard to RGB oil level and how to fill them. What I've worked out is we are filling mine with the bus hoisted and the RGB's and driveshafts hanging. We fill each side to the top filler plug and then proceed to fill the gearbox itself. When the bus is dropped, the RGB's lift (obviously) so their level would be far higher/pressurized with the bus on the ground. Many blokes overseas mention filling both the gearbox and the RGB's with the bus on the ground to start with. Some even plug the bottom of the RGBs, fill the gearbox, leave it for half an hour or so to let the oil flow down the drive shafts to the RGB's and then top up the gearbox. This all sounds perfectly sensible so perhaps, too much oil could very well be the cause of my leak. In reading further on about it, some bloke interjected that when you corner heavily, the RGB on the outer wheel would naturally become more full and they don't present leaks then. This totally omits my theory though, but I'm still going to give it a try. We didn't renew seals on the set that went in, or remove and "grey-seal" the backing plates. The bus that box was from never leaked so based on that, it was supposed to have been a successful transplant.

I have another issue that's cropped up too and that's a weird creaking noise (almost a 'bang' if you pull off quicker) which comes from the rear suspension - I think. It's almost the sound of the rear shoes binding as you want to pull of and they creak a bit until they become released although the wheel spins freely when it's jacked up. The handbrake too is adjusted correctly. We did struggle a bit to get the swing arms to bolt to the RGB's as they, or the driveshafts, could very well be of a slightly different size to the originals but we got it bolted up true and proper. I'm guessing that there's the slightest of twists in the swing arms now which could be causing them to resist movement from where the pivot. I don't know. Just guessing.

I am going to drop the level of the RGBs to what they should be with the bus on the ground and then have a hunt for the mysterious creaking noise. I'll update asap.

Anyone with any insight, feel free to comment

[calooker]

I know the quality of replacement parts is not what it should be, and I suspect the quality of seals / gaskets is your problem, I'm sure if you get quality items many of your problems will be resolved.
Last year I had issues with leaky side shafts on my 58, using the loccaly available kits, twice, got German kits, leaks sorted, lesson learnt.

[Dawie]

As Fig mentioned somewhere: There is a type of large welsh plug thingy in the reduction box housing. It lives where the rgb meets the spring plate and can be a source of oil leaks. One could loosen the spring plate, clean around plug, and use sealer or make a gasket as Fig suggested. Had a leak there on the one side. Just used sealer there and it has since been dry for the past 2 decades.