Aircooled VW South Africa

That's the one! very similar to Sean's. I think this was taken about 8-10 years ago as she's not very rusty in this picture, and the letters are red and not pink as they are now.

davidminigreen wrote:That's the one! very similar to Sean's. I think this was taken about 8-10 years ago as she's not very rusty in this picture, and the letters are red and not pink as they are now.

Spot on. I took that pic in January 2004.

The Fleetline is running well. I have been racking on the kilos and the gearbox is working well with no more leaking either. My rear bench is also complete, the backrest springs were rotten, and so instead of looking for again another back rest the upholstery used foam in the frame work from a baywindow back rest. It definitely feels more firm than the springs but otherwise looks good.

It was another R2 350excl for the repair to the gearbox and R800 for the clutch to add to all costs. One more item on the list is to get hold of the original type gear link coupling; I have one of those urethane type ones at the moment and have gearbox noise travelling through the shifter. F4Racing has a new one; I must just make a turn to get it.

That’s about it for now. I just need to put some decent kilos on the bus. Maybe George next year for a change? Driving to KKK Kamp Out for a weekend will be too far for the Fleetline though; my trusty Baywindow will do that trip again.

I have really been enjoying driving this bus and really impressed how well it goes. Once you get used to it after a day or so you can actually become quite comfortable in it, I must just not drive my other bus for too long before getting back.

Did some nice driving with it this weekend, and some gravel too and really impressed as my suspension is beautiful on it and with all the new door seals there is absolutely no rattling.



Couple of checks before going back on the road. It’s only just done over 2000km and it has only so far taken one pint of oil. I am so impressed with this engine.


I just can’t escape the rain when driving this bus.

Nice pics!

In the last pic it looks like you are using normal type wiper blades. Are they the correct ones for a fleetline?

beetlefanatic wrote:Nice pics!

In the last pic it looks like you are using normal type wiper blades. Are they the correct ones for a fleetline?

No, these are beetle. I think it should have the type as the German busses, the one that attaches on with the screw.

Problem was the price difference between R30 to nearly R400.

I use regular style 11-inch wiper blades that are correct for old Land Rovers. They are freely available and cheap.

The correct style blades aren't easy to find and don't last thanks to the strong sun.

What tyres you running on her, and at what pressure?

Hloni wrote:What tyres you running on her, and at what pressure?

Goodyear GT2. 185/80/R14 Reinforced sidewall.

I think the tyre pressure is +- 2.2 bar.

sean wrote:

Hloni wrote:What tyres you running on her, and at what pressure?

Goodyear GT2. 185/80/R14 Reinforced sidewall.

I think the tyre pressure is +- 2.2 bar.

Excuse my stupidity, but should the wheels and tyres be 15"

This will give you a better cruise speed, and better fuel economy, OR did they come out with 14"....??????

retrovan wrote:

sean wrote:

Hloni wrote:What tyres you running on her, and at what pressure?

Goodyear GT2. 185/80/R14 Reinforced sidewall.

I think the tyre pressure is +- 2.2 bar.

Excuse my stupidity, but should the wheels and tyres be 15"

This will give you a better cruise speed, and better fuel economy, OR did they come out with 14"....??????

As far as I know Fleetlines came standard with 14'' rims.

What I don't know is if they had different gear ratio's to the later German busses to accommodate the smaller wheel, maybe the German bus 15'' tyre had a smaller tyre profile?

Perhaps someone else can share some more info?

Yes, Fleetlines came out standard with 14in wheels. In Germany, split buses got 14in wheels from 64-67, but the SA-assembled German splits had 15in wheels standard up to 1967. I don't think there were any gearing changes for the 15in wheels on locally assembled splits; the move to 14in wheels came at the same time as the 1500 engine and big nut transmission, which entailed revised gearing, but not specifically for the hweels. Probably the only change for 15in vs 14in wheels was speedo calibration.

Hi Sean, I see from the photos you have posted that the roof on your felletline was bad. How dir you repair yours? I'm making the gutters but i'm not sure how to do the roof. Any pointers?

Fig - your right, 14" came out as standard. Mine are 14s. and I plan to keep them as I actualy quite like them.

fig wrote:Yes, Fleetlines came out standard with 14in wheels. In Germany, split buses got 14in wheels from 64-67, but the SA-assembled German splits had 15in wheels standard up to 1967. I don't think there were any gearing changes for the 15in wheels on locally assembled splits; the move to 14in wheels came at the same time as the 1500 engine and big nut transmission, which entailed revised gearing, but not specifically for the hweels. Probably the only change for 15in vs 14in wheels was speedo calibration.

Thanks Fig,
That's great news.
So if you want power, and stop/start, you use 14", and if you want Hi Way driving you use 15".
All you need is a local speed trap, to calibrate you speedo, with the 15" wheels.
Herman

Again, that is one sweet look bus. Take a few more days than normal and bring it up to Kamp out

davidminigreen wrote:Hi Sean, I see from the photos you have posted that the roof on your felletline was bad. How dir you repair yours? I'm making the gutters but i'm not sure how to do the roof. Any pointers?
meta
Fig - your right, 14" came out as standard. Mine are 14s. and I plan to keep them as I actualy quite like them.

Luckily my gutters were still quite intact but it was the roof that was rusty. I used sheet metal which a rolled with a very small curve to weld into place. I welded in sections at a time as to not cut it all out and loose some structural shape/integrity.