Aircooled VW South Africa

HAHA! LOL! Well, it is going to be quite thing to see me having a go at Bus brakes for the first time!

Cool! Thanks! I'll give you a call near the end of the week to sort out what time best suits you.

Update time!

Firstly.............. Pierre, you are an absolute LEGEND! Thank you so much for all your help. Your workspace is a pleasure, your tools are the best, your knowledge is invaluable .
I got to Pierre’s yesterday at 7:30 am. The drive there was a little hair-raising I must admit. I’d managed to get a little more out of the brakes by bleeding them again Friday night, but they were still far from safe.
We got the bus hauled up on Pierre’s bus hoist and stripped the brakes completely. One lining in the front right drum was totally detached from the brake shoe and the rear brake cylinders were leaking badly. We took all eight shoes and the four drums to a friend of Pierre’s who skimmed the drums and relined the shoes – flawless work and in record time!
Next I got cleaning all the crap off of all the bits and pieces with an ingenious paraffin trough device of Pierre’s - everything was shiny and new! We then honed the rear brake cylinders and started to re-assemble everything with brand new bearings and seals. While we were at it, we installed new axle boots as well and drained the RGBs and gearbox which we then later topped up with fresh oil.
I re-assembled the rear brake components while Pierre busied himself with the front lot and then the brake bleeding started – I can still barely walk after all the thrashing about on the brake pedal!
Next I slapped on the new rims and tires (thanks Dr. Watson) and finally, the hubcaps (thanks to Rui). We got the bus on the ground, tightened everything up and went for a spin. The results are fantastic! The bus stops in a perfectly straight line and is SO much more stable on the proper bus tires. The difference is truly incredible.
I’d mentioned to Pierre while we were working that I’d had a little trouble getting it to fire up from cold and the next minute, he was in the engine bay and fiddling about with the choke and carb. The bus now starts with a flick of the key and runs like it just came off the showroom floor.
The last thing we got onto was the nose badge! We made a template from another split which had the holes drilled and the badge off. Having fitted it, we’re both in agreement that it’s a little low but it’s exactly where the other busses was so I’m happy with it .
I saw the bumpers that Pierre has kindly arranged to have sprayed so that’s going to be the next exciting instalment!
I had a camera with me but with a rather minute memory card so we only got a few pics. Here they are nonetheless:

More pics...

Nice work Gav! The bus looks great!

PS The badge looks perfect in that spot.

looks lovely in the sunshine!


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=50.838327,-1.817849

Nice job guys, the bus looks much better with the original wheels than with the rostyles

Does look good with the original wheels

Nice work guys, getting the important stuff sorted first. Bus is looking great Gav

Quick update:

I've used the bus constantly since we did all of the above and it's going phenomenally well! SO happy! My speedo works but not the trip counter so what I can say that I've gone through about five-six tanks of fuel and driven it nearly everyday on both highway travels, quick nip abouts a well as in and out to work through traffic it's been amazing. Engine running nice and cool, new carb working a treat, brakes as close to perfect as they'll ever be, this bus is awesome! Similarly, I'd like to boast that it sailed through it's roadworthy test on Tuesday last week and it's now officially registered in my name . They guy did say he'd help me out there as apparently seat belts are now mandatory where we used to get away with it on older cars up until not too long ago. He said he'd pass it but I am to have them belts installed.

I have also accumulated new inner and outer rockers, front nose valance (under the "V"), a section of the cargo floor right by the cargo doors, new tail lights, two of the missing window latches, plates to correct the Bay rear bumper brackets to fit Split bumpers, front bumper brackets (still on their way from the States), cargo door locking plate which goes on the cargo floor, I have the chopped out engine vent sections pending (should hear by Friday) and have had the red paint matched and mixed!

We're very much on track to get this bus back to it's former glory (or as close to it as possible). Pierre has that other SC at his place which should be done in a couple of weeks and then mine's next on the list. We have a lot to do but I am as keen as ever!

Will upload pics as soon as the dirty work starts.

I`m Glad you are enjoying a Bus that was "Renderd" Shit and atroushus and caused Bad things come through the pipeline the previous owner said about me selling him the bus

Keep on Enjoying the bus

Hi chaps!

Well, I think I was a little hasty in boasting about just how well everything's been going . As luck would have it (and karma ) we've sprang a leak, two actually. At the time we stripped the brakes, the front slave cylinders looked to be fine with no leaks, the rear were the problem. We honed the rear and slapped in new seals (together with new shoes etc all round as you know). After a bit of driving the Master cylinder developed a leak so I bought a new one of them from Volkspares and slapped that on. Now the front slave cylinders are jealous of all the attention and decided they'd weep a bit . I've just collected brand new front slave cylinders from Rui which should be installed next weekend. Thanks Rui!
(I Couldn't find front seals for love nor money).

Lesson learned; when doing the brakes, do EVERYTHING in one go. It's just far easier when you have everything apart in the first place.

The next leak is something of a mystery that can only be confirmed when we get it all apart again. I've chatted to Pierre and we're both thinking along the lines of it being a faulty bearing seal from the new bearings we installed in the RGB on the drivers side (we did both sides and the passenger side is still fine). I got home last week to see oil sprayed out of the hubcap pulling holes onto the rim. I popped of the hubcap and it was lined with oil and grease. I jacked the bus up and had a wobble on that wheel and noticed a bit of play between the drum and the Castle Nut. It appeared that the Castle Nut needed tightening but we gave that a good seeing to when we put it all together. For interest sake I pulled the split pin and tried to tighten the nut and as predicted, it was as tight as it's ever going to get so we have an interesting case on our hands. The leak is coming from the drive shaft around the Castle Nut . Pierre seems to think the stub axel might have pulled a little further through the bearing and moved the seal causing the leak.

All will be revealed next weekend when we have it in pieces...

The rear axle leak is directly caused by the loose drum/axle. The o-ring between the bottom outer RGB bearing and the spacer requires tension to seal. It's possible the big 41mm nut on the back side of the bottom inner bearing, which holds the stub axle in place, has worked its way loose. These nuts have a deformable shoulder, which you peen into a groove on the shaft to lock the nut. These are designed like condoms, to be used once only but, since they are NLA, you have to reuse them. After the second use, it becomes difficult to find a fresh spot to peen the shoulder into the groove.

Thanks fig. Firstly, I've managed to find an exploded diagram of the hub assembly just to check we got it all together in the right order . You never know.
I gather we'd need to disassemble the entire RGB to get to that inner 41mm nut? (Forgive me if it's obvious, what I know about an RGB you can poke in your eye)

GavinHuart wrote:I gather we'd need to disassemble the entire RGB to get to that inner 41mm nut?

Unfortunately, yes. You'll also need to pull out that infernal plug on the back of the RGB, which needs a special tool. You may get away with just looseining the axle nut, then unbolting the RGB from the spring plate and removing the plug and retightening and locking the 41mm nut. I would try that first, before opening the whole RGB.

BTW, all this is assuming you have a big nut trans in there (46mm axle nut). Small nut RGBs don't have the 41mm nut on the back of the stub axle (I'm not sure how they secure the stub axle).

Ah!

Just read your last line and my Castle Nut (Axel Nut?) is a 36mm or 38mm - can't remember but I bought the socket and power bar just the other day to try tighten it and I know for sure it wasn't a 46mm. Are we talking about the same thing?

No, 36mm is small nut. This has lower gearing than the big nut and will restrict top speed to about 90km/h as opposed to 105km/h. I would have to consult a manual with regard to how the stub axle is held in place, as I've never worked on a small nut RGB. You will definitely have to open the RGB up to assess the problem.