Snail Trail

NUG637 · 2013-12-12T09:55:19+00:00

Ok just to get you up to speed.... The story begins with me and my g/f have always wanted to travel australia by road. talked about doing it in a tin top kombi.... but voted against it for not enough room for what could potentially be 1 year+ long trip. Off and on our excitement would grow but i had to finish my apprenticeship and finish my oval resto befor i wanted to go anywhere.... 5 years later and i now work for myself and am enjoying crusing the oval and we have commited to "making it happen" so a mate down south found this bus in a paddock..... once in its lifetime it has had a big whack in both sides but otherwise solid as.... my brother bought it a whileback with intentions of doing a quick job on it and flipping it.... but time and interest werent on his side so we bought it off him with the plan of turning it into our "home" for a while…. with not being to keen on a tintop idea i bought a heap of camper stuff including a pop top... but then it happend...... i made the mistake of showing my partner how cool the autovilla's were (south african kombi motorhomes) and stupidly saying "that wouldnt be to hard to make" with her reply of "we should make ours into one".... we could travel so much more comfortably. This was around the same time the Rubber tramp had just be revealed.... and we were blown away with that thing. and from that day.... we have had a plan set in concrete.... next year "Valla" is our deadline to leave.... as of christmas I'm not taking on anymore work and ill be going full time on building this snail. we plan on attending the show and then kicking off our travells from there, lets hope it comes together aswelll as i hope the following week i had the engineer around and he gave me the ok to start cutting away what wasnt needed.... got started on the opposite side befor i packed up and after i cut the corner off i noticed a little black box tucked up in the battery tray area.... Spare keys 8) 8)

vassy66T1 Wow ... are U reading this?

2,120 posts · joined Jun 2003 · 10 Jul 2014, 9:57 am

#995218

Thanks for all the story along the way

Great read and an awesome bit of kit!

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 10 Jul 2014, 9:59 am

#995219

thanks Marcus 😀

a better picture with the plates on 8)

felt confident enough to drive to HQ with the radio on this morning 8)

Doug Sweetman Nil Bastardo Carborundum

2,128 posts · joined Sep 2002 · 10 Jul 2014, 10:29 am

#995225

Wicked. Nuff said.

pete wood 23 Windows of Awesome

6,828 posts · joined Jan 2004 · 11 Jul 2014, 12:48 pm

#995297

Snail trail = Awesome 👍

"stoopid is stronger than axles"
http://drivingnotpolishing.blogspot.com.au/

kombivw Wolfsburg Wizard

463 posts · joined Mar 2009 · 11 Jul 2014, 1:08 pm

#995298

Wonderful read great pics and awesome job by all involved !

Fun when a hub cap flies off and rolls down the road lol

Took me twenty minutes to find mine when it happened once, nearly gave up

MY KOMBI AND BUG (CLICK HERE)

DasAuto77 Learner Dubber

17 posts · joined Apr 2014 · 14 Jul 2014, 8:59 am

#995523

Pretty sure we saw your camper at Manly yesterday, looked fantastic! A rare sight indeed and a credit to your construction skills.
Luckily my son spotted it as you drove past our bus parked on the foreshore, white over blue late bay.

h fractals - an ever changing lifestyle

7,671 posts · joined Feb 2005 · 14 Jul 2014, 10:07 am

#995528

good on you mate, it looks great!
a real credit to you and your dedication
looking forward to seeing it in the flesh soon about the traps 😉
cheers

fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse

Fantasy http://seventhchronicle.com

Z = Z2 + C1/r = 1/0 = infinity

Barrels www.barrelman.com.au

VW Workshop - aircooledgarage.com.au
allcooled.com.au

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 14 Jul 2014, 6:02 pm

#995570

DasAuto77 wrote:Pretty sure we saw your camper at Manly yesterday, looked fantastic! A rare sight indeed and a credit to your construction skills.
Luckily my son spotted it as you drove past our bus parked on the foreshore, white over blue late bay.

you sure did… we went to breakfast in manly as we only live in wynnum 😎

thanks H, kind words… been putting a few k's on it over the past week and its going great guns… have been making minor adjustments to carbs and things along the way and checked my CV's for tight after the first 100ks as you hear horror stories…. hoping to pump out a few more k's this week to do a big service before valla 😎 maybe even a small camping trip this weekend… see how things pan out….

Craig Torrens 6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion

8,040 posts · joined Jan 2003 · 14 Jul 2014, 6:28 pm

#995573

👍👍👍

Carl and Emily Officially Full-On Dubber

349 posts · joined Apr 2012 · 14 Jul 2014, 7:07 pm

#995583

Super cool. Well done.

Safe travels to you both.

Congrats.

Ben 89 Learner Dubber

10 posts · joined Apr 2012 · 14 Jul 2014, 8:37 pm

#995598

Keen to see this rolling!! Attention to detail is above and beyond, absolute top build! Only fun times ahead 👍

kombi1976 Casual Dubber

37 posts · joined Oct 2007 · 19 Jul 2014, 4:02 am

#996016

I just looked through this entire build from start to end.
I have to say, usually I'm not in favour of this sort of campervan conversion but this is truly awesome craftsmanship.
I didn't exactly work out how big your stroker motor is but I'm betting it pushes the "Tower" along well.
Did you have too many engineering challenges with it or did it sail through since so many were converted to pop tops?
And is it a lot heavier than a standard bus?

Cheers & God Bless
'62 Beetle ~ '62 Panel project ~ '67 Panel[url=http://]http://www.dsk.com.au[/url]

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 19 Jul 2014, 8:53 am

#996027

Thanks mate, the motor is a 1699cc... Basically just a stroker crank with everything else being relatively stock 1600.... Engineering we easy as I had the guy around through multiple stages of the build from start to finish... At the end he wanted me to add reflectors and some grills on the scoops to stop then from being a safety hazard... Other then that went through pretty easy...

As mentioned earlier... A normal micro bus is around 1350 kilo grams... With mine full of fuel... Water tanks full... Fridge in... Solar panels, awning, 2 batteries... Etc etc came in at 1700 kilo... So she's on the heavy side but can be loaded to 2200kg as per the gvm so not to bad... No power house but haven't had any dramas climbing hills yet.... But then again that's coming from someone who is used to driving a 36hp most days...

twincab76 Casual Dubber

35 posts · joined Sep 2007 · 21 Jul 2014, 11:51 am

#996227

Great job mate - I have a Jurgens Autovilla in Brisbane and yours is so much prettier - love it - have a great time with it.

Gary

1968 VW Country Buggy KO459
1976 Baywindow Twincab
1972 Lowlight Dormobile
1974 Jurgens Autovilla

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 21 Jul 2014, 1:46 pm

#996232

gary i would love to see it 👍

twincab76 Casual Dubber

35 posts · joined Sep 2007 · 21 Jul 2014, 2:53 pm

#996234

Give us a call and we'll organise it Nugget - 0419798698.

Gary

1968 VW Country Buggy KO459
1976 Baywindow Twincab
1972 Lowlight Dormobile
1974 Jurgens Autovilla

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 22 Jul 2014, 5:24 pm

#996329

well my week has been cut short but for a good reason (bringing a boat up from newcastle to brissy as of tomorrow till saturday). I was hoping to have this week to do valla prep on both my cars in hope that i could find a driver for my oval as well as that car is my favourite…. but can't sleep 2 in that comfortably like this old beast…. so looks like only the snail will be ready as i did its first big service today since building it and looking good 😎 only tightened 2 exhaust valves as they were on the looser side of the feeler gauge but could of gotten away without nipping them up…. changed gear box oil for abit of a flush and new fuel filter as the tank is still cleaning itself out….. good times! checked cv bolts and the big old axle nuts and none of them budged greased the from end again and check over everything…. so I'm feeling confident with this thing now… its been my daily since rego and have had trouble free driving 😎

done a few lengthy trips around town (over an hours driving with traffic etc) and the highest the oil temp has gotten is 180F which from what i can tell is a good sign. this is still without an external oil cooler… 😎 the trip to valla should be a good test….

can you tell I'm excited!!! 😀

LUFTMEISTER Veteran Volks Folk

2,041 posts · joined Jul 2005 · 22 Jul 2014, 5:38 pm

#996331

😵‍💫Safe journey Nug.👍 See down there. Cheers 👍

Customer service is not dead in Australia.

Always after HAZET & MATRA & VW factory tools

hellbugged 48's and straight cuts

5,080 posts · joined Apr 2003 · 22 Jul 2014, 9:42 pm

#996371

😎

.... A-frame for the oval next!?

Mr Bubble Head Insano Dub Head

829 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 28 Jul 2014, 10:10 pm

#996721

Just read this post from start to finish ,great work miles it's a credit to your skills and perseverance. It's a shame I'm not making Valla to see this. Just make sure you steer clear of those spotted quolls
😉😉

recycle, restore, enjoy

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 3 Aug 2014, 10:31 pm

#997040

Well we just arrived home safe and sound after our week off for its maiden voyage to valla and back... Over 1000k's and the only trouble I had was a loose bell crank linkage this morning and 2 out of my 3 dash light bulbs blew on the way home tonight.... Other then that this thing didn't miss a beat and it atracked a lot more attention then what we wanted and some points 😂

A solid 65mph the entire way home through torrential rain for 6 hours with 2 stops 8)

dangerous 23 Windows of Awesome

5,901 posts · joined Jan 2005 · 4 Aug 2014, 8:13 am

#997051

👍

westi wrote:That's mad Alan.

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 13 Aug 2014, 2:19 pm

#997754

Back on track with doing a few things to this befor we call it finished 8)

With little time to do anything other then making sure the snail was machincaly sound for valla I wasn't really happy with the stance but was hoping the back would come down after being loaded but not a chance. The rake wasn't "the look" I was going for. One more spline on the rear and trimming the bumpstops has leveled it out nicely with a mild drop all round and still a reasonably nice ride 8)

Next step I think I'm gonna cut off the front bump stops.... If I don't bin them completely I might turn them abit and weld them back on to stop the tyre scrubing on the tubs....

matberry Moderator Go hard or go home

8,114 posts · joined Mar 2006 · 13 Aug 2014, 6:21 pm

#997775

Nice one Myles, I'm sure I wasn't the only one but I sure loved seeing the Snail. Well done on the reliability too 🙂

Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 13 Aug 2014, 8:49 pm

#997786

Thanks Mr berry! Judging by this picture you enjoyed your ride in it to 😂 😂

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Scottkombi Officially Full-On Dubber

358 posts · joined Dec 2008 · 13 Aug 2014, 8:59 pm

#997787

Looks loads better all levelled off

88 Caravelle Syncro Camper
89 Caravelle GL microbus - 5 speed
69 Microbus
05 Mk5 Golf 1.9 TDi DSG

matberry Moderator Go hard or go home

8,114 posts · joined Mar 2006 · 13 Aug 2014, 8:59 pm

#997788

Cool mate, dressed for speed and drinking hi-octane Coka-Cola.......cool ride

Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE

h fractals - an ever changing lifestyle

7,671 posts · joined Feb 2005 · 14 Aug 2014, 7:34 am

#997806

👍
I had a quiet gander at Valla..
excellent workmanship and in all honesty looks like it rolled off a prod line..
nice one mate !
I'm sure people would line up for orders 😉

fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse

Fantasy http://seventhchronicle.com

Z = Z2 + C1/r = 1/0 = infinity

Barrels www.barrelman.com.au

VW Workshop - aircooledgarage.com.au
allcooled.com.au

NUG637 Officially Full-On Dubber

372 posts · joined Nov 2009 · 3 Sep 2014, 11:54 am

#999444

well after returning from valla a few things went down hill with my grandmother passing and having to move out of her house as we were the cre takers while she was in a nursing home, so now we call the snail home, yep we are gypsies :smile grin: parked up on mum and dads property until my brother gets married and we leave on out trip in november… or maybe december if we need more $$

anyway after taking the advise of a few people i class as experts, i dropped the oil after valla and went to a thiner oil. i was using penrite HPR30 20W-60 and now dropped to penrite 10w-40 fully synthetic. Gonna drive up the north coast this weekend so will see how it goes with the thinner oil…. some people report lower oil temps with the thinner oil which will be interesting even tho i haven't ever had temp issues.

finally got a second 120AH house battery as the entire nation was out of am-tech batteries after i got my hands on only one... :roll: mounted it and wired her in last night…. we lasted the valla week with solar panels and short runs without ever running out of power with only one battery so should be ample what we need.

with the start battery on the opposite side

another job off the list….

also my dells arrived this morning…. they look rebuilt (gaskets) but defenly not "bolt on and drive" like advertised. Dog hair and grit all through them… but they look in pretty good nick… fingers crossed they perform like people say. Will pull them down and go through them thoroughly

Now i just need to jet them and get my head around dual 2bbl carbs. If anyone wants to school me on these I'm all ears otherwise i will figure it out like i usually do. 8)

Pumba Veteran Volks Folk

2,138 posts · joined Jan 2007 · 3 Sep 2014, 7:27 pm

#999470

Nug how did it run with the 35 PDSIT carbs,i have been thinking about buying a set to put on a 1600 im putting in my oval.
cheers shane.

69 Beetle
66 Beetle
56 Beetle