Well things have still been slowly but surely progressing albeit not that pictorially exciting (lots and lots of wiring). Many hours have been spent under the dash with 90% of the wiring completed.
In the interim the front engine face plate needed some minor tweeking for the supercharger/AC mount since the engine block was marginally different to that we used in the mockup phase - nothing major, just a minor adjustment. This pic shows the custom alternator and cank pulley (bolts/nuts holding them on are just temporary) - the crank pulley has the 36-1 EDIS toothed ring mounted on the back face.
Al,
I look through this thread and am pretty speechless.
This will have to be one of the best (if not the best) splitties in the country when finished. 👍
The bus goes off to Leons Motors next week to have the ECU and engine wired up and injector bungs/sensors welded in, then it will return to have the tinwear etc painted.....then off to the trimmers finally!
The owner visited today and was very stoked with how the bus was looking (hasn't seen it for a couple of months)....so that is always a nice feeling. Just a couple quick gratuitous panel work reflection shots 🙂
Unfortunately we had a hold up with the exhaust from the US (long story but short version is the one I ordered was sold to someone else).....so we've been waiting for another to be built and resent so the bus will hopefully go to Leon's Motors in the next couple of weeks (pending exhaust!).
Andrew and Leon will be welding in injector and sensor bungs, then fitting fuel rails and doing final wiring to engine.
Hoses etc will be replaced before final fitment - after run in, engine tin wear will be painted and other bits polished etc.
Yeah I live in rockhampton and he is a great bloke! Loves mopars and vw's.
Dasdubber wrote:Forgot to say a massive thanks to Geoff from Stickmans Classic Transport who transported Armando's bus to the show last weekend and back to my workshop at Burleigh Heads. Geoff came all the way down from Rockhampton for the show, and also has done quite a few transports for us to and from Sydney.
If anyone needs interstate VW (or other) tranporting, Geoff takes great care and pride in his service. Plug over 🙂
The light is finally at the end of the tunnel - the bus is back from the upholsterer after receiving many metres of leather and quite a few dollars.
We have intentionally kept the interior stitching and side panel designs very simple to keep everything clean and neat as per the rest of the bus. The trimmer just has the front seats and front door panels to finish off.
Armando intends to use the bus as often as possible and hence wanted the carpet functional and easy to keep clean (hence black)
The roof lining has turned out very nicely - obviously have to fit off the lights and subs in the back. The front roof sections will be left out until we know everything works the way it should!
As per all the speakers, the trim covers help to keep the appearance neat and tidy without seeing the ugly black speakers everywhere
Again the rear bed 'cushion' was kept very simple. There was a lot of leather that went into this bus
Front kick panel will look great once the speakers go in
After a bit of final work underneath (brakes etc), the bus is off to the engine builders so they can get the engine running.....then back to us for final paint detailing etc (on tinwear etc) and time to iron the bugs out.
Down the side of the seat there are also four individual light switches for the downlights and a momentary switch to operate the solenoid that pops open the draw.
Lots of wiring everywhere in this bus!!
Golde60 wrote:I assume that means that the exhaust has finally arrived.
got any pics of the exhaust - would be good to see how it all fitted in
Well yes and no. The header did but mufflers still weren't available until my recent trip back over to the US so we ended up custom building a muffler to suit and modified the A1 header to clear the valance (Tiger assures me this has been rectified with the most recent design). I don't think I got any pics but will do so when back at our workshop - entire system will be HPC'ed.
Thanks heaps for your help whilst I was away Luke - much appreciated mate (PM me what I owe you by the way and I'll fix you up).
Steve got the axles and CV's sorted in the end - no circlip but Dave Butler said the CVs could be counterbored to get them to fit so we may look at that when it comes back from Leon's Motors.
Cheers again for going out of your way to assist.
Al
Andrew and Leon (from Leon's Motors) has been working on the bus for the last few weeks including wiring the EFI, welding in the sensor bungs in the intake plus injector bosses etc etc. Obviously jobs like this take a lot longer when aesthetics is just as important as functionality.
We zipped up today to do a slight clutch adjustment and check it had all gears now Andrew had the motor running on a start up/idle map. From here the bus can be strapped down and the EFI remapped accounting for the boost (~7psi to 10psi max dictated by supercharger pulley size).
I only had my crappy 2MP old work camera with me so the video and sound is very average - but this was just a taste of whats to come. Belt needs slight adjustment (hence slight slip on start up).
Paulc1964au wrote:that is just awe inspiring one of the best kombi restores I have ever seen. I would hate to put a price on it but i am sure we are talking 6 figures?
Yeah and some!! Considering Al did tell me it took him nearly 4 weeks to get the dash glove box right and working you know it is well over the 6 figure bracket.
I am in awe of this car and it isnt till you see it in the flesh that all the little things blend in so well you dont know they are there!! If it weren't for reading this build thread you would miss the infinite details of this amazing bus!!
Any word on Dyno figures Al? Everything going to plan?
ACCEPT THAT SOME DAYS YOU ARE THE PIDGEON AND SOME DAYS YOU ARE THE STATUE
Is the super charger a direct drive unit ? or does it have a clutch pack fitted ?
I say this asI have a good mate over here in Perth that has snapped three shafts due to * wind up * affect. The shaft when removed is like a piece of liquorish.
Looking for that special lady : PM me for coffee & cake
Hey Brenndan, engine made 110hp at the rear wheels on only 4psi of boost at 4500rpm so it is a real stump puller which is what it was designed to be. We have to add another idler pulley to get some more belt wrap around the crank pulley to stop a bit of belt slip and make a few more tweaks....it will then be retuned with more boost (smaller supercharger pulley) and should make 120-130hp. Absolute value of HP is not a primary concern as each dyno is different - for example some of our previous customer's engines have made 80-85hp and all have been 2054 to 2160cc on that dyno. My stock 1600 twin port in the ghia made 39hp 🙂
Now time to start sorting out the teething problems that come with such a custom build...but here is proof that it actually runs finally!!
