The Chloe Teardown

[ruckman101]

When my engine is running well, I have the luxury of investing energies into body/interior/other concerns. I would wager that once the new window seals/restorations, battery on a chunk of wood over the rusting hole, and other concerns are addressed, I will enjoy the luxuries of stressing over proper placement of long gone factory stickers and highlighting the holes in my headliner with a sharpie. At the moment my concerns are preserving the factory labels on Gretchen Ghia through the restoration/repainting project, so I wouldn't toss me into the poseur category just yet.


One step at a time,
neal

[drober23]

Stay on your toes, folks, it's the little things like this that will separate the poseurs from the True VW Nutcases
Colin

Hmmm... guess that makes me a poseur.

DJ

[Amskeptic]

Stay on your toes, folks, it's the little things like this that will separate the poseurs from the True VW Nutcases
Colin

Hmmm... guess that makes me a poseur.

DJ

You people . . .

We're talking only about the snotty Pebble Beach crowd trying to get $162,000.00 for their restored bus.
You guys are just trying to get maybe 162 feet down the driveway. That's different.
Colin

[asiab3]

(the good news is, now that my valve adjustment sticker came, my engine is 100% complete)

Wait!!

What about the plasti-rubber dust boot for the deck lid latch?

"100-pointers count!" - Colin
Robbie

[wcfvw69]

Spec. Guide wrote:
Chassis #218 163 468, 05-21-68
Terminals D+ and DF on generator and terminal D+ on voltage regulator now with screw and nut connections, previously with connectors (engine NR. BO 108 819 and up), (B5 040 282 and up for vehicles with M157).


Going by chassis production numbers.
Gen changed at 218 163 468.
First 163,468 vehicles received the generators with connectors.
By the date of the change 05-21-68. This would have put it at the end of 1968.

1969 Generator and Regulator went from 30A to 38A.

If the data in the Specification Guide is correct?

Tcash

Here is a reply on from the Samba so it HAS TO BE RIGHT!! lol Robbie said he thought Colin had the dished 38amp generator on Chloe. It appears that is the correct Generator for a 70. At least my OCD and bored brain knows now.

[Amskeptic]

M157).
1969 Generator and Regulator went from 30A to 38A.
Tcash

Robbie said he thought Colin had the dished 38amp generator on Chloe. It appears that is the correct Generator for a 70. At least my OCD and bored brain knows now.

I gots the CORRECT generator for Chloe! Sheesh . . .
Colin
(just don't squeal on me for the 35mm fan and doghouse housing, cuz I'll tell on YOU too! MO-O-O-MMM)

[Amskeptic]

Where's my quasi-transparent plastic boot for the engine hatch latch? Did they actually have one for the pre-'72 buses? I had one on the Road Warrior, and still have one on the BobD

[asiab3]

re: latch boot

My L-code (1969ish?) locking latch had one of those boots. Since the PO painted around it (and all other latches) I'm inclined to believe it was original. That being said, I think most locking deck lid latches were dealer-installed, were they not? I know I had to re-key mine to match my factory key code, even though it was the same profile. It was VERY difficult to re-key and NOT crack the boot; slow careful dentists picks worked. A popsicle stick would have worked too if the emphasis was still on the slow and careful.

[Amskeptic]

re: latch boot

My L-code (1969ish?) locking latch had one of those boots. Since the PO painted around it (and all other latches) I'm inclined to believe it was original. That being said, I think most locking deck lid latches were dealer-installed, were they not?

I don't know. Any photos?

Anyways, I got some.



Since the above photograph, I have three more main windows stacked up there, and one more vent window. I am using such terribly cheap Chinese rivets on the window frames, that I can only hope they survive the installation of the rubber and vent glass. Each window seal here was coated with some grey compound that clogged all the stripes in the rubber. I don't know if this is a good idea.

I see these stripes as little gutters that bring the water to the sill and it then drains out long before water can back up over the pinchweld. I have scrubbed each window seal to squeaky clean. I shall install them in waxed and smooth window openings with no compounds. I will let you know if there are leaks.

I think we have been over-thinking the whole notion of "seals". Look at all the goop we glop on the windshield channel. Do we think that goop prevents the water from rusting out the channel? I see evidence that the glop traps water under the seal and against the channel. After I wash the BobD-with-no-sealant, I see wet spots at the corners of the windshield for several minutes after the car itself is mostly dry. That is water draining out of the little stripes. I like to think it then evaporates.

Those of us with the old vent windows see evidence of rust between the vent window frame and the main glass right?




So we seal the hell out of the area. We add sealant to the tops of the windows and between the main window and the vent window. Then we add glop to underneath the moveable wings. Then, the water coursing down the vertical runs of the seals can get deflected and then we get incursion into the interior. I am going to install the vent windows and main side windows and windshield with perfectly clean rubber into waxed frames, and see what happens. I am hoping that seals are only like soccer goalies. They shunt the water and let it course down and drain away.

I have been driving around like this:



Went to the grocery store:



Somebody came up and gave the usual "nice van". Did he see the plucked carcass look?

Got some gas. I have a stripped-out interior, no headliner, no side windows, and am getting the same compliments as when every headliner dot is dotted?



Yep.

I do not understand. Was at O'Reilly's Auto Parts getting some carb spray.
"Oh man, I like your RIDE! Did you restore it?"
"I guess I am in the middle of it, you see I have no side windows, no interior panels, no seats, no headliner, right?"
"Oh, yeah, my headliner fell down, so I just tore it out and left it out."

Maybe I should leave it stripped out. I like the headroom.

I have spent days removing all old adhesive from everywhere, priming the window frames and pinch welds, then covering the primer with a topcoat:






Re-applied the sound-deadener on the c-pillars with DAP Original Weldwood Cement :




Added WalMart-procured quilt batting to fill out the c-pillar headliner, I do so hope the headliner knows how to stick to the concave side of this pillar whilst under tension:





Added little bits of batting to smooth the edges and test fit with old headliner piece:




. . . and I have been practicing b-pillars with the actual perforated panels of my old headliner so I can have a good field test of how the new fully-perforated headliner will bleed adhesive through the little holes. It is a messy operation, and I have a lot to learn about how vinyl stretches and adheres:



See how the dots are bowed up at the outside edges due to wrapping the piece into the window opening? This is totally not acceptable.

Here is a test of the b-pllar behind the driver's door. Better on the dot alignment, but the stretch made the holes elongated. This piece I did not use glue on, just wanted to see how it would work.




The cuts necessary to work the corners are hell. A reasonable cut suddenly becomes too much when you pull the thing taut.
Yikes, baby, yikes. Sweating bullets in the frigid air.
Colin

[hambone]

All this work restoring a bus that doesn't need it...why not get one that needs bringing back to life? Yeah yeah I'm just bitter after 25 years of chipping rust etc. But I have saved my share of VWs that would have been crushed.

[Bleyseng]

Instead of cuts how about using a Heat Gun to let the headliner stretch and then shrink to fit those corners? Looks like that garage is toasty and much better than mine which is hovering at 30-40F. Too cold to do much except adjust the Westy's rear brakes, adjust the 914's window which leak tons of frigid air right on your neck .

[Amskeptic]

Instead of cuts how about using a Heat Gun to let the headliner stretch and then shrink to fit those corners? Looks like that garage is toasty and much better than mine which is hovering at 30-40F. Too cold to do much except adjust the Westy's rear brakes, adjust the 914's window which leak tons of frigid air right on your neck .

You have to do both. I warm the vinyl to fill these corner pockets, but you have to cut the vinyl to wrap around the pinchweld in the corners. That is what is evil about all of this, having to adhere the vinyl around sharp corners both on the inside and the outside. Now add the fact that it has to withstand the string that will be tearing along as you install the windows. I hope my final installation of the new headliner will be more solid since I get to use the permanent glue then . . .
Colin
(p.s, the lighting makes it look toasty, but Pensacola was 26* coldest in 64 years this morning)

[Amskeptic]

All this work restoring a bus that doesn't need it...why not get one that needs bringing back to life? Yeah yeah I'm just bitter after 25 years of chipping rust etc. But I have saved my share of VWs that would have been crushed.

Picture #2 above, Mr. Hambone, makes this whole insane and stupid undertaking worth the aggravation. The vent window frames, likewise, were happy to see some repainting.

BUT, if my headliner installation turns out to be poor, I will be cursing.
Colin