Another VW Bus thread

Sneaks

Active member
Had some time tonight after work to play around with some of the new stuff. So, this cheap ass solar panel from eBay wasn’t quite as described. Reached out to the seller, and though they responded quickly, they really didn’t know much about what they sell. Yeh, and English definitely wasn’t their first language, despite shipping out of California, responses came in around 2:30am and needed my Ingrish translator to figure out they didn’t understand my question. So it was listed as “100w solar panel with 2 USB plus 12v & battery clips.” Welp, it did come with a ciggy plug and some tinfoil alligator (more like tiny as hell salamander) clips... but... no place to attach them, lol. All there was on the junction box were 2 USB ports. They did revise the listing after I purchased to show output of 5.5v @ 1500ma. So I asked ******? They were clueless and were going to “ask me our supply” which I took to mean “ask our supplier.” For $35, I told them forget it. Popped off the “junction box” and looked at what I was dealing with. Two nice tabs coming out of the panel with blocking diodes, connected to a PCB with that only had the USB ports and some ICs

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Disconnected after the diodes, put it in the sun, connected my DMM to the diodes and BAM! 22v DC. Clipped on a couple of leads to a big resistor I have kicking around and got 8.3a in full sun 90 degrees to the panel. WOOT! Wired it up with a 20’ run of 10ga fine strand copper wire soldered to the diodes, wrapped in that expandable nylon wire sheathing, terminated with a SAE connector. Tested in the shade about 7:30 tonight and still got over 18v over the 20’ run of cable
Smile


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I have a weatherproof passthrough SAE socket that will go on the back of the bus by the left tail light to feed into the solar controller. This weekend will install that, mount controller, set up the ammeter, etc. Even is this thing ********** the bed in a year, worth it just for the education and I’ll have the groundwork in place for a better panel and controller.

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Cost:
Cheap ass panel - $35.99 shipped
Cheap ass “50a” PWM controller - $12.29
100’ 10ga fine copper strand wire - $17.48 (used half)
SAE connectors - $13.79
50’ nylon 0.5” expandable sheathing (plus 50’ 0.25” roll for other stuff): $10.49
Total - $90.04
Playing around with something new - $ priceless.
 
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Sneaks

Active member
Got some more done before the skies opened up with some very much needed rain. Before I started I had to run to the dump, while there I checked out the freecycle tent, poking through a box of misc junk, I saw something g that didn’t belong in with the fondue pot and nasty looking cutlery.... I now finally have a fan screen and timing scale. Free, gotta love it
Smile


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Wrapped up the solar install. Wired up the passthrough connector for the panel, added a master cutoff switch that kills the battery ground on the house system so I can just toss the switch instead of dealing with disconnection it when it is going to be sitting for a while. Put in tray, hold down, and 110AH FLA marine battery that I got on sale last week, and got controller mounted and wired.

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Plugged in the panel, put in a bright spot (partially cloudy day), and it works:), the battery came off the charger last nightAnd is sitting at a happy 12.7v. Still need to get it programmed more for my preferences.

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Put shunts on both the house and bus electrical systems, ran the cables, ran thermocouple extension for CHT since I was already pulling wire back to front, and cobbled up a center stack out a scrap of barn board, hit it with some poly, and mounted it to hold the meters. I put DTDP switches inline with both ammeters, that way I can see both pull and push just by reversing polarity of the reference leads. CHT all set now too. Put in two other DTDP switches for later use while at it. Now know my 2 ham radio pulls 8.8a when transmitting, and the starter pulls 104 when cranking
Smile


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And while I had the kick panels off, I rebuilt the door switch for the dome light and wired in a footwell LED on the passenger side, it can also be activated on demand by a switch next to the defroster knob.

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Sneaks

Active member
Arrived today but can't get them mounted where I bought them so I'll do it myself and then take them to VIP to get balanced. Achilles Desert Hawk XMT 27/8.5R14. I like the look of them, hope they look good on the bus.

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dreadlocks

Well-known member
sweet, I was having a hell of a time finding AT/MT for my bus since BFG stopped making em in our size.. cant wait to see how they look
 

Sneaks

Active member
I took them to another tire shop and got them done this morning. $400 for the tires, $80 for mounting and balancing. I'm not disappointed. I hope they are noisy as hell :D :D :D

Before:

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After:

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Though I think I like it better with the hubcaps on. My CVs are right at factory angle, I know they can take a few more degrees before they start clanking, going to bump the rear up a bit on this side, has to go up about an inch on the driver's side to even out, but I'll wait until I get my new shocks before I do that job. :)

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Heading Out

Adventurer
I love the Bay Buses, and are surprising where they will go.
I've had a couple of the type 25 vans. Miss my 90, should never have sold it.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
The Mexican Bay's from the 90's with Water Boxers and Air Conditioning are now old enough to import.. I'm seriously thinking of driving down to mexico and bringing back one for parts to help make mine water cooled with all the right OEM bits..
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
yeah they went from a waterboxer to a 1.8L 16v somewhere along the line.. I forget when, think it was early 90s, there's also the Brazilian Bay that got all kinds of engines in it and was retired in late aughts but those still got another decade before they can be imported.. either way it'd be a snap to drop my ALH TDI motor into one of those, versus what I've got to contend with now.. I need the transmission/bellhousing/input shaft, oil pan, motor mounts, and the whole front nose for my engine swap, but I should be able to pickup all that from a salvage vehicle for cheap if I pull it all off drag it back home my self.

But for the prices buses go for today, you could get a very clean mexican one already imported and turnkey for much cheaper than a clean German one + Subie Swap with undercarriage radiator and no aircon.. the thing is you still gotta find a pop top and westy interior as most are just people haulers/work vans, campers are rare.
 
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MTVR

Well-known member
The Mexican Bay's from the 90's with Water Boxers and Air Conditioning are now old enough to import.. I'm seriously thinking of driving down to mexico and bringing back one for parts to help make mine water cooled with all the right OEM bits..

Too bad there are no Mexi-Splittys from the '90s.

Make mine a 23-window Samba... ;)
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
you can get really late model splitty's from Brazil, but I think by the 80's they were doing the Bays.. I've seen like 1976 Split Windows, not that any of that helps with air conditioning and putting a modern engine in it.
 

Sneaks

Active member
yeah they went from a waterboxer to a 1.8L NA somewhere along the line.. I forget when, think it was early 90s, there's also the Brazilian Bay that got all kinds of engines in it and was retired in late aughts but those still got another decade before they can be imported.. either way it'd be a snap to drop my ALH TDI motor into one of those, versus what I've got to contend with now.. I need the transmission/bellhousing/input shaft, oil pan, motor mounts, and the whole front nose for my engine swap, but I should be able to pickup all that from a salvage vehicle for cheap if I pull it all off drag it back home my self.

But for the prices buses go for today, you could get a very clean mexican one already imported and turnkey for much cheaper than a clean German one + Subie Swap with undercarriage radiator and no aircon.. the thing is you still gotta find a pop top and westy interior as most are just people haulers/work vans, campers are rare.

Eventually, the plan is to go watercooled as well. I've been tossing around the idea of AHA at 50*, there's a part of me that leans toward 2.3 Ford as I have a ton of tribal knowledge from my old circle track days and rotted out Fox bodies and Rangers are plentiful. Subie is out, they hang too low even with a cut pan, though the boxer would keep things almost traditional-sounding and a new long block is not that badly priced. Like you, I'd prefer the Mexi nose over a belly radiator. My nose is already beat so cutting it wouldn't break my heart.

I got the SMP points from NAPA to replace the 25,000 mile set of Blue Streaks that we’re in there. Yeh, think they had seen better days.

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Pulled distributor, installed and gapped the new points to .016, dwell was a whopping 84. OUCH. Was going to pull it back out and check my install but discovered a MASSIVE vacuum leak, both right side intake boots are just the fabric, the rubber disintegrated, so will fix those before doing anything else. Later that night realized that I had my multimeter lead in the wrong port. Oops. I blame the heat...

With that setback, time for a easy win. LED headlights, directional, brake\running lights. In the sun the small lights are noticeably brighter, checked after dark and the results are good - much brighter, more reach, and sharper cutoff than the incandescent bulbs & sealed beams. I got some LEDs to use as marker lights but didn’t have the ambition to wire them up, too damn humid.

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Decided to do one more easy win, out with the original shocks, in with some new GR2s up front. I didn’t do the rears yet, will do those when I reindex the torsions. With the intake boots shot, it can’t move right now and where it s parked is not the best spot to deal with that job so will wait. I have a level spot with firmer ground where I park my daily.

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dreadlocks

Well-known member
You've already got an 091 right? If you get the mexican bellhousing & input shaft you can bolt up just about any 4cyl VAG motor you want and not have clearance issues on back side of the motor.. its a few inches longer and pushes the motor back far enough so all those coolant flanges and crap that VW bolts to the gearbox side of the head have room unlike you get from the adapter plates.. the mexican motor mounts need the oil pan as its notched out for the bar, which again should fit on any 4cyl VAG motor you'd want to put in it but if you DIY mounts you dont need all that.

My nose is all botched up too, before I try to cut the whole thing off I'mna see if I can mount one of these racing radiators into it and hide it behind a mexican grille.. I'mna do that first and if it dont work out too well I'll grab the whole front off a watercooled mexican when I go down there for parts.. if I can find more than one bus I'll strip em all down before heading back and use those parts to help fund the whole expedition.. I got lots of room in my cargo trailer.
 

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