Aphroducky, a VW Bus

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Sneaks

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Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
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Scott
Last Name
Swenson
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KC1MUR
Hmph. Where do I start? The hardest part to a build thread I think is getting it started. Made many road trips to camp spots over the years when the kids were still in school. At the time it was a series of RAM trucks, dog and kids in the back seat, coolers, cabin tent, and everything else in the bed. NY, MD, VA, FL, but our favorite place to go was Lancaster and York counties in PA. I love my Mopars, I've had several RAMs, a Dakota, YJ, XJ, WJ, ZJ, an Eagle sedan, etc though my favorites have always been aircooled VWs, probably because that is what I grew up with. Around 2005, I decided I needed one in my life and picked of a '68 Beetle, which I turned into an Emory baja 'tribute' (Gary Emory is considered the father of the VW Baja Bug), using this as the guide:



My results:

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As you might notice in that last pic, circa 2009, there's a few buses in the background. Those came about after some excursions with a few friends and realizing that I really like Buses more. The main influence being the "party pickle" pulling the Sammie out of the drink that belonged to a buddy of mine. This spot is an old Superfund and current landfill location. I now shudder to think what was in that water :(

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Even made the journey to Moab from New England.

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So I picked up the blue '79 in the pic in 2009 along with a '70 Westy. The Westy is a different tale for another time. The blue bus I bought as a non-runner for $500, the keychain that came with it had a rubber duck with an afro so it got named Aphroducky. It was painted with house paint over spots of 2" thick bondo from a crappy accident repair. I'm not a purist, nor do I really like having a vehicle that can't be used as it is intended because it is too nice, soooooo, I dove in to get the 2.0l FI motor running, the electrics back in shape, and the body respectable. I was moving a nice, happy pace. Funny how life has a way of tossing a wrench into things when you say "nice, happy pace." Within two days I had lunched the transmission in my truck and my son hydrolocked the motor in our shared ZJ. Hammer time!! Whipped the bus into shape quick with a scuff and squirt of TSC paint, got the BFGs off the Party Pickle that was being parted out, and used it as my daily for a year from 2012 to 2013

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Parked Ducky in the spring of 2013 to replace the exhaust and a few other things, since I had gotten a new truck. Parked for a few months became a few years :(. This past summer it needed to be moved from where it was sitting so I dragged it up to my place in Maine to ponder what to do next. Right about the same time the better half and I were returning from the annual family gathering in NY, passing through beautiful, rural VT. She said to me that it would be nice if I could take a break that wasn't a family thing and her and I go for a weekend here and there, and she wouldn't be hurt if that meant crawling through some small New England towns and camping for a few days. She then asked how hard would it be to turn "that ugly yellow thing" into "one of those camper VW things?" Ahhhh :).

So, upon returning home I started working on Ducky, fixing new rust spots, cleaning it up, stripping out the interior, going through the suspension, brakes, and fuel system.

View attachment 87280

That got cut short when Mother Nature decided that we really needed winter to start the first week of October...

View attachment 87281

And has sat in the snow since then as I plan out the attack

View attachment 87282

The plan is - as soon as I can work on it again - to finish body work, replace the window\door\body seals, paint it up in Mexico Beige, and build out a usable interior. There's only two of us so a back seat isn't as important as a bed. We use Japan futons at home to sleep on, I have a few extra that will form our mattress, the rest of the interior will be storage and kitchen (sink, single burner butane stove for hot water\coffee), plus probably a small chuck box for outside cooking or a swing out like this.

View attachment 87285

I'm planning on adding a house battery under the bed to power auxiliary lighting, radios, charging ports, and the thermo-electric cooler. Yeh, going with a cooler for now as we only plan to do short trips and I cannot justify the expense of a refer this year.

View attachment 87284

I have these for interior lighting, they charge by USB, are CO detectors, motion detectors, security alarms, flashlight, and general lighting. Yeh. All in one $5 unit. We have 4 in the house, I picked of 3 for the bus :). They sit very securely in the base and are removable for the flashlight feature.

View attachment 87283

Outside I'm hoping to build up a roo\light bar for the front, a rack for the roof, skids for the trans\motor, and sliders.

Ok, thanks for reading this. Now please, send SPRING!!!
 

Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
First Name
Scott
Last Name
Swenson
Ham/GMRS Callsign
KC1MUR
Thanks. I have the cooler (40qt Coleman thermoelectric), futons, 1000w inverter, CB, 2m/70m mobile (working on my tech license), 2-burner for outside, the above mentioned lights, and some other little bits. I'm a bit of a scrounger\horse trader so hoping to do this without having to eat PB&J when we go on trips. Nothing wrong with PB, I love me some Teddy's Organic but I am also a fan of rib-eyes and shrimp so I'd rather keep my options open :).

Found this for a bar up front, like how the spare goes there instead of on the nose sheet metal. I want to get it out of the interior for the space, was thinking roof rack but then realized that as I'm only 5'2", it would take some interesting gymnastics in the chance of a flat.

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Just remembered I saved the lights off my old 1500 before I sold it. Yeh, a flock of wild turkeys at 65mph can do a number on your rig :(.

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Gabriel Bozeman

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Oak Harbor, WA, USA
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Hmph. Where do I start? The hardest part to a build thread I think is getting it started. Made many road trips to camp spots over the years when the kids were still in school. At the time it was a series of RAM trucks, dog and kids in the back seat, coolers, cabin tent, and everything else in the bed. NY, MD, VA, FL, but our favorite place to go was Lancaster and York counties in PA. I love my Mopars, I've had several RAMs, a Dakota, YJ, XJ, WJ, ZJ, an Eagle sedan, etc though my favorites have always been aircooled VWs, probably because that is what I grew up with. Around 2005, I decided I needed one in my life and picked of a '68 Beetle, which I turned into an Emory baja 'tribute' (Gary Emory is considered the father of the VW Baja Bug), using this as the guide:



My results:

View attachment 87270

View attachment 87271

As you might notice in that last pic, circa 2009, there's a few buses in the background. Those came about after some excursions with a few friends and realizing that I really like Buses more. The main influence being the "party pickle" pulling the Sammie out of the drink that belonged to a buddy of mine. This spot is an old Superfund and current landfill location. I now shudder to think what was in that water :(

View attachment 87273
View attachment 87274

Even made the journey to Moab from New England.

View attachment 87275

So I picked up the blue '79 in the pic in 2009 along with a '70 Westy. The Westy is a different tale for another time. The blue bus I bought as a non-runner for $500, the keychain that came with it had a rubber duck with an afro so it got named Aphroducky. It was painted with house paint over spots of 2" thick bondo from a crappy accident repair. I'm not a purist, nor do I really like having a vehicle that can't be used as it is intended because it is too nice, soooooo, I dove in to get the 2.0l FI motor running, the electrics back in shape, and the body respectable. I was moving a nice, happy pace. Funny how life has a way of tossing a wrench into things when you say "nice, happy pace." Within two days I had lunched the transmission in my truck and my son hydrolocked the motor in our shared ZJ. Hammer time!! Whipped the bus into shape quick with a scuff and squirt of TSC paint, got the BFGs off the Party Pickle that was being parted out, and used it as my daily for a year from 2012 to 2013

View attachment 87276

View attachment 87277

View attachment 87278

Parked Ducky in the spring of 2013 to replace the exhaust and a few other things, since I had gotten a new truck. Parked for a few months became a few years :(. This past summer it needed to be moved from where it was sitting so I dragged it up to my place in Maine to ponder what to do next. Right about the same time the better half and I were returning from the annual family gathering in NY, passing through beautiful, rural VT. She said to me that it would be nice if I could take a break that wasn't a family thing and her and I go for a weekend here and there, and she wouldn't be hurt if that meant crawling through some small New England towns and camping for a few days. She then asked how hard would it be to turn "that ugly yellow thing" into "one of those camper VW things?" Ahhhh :).

So, upon returning home I started working on Ducky, fixing new rust spots, cleaning it up, stripping out the interior, going through the suspension, brakes, and fuel system.

View attachment 87280

That got cut short when Mother Nature decided that we really needed winter to start the first week of October...

View attachment 87281

And has sat in the snow since then as I plan out the attack

View attachment 87282

The plan is - as soon as I can work on it again - to finish body work, replace the window\door\body seals, paint it up in Mexico Beige, and build out a usable interior. There's only two of us so a back seat isn't as important as a bed. We use Japan futons at home to sleep on, I have a few extra that will form our mattress, the rest of the interior will be storage and kitchen (sink, single burner butane stove for hot water\coffee), plus probably a small chuck box for outside cooking or a swing out like this.

View attachment 87285

I'm planning on adding a house battery under the bed to power auxiliary lighting, radios, charging ports, and the thermo-electric cooler. Yeh, going with a cooler for now as we only plan to do short trips and I cannot justify the expense of a refer this year.

View attachment 87284

I have these for interior lighting, they charge by USB, are CO detectors, motion detectors, security alarms, flashlight, and general lighting. Yeh. All in one $5 unit. We have 4 in the house, I picked of 3 for the bus :). They sit very securely in the base and are removable for the flashlight feature.

View attachment 87283

Outside I'm hoping to build up a roo\light bar for the front, a rack for the roof, skids for the trans\motor, and sliders.

Ok, thanks for reading this. Now please, send SPRING!!!
Dang. This sounds like a heck of a build thread. I love that someone is doing some overlanding in a VW Bus. I've always loved the bus and the bug. In fact, I've got a '74 bug in the garage that I'm slowly fixing up. Looking forward to seeing what you do with your great looking VWs.

Good luck!
 
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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
First Name
Scott
Last Name
Swenson
Ham/GMRS Callsign
KC1MUR
Parts starting to trickle in, secondary fuse panel came today, battery combiner should be here Monday and pair of 100w lights were on the stoop from USPS when got home from shopping. Going classic, traditional old school and saving LEDs for perimeter lighting. These puppies are going front and center :)

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Ordered up 4 new shoes too...

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More snow coming next few days, grrrrrr :(
 
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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
First Name
Scott
Last Name
Swenson
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KC1MUR
The weather up here is finally starting to cooperate. I still have a few snowbanks left but was able to drag Ducky out of the side yard and over to where I can work on him. Sunday was mid-60s and dry, so I alternated between HoneyDo list and working on him. I've amassed just about everything I need to make him roadworthy. I have 5 boxes of stuff on my porch...

Let the fun begin!

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Guess running a little rich :(

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And can't breathe...

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Then found this :(

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which turned into this so a new one is on order

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So reindexed the torsion bars, 11.5" clearance now below the sump and 23* angle on the CVs, should be pretty good for what I want to do. I'll make some skids to be safe.

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Going to go through the brakes (lines - hard and soft, pads, hardware, shoes) as soon as the rain goes away while waiting for fuel system parts to arrive.
 
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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
First Name
Scott
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Swenson
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KC1MUR
More progress yesterday, dash top panel out, sanded, painted.

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Wiper arms and motor cleaned up, lubed, contacts\terminals refreshed, new washer lines run, gauge bulbs replaced, grounds cleaned up while the dash apart.

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Time to replace the fan...

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Today they predict snow. FML. I got my fuel pump today, too :(.
 
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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
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Scott
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Swenson
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KC1MUR
Minor setback. Full pump installed, fired it up and it ran.

Speaking of fire...

A wire going from my VR into the main harness and up to the dash light melted down. Normally, inconvenient, but when the hot, melted insulation drops into a puddle of brake clean, things get a little toasty:(. Fortunately an extinguisher is always close so damage minor, looks to be isolated to the wire, plug, and a few hoses underneath. This weekend I’ll do forensics to make sure that is it, then start repairs.

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So the next day I needed an easy win. Out with these:

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In with these, got them for free at the town dump, think they are probably out of a domestic conversion van. They are in great shape, fit nicely with only minor fabrication, and sooooooo much more comfortable than 40 year old vinyl over horse hair and coconut mats.

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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
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Scott
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Swenson
Ham/GMRS Callsign
KC1MUR
Back at it. Spent last weekend rebuilding the rear brakes and axles, today put in a new MC. Need to get some bubble flare lines to finish hooking it up, then it will both run and stop. Had a VW buddy from NH make the trip over this morning to deliver the MC, help out, and just hang out. Good times and got me motivated to push this to the end. Body and paint this weekend (hopefully), goal to be on the road before Halloween!

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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
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Scott
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Swenson
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The weather has been unfriendly this summer, and between work and VEMS stuff, I haven’t gotten much done. I have a friend having a pig roast and camp out over in NH next month so time for a big push. I can do a lot of things in the wet and cold, paint ain’t one of them. This week is supposed to be a small window of nice warm and dry so today I got it primed. Tomorrow will touch up a few runs, Tuesday color, then Weds glass back in so can get cranking in the interior, get the lights wired up out front, the winch mounted, rack finished, get insurance, and tags.

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Sneaks

Rank IV

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Maine
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Scott
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Swenson
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Thanks everyone. As usual, life moves at different speed than my plans. No color on it yet, have the supplies right next to my desk. Hoping tomorrow or Saturday. Got curtains today and all the bits and pieces to go back on organized. Windows have me a bit stressed, hope I drop one:(
 

Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
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Got up this morning to a LOVELY day. Was 70 by the time I finished dump run at 9:30, dew burned off, and clear skies.
Today, today was color day. The leaves were falling and the bugs were out, both pissed me off even though expected them. Whatever, shot color. Finally all one shade, looks ok from 20 feet (ok, 20 yards...), and if it gets scratched or dinged, IDGAF. The body has more than one old battle scar, not be bothered to cut out and put in new metal just to bang it up again. This has been from day one planned to be USED not garaged, trailered, or stared at as art. Nope. It’s a vehicle and vehicle it will, that means going in harms way and I don’t have the energy to worry about dents, dings, and branch pinstripes:). All that being said, for being shot in my driveway, in Maine, in September, with a cheap HF gun and ancient pancake compressor, I’m satisfied. Disregard the windshield, it’s cracked and junk so I set it in so save masking time:)
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Mounted bumpers, lenses, got my off road lights bolted on (not wired up yet), think the old school style fits this build, winch mounted, and some other small bits put in before my belly started insisting dinner.

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Not sure if will keep the wheels “nekkid” or run the hubcaps noe matching color. Unlike full caps on 70-80s cars, these aren’t going anywhere once on and do offer some protection against the elements for the lugs. Will see how I feel after I get the glass back in.

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Hopefully tomorrow the weather will hold so I can get the rest of the handles on, maybe windows in, and get started on the roof rack. We had snow last year first week f October so I’m trying to get the exterior stuff done ASAP.
 
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Sneaks

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Maine
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KC1MUR
Door hardware in, same with all the interior door panels. Glass in woohooo! This had me a bit scared but only took a few hours for 5 windows, not as hard as I made it out to be in my head. Ran out of energy late afternoon, supposed to be decent weather this week so will keep at it each evening. Nothing like progress to fuel progress:)

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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
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Scott
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Swenson
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KC1MUR
Been a pretty productive weekend for a work weekend. The weather was pretty decent so I hammered out a lot of the honey-do yard list plus got some time to do a few things on this project.

Yesterday was mostly trimming trees so they don’t come down on the roof when snow hits and making one last mower pass on the yard. Since I was productive with house stuff, I took a few to install 3-point retractable (stock VW belts are non-retractable and hell, 40 years old) and an auxiliary backup light.

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Today I was on call so picked projects that would be easy to leave for a few hours.
Dug into the long forgotten memories of middle school home ec. classes and made curtains today. Didn’t take as long as I thought it would, pleased with the results for $7.00 + tax (I gotta move back to NH...) and a few hours worth of my Sunday.

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[The better half looked inside after I hung them. “Doesn’t look as cute inside” which I take to mean that she no longer thinks it’s “that @&$%#! eyesore in the driveway” and it at least looks ok from the outside now, so I’ll take that as a win :).

Welded up the frame for roof rack, want to get that done while weather still decent. Will have to get wood this week. Guess after that I have to work on the “not so cute” inside.

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Sneaks

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

1,165
Maine
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Scott
Last Name
Swenson
Ham/GMRS Callsign
KC1MUR
Was near a Home Depot this week (closest is about an hour away) and made a run through to get stuff for the interior. Had today kinda off so dove in. Created an extended platform to bring the deck out from 36” to 6’. We are both 5’3” so this should be a good “lay down” length. It gives me about 22 cu ft of storage under there.

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Then built up a sideboard. This covers the old spare tire well and will be where the electrics will run and possibly a 5kw diesel heater. Not sure how much cold weather camping we will do but VWs aren’t known for killer heat so might go that route just cuz...

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Cut and fit the carpeting in the back. Once I get the wiring run I’ll tack it down on the sideboard.

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Built a small kitchen shelf unit. My jig saw died so couldn’t cut hole for sink or do the plumbing. Yes, that’s a microwave...

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I’ll probably poly the wood that isn’t covered by carpet. I have my isolator kit and fuse panel, gotta pick up house battery so can wire it up. Looking at a 100w solar set up, might be the next purchase.