SO....I am the proud new owner of a 73' Westy
back about 16yrs the PO wound up w/ a seized engine, pulled it and there it sat under a tree since 1996
It's a little dirty (nothing a little TLC can't cure) from the tree, but the bus is pretty rust free for the vintage and there has been no body work that I can see that had been done in the past (no fillers..ect) plan of attack is to spend some time clean it up and start looking for the missing pieces. I need the long block and everything that has to go on it. Brakes, steering and suspension gone through and replace what is needed.
The Dream ....have it up and running for June at the Big duck...ha!
MORE PICTURES TO FOLLOW!!!
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
Nice pick Dave. Looks like it should clean up nice. Glad your patience paid off and you got something you wanted.
Interior looks in great shape so just got the mechanical to focus on. Looking forward to seeing it at the Duck. That was the maiden voyage for my bus. I got out of the DMV at noon and was on the road at 12:30PM.
We found a complete running 2.0 with a single weber progressive (not great, but good enoug to go on a budget) with it's tins, heater boxes, exhaust and all. It will need a muffler to quiet down but it's there to get moving. Came out of a bus parted up in Syracuse by Brian Powers.
Not sure if Dave reached out but it was a good route.
Hey Tom...Nope!!! not too late...good find and thanks for continuing to look.
I left this guy an e-mail, let's see if its a runner and what it comes with, if anything.
Thanks again!
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
That Craig's listing....he wants to sell the bus...and if the engine doesn't go...he will call me...if the bus doesn't sell, he needs the engine to use the bus Let me know if you see/ hear of anything else...
Thanks for looking out !!
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
Thanks Glen for keeping your eye out on the engines....
Being today was so nice, decided to get under the bus and see what what transmission I had, so I'd know what i need to mate engine to trans. I decided to clean the old gunk off the trans and sure enough shes a 091. I looked at the axles and cv joints to pull, clean and reassemble, and put new boots on..but I didn't get the chance...I have 12 sided triple square tools, but these look like 8mm allen key heads.
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
Thanks guys....
So as I'm running through the bus, I am making a mental hit list of what needs to be done. Money is always tight, so I want to do what needs to be done to get up and running, but keep the cost down (and not to have to re-do things a year later either) with that said, lets start the list and the Gruppe can chime in....
-I need a running engine, I'm going used and hope I wind up w/ a decent runner.
let me know what I should do to it prior to install (or insure I have a good working base to start out with)
-I'll need clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing and fly wheel (called a local machine shop and they wanted $45 to resurface, at that point I think I can buy new @$60-100
-Transmission-drop the gear oil and replace, pull the CV's, inspect and replace or repack and put on new boots. (anything else?) (and hope its ok)
-Brakes ...now I looked at replacing everything and the ticket comes to about $1,500!!
to trim that down...
I can look at cutting the drums and rotors and see if they remain in spec...
Do I go new calipers, or should I attempt to rebuild?
rear brake cylinders (cheap enough)
Master, brake booster can I hold off? or replace right away?
Brake lines that are rubber is a given to replace.
What about all the old hard lines?
Replace or leave alone?
steel or copper?
(shoes, pads misc hardware ect, are a given and cheap enough)
Suspension and steering ? What's a have to right away?
Tires are a given and while those are off...looking up the paint code from TS I'm hearing for Powder.. RAL 9007 is close to the rim color (yes/no?)
what else?
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
Morning was still nice, so I pulled the axles. Made sure the bolt heads were clear of debris, gave a good tap to ensure a good seat of the allen key into the bolt and one at a time they ALL cracked lose! I have some cleaning up to do, nasty 20+ yr grease....I'll check ansee if the CV's are all ok, repack and put new boots on..
NASTY!
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
So...i have a few really good leads on a few complete used engines.
Other than making sure it spins freely and upon a visual inspection making sure it has no gaping holes in the case. What can I do to limit the down side of buying a used engine. They do not have a test stand set up, and the owners say it was a " running engine when they pulled it"...
Any sugestions???
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
If it's very clean then they cleaned it to hide oil leaks. Check the oil, if it looks brand new then they just replaced it. If its old and dirty, that's not good. Pull a valve cover and see how it looks underneath. If it has old brunt on oil then it was abused.
Pull the flywheel in and out to check endplay. A clunk is normal, but the general rule is, "if you see it move then there's too much endplay" and the crank trust bearing is shot.
If you have a air compressor and a leakdown tester, you can do a leakdown test which will tell you if the valves or rings are bad.
Pulled the front rotors and calipers for a rebuild, popped the pistons out w/ some compressed air
Polished the pistons and bores w/ some 2000 grit paper
Replace the seal, dust boot and re-installed the pistons into the calipers.
Pads installed, calipers are ready to be put back onto the bus...
we know that the early bird gets the worm however,
the second mouse gets the cheese.
Let me know if you see/ hear of anything else...
