1963 Panel/Camper

[Tom]

I had a similar problem , make sure all the connections are clean including the sockets that the bulbs sit in. Pay close attention to the grounds also. If all else fails swap the sides and see if the problem moves.

[williamblanda]

Thanks for the reply Tom, the connections are clean.
After some in depth samba search I think this issue is most likely caused by a bad ground on the tail light housing.
Will running a copper ground wire from the housing to the body be a good ground?
I need to check if I have some laying around.

[Raj]

i usually throw the dremel with a mini wire brush on the spades and connections to ensure they are clean. Is the place where the housing grounds to the body clean or rusty / painted?

[Glenn A]

The wire with the yellow crimp conector on the pass. side is the ground. The second wire leaving that conector goes along the decklid carrier and grounds the drivers assembly. Clean all those grounds up and put some vaseline on them. Either way You are probably good with the ground because the brakelight is grounded and working.
Find out which wire (red or green) is the running light on the pass. side. trace it over to the drivers side and check it for power with the running lights on. and of course clean all the green patina of them and put some vasaline on there as well.

BTW do you have a test light? Meter? You could make one by soldering some leads to a 12v lightbulb. or just buy a cheapo testlight.

[volksbugusa]

Bill
Here is a suggestion. Go to auto zone and pick up a couple of spray cans of electrical contact cleaner. Very nice product and does work. remove the negative side of the battery. Start with the fuse block and start spraying all the contacts put some rags under what every your spraying. you will not believe the dirt and whatever that is removed. it brings back the proper flow to the system. follow glenn a suggestions. but you can replace the points of contact with a home made test light without moving things around. does your bus have a blue box..i am not sure just asking the question...they are know for like problems what you are going thru... spray that also clean... does your battery go dead if you bus is not started in four days.

matt

[Glenn A]

Just to add a reminder. When trouble shooting a problem like this. You want to try to slowly work backwards after checking fuses and bulbs and being certain they are good. In this case start at the socket then the wiring behind it then to the next set of connections. Try not to disturb more things until You find your "current" problem.

[williamblanda]

spray cans of electrical contact cleaner.

Had some laying around and cleaned the connections

does your battery go dead if you bus is not started in four days.

No!



Anyways, I cleaned all the connections to the back of the light as suggested.

Hooked them back up, tried it, and...... Still not fixed. Same exact situation as before.

Bummer.

I sat around searching and reading, turned the lights on again and nothing. I finally decided to drive it down to my uncles house.

I was like "Lenny, you gotta help me out. I can't get my tail light to work"

He, being a cool guy said "alright" and we both walked out.

I turned on the lights, and as it turns out both lights came on!

All my Bus needed was a little encouragement to fix it's own problems and maybe some electrical contact cleaner!.

So thanks guys for giving me some suggestions to work with the bus on this problem. It certainly wont be the last!

[Raj]

glad to hear it.

i think uncle lenny needs a vw

[williamblanda]

Lenny likes leg room. He's 6 foot 5! Sadly, I think I'm the only one in my family that caught the VW disease. Oh well...

[AoT]

Miss seeing some of your pics....anything new on the camper?

[williamblanda]

Miss seeing some of your pics....anything new on the camper?

AoT, thanks for dragging this thread back up. To tell you the truth I have done very little to the bus since my last update on the corner.

Right now I'm still saving up and trying to find somebody around me with a welder I could possibly use. For Christmas I got an angle grinder, so grinding down my patch metal to a nice fit has been super easy. I only have one piece ground down right now. I stopped working on it when I realized I was in a wooden structure with hay everywhere. I didn't realize there were so many flammable objects in the barn!

A couple of days ago it got up to 40 degrees, so I took sometime off after school to put the rear interior panels and westy table back in. I also swept it out. It was pretty dirty.

The only thing I really want to do right now is drive it, but my driveways too icy and steep, and my rear tires look like my Dad's head. You know, a little thin, but not entirely bald.... The front tires are excellent tread wise.

I'm still looking for a set of decent cargo doors. I figure if I get the doors and welder by the end of winter I should be set. Then I'll take advantage of the spring and summer months to do body work and paint. Once that's done, heck even before it's done, I'll roll it to a few DVG meetings and keep on keeping on till the next winter season.

Once I save up for the things I need, I'll post up on this thread more often.

Oh, and just for you AoT, I'll post up some pretty pictures of the camper's painfully chilly winter resting space outside the barn. Damn that Prius!

By the way, to those of you with fabrication experience. What would be the best way to make the bracing that runs the length of the bus in the upper panel (basically the piece that was cut out along with the windows)? I have excess pieces of "aluminum-killed" .19 gauge sheet metal. This stuff is supposed to be really easy to form. I'm going to have all winter to do this so it would be fun to try fabricating it myself. I'll post up some detailed pictures of the bracing later on.

Thanks!

[AoT]

Right now I'm still saving up and trying to find somebody around me with a welder I could possibly use. For Christmas I got an angle grinder, so grinding down my patch metal to a nice fit has been super easy. I only have one piece ground down right now. I stopped working on it when I realized I was in a wooden structure with hay everywhere. I didn't realize there were so many flammable objects in the barn!

I was working with my angel grinder over the weekend to cut away some metal and the sparks were flying too. I was in the basement and I realized it wasn't the best place to be doing that either.

Thanks for the update. You're giving things lots of thought so when the time is right you'll be one step ahead. Looking forward to following along.

[williamblanda]

Small update: Did you know the best place to buy cheap fabric is Walmart?

We were doing some shopping in Binghamton and decided to stop by Walmart and pick out some fabric to make curtains. I figured, might as well have some curtains 'cause there ain't no way I'm gettin' panel van cargo doors anytime soon.

So the search began. The overall style of the bus was heading towards a "farm life" kind of theme so I decided to stick with it. Why would I do something classy like Red and Black plaid when I could have something with...















Wait for it...

















Chickens!







Horribly cheesy but so awesome.

Happy door stencil hen approves.







On the other hand, I bought a Westy corner cabinet from Miss Clara Williams and Greg Noble out of the PNW. Now I finally have something with a door to store my crap in. I'll post pictures of it installed once it arrives. Right now it's on a cross country trip.

Here's a picture from the ad.


Will

[AoT]

Small update: Did you know the best place to buy cheap fabric is Walmart?

We were doing some shopping in Binghamton and decided to stop by Walmart and pick out some fabric to make curtains. I figured, might as well have some curtains 'cause there ain't no way I'm gettin' panel van cargo doors anytime soon.

So the search began. The overall style of the bus was heading towards a "farm life" kind of theme so I decided to stick with it. Why would I do something classy like Red and Black plaid when I could have something with...

Wait for it...

Chickens!



Horribly cheesy but so awesome.

Happy door stencil hen approves.




Will

Neat choice. It fits , very kitchy!! I made the curtains for GA's camper and it was a fun project. Add a few pillow s to the mix!!

[Glenn A]

Will your nuts! I love it. Chicken and egg curtains

[Big_kid]

But which comes first?

[Glenn A]

But which comes first?

The rooster.

[williamblanda]

Spring is here and so is the season of working on the bus!

The windows are back in temporarily until I purchase a welder. Right now I can afford it, but barely.

I've been czeching out this welder and may make the purchase soon.

http://www.amazon.com/Hobart-500500-Han ... 567&sr=8-1

Does anyone have any experience with this brand and/or specific model?






As for the bus.

I think it survived the winter quite well.

To give the rattle can primer better protection from rain and moisture I wiped on boiled linseed oil. Linseed oil is commonly used to finish wood, but it is also great for surface rust and preserving patina.

The primer eats it up and has a nice mild shine to it. I'm not worrying about painting over the primer as it will be sanded off before the Turkis gets laid on. I want the job to last, so the rattle can primer definitely isn't going to permanent.

Overall I think the linseed oil is a really good preservative and sealant for the NY weather. It takes a while to dry, but it's worth it to me.

The only downside to using linseed oil is the high risk of spontaneous combustion for the oil soaked rags. I burned them when I was done, no sense in taking chances. Whatever you do, don't pile the rags up in layers. The linseed oil oxidizes rather quickly and can lead to a large fire. Whole buildings have gone up due to mishandling of soaked rags.







Spring break is coming up and I'm hoping to get some work done on the bus.

The "powder coat" the PO put on the bumpers is coming off in sheets, bummer!

Maybe I'll get them painted within the next couple of weeks.


Also, does anyone have a single SO-42 cargo door curtain rod?






'Til the next update Gruppee's!

[williamblanda]

Well, I just ordered my welder to get crackalackin' on the camper windows. Yes GlennA, it will still be a camper, no need to fear. I also bought some .023 welding wire.

It's coming down the home stretch, sort of...

[Brown]

Well, I just ordered my welder to get crackalackin' on the camper windows. Yes GlennA, it will still be a camper, no need to fear. I also bought some .023 welding wire.

It's coming down the home stretch, sort of...

Will good luck with the welder. One piece of advice is to buy an autdarkening helmet. It is def worth the cash!!

[Glenn A]

Yes GlennA, it will still be a camper, no need to fear.

You'll be happier with a couple of windows in there. Do you find some to put back in? Good luck with the new machine. Take your time learning how to use it and if you have any questions just PM Ken Brown.

[williamblanda]

Yes GlennA, it will still be a camper, no need to fear.

You'll be happier with a couple of windows in there. Do you find some to put back in? Good luck with the new machine. Take your time learning how to use it and if you have any questions just PM Ken Brown.

I haven't found any to put back in. I spoke with a gentleman at E-town who had a set of five windows for sale, he wanted to sell all five, I didn't want to buy all five.

To tell the truth, I think the previous owner trimmed the existing windows openings to fit the generic hardware store windows. I'll still be keeping the Kombi cargo doors to use, chicken curtains hanging proud! If I feel the need for windows I'll be able to start with a clean slate and use the nicest windows possible to hack back in. It's just metal.


On a side note, 25%/75% Argon/CO2 gas is the best mix to go with, correct? I'm really itching to do some real work on the bus. It's been awhile.

[Glenn]

Manny might have windows from the CRW bus. The PO was going to cut the sides and install windows also and they might of come with the Bus.

[williamblanda]

Manny might have windows from the CRW bus. The PO was going to cut the sides and install windows also and they might of come with the Bus.

Good idea, Glenn. I'll send him a PM sometime today, it all depends on the future... Will I like running without windows and "Free Candy" painted on the side, or will I enjoy camping with windows? Time will tell.

[mannys66]

dude I pmed you,