positive bus improvements

bussta · Post by **bussta** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 10:36 pm

well, i have to say that the 64 bus i have corners on rails. i never thought it could happen, ...but hey

what I did :
totally clean front end
discs off a 73 bus with kingpin adapters
front and back tortion bars
15in rims with lo-profile tyres

that is it

i cannot stress how much of an improvement this has had on the ride. i recomend it as a necessity to making the bus a fucking great ride.

i cannot complain, and a big thanks to the industry for manufacturing these easy bolt-ons that take the bus out of the nightmaRRE OF FREEWAY OFFRAMS AND MOUNTAIN CORNERS. i enjoy speeding up just to hug the corners.

peace ev

Pillow · Post by **Pillow** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 6:55 am

Handling is such a relative term. But I will not nit pick on that

Lets start off by saying that yes the split needs a lot of help to get it to handle well!

What did you do to the torsion bars?

With low profile tires be sure to use a temp guage as your freeway RPMs will be higher and you run a possibility of running hot.

My plan for the front is to add Bilstien shocks and the larger bus boys sway bar. Really not much can be done up front.

For the rear add a sway-away camber compensator, Bilstien shocks, and maybe a sway bar if at all possible.

The rear is always the worst in a bus. Hopefully some TLC and it might tame down a bit.

You are right in saying GOOD TIRES go a hell of a long way... PepBoys Futuras just does not cut it.

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Adrian Pillow
'66 VW Westfalia - "Biscuit"
'67 VW Deluxe Westfakia - "Dino" - FS
'79 Porsche 911 SC - "Cochese" - FS

bussta · Post by **bussta** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 10:23 am

no, i am serious. this bus handles great.

i have an oil temp guage installed inplacc of one of the relief screws on the engine, and run just higher than 180 degrees on the freeway.

i didn't do anything to the torsion bars on the front or rear. they are stock. i never really waned to mess with any of that at the time. i guess that i was afraid i would strip something, bang, bend, mangle, etc vital pieces that would leave the bus up on jacks at a time i really needed to get it out of the space i was in.
i rolled the bus for one week with only the front sway bar on, and it really felt dangerous. once the rear sway was on, i was so shocked. we have a 92 wanagon in the family and i would say the 64 handles 20 % better. also, the 12V highbeams are way beter than the 92 van. i don't know what happened, but i love it when things turn out like this.

i have a freeway flier with a 3.88 i think. can;t remember of the top of my head. i think if aything goes, it will be the redux boxes.

peace evan

Pillow · Post by **Pillow** » Wed Oct 02, 2002 8:31 am

>once the rear sway was on, i was so shocked<

??? Is this an actual swaybar or the camber compensator?

I have heard 944 rear swaybars can be added to a split rear, but it would require some fabrication to mount.

I know the splits handle better than bays! bays wallow like all get out.

Glad to see another split kicking butt!

PS keep the RGBs unless you want to build a big engine.

Later,

------------------
Adrian Pillow
'66 VW Westfalia - "Biscuit"
'67 VW Deluxe Westfakia - "Dino" - FS
'79 Porsche 911 SC - "Cochese" - FS

bussta · Post by **bussta** » Wed Oct 02, 2002 11:15 am

yes, it is a swaybar. it mounts on bolts that have bushings, and the bolts mount to brackets that attach to the lower shock struts. the top area of the swaybar mounts in two places to the frame. i can almost say it is the best improvement to the handling of the bus. seriously, i am impressed. i live in oregon. if you are in the northwest we could meet up and have a campout.
peace evan

bussta · Post by **bussta** » Wed Oct 02, 2002 1:25 pm

call me

i know your buss

541 968-0861

stevemariott · Post by **stevemariott** » Thu Oct 03, 2002 12:00 am

Bussta, I'm in Eugene too. Maybe you've seen my bus, a '68 w/Empi 5's, lowered a little, ragtop up front, blue/green color.

I figure a bay window handles a lot better than a splitty to begin with, but after I added some sway bars front/rear to mine along with some KYBs the handling was a lot better.

Ron Bullard
[email protected]

Pillow · Post by **Pillow** » Thu Oct 03, 2002 11:32 am

Evan, the suspense is killing me... What kit is the rear swaybar?

My rear end is a sloppy whore in the turns... Give a brother a break and spill the beans

------------------
Adrian Pillow
'66 VW Westfalia - "Biscuit"
'67 VW Deluxe Westfakia - "Dino" - FS
'79 Porsche 911 SC - "Cochese" - FS

stevemariott · Post by **stevemariott** » Thu Oct 03, 2002 9:41 pm

Bussta, got your mail - I'm stupid busy between work and other stuff right now, I'll be in touch in a couple days. Anxious to see your bus!

Ron Bullard
[email protected]

type4bay74 · Post by **type4bay74** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 11:28 pm

a split handle better than a bay? a bay is higher off the ground and is more prone to side winds, there you have an advantage of being lower to the ground allowing less cross flow under the vehicle. Splits are nice dont get me wrong but as long as your in town and not on a freeway. Ill make sure I wave when I pass you on the freeway doing 80 in my wallowing bay.

dbcflash · Post by **dbcflash** » Sat Oct 19, 2002 2:42 am

I had a '66 Delux micro with a Bus Boys long axle kit in rear and beam adjusters up front and it handled just great. I had it cranked as low as I could get it andI was running Toyo 185/60 14's in front and 195/60 14's in the rear. the ride got a little harsh on rough roads, but it still felt better than that crazy lane change I always made coming from under an overpass on a windy day. Drop 'em boys, lower center of gravity goes a long long way...

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The American Cure Hemmoroids Endeavor A.C.H.E
With all of you behind us, hemmoriods will soon be licked!

bussta · Post by **bussta** » Sat Oct 19, 2002 2:17 pm

hey did anyone go to the poo-yallup meet this last weekend?
i went and saw some sweet rides. i have heaps of digi pics and can burn them onto a cd for you if you want a hard copy. i took pics of the parking lot, which was stacked, and the inner show floor.

as for type4 from puyallup----don't be too quick to diss the speed. may not be passn me. well, i don't think i have 80, but close though. since i run a smaller overall diameter in the front , my speed o isn't accurate. but i scoot......and if i wanted to throw another few thousand to the wind i could up it. but am satisfied....however, i do handle and the mountain passes are super sticky for my bus.
peace ev

type4bay74 · Post by **type4bay74** » Sat Oct 19, 2002 9:09 pm

I was at puyallup and was real disappointed in the turnout, there is normally triple the amount of vehicles and people there and the swap meet sucked, there were more show cars though, did you see the V-8 bug with the corvette engine? I was just playing about the split versus bay, they both have their ups and downs I love to have a split bus or double cab, id have one if people wouldnt try to sell em for a small fortune. Its sad when people try to sell a split for 2-3 grand and it dont run and need 4 grand worth of welding done, the engine missing dont mean much cause it would go bye bye anyway. do you see that bug in the parking lot by the road? the purple one with the white sides and the roof rack? that was my old bug that was on my website, the guy that bought it just called he ran into the back of a Ford f-150 over 2500 grand in damage ouch.

Pillow · Post by **Pillow** » Sat Oct 19, 2002 9:18 pm

I generally cannot argue the speed thing

But I do pull 73 MPH (calculated, not speedo as it is overly optimistic) at 4000 RPM... And I have no fears of running 4500 on a cool day as long as the oil heat stays down.

So I can sprint up to 75-80 for a while at least, but definately not cruise.

... Big tires on 15"s.

------------------
Adrian Pillow
'66 VW Westfalia - "Biscuit"
'67 VW Deluxe Westfakia - "Dino" - FS
'79 Porsche 911 SC - "Cochese" - FS

type4bay74 · Post by **type4bay74** » Sat Oct 19, 2002 9:40 pm

my old bus did 80 pretty smooth i was shocked, she would cruize at 3800, the speedo was off by 10, the speed actually read 90 which is as high as it goes on the bay so i let off so i would break it all together,i check the speed with gps so that could be off to who knows, my bus now the engine whines out around 75 so i keep this one around 70. now that i think about it my other bus must have had a different tranny or something, im not sure. it would make sense though when i changed the clutch only a bug clutch fit and the engine had a 1700 flywheel so it could have been a free way flyer, makes me wonder know that i think about it cause the rpm's where pretty low for the speed.