VW Info, Parts and Restoration

Here are a few picks form the vw show last weekend. It was great. there were some awesome VW buses

there and a few great bugs.

Early 60’s 23 window vw bus

1955 oval VW bug.

longboards ice cream panal bus, good ice cream great bus.

The Volkswagen show also had some cool VW double cabs and single cabs. here are a few of my faves.

Volkswagen Single Cabs

A great rat look on this vw single cab.

This single cab is in great shape and looks outstanding in black. I like the lowered look and the BMI rims that you can’t see in this pic.

McNeil’s shop Dove blue VW single cab. I love this color it just so classic. I will paint my 61 double cab this color.

Volkswagen Double Cabs

Light blue and white vw. You like ratted out and slammed double cabs then you’ll like this gem. Its has everything you are looking for and a motor bicycle in the back to boot.

Here is a sweet pic of a original paint Dove Blue Volkswagen Double Cab.  Dove blue is one of my favorite double cab colors and is more then likely what I am going to go with on my 61 double cab. 

I have had a few questions as of late about the latches on the VW double cab and single cab. What most of you want to know is. Are the double cab latches interchangeable? The answer is yes and no. Innately the latches for the Double Cab and Single Cab are different. The forward latches bolt through the cab with the bolt going from the inside of the cab and screwing into the latch on the outside.

The rear latches have a Phillips screw that is counter sunk in to the latch that screws in to the gate.

If you put the forward gate latches on the opposite corners in the back, they will work. There are no counter sinks for the screws on the forward latches so they don’t look perfect but they will function. The problem is, the arms will stick out on the side of the Double Cab, instead of curving around the back like they should. This could cause a problem when you walk buy, dinging your arm or catching your clothes. Once you have the forward gate latches mounted on opposite corners you can take the leaver part of the latch off of the mount shaft and swap them so that they bend around the back, like they should, instead of outwards. This is not as easy as it sound, usually the latches are on there really good and it takes some doing to get them off. My suggestion to you would be to get the right latches for you double cab. You can usually find latches for sale on The Samba for around $50 a pair (some go for more). There are also 2 different kinds of latches. Pre-1967 latches have a sharp curve on the handle. The post 1967 latches have a rounded curve. If you don’t care about being original they both fit the same.

If your into restoring Volkswagens one of the things that you always deal with is rust. Rust is one of your Volkswagens worst enemies and once the rust is there the question becomes where am I going to get a replacement part? In the past you would just buy a part off another vw bus, bug or fabricate something out of some random peace of metal that you had laying around. I am here to tell you there is a better way. The people at Klassic fab are making replacement parts for Pre 1967 buses. If your looking for a VW part they are more then likely going to have it or be able to make one, as long as it’s made out of metal. Here is a quote from the klassic Fab web site.

“We at Klassic Fab are proud to be able to offer you quality barndoor and post barndoor reproduction parts, all are parts are hand made using NOS or original Parts as masters or patterns. We all know that what little reproduction parts are available for pre 55 and post 55 buses are pretty much junk when it comes to fit, quality and price. We know this very well, when we first started working on these vehicles, we were forced to buy theses parts because they were the only parts on available on the market, are dissatisfaction with these parts is what forced us to start making our own. We not only make are one parts we also install them on the vehicles we work on, this is the reason that we know are parts fit correctly, this is also the reason why we can make quick changes to the parts we sell if the need arises, most (not all) other manufactures, sellers or resellers of reproduction bus parts have never installed the parts they make or sell on a vehicle, they have no clue of how the parts fit, or how it is suppose to fit. We started making barndoor only parts, we are now starting to make post 55 bus parts, and eventually we will be making metal replacement parts for the whole type II line. If you do not see a part being offered on the site it does not mean we do not, or can not make that part, we can make any part there is on a type II vehicle, all we need is a pattern, some measurements, a picture, or the original part, give us a call so we can discuss your replacement metal panel needs. “

I have bought a few Volkswagen bus Replacement parts from these guys and the product is excellent. The peaces fit like a glove and are made of the correct gage metal, which you don’t find in other VW replacement parts. I highly recommend Klassic Fab if you are looking to get some high quality VW Bus parts. Order your parts early these guys are really busy and sometime it takes them a while to get your part to you. Klassic Fab doesn’t have pricing on there site so give them a call to get pricing.

Here are a few pics of some cool hi-roof Volkswagen buses. I love the look of these and the clasic looking logos on the ice cream bus are great

Here a Ice Cream high roof bus with a sales flap sits with no ice cream to sell. Sad a creamsicle or a drumstick sounds good right now. Volkswagens and ice cream thats a good fit

This Split Screen bus has been converted to a store front for a crepe company in japan. this bus is in great shape and appears to be running

I would love to get a highroof bus and convert it into a hot dog stand, take it to the ballgames and sell a few franks from the parking lot, or just do it with the 1961 Double Cab. Hot dogs anyone!!

History of the Volkswagen Bus.

There has been a lot written about the history of the VW bus. A classic car since it conception in 1949 the Volkswagen bus has a loyal following that rivals many classic cars today. In 1947 Ben Pon, a Dutch Volkswagen distributor drew the initial idea for the Volkswagen bus. It wasn’t until November 1949 that the first Volkswagen bus was put in to production and Ben Pon’s idea becomes a reality. The original Volkswagen buses were designed as work vehicles and were a hit for new businesses staring up after WWII. As the market grew Volkswagen introduced a new line of more lavish buses the Type 2 offering a wide range of additional features, and then the variation began. Not only could you have options like more windows and rear seating but a line of specialty buses came available. For major loads you could get a special high-roof panel van. There were fire trucks, food buses and an ambulance conversion as well. Another option was a double door bus, with loading doors on both sides. One of the most renowned modifications of the bus was the Volkswagen single cab and double cab pickup. With all of these variations available, in addition to the window configurations choices, it made for a seemingly infinite number of different busses.

Volkswagen Double Cab History

History of the Volkswagen single cab

Volkswagen single cab vw

With the addition of the Volkswagen single cab in 1952 Volkswagen introduced there first pick up version of the vw bus. The intended use for the VW single cab was for farm workers and construction companies. The unique fold down gates allowed the Volkswagen single cab to carry objects larger then itself and made the truck versatile in many situations

History of the Volkswagen Double Cab

The story goes that in the early 1950’s a florist went to BINZ, a German coachbuilder that was synonymous for special purpose vehicles, requesting a vehicle that he could use for transporting materials, workers and plants in, but also had an area that was safe from the weather. Apparently, the single cab didn’t fit his needs Binz solution was to take the Volkswagen Single cab and modify it into what is now known as the Binz double cab. Binz realized that they had a good idea in there hands and began to produce and market the double cab. They would make the conversion, upholster a rear seat that they made, and then paint the new double cab (the single cab came from Volkswagen primed). Because of its success Volkswagen contracted Binz to start making the VW double cab. It should be noted that there is no solid evidence to verify this story about the VW double cab. The only documented information is that VW contracted Binz to coach build the Double Cab in Oct, 1953 according to a Volkswagen Special options brochure. Although Binz Started making the double cab Type 2s in 1953 for Volkswagen, a few years later in 1958 VW took the production of the double cab in house started making the vehicles at there own facilities. They sold for about $1800 that was about $300 more than the single cab.

Thursday is what my wife lovingly refers to as double cab night. This is the night if the week that is singled out to work on double cabs and such. On this glorious night me and a close friend get together and work on our own Volkswagens (Me on my 1961 double cab and him on him on his 1955 VW Spring frame). Starting directly after work this will usually take us into the wee-hours of the night and more times then not into Friday morning. This makes for some interesting Fridays at work. We both have a lot of work to do so we can get these on the road but on the whole it is a lot of fun and for some reason we cant seem to get enough of it. Last week we worked on getting the electrical done on my 61 double cab. Any of you that have worked on old Volkswagen electrical know that it can be a simple fix or you rewire the whole thing and it still doesn’t work properly, rarely is it something in-between. The funny thing abut this situation is that the only thing that wasn’t working was the rear driver side blinker. After 6 hr of working on it we found that the problem was the ground. Buy the way that was the first thing that we check when we started. We just did not check it out properly.

My 1961 Volkswagen Double Cab

This double cab has seen better days in her life but as a whole this VW gem is in great shape. Most of the rust that is there is surface rust, except for a few spots on the rocker panels that will need to be replaced. The floors and nose are solid and the under belly is very clean for a 45+ year old double cab. All the interior is there but the upholstery is in bad shape and is not the original for the 61 double cabs. I will be working on this weekly and keeping you updated right here.

Hello blogging world. the 61dc blog is going to be for VW enthusiast we will have info on Volkswagen, VW restoration tips, general info and a lot more. Hope you all check back frequently to see whats new on this site.