Date:         19 Apr 1995 08:17:41 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "McGinnis Terry" <McGinnis_Terry@mm.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com>
Subject:      '64 Tranny Problems

I am in serious need of some technical advise.

The axles that I had put on my new rebuilt tranny are the original ones from my
'64 Camper, which I had forgotten from when I put in the used tranny 5 years
ago, had different sized stub axles, and everything from the backing plates out
to the brake drums.  Unfortunately, when I moved three years ago, when I was
cleaning out the garage, I decided that I didn't need those old rusty drums and
dirty brake assemblies (having by then forgotten that they were unique to the
original axles).

Now that I am putting the rebuilt tranny assembly in, I called up my FLAPS and
was informed that it will probably be impossible to get the drums and backing
plates, unless I can find the stuff in a junkyard.  I looked in the Bus Stop
(Rocky Mountain Motorworks) catalog and found that they don't stock these parts
(only post '64 drums are available).  Today I plan to call the Bus Boys and see
if they can give me any hope, after which I'll call VW Used Parts Center in San
Jose as a last resort.  I would like to be able to use at least new drums,
since I drive winding coastal range highways here in NoCal and was wondering if
any of the bug stuff might work for my bus, since, if I recall correctly, the
bug also uses the 36 mm axle nut, as do my old stub axles.

On the good note, I coughed up the $120 to buy a Gene Berg shifter for my old
bus and it is an impressive piece of work, although it looks like I'll need to
open up the hole in my floor mat to clear the base of the assembly (this thing
has a shorter throw because the tall base raises the pivot point of the shifter
about 2 inches).  I got this shifter 'cause I want my wife to be able to drive
the bus when I am all done, and with her short stature, she had problems
reaching all the gears (particularly 3rd) with that big steering wheel pushing
up against her endowments.  For her part, she is really excited that the bus
will be back on the road soon, as she misses the camping trips and she really
does look forward to being able to drive it to relieve me from having to spen
all my time behind the wheel. 

I did get new bushings for the shift rod and will be putting them in tonight,
but I wanted to resolve this brake problem before putting the tranny in, just
in case I need to get the axles changed again.

To recap, does anyone out there know if brake drums are available new for the
pre-64 TII's, or if bug components will work.

Thanks for any info,
--terry ('64 Camper Phoenix)