V8Transporter's V8 Single Cab

[metalmaster1766]

Here some pictures of V8Transporter's Single Cab Transporter
Very nice work Kim, I love it











I really like the VW emblem on the valve cover, I bet that's not standard equipment

Ron

[V8Transporter]

Many thanks to Ron who posted the photos for me. If you haven't guessed, I still haven't figured how to do it myself. But, I was able to e-mail him photos via my i Phone. Ms. Purp, I can hear you snickering from here.
I bought the 'at the time badly banged up' '58 Single Cab off a used car lot a few weeks after I came home from Vietnam in late 1971. At the time she ran a 1200cc 36 hp. In '74 or so I swapped in a '65 110 hp Corvair powertrain including the IRS. In '79 I began the Ford V8 swap. By mid-81 I had her up and running with the current 351 Ford, T-98 truck four speed (has compound low) and 9" Ford with 3.00:1 gears. Front end is a much modified '71 VW Type II with power disc brakes. I located Ford rear wheel cylinders with the same bore and rear VW's so it worked out well.
There's a certain irony in that with the 36 hp she topped out at 50 mph and got me 17 to 18 mpg. With the V8 I've towed a 22' sailboat at 65. See an old photo in the 'Crazy Bastard' posts. Freeway mileage is 22 mpg.
Because of comments by the occasional VW 'purist' I welded in VW hub cap centers into the stock Ford steel valve covers.
The 'wind up key' was for a local parade a few years back. It spins via a old Nissan windshield wiper motor inside the metal housing fastened to the engine cover. It's controlled by a toggle switch between the seats. The 'key' unplugs and lifts out so I can tilt the cover up. And yup, I get some strange looks at times.
I drew the cartoon of the truck back in '80 when I had a small sign and graphics shop in a nearby town. I still hand out copies of it and some of my other 'toons for kids to color.
After over a year of frustrating tinkering and head banging, with the new fuel tank, fuel pump, another carb and new MSD ignition she's back on the road. Last Saturday at our local car show I won the 'Rat Rod' trophy.
Thanks again to Ron for posting the photos for me.

[V8 VolksRod]

Love it!

[Bugula]

Awesome. Would love to see the shifter linkage. It manual, right? I’m not a Ford guy.

[Harold]

Bad ass …. two of my favorites VW , and Ford .

[V8Transporter]

Thanks! She's fun to drive and I get a lot of smiles and waves. Yup, it's a manual four speed and took me a few weeks to figure out, along with the cable actuated clutch set up... It's actually more than just a 'linkage,' involving replacing the upper portion of the tranny's shift tower with a shop-fabricated bolt-on box. It'll make sense when you can see it in the photos.
Since she's running well with the new ignition, next comes the new wiring harness installation.

[metalmaster1766]

Originally Posted by V8Transporter

Yup, it's a manual four speed and took me a few weeks to figure out, along with the cable actuated clutch set up... It's actually more than just a 'linkage,' involving replacing the upper portion of the tranny's shift tower with a shop-fabricated bolt-on box. It'll make sense when you can see it in the photos.
Since she's running well with the new ignition, next comes the new wiring harness installation.

So do you have any pictures of the linkage? If so I can put them here if ya want

A new wiring harness, those aren't much fun to replace, I have never worked on a Transporter/Bus, but then again I'm sure yours isn't a normal wiring harness, but it may be just a few pieces of wire added on to connect the Ford engine
Speaking about a wiring harness, I think I'm gonna hafta start saving every penny I can and buy one for my Volksrod, it's broken and won't start, I'll explain all that in my own ongoing Volksrod page after the weekend

Originally Posted by Harold

Bad ass …. two of my favorites VW , and Ford .

Two of my favorites as well, FORD means Found On Ron's Driveway
I hope to get my Ford powered Bug back on my things to do list next year

Ron

[V8Transporter]

Thanks Ron, Ill get a couple of shots of the linkage etc. out to you today. I grew up hearing Ford stood for 'Fix Or Repair Daily' by my Chevy and Mopar owning buddies. Though they couldn't tease me too much as I dropped a 322 Buick Nailhead in my '47 Coupe.

[Bugula]

Love them nailheads.

[alykat]

Used nail heads in a few of my hot rods back in the day. They were in good supply and cheap for a little while.

[Bugula]

My Father has one kicking around years ago for one of his street rods that never developed. Not sure what ever happend to it(the nail head).

[V8Transporter]

One funny thing about dropping a Nail head into the Ford coupe was that using a twenty-five dollar Offy adapter to fit the stock Ford drive train, the Buick starter wouldn't fit. It interfered with the Ford box steering by about a half-inch, or so. There was an adapter available which moved the starter to the passenger side, but it cost over a hundred bucks. This was in '64, I was fifteen, and didn't have that kind of money. A mechanic who lived across the street told his son that I'd never get the old coupe running because dropping a Buick or Olds V8 into a Ford didn't work because of the starter issue. Even the guys at Goodie's Speed Shop were baffled.
While I'd designed and built my own engine mounts, had about everything but the starter in place, I was stumped. Then I was staring at the offending steering box and saw that the mounting bracket was attached to the frame with four large rivets. After drilling out the rivets, I tapped then bracket forward until I could mount the starter. I drilled four new holes and used bolts to hold it to the frame. Moving the box forward caused to the end of the steering arm to contact the tie rod. After some carefully measuring, I pulled the steering rod and at a friends, used his dad's torch to heat and bend the arm slightly so it would clear. You should have seen the look on the mechanics face when he came over after I'd started up the Buick, and backed the car out into our driveway.
This was a real learning experience for me. My dad had told me early on that, "when someone tells you that it can't be done, it's because they can't do it."

[Bugula]

Awesome story!

[V8Transporter]

Thanks! One cool thing about this site, is that everyone modifying, or building a ground up Volksrod type ride, comes up against mechanical challenges, yet keeps at it until the project is running down the road.

[alykat]

Originally Posted by V8Transporter

Thanks! One cool thing about this site, is that everyone modifying, or building a ground up Volksrod type ride, comes up against mechanical challenges, yet keeps at it until the project is running down the road.

If I didn't do stuff just because someone told me it couldn't be done, I never would have done anything. Fact is, I have done a lot of things just because others said it wasn't possible.
OK, also a fact that I thought I could do a few things that didn't turn out so well, but no one said they couldn't be done.....so I probably just didn't try hard enough.

[metalmaster1766]

The shift box took me a while to figure out. At the front and back of the ‘box’ are bronze bushings originally for the Ford transmission input shaft at the back of the crank shaft. Cheap and easy to fit to the home built box. The shaft moving through the bronze bushings is stainless rod with the lower part of the original Ford truck shifter welded to a steel donut which bolts to the rod inside the box. The rubber sort of ‘caps’ at each end of the box keep the gear oil from escaping. At the rear is the mount for the second of the two u-joints. The length of the mount determines the proper side to side movement for selecting gears with the modified VW shifter..

When the VW shifter moves fore and aft, so does the shaft, via the long mild steel shaft along the passenger side of the engine, split by the second u-joint. And kept from moving side to side by a Heim joint attached to the metal bracket bolted to the cargo floor. Or what there is left of it. The u-joints were sourced from the steering shaft of a wrecked Fiat.

Not shown is the lower part of the VW shifter. I replaced the original lower pivot with a simple clevis. The shift rod heading rearward is beefed up a bit and cross drilled for a through bolt and nylock nut to allow movement at the clevis. When the shifter moves side to side, the bracket at the rear u-joint allows the end of the rod inside to box to move side to side, fore and aft, to select a gear. The shifter pattern is standard Ford truck.

It simpler that it sounds and I’ve had no problems with it.

The clutch linkage is a housed cable sourced from a truck supply shop. The front of the cable bolts to the beefed up lower portion of VW clutch pedal assembly. I had to build to pivot at the rear so it could operate the Ford throw out arm. It also allows adjustment of the pedal effort and range. The clutch itself is a 10“ for a ’62 Ford with the T-98. I works well and the effort is actually pretty easy.

About an hour ago I backed the truck out to take the photos and all the lights are working fine. But I’m still going to replace the wiring.

( I hope I put the pictured in the right order)















Looks pretty crazy, I'm sure it took some time to get everything adjusted just right

I've done a few things years ago just because someone told me it couldn't be done, I need to get back into that frame of mind and start finishing some of my projects, I'm getting lazy the older I get

Ron

[DrHax]

So that’s what the infamous truck looks like. I love it.

[V8Transporter]

Thanks! Since these photos I repainted BLUE MAX back onto the right front under the passenger window where it had been since ‘71 until the front sheet metal clip was replaced a few years ago. Also repurposing the hardwood ‘struts from an old beach umbrella I replaced the plywood bottom in the roof rack built a few years back. Looks a lot more ‘authentic’ now. 🤔😁

[V8Transporter]

Yesterday I brought the Single Cab home from where it had been parked at a friend’s home during the Walbridge Fire. We’d been forced to evacuate last week and I’d moved my truck and motorcycles to safe locations the prior day. The trucks been running a little rough and I think it’s time to pull and clean the carb again due to it sitting too long and our crappy fuel. I’ve been considering change the jets to a bit leaner mixture. Anyway it feels good to have things getting back to somewhat normal.

[1slo3]

Glad you are safe!

[V8Transporter]

Due to the incredible efforts of Cal Fire, local firefighters, mutual aid Firefighters from other counties and nearby states, the CHP, Sheriff’s and Police Departments, many of us have been able to return to our homes.

[V8Transporter]

On another positive note, I pulled the Edelbrock 600 four barrel. The clear inline filter looked fine and the fuel clear. With the top off it looked pretty clean inside. But I pulled the jets and idle mixture screws. Used a spray can of carb cleaner on all the passages the hit them with a air nozzle. Once back together the truck fired right up. With the idle mixture adjusted the truck now runs great. No rough spot. When a while I cleaned out the ‘jelly like substance and replaced the fuel lines, I guess there was still something there.

[1slo3]

[V8Transporter]

Back when the Mallory dual point was running things I ran a set of Bosch platinum plugs with a .032” gap. The engine ran great. Once parts available for the Mallory quit working, on the advice of folks at various car shows, I installed a MSD system. When I swapped in the MSD I also followed their advice and used Autolite plugs. A gap of .035 worked the best, but the plug reading showed things were a bit ‘rich. Slightly hotter plugs had little effect. A month or so back I cleaned up a set of the Bosch plugs and tried the same gap, .035.” Plugs again looked a little rich. Then I tried a .045” gap and things improved. Smoother running, good reading.
As you all know, a little tinkering can be a good thing.

[1slo3]