Thread: '66 Bus update
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Old February 6th 2003, 14:44
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Pillow Pillow is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Gainesville, VA USA
Posts: 639
'66 Bus update

Yesterday I took the bus out for a full day of driving and excursions (to the local Peachstate Transporters meeting). So I can report back on the ride finally.

First off I did replace the odd 90 degree top grease fittings with stright nipple fittings from a donor junkyard bus, no problem. This allowed the 15x7 wheels plenty of room between the inner lip and the grease fitting, cool. Also I mounted some fresh meats to the wheels which was a good improvement as well (the old ones sat so long they were warped/dented and did not roll true). I put on Kumho KH11s in a 205/65/R15 size AA traction
and A temp rating (best possible for both categories). I set the air pressure to 30PSI, but probably should lower it to 28PSI.

Remember this is only to the front axle, the rear is still in progress.

In summary I am very pleased! The whole combination is very nice. The shocks are a vast improvement over the Monroe units. They provide a crisp ride that is firmer but yet absorbs larger bumps better than the softer cheap shocks. Less body roll and less dive on braking, but again a nice ride. It makes the front end feel "tighter" than before.

The tires of course are more traction than is possible to use on the bus at this point. So they just seem to ride well and do thier job.

The trouble I had at first was that with out the little dive in front when coming to a stop you have to adjust your thinking to compensate for the lack of dive, as in I ended up coming to red lights faster than I expected. Basically I need to apply the brakes a little more sooner. One of those things that I just need to adapt to in the new setup. Which is a good thing, I like minimal dive when braking.

Basically the whole combination of discs, Bilstiens, and good tires and wheels kick butt!

Take Care,
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Adrian Pillow
'57 Oval Beetle - project
'66 VW Westfalia - GL
'96 GMC Sierra Crew Cab 6.5L Diesel
'99 GMC Suburban 6.5L Diesel
VolkSport Kafer Gruppe
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