27/08/2026
'WET PATCH' A 1969 DORMOBILE EARLY BAY
This 1969 early bay window was brought to me at the beginning of the week, ready for its family camping trip tomorrow, due to having some commonly found wet patches, of oil pretty much where ever you looked on the motor, and with a very poor response on the throttle that required looking at.
I met the owner to this van recently as he and his family camped with team boneshakers at Volksfest Wales '26 and when trying to leave the show, it unfortunately required some on site maintenance which thanks to trader and fellow Volkswagen specialist, dai at dais v-dubs, who kindly donated the parts required to the cause, we got the bus leaving the show under it's own steam as apposed to an unfortunate joy ride on the back of a low loader! Fast forward a week and this 69 arrived with clear instructions to just do what the van needs and ensure it can go on holiday! So in traditional standards, two long days, and fast shipping from BJ's Speedshop, this bus has left the building and is now packed ready to do the family camping!
So what was addressed altogether?
Crankshaft oil seal, although this was a brand new fitted item, it has unfortunately been damaged apon installing the flywheel and so created a defect that resulted in it leaking bad enough that it has soaked the gearbox and clutch in oil which is common on a failed seal.
Flywheel O ring was replaced although again new, just got my own personal peace of mind, no stone unturned and all that
Flywheel, clutch pressure plate and friction plate was cleaned and acid washed then diluted and cleaned again to remove oil residue embedded from hot clutch friction contact. This is an old school method that has not failed me yet but can only be done once on the friction plate due to the fibres.
Full crankcase clean up, this entailed in removing any and all old paint, restoring the case back to bare aluminium/magnesium and allows the eye to find any oil leaks in the future, the engine case had alot of flakey paint and aluminium corrosion (white powdery material)
New oil cooler seals, as you could see, the old seals were smothered in old paint meaning it had not seated correctly and as you can see from the photographs, had failed.
New alternator stand gaskets
New 70amp alternator conversion kit, this was choden purely for the sake of a modern upgrade, to fit and forget unlike with a dynamo and brushes, alongside this the owner has a split relay system with full electrics inside the vehicle, sound system and fridge/cool box etc so rather than a basic stock 55amp, I recommended the slightly larger upgrade.
This alternator upgrade also benefited the cause as you cN see the dynamo pulley had worked it's way from retaining it's original oval with flat sides shapes to an almost perfectly round circle meaning the belt and pulley was spinning but not the dynamo shaft which meant it was not charging correctly, if at all..
Push rod seals, under tins and push rod tubes all cleaned due to the amount of oil that had run down from ontop of the block it was hard to see if any of the pushrods or even the cylinders were leaking, after a full acid wash and dilute clean, it was found that fortunately it is all old oil from up top
Engine tin wear was quickly cleaned back, and just coated in a splash of gloss black, off my own back as it just felt right due to all the new clean bits, and the tin showing its originality but yet looking a bit tired compared to now.
Front exhaust and preheat gaskets changed, and clamps changed including the fibre washers for heat exchangers to manifold clamps to brand new stainless clamps. The pre-heat ones had been changed already but we're changed again for peace of mind, there were nothing wrong with the others but I just wanted to ensure I ticked my own checklist accordingly. Front exhaust gaskets were blowing so made sense, and the clamps also underwent the change due to one fibre seal not doing it's job effectively
New oil pump gaskets fitted after removing the oil pump cover plate to find that everything was just rammed with sealant in the hope of stopping a leak, although it slowed the leak down no doubt, it did not cure the problem, once I removed the oil pump, the block was wire wheeled clean, the sealant was removed from inside the oil pump housing, off the back of the oil pump, out of the hole of the oil pump, and the proper use of the two paper gaskets were installed .
With everything sorted on the motor, and it back in and running, as it's previously had brand new fuel lines with the correct fuel line clamps which was lovely to see a company using the correct clamps, a quick check in the filter showed no dirt or debris, I checked the timing on the motor, lowered the idle on the carburettor, changed the carb return spring to an original item as the cheap carbs have the stretchiest springs that don't return correctly, and then gave it all a once over
To Finnish the tasks, the throttle cable previously fitted was incredibly short and as a matter of opinion, i find that the particular brand of cable used, retains any shape or bend accidently put into the cable on installation, which in turn, doesn't allow it to work effectively, apon removing the old cable, it had suffered a small kink, roughly where it comes out of the conduit on the body and into the Bowden tube, which is VERY common to happen. This is why I ALWAYS as a compulsory upgrade/change, use the double layered cable from empi which is a cut to length item. Leaving about an inch and a half past the throttle on the carb, leaves room for adjustment if ever required.
