Frankenwagon, me no like fire.

Let me start by saying that I didn’t set my Westy on fire, nor has there been a fire (but I did pick up the How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive book this weekend).  I did get some from a dead VW and transplanted them into mine... It's alive! ALIVE!!!

Ever since I got the Westfalia I have been having trouble with the locks and the handles.  The locks either didn’t work at all or were extremely finicky.  The latch / lock on the back hatch didn’t work at all.  Now in looking at it I could have just adjusted the latch so that it opens easily but for some reason it wasn’t keyed the same as the other locks.  I put an ad out on The Samba looking for a set of handles (with a matching lock set).  Lucky for me there was a guy (Westy Nut) locally who was parting out a late 70’s bus and had the parts I needed.   

So after I got home from my camping adventure I parked the bus in the driveway pulled out my tools and took a look at what I was about to attempt.  How hard could it be? Right?  It only looks like a couple of screws, maybe an alan-key and I’m done. 

There is a line of thinking that says that you should start with the simple task first, complete it successfully and build confidence in yourself for the more challenging tasks ahead.  So with this mindset, I popped open the back and started pulling it apart.  After about 30 minutes of pulling the lock and latch apart and re-assembling it with the new part I am happy to report that the transplant was a success.

With new found confidence I proceeded to tackle the passenger side door.  I removed the inside panel and took a look.  Fairly simple or so I thought.  I pulled out the handle and lock set, placed the new one in and tightened things up.  I then put the panel back on THEN tested the lock with the key… guess what happened.  IT DIDN’T WORK.   So I pulled the panel off again, took the a look at how the lock mechanism works and realized my mistake.  I had somehow flipped the lock flange around.  I pulled it out, corrected my error and an hour and change later had a working handle and new locks. 

I managed to get the sliding door done without incident and proceeded to the driver side  door with the knowledge of my previous mistakes on the passenger side.  I got everything installed without a problem but for some reason the lock is still VERY stiff.  It’s not the handle and lock set but I think it’s an issue with the lock mechanism.   I’ll research it a bit this weekend and see if there is anything that can be done with it. 

With my girlfriend pulling into the drive way and dinner with friends in about 45 minutes I figured I'd get cleaned up and put the Westy away for the night.


Oh, I forgot to mention that I did take some pictures and I will post them as time allows in the next day or two.