Head Banging without the Music

One of the unique characteristics of a 1972 VW Bus is how you get at the engine. For those used to leaning over the front fender of your favorite car, cold beverage in hand, while considering your timing, or the next oil change, or the Red Sox pitching staff, its a little different with an old bus. First off, the engine is in the back, which makes for some funny conversations at the annual smog check. It makes leaning on a fender impossible too, though the rounded corners are good for leaning :)

Once you're realized that the engine is back there, you discover that its behind a little door where the license plate sits. Pop that thing up, and you're in wonderland. Alice's wonderland, that is. For in the 1972 bus, that little door is the only way to get at your engine. I think of it as vehicular proctology. Between the coveralls, flashlight and tools, you can barely get in the door, much less do anything. Makes you wish for a little "eat me" cake, but that feeling only gets stronger when you realize you forgot a tool or need a sandwich and try to remove yourself from that doorway. *BANG* the back of your head hits the upper threshhold. That's why I always pop on a snow-hat before climbing into my engine door. I admit, its awfully hot doing that in the Summer, but its better than the inevitable headsmack. This one-door deal is really only a 1972 bus issue, as a top-hatch was added in 1973 and continued through the vanagon.

I'm tired of wearing a ski hat in the Summer. I want to be able to check something on my engine without getting down on all fours. I want to be able to lean against the engine opening and talk about the Red Sox pitching staff, and actually be able to see the engine when I'm doing it. So, what to do... why, cut a hole! Well, that sounds rash, but installing a door on the topside isn't such a bad idea. The question is how big a door? Would putting in a door compromise the structure of the bus or would additional bracing be necessary? Here are a few choices:

Baywindow bus hatch is 11" deep by 31 1/2" wide. Not too big, but engine access is achieved. Additional support or bracing is probably not needed, but I'd probably do something just to be sure. I don't think these are of much real use, though, because they're really quite small. With the coveralls and tools, can you really reach through an opening 11" deep and do anything other than utter muffled curses?

Vanagon Hatch. is 42 3/8" x 25 1/8". Huge. Makes one wonder "how much of your back would not be a door?" Well, I measured my back panel just for kicks and its 34" deep and 42" across to the westy closet. I'll remeasure tonight and repost if the numbers from memory are off. Its actually 44" across by 32" deep, but there's really only about 23", maybe a touch more, from the firewall to the rear door. Regardless, it tight. Additional supports or bracing would totally be necessary. A removable support in the center might be a good idea too. Big enough? Heck yeah. The lid would open like the hood on an old Monte Carlo. Of course, you'd breach the firewall with a hatch like that, at least according to my measurements, so this may not be such a good idea after all.

Type3/4 Hatch is 22" x 31" give or take a 1/4", with 34" on the diagonal from rounded corner to corner. Sounds about twice the size of the bus hatch, but not as big as the vanagon. It would barely fit, but bracing would be a good idea. Also, finding a lip might be a challenge, as the type3 and type4 cars are not as plentiful, and there are multiple layers of steel that would have to be cut through to get the original lip. Considering the closeness in size to the baywindow hatch (times 2) maybe 2 donor hatch frames could make a single lip. Sounds like it could be a lot of work.

make your own is always a choice, but rarely a good one. Lots of cutting, fabricating a door, maybe from the cut out steel doesn't sound like too great an idea. The edge of the cut out would need to be strengthened by something like a home-made lip. In the end, it won't look too good, probably won't be structurally sound, and will probably leak emissions into the bus. Bad idea.

Of the 3 decent ideas, I like the size and lineage of the type3/4 hatch, but the amount of work does give me pause. If I really need engine access from above, it will take more than cutting a hole and glueing in a vinyl window. Accordingly, I'll have to really plan this out before I do anything.

If you're thinking of putting in a hatch, I hope these dimensions were helpful to you. I collected them from different owners and part suppliers and should be pretty accurate. Thanks to the BusCo, theSamba and theDDB for helping collect the measurements.