Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

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whc03grady
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Location: Livingston Montana
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Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by whc03grady » Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:56 am

Longest. Appointment. Ever.
No lie.

Pics and description forthcoming.
Alright,
whc03grady.

p.s. It runs!
Ludwig--1974 Westfalia, 2.0L (GD035193), Solex 34PDSIT-2/3 carburetors.
Gertie--1971 Squareback, 1600cc with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection from a '72 (E brain).
Read about their adventures:
http://www.ludwigandgertie.blogspot.com

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satchmo
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by satchmo » Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 pm

So what did you work on? The bus or the square back? Or BOTH?

I'll do some CPR on Colin when he stops through after your marathon IAC visit to get him going again.

Tim
By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
second, by immitation, which is easiest;
and third, by experience, which is bitterest. -Confucius

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Amskeptic
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:25 am

whc03grady wrote:Longest. Appointment. Ever.
No lie.

Pics and description forthcoming.
Alright,
whc03grady.

p.s. It runs!
No lie. This was the first Itinerant Air-Cooled All-Nighter.

What a delightfully beautifully bizarre day it was, everything was off in some glorious way. Such a peaceful start, too:
Image

I started our appointment by backing the BobD into Gertie's front bumper. The whooooole family is out to welcome my arrival and I bash into their beloved Volkswagen Squareback??
"Gimmee coffee NOW".

Ludwig's engine is on a stand:
Image

Here's Mitch when he was still frisky:
Image

We have to put the dual carbs and the exhaust system on. Well you just know there are details details details details. How about wiring the engine a la Road Warrior?
Image

Sure it looks easy to have an engine upside down on a stand, but getting the exchangers onto the studs on a stand is like trying to dead-lift barbells on a trampoline:
Image

As we are tenderly ministering to this great car, the sounds of war are building up in the background. Just this senseless stream of explosions and pops and whistles. Smoke is in the air. As we try to address the thousand and one details, our poor minds are being barraged by this "holiday" of war sounds. A huge High-Lift Macho Pickup thunders by with its big truck dual exhaust stacks. It is Manly. The paisley along the sides looked thimply fabulouth with the driver's cowboy hat. BOOM! goes another blast. Whatever we were thinking has been blown up too. pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-tattattattattat beeeeeerrrrrm whiiiiiiiir bam! That is the soundtrack of this old mining town celebrating our Nation's Independence, a re-enactment of war with hotdogs and parades. While Mitch and I are trying to torque down intake manifolds and get balance pipes through BAM! front tins and align the misfitting rear tin and pop pop pop pop pop pop get the front tin over the engine stand's invasive supports, there is now a screaming siren parade whheeeeeoooooo whheeeeeooooooo whheeeeeeeeoooooo blare blare blare blare firetruck flatulence, the firemen are going nuts somewhere like a bunch of kids, "Mitch, do you have wire and terminals?" whheeeeeoooooo whheeeeeooooooo whheeeeeeeeoooooo blare blare blare blare "What?" "Mitch, we need a separate circuit for the cut-offs,"whheeeeeoooooo whheeeeeooooooo whheeeeeeeeoooooo blare blare blare blare "What?"
The cacophony of revelling is a counterpoint to the many many many little fires we are trying to put out as we discover a fuel pump with too big nipples for our 5mm fuel hose and try to engineer a trick mounting of same on the back of the transaxle quite like a monkey riding riding an elephant, did I mention BAM! and rawrrrrr we have new fireworks out there that sound like .... as Mitch would put it, like someone violating a cat. As we install the engine and transaxle with not 1/4" to spare under the apron with the car teetering on a 4X4, the grand finale begins to ramp up, The Mosquitoes Are Here! (and The Nation Celebrates With Explosives) We celebrate with wrenches and a dousing of Deet repellent that makes us smell like a chemical plant's first date. And I declare I will not leave until this Ludwig runs. "Is it really 9:30PM, my mouth tastes like repellent?" And, "is it really 1:15AM we still have to put on the muffler?" And, "is it really 3:15AM? damn it's chilly, but at least it is QUIET NOW." And yep more, "is it really 4:06AM?" I think we started the engine around then. And . . . . . . . . . "is the sky getting light, what is that oil pouring out under the valve cover?" We're not done yet, "wow, it is 5:30AM! Remember to retorque the exhaust nuts."

Here is Mitch misfiring at 5:15AM I think it was a spark plug install after oil pressure cranking:
Image

Here is Colin misfiring at 5:17AM, I was blacking out in little waves:
Image

You all, Melissa was with us through it all. Through it ALL. She even installed the muffler around 3:30AM or so. Thank-you, Melissa. These guys are tougher than nails. If it ain't snowing all over my sorry ass when I visit them, it is Baghdad Bomb Blasts, but it is all about the adventure, isn't it?

Departed Anaconda Montana at 5:30AM to Spokane Washington along a beautiful road, very very very tired:
Image

Good night. Heck. Good morning.
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Runamuck Bus
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by Runamuck Bus » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:29 am

That makes Gibsonville, Memorial Day, Front Beam replacement sound like a vacation!
Endeavor to Persevere.
'72 Weekender

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whc03grady
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Location: Livingston Montana
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by whc03grady » Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:47 am

Amskeptic wrote:No lie. This was the first Itinerant Air-Cooled All-Nighter....Good night. Heck. Good morning.
Stumbling for a way to express the character of the day (and a half) on our blog, I read this and realized it can't be said better. With your permission, Colin, I'm going to put your post above as is on our blog, with no editorial changes and proper credit given.

What a day (and a half).
Ludwig--1974 Westfalia, 2.0L (GD035193), Solex 34PDSIT-2/3 carburetors.
Gertie--1971 Squareback, 1600cc with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection from a '72 (E brain).
Read about their adventures:
http://www.ludwigandgertie.blogspot.com

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Amskeptic
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:58 am

whc03grady wrote:
Amskeptic wrote:No lie. This was the first Itinerant Air-Cooled All-Nighter....Good night. Heck. Good morning.
Stumbling for a way to express the character of the day (and a half) for our blog, I read this and realized it can't be said better. With your permission, Colin, I'm going to put your post above as is on our blog, with no editorial changes and proper credit given.

What a day (and a half).
Feel free. I do. I had a real night's sleep.
Colin
[meanwhile, the cops are getting into it here at Motel 6.
"Truck? I don't know anything about no truck."
(unintelligible cop radio talk)
"Hey Randy? Tell Loretta I am being arrested for some stupid truck .... no! I don't know!"
"OK, you're dressed let's go."
"This is stupid!"
etc]
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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THall
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by THall » Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:01 am

Amskeptic wrote:No lie. This was the first Itinerant Air-Cooled All-Nighter....Good night. Heck. Good morning.

Wow, and I thought we were pushing it during my visit in Wisconsin when Colin didn't head down the road until 12:30am. I am quite tardy on the re-cap, but I will get one up.

-Tim
'78 Westy 2.0 FI

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airkooledchris
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by airkooledchris » Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:55 am

is it just me or has half of the pictures from the visits this year included motors pulled from the vehicles?

im starting to feel a little guilty that ill be doing the same.

you really can't get every possible nut/bolt/scenario prepared for ahead of time, and only hope that some of these uninstall/reinstalls are going on without a hiccup worth mentioning.

engine work + fireworks + my ADD would have proven much more useless. glad to hear it all sorted out in the end.....
1979 California Transporter

Lanval
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Re: Colin stops in Anaconda Montana

Post by Lanval » Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:07 pm

Oh, don't feel too bad for him. The way I'm going right now, by the time he gets to Irvine, we'll probably just sit and have coffee, talking about the finer points of VW production and engineering.

Mike

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