Colin Visits Belle Plaine, Minnesota

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dingo
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Re: Colin Visits Belle Plaine, Minnesota

Post by dingo » Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:55 pm

hambone wrote:Very nice. Colin, do you think all ball joints should have zircs? Did the factory err by leaving them out?
If so, a mini-procedure would be appreciated! :flower:
Oscar Ulysses Zerk


Engineer and inventor, the son of Flora and Bernard Zerk, a textile merchant in the former Austro-Hungarian empire. Zerk's surname is permanently attached to the check-valve lubrication fitting known worldwide as the "Zerk fitting". He arrived in America on June 30, 1924 at age 46 aboard the 'Leviathan'. Long before America discovered the secret of a fresh cup of coffee, Oscar Ulysses Zerk invented a personal coffee bean grinder for his kitchen, but the brilliant Kenoshan thought it so unimportant that he never bothered to apply for a patent. He did, however, patent some 300 other inventions during his 90-year life, a remarkable record. His engineering creativeness asserted itself in a multitude of fields: leg-slimming hosiery, quick-freezing ice cube trays, spatterproof nail brushes, fail-safe brakes for trolley/interurban cars, vibration-free camera tripods, oil well recovery systems, and automotive refrigeration equipment. But Zerk's most important invention -- and the one that earned him the most money -- was the tiny grease fitting, a lubrication system which became the basis for those used on nearly every car, truck, plane and other mechanized vehicle. At the time of his death in 1968, it was estimated that 20 billion of those fittings had been manufactured. He also is credited with designing and patenting stamped metal wheels and wheel covers for autos which, in the 1920s, offered a stylish alternative to wooden artillery wheels and wire wheels. He also devised a type of non-skid vehicular brakes. Zerk was in the worldwide press after a daring robbery at his opulent and art-filled Kenosha mansion 'Dunmovin' on February 4, 1954. Zerk was tied to a chair as the invaders stole an untold number of valuable paintings and escaped with the artworks in Zerk's personal car. The robbery was never solved.
'71 Kombi, 1600 dp

';78 Tranzporter 2L

" Fill what's empty, empty what's full, and scratch where it itches."

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BellePlaine
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Re: Colin Visits Belle Plaine, Minnesota

Post by BellePlaine » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:04 pm

Sylvester wrote:
i need to do this with my Bus. Any procedures written for it?
hambone wrote:Very nice. Colin, do you think all ball joints should have zircs? Did the factory err by leaving them out?
If so, a mini-procedure would be appreciated! :flower:
Here you go.
1975 Riviera we call "Spider-Man"

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Amskeptic
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Re: Colin Visits Belle Plaine, Minnesota

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:01 am

BellePlaine wrote:
MuedeStefan wrote:I also enjoyed riding in the back of Chris's bus with Denny as Colin treated us to a "full braking test" on the quiet streets of Belle Plain...

I wondered if the ensuing bark of tire squeal would cause the passing cop to do a double-take- but he didn't investigate...
I forgot about that! Slamming the brakes around the neighborhood, sure, why not? At least the cops now know that my bus can stop... and now so do I!
Now people . . . we don't say "slamming on the brakes". As I remember it, it was more of a "progressive application of the brakes to impending lock-up" and your left rear brake got a little too enthusiastic, at WHICH TIME I do believe I said, "we don't want to get to get too tough on those black crayon Hankooks."

However, later, in Chloe, ladened with four burly men, when we applied the brakes in a progressive fashion, my Diet Coke did launch into the accelerator pedal. That was, as I recall as well, "a good time to mop the floor" as Denjohn handed up some paper towels on MN 25 northbound up the hill in the golden evening light to where we gave the wheel over to Stefan.
Hmmph,
Colin
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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MuedeStefan
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Re: Colin Visits Belle Plaine, Minnesota

Post by MuedeStefan » Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:44 am

All test drives were calm and cerebral without a hint of hooliganism or bravado , we should be clear !

We musn't give our friend Colin a bad reputation

That said I thought the looks the locked up rear wheel brought were almost as fun as the the parts store innuendo bit with the unflappable counter woman.

BTW - Colin I will laud your calm response to the flying Cola. I woulda thrown or keyed something ;)

And Chloe is a fine driving machine to be sure nice bus, thanks again.

Best,

Muede Stefan

Post Script:
What did you guys adjust on the road in the red bus involving pumping the brakes?
Morgen Morgen, nicht immer Heute

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Amskeptic
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Re: Colin Visits Belle Plaine, Minnesota

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:10 pm

MuedeStefan wrote: What did you guys adjust on the road in the red bus involving pumping the brakes?
Checking the mixture.
With power-assist brakes, you can add air to the engine which:
speeds up - too rich
drops down - too lean
breaks up a bit and recovers - just right.
Colin
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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