Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jun 09, 2014 8:06 am

On the way to New Mexico from Oklahoma, with a very clean interior I might add, I passed through Texas. Visited the result of what must have been a very odd collision:

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What? did this truck hit? It was a "soft" hit that did not affect the frame rails in the slightest, but it cleaned the hood, the radiator, the cam cover right off the engine, smacked the cab hard enough to cave it in, both doors were buckled, yet the windshield managed to hold itself together. Must have been a major scare for the driver:

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It took barely four hours to cross Texas. I forgot how short of a traverse it is up on Interstate 40 at the top of the state. Passed right by the Big Texan restaurant that promises you a "free 72 ounce steak!" where's the fine print? oh, here it is, "if you finish it within an hour." (a 125 lb mother of four, Molly Shuyler, just broke the record by finishing it off in 4:58 . . . then had another one that she finished off in 9 minutes)

So what do you do when you are a day or two ahead of schedule? I checked my clutch and accelerator cables. You might remember the surprise of finding Chloe's smooth quiet clutch action hiding a clevis pin that was almost bisected, and a cable end whose hole was egg shaped. Imagine then my surprise at this one now almost at the same mileage as Chloe's:

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See the little VW logo stamped on the clutch cable end? So why was there such a difference between the original BobD and the aftermarket Chloe? Well, it is clear that the aftermarket clutch clevis pin is softer metal, but the other interesting detail is how the pin is allowed to rotate on the original. That means it gets to play "single roller bearing" inside the clutch cable end and the pedal actuating lever. You know that I am an inveterate double-clutching addict, yet these parts are almost un-worn. What's it like living in a modern world that can do better in such small ways, but decides not to?

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Here was almost-my-campsite, a railroad access road outside of Tucumcari

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The sunset was gorgeous blah blah blah:
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I got all bucket-bathed, everything put away, took out my on-loan-from-Cindy Peace Like A River by Leif Enger. I was deep in the story set in a Minnesota winter, when this sucker came through at 60 mph . . . brakes screeching as it slowed for Tucumcari:

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It heralded the arrival of a swarm of mosquitoes that drove me onto the Interstate for another hour of driving. I finally camped under the canopy at a ruin of a burned out Stuckeys/Shell station, where I fell asleep to the sounds of gonging sheets of flapping galvanized roof. Life on the road.
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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Westy78
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by Westy78 » Mon Jun 09, 2014 8:27 am

Amskeptic wrote:

What? did this truck hit? It was a "soft" hit that did not affect the frame rails in the slightest, but it cleaned the hood, the radiator, the cam cover right off the engine, smacked the cab hard enough to cave it in, both doors were buckled, yet the windshield managed to hold itself together. Must have been a major scare for the driver:

Image

My guess would be a rear end collision with a flatbed trailer. If so, the driver was lucky to be in a big rig and not a decapitating passenger car. :pale:
Chorizo, it's what's for breakfast.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by asiab3 » Mon Jun 09, 2014 11:03 am

New parts make inspection of this a routine maintenance item. It pretty much gets done whenever I grease the front beam on schedule.

But this. This is so beautiful.

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1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by Jivermo » Mon Jun 09, 2014 11:58 am

Nice pic, that of Chloe and that Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe mainliner...

Do you hear that whistle down the line?
I figure that it's Type 2 with an 009...
She's the only one that'll sound that way
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
Couldn't get SVDA, had to go with that,
So running up the hill, I'm a little flat.

See the ol' smoke risin' 'round the bend
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend,
Either that, or the gol-dang ethanol blend
Folks around these parts get the time of day
When Colin breezes through on the Itinerant Way.

Back in ol' Virginie, where I come from
I've done a lot of dreamin' and I've traveled some
But I never thought, I'd see the day
When I ever took a ride In a Westy Bay
(Wanna take a ride on the Santa Fe?)

I would lean across Chloe's window sill
And hear the whistle echoin' across the hill
Then I'd watch the taillights till they'd fade away
Of the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
Sucked a plastic bag on the good BobD
So Chloe's on the road, doing double du-ty...

What a thrill
(What a great big wonderful thrill)
With the wheels a-singin' 'Westward ho'
(With the wheels a-singin' hum, ho)
With the AFM cog jigged a little mo'

Right from the day I heard them start
(I heard the wheels a-singin')
(I heard the valves a-pinging)
'Cross the Kansas plains through New Mexico
(Across the plains, hum, ho)
I guess I've got a little gypsy in my heart
When that air cooled engine starts to huff and fart

When I'm old and gray and settled down
If I ever get a chance to sneak away from town
Then I'll spend my busman's holiday
Workin' on The Book, keepin' the rust at bay, and
Tryin' to catch the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

Image
Colin, steppin' out...

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by weisswurst » Mon Jun 09, 2014 2:19 pm

Amskeptic wrote: Passed right by the Big Texan restaurant that promises you a "free 72 ounce steak!" where's the fine print? oh, here it is, "if you finish it within an hour." (a 125 lb mother of four, Molly Shuyler, just broke the record by finishing it off in 4:58 . . . then had another one that she finished off in 9 minutes)
My wife and I stopped and ate there on our way to be married in Vegas! We went from FL to NV and back in an RV and spend our honeymoon hiking and tent camping at phantom ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
In case you are wondering I did NOT finish the steak and all the sides (required) but have always wanted a re-match!
jeff
"I drink, therefore yes ma'am..."

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:21 am

weisswurst wrote:
Amskeptic wrote: Passed right by the Big Texan restaurant that promises you a "free 72 ounce steak!" where's the fine print? oh, here it is, "if you finish it within an hour." (a 125 lb mother of four, Molly Shuyler, just broke the record by finishing it off in 4:58 . . . then had another one that she finished off in 9 minutes)
My wife and I stopped and ate there on our way to be married in Vegas! We went from FL to NV and back in an RV and spend our honeymoon hiking and tent camping at phantom ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
In case you are wondering I did NOT finish the steak and all the sides (required) but have always wanted a re-match!
jeff
You got married in Las Vegas? Shotgun? Escape From The In-Laws? Tell me in Las Vegas.

I am unsettled by the video of Molly Shuyler chowing down. It is grotesque. But she did two of them one after the other, 9 pounds of meat inside a 125 pound body. Our engineering is amazing, but look at how we abuse it . . .
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by hambone » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:01 am

WOW that is some song!
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by weisswurst » Wed Jun 11, 2014 6:34 am

Amskeptic wrote:
weisswurst wrote:My wife and I stopped and ate there on our way to be married in Vegas! We went from FL to NV and back in an RV and spend our honeymoon hiking and tent camping at phantom ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
In case you are wondering I did NOT finish the steak and all the sides (required) but have always wanted a re-match!
jeff
You got married in Las Vegas? Shotgun? Escape From The In-Laws? Tell me in Las Vegas.


we being entertainers ourselves decided we didn't want one of those traditional money extracting receptions that we have both
worked SOOO many of over the years and decided to put the price of one of those down on a new RV and just run off and go get married by Elvis at the Viva Las Vegas wedding Chapel. That is a whole other story by itself! :geek:
It was awesome and we still joke about that purchase and tell people when the are in our RV that they are "sitting in our wedding reception"!
Nothing like a 2 week cross-county drive with your honey! :thumbleft: We did some route 66 on that trip too BTW!
jeff
"I drink, therefore yes ma'am..."

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:47 pm

weisswurst wrote: we decided we didn't want one of those traditional money extracting receptions that we have both
worked SOOO many of over the years and decided to put the price of one of those down on a new RV and just run off and go get married by Elvis at the Viva Las Vegas wedding Chapel.
It was awesome and we still joke about that purchase and tell people when the are in our RV that they are "sitting in our wedding reception"!
Excellent priorities. Your wife, she has spirit.
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:51 pm

hambone wrote:WOW that is some song!
It really is.

I got a little lost on which bus was what, Chloe or BobD, but heck, they both have traversed epic vistas.
Me? I'm just a homebody:

Image
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Lolling In New Mexico I

Post by Jivermo » Thu Jun 12, 2014 2:25 am

With all due respects to Johnny Mercer and Judy Garland, from the 1946 film; The Harvey Girls. Seemed ripe for bus amendments...

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