Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis 1

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis 1

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:23 pm

Jun 13/14 Done! llarosa16 ........................ Farmington MN
Jun 16 Done! Belle Plaine .......................... Belle Plaine MN
Jun 17 Done! grifftenstein .......................... Saint Peter MN
Jun 18 Done! llarosa16 ii ............................. Farmington MN
Jun 19a Done! the miz .......................................... Eagan MN
Jun 19b Done! grifftenstein ii ..................... Saint Peter, MN

If you look at the schedule, I have made a lot of stops in a lot of states this June. Somewhere, I lubricated the front suspension and cleaned the brake dust off the front wheels in a cemetery. I wondered if people visiting their dearly departed would take offense. Didn't have long to wonder. At maximum Can't Move, Mr. Chevy Pick-up and his wife showed up on the driveway. "Do you think my working here would offend anyone?" "Naw." Well, there you go.

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This pedestrian-looking shot of the countryside was actually pretty. The little widdle bright green stripe back there was a most beautiful luminescence. This is the great adjacent countryside of the Great Lakes, pastoral magnificence through four states:

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Had to go to Minnesota, so I took a road that followed the upper Mississippi. It is a gorgeous river up here in the Wisconsin Minnesota latitudes, with islands sprinkled through it, and little mountains in the distance, I love it, loved the sunny day, too:

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Some of you may remember that I am actually a multi-millionaire who dresses casually . . . .

viewtopic.php?t=2910#p42960

Stopped by my town. I can't remember why they named it after me, hell, I couldn't even remember what state it is in. Couldn't find the mayor to give me the keys to the town.

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Camped in a Farmington MN church parking lot. I figured a church wouldn't give me a problem. The impending appointment looked to be challenging, with a shop's repair of llarosa16's 1971 Campmobile wiring not working too well. I arrived in the rain. The bus was parked outside of the garage. "It is dead," she said. I thought to myself, "let's make it undead enough to get it out of the rain and into the garage." I pulled out a couple of lengths of wires from my toolbox and set to work under the dash to make the coil live and juice the starter via the red/black wire nearby. Her younger daughter and friend were looking on as I got the bus started under the dashboard and drove it into the garage. When her daughter's friend's mother came by to pick up her friend, I called after her, "remember the lesson on how to hot-wire any car you want."

The first part of the day was to go through the tune-up procedures. I had a willing and able pupil. Good thing, too. Pupil and professor would be exercised but good before this visit wrapped up . . .
In the rainy day darkness of the garage, we had a mess of green wires and splices and toggles to actuate the turn indicators. Since the fusebox is crammed up under the windshield on the driver's side on the 1971 bus, next to the windshield wiper linkage, it is a total impossibility to track wires. I made it more accessible with these easy steps:

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Whilst I tore into the dash, she tore into the brakes. She replaced the left emergency brake cable all by herself. A newbie, a novice, she just did it and it was done. The right cable was intact but did not work at all. We discovered that the cross bar was missing. Entirely.

Lisa turned out to have a crackerjack intelligence with serious focus and great organizational skills, sorely appreciated with this re-wiring job. We both knew that we had to lick this thing. I had been relentlessly critical and coldly condescending about the mess of hack wires and idiot hack fixes that she had paid dearly for, and suddenly it dawned on me that I had blabbed my way into a tight little corner. I had to actually fix this thing, and she had talked me up to her spouse and she needed me to deliver. We had to prevail. There was that moment where I had to jump in with no possible return. Ripping out the green wires was not a reversible operation. Once the toggles and green wires were laying on the floor, we tracked the wires through the original turn signal switch and discovered that the problem that had stymied the shop was a broken wire inside the switch itself. Her younger daughter was instrumental in the successful soldering job on the switch in very tight quarters with a soldering gun that would not shut off (we had to cool it by immersing the tip in my coffee every ten seconds) and my knees proving to be a horrible bench vise.

The Trial By Fire Master Electricians Pose For A Selfie:

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With her rapid grasp of the electrical schematics, Lisa was able to guide me through the rat's nest, calling out terminals and wire colors like a pro, and by the end of the afternoon, we had turn indicators, ignition, headlamps that turned on and off with the ignition switch as originally designed, and tail brake lights all working properly:

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Except for that small little issue when we hit the dimmer switch and a little smoke happened. The fuse box was not quite in place and the white wire from the emergency flasher switch just let go and we had a smoked out dimmer relay and melted ignition switch. Oh no. We spent the afternoon tearing out the steering column and ignition housing and trying to resurrect the ignition switch and the dimmer relay. No dice. Plastic melts. Melted plastic changes critical dimensions. But Lisa was an eager learner and enjoyed going into these parts to see how they really worked. I was blanching inside at the incredible number of mental notes I was trying to hold in my mind.

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The neighbors and friends who stopped by were getting a little quizzical at this continuing display of automotive entropy. The end of Day Two and I am driving the car out of the garage with no dash panel, no steering column, heck, no steering wheel, and a dangling fusebox? It was an ignoble sight as I wrestled the wobbly steering wheel haphazardly plopped on the bare steering shaft, then setting it in the aisle between the seats.

The Master Electricians Both came up with Plan B to procure a new dimmer switch and a new ignition switch and a new appointment slot somewhere in the thicket of Minnesota calls . . . and I was off to more challenges.
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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whc03grady
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by whc03grady » Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:46 pm

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

Jivermo
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by Jivermo » Sun Jun 21, 2015 3:30 am

Wonderful, early morning reading. Highway 61 appears to be, up there, one of those old concrete roadbeds with the expansion joints. Loved those when we went on trips as a kid, the "ka-thump, ka-thump" rhythm putting you to sleep in the back seat, as dad drove off into the night.

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hambone
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by hambone » Sun Jun 21, 2015 10:19 am

That kind of wiring is horrible, I dislike it immensely. Just replaced the speedo cluster on bus2, it makes me tense and VERY CAREFUL...but it all works.
http://greencascadia.blogspot.com
http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat

Boxcar
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by Boxcar » Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:02 pm

Masterful neuron stretching.
Grace.
And oh yes,skill.
Kellogg on, oh Itinerant one.
1975 003 Auto Westy L90D

repair!!!!aug2015
Jan/16 Bumped mixture a few notches richer. finally developing HP.


1.8L/LJet/Pertron DVDA+PertronixCompufire 42/36Ham Heads/AA 93mm pistons/barrels.Porsc.Swiv.Adjusters/CromoSteel pushrds/ Web 9550Cam/55cc chmbr.,035 squish,8.6:1CR/German Supply VWCanadaReman Rods/Schadek 26mmPump/vdo dualOP8/10#low sender/Quart Deep Sump
Backdate Htr bxs,reflanged 914 4into1. Two and three eighths inch collector,magniflow*muffler

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jun 21, 2015 5:49 pm

Boxcar wrote:Masterful neuron stretching.
Grace.
And oh yes,skill.
Kellogg on, oh Itinerant one.
I await Lisa's write-up. She was there.
Colinhm,hm,hmm,hmm,hm.
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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Bleyseng
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by Bleyseng » Mon Jun 22, 2015 7:30 am

So why did the white wire short out ?
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

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wcfvw69
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by wcfvw69 » Mon Jun 22, 2015 7:08 pm

Some of the best fun with a new to me used VW, is "correcting" the previous VW owners wizardry! Holy hackery Batman... Some of the things I've found have been epic!

There is nothing more rewarding then getting everything electrical working again that in some cases, hasn't worked in decades.
1970 Westfalia bus. Stock 1776 dual port type 1 engine. Restored German Solex 34-3. Restored 205Q distributor, restored to factory appearance engine.

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hambone
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis 1

Post by hambone » Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:38 am

I have yet to own a VW that doesn't need major "correcting". Where TF is quality? A world of hacks.
http://greencascadia.blogspot.com
http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis 1

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:53 pm

hambone wrote:I have yet to own a VW that doesn't need major "correcting". Where TF is quality? A world of hacks.
The very zen of air-cooled VWs has attracted the more creative sorts who perform "creative" repairs. Now that these cars are climbing in value, I hope to see efforts towards more correct repairs.

These fine German cars deserved more respect than they got, seeing as they were inexpensive when new, people treated them with the same condescension they gave all other "cheap" buys.
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 Minneapolis 1

Post by llarosa16 » Thu Jun 25, 2015 6:08 pm

How can one even begin to contend with that writing? Writing aside, I had one of the most intense times of my life with Colin. Usually, you sign up for something like this to get a "taste" of what it may be like to actually learn to care for your bus, but not with Colin, we were thrust in up to our necks for 3 solid days, give or take a few hours here and there. What an experience.

I'll give my father credit for my being somewhat mechanically inclined or at least he passed the spirit of survival onto me. He made sure I could care for myself one way or another. Thanks Dad! That proved to be a very useful life skill. Colin arrived right on time June 13th and we went inside, had some coffee and sat down to go over the days itinerary and write some notes. After we got organized, we started in on the job of tuning and learning, turning and learning and tweaking and learning some more and this went on for 3 days. I was shown how to adjust my valves, use the timing light, adjust the carb, do something to my breaker points, adjust my brakes, install emergency brakes, lube, lube lube everything and dive into electrical schematics heads first.

The electrical job proved to be the most heartfelt experience and the most painful. The mangled conglomeration of wires that had been bastardized over the past 44 years was incredible and somewhat off putting. I knew however that this was the area that needed the most attention as I felt it was the largest safety concern for me and my family. I was willing to learn what I had to to get it done and get it done right. Had we not had the unfortunate experience of popping a connector and burning out the dimmer relay and the ignition switch, we would have had that job done in about 5 hours but that was not what the universe presented us. What the universe presented us was like being on a roller coaster, climbing uphill to prepare for the exciting ride home and we climbed, we climbed and then the roller coaster broke and hung us upside down for two days. That was when we received all the parts we had expedited to us. I was nervous about getting the correct parts ordered but miraculously they came! However, the dimmer relay that Colin mentioned we had to replace was bad, right from the warehouse in Arizona. Bummer... We made do though, I may not have high beams but I have lights!

I'm really not doing justice to the experience by writing here but what I can tell you is meeting Colin was a gift. Not only is he an excellent mechanic with amazing passion and integrity, he is a fantastic human being and just that simple fact made the whole experience beat my original expectations, so worth it, the bus being fixed was a bonus. =D>

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llarosa16
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by llarosa16 » Thu Jun 25, 2015 6:13 pm

hambone wrote:That kind of wiring is horrible, I dislike it immensely. Just replaced the speedo cluster on bus2, it makes me tense and VERY CAREFUL...but it all works.

I'll second that hambone. Part of my experience was battling my fear around electrical. I'm not a fan really but I did it and I think I can do it some more. I am still waiting for my dimmer relay in which I'll be installing on my own, Colin free. Not really looking forward to it but I think it better than what my Dad was telling me to to test the ignition wire...he mentioned a blue arching spark....um...yeah, no DAD!

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Jun 25, 2015 6:33 pm

llarosa16 wrote:
hambone wrote:That kind of wiring is horrible, I dislike it immensely. Just replaced the speedo cluster on bus2, it makes me tense and VERY CAREFUL...but it all works.

I'll second that hambone. Part of my experience was battling my fear around electrical. I'm not a fan really but I did it and I think I can do it some more. I am still waiting for my dimmer relay in which I'll be installing on my own, Colin free. Not really looking forward to it but I think it better than what my Dad was telling me to to test the ignition wire...he mentioned a blue arching spark....um...yeah, no DAD!
Y'all read the warm up in the Electrical Forum:

http://itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtop ... 232#p2040


If you have any questions about the replacement of the dimmer relay, let me know.
a) remove battery negative cable
b) delicately pull fusebox/relay panel upsadaisy and a little sideways
c) remove that trusty-but-slightly melted original dimmer relay
d) install new dimmer relay
e) delicately insert fusebox/relay panel back in the bracket with the three little protrusions on each side correctly slid down the sides with the bottom of the fuse row correctly indexed along the bottom
f) ensure that the ignition switch and light switch are both "off"
g) conduct an inspection of under dash area for wires all where they're supposed to be
h) replace negative battery cable
i) turn ignition switch to "on" but leave engine off
j) pull light switch out to headlamp position
k) be still your beating heart, tap the turn signal switch upwards and watch high beams and blue indicator lamp, then shut everything off and wipe down the dash with some vinyl cleaner, wash the windows and . . . . . .
l) give family members a surprise hug one at a time (?? "it's from 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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llarosa16
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis i

Post by llarosa16 » Thu Jun 25, 2015 6:46 pm

wcfvw69 wrote:There is nothing more rewarding then getting everything electrical working again that in some cases, hasn't worked in decades.
This is so very true!

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dingo
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Re: Itinerant Air Cooled Minneapolis 1

Post by dingo » Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:40 pm

d)* i discoveredby experience, that if going by feel, the dimmer relay on 71 can fit in two possible ways...one blows fuse#12 , 180deg fit is the correct one

Personally I relish the challenge of rewiring..the more f***ed up the PO spaghetti , the better! (Admittedly, the crunch of limited time schedule doesnt comply with that type of fun)
'71 Kombi, 1600 dp

';78 Tranzporter 2L

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

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