MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

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Amskeptic
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MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:06 am

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
Jun 20 Done! lilpig88 .............................. Orange City IA


Damn good and tired after llarosa16 ii, I hauled my aching carcass with the damaged fingernail quicks to the miz for some spritzes of brake cleaner and carb spray to sooth them. The miz has a write-up on our visit, so I will just briefly share with you that the Vanagon self-adjusting brakes are an elegant system, but the new shoes come with cheepcheep tinny self-adjusting levers that must be handled carefully as you fight the original springs as you fight the shoes over the wheel hub as you fight the emergency brake cross bar into position. The miz is a too fine a gentleman to drag you all through the swearing and slipping and cussing and contortions we endured getting the assemblies back together. It was a timely job:

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The original shoes were just just beginning to arrive at metal-on-metal. We honed the right rear wheel cylinder and did a local bleed as we re-assembled with new shoes. (check for leaks!) Did I mention I was going to Iowa? Then we disassembled the left side and replaced its shoes with far less swearing because now we were pros:

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I hope the engine install and camping trip all come together for you. I think I left at about 2:30PM to go to grifftenstein's house to get the newly installed dual carburetors tuned and find out why the right carb was playing backfirishly dead. Did I mention I had to get to Iowa? So I got to grifftenstein's house and crawled over the spare 1700 engine at the back door of the garage and tried to get the garage door to open with the wall-mounted switch. No. Finally disengaged the automatic door opener and manually shoved it up.
Swapped the electromagnetic cut-offs to see if the problem would follow the cut-off. Nope. Then grifftenstein came home, apparently still alive after his night trip to the doctor the other day. The dead right carb problem was inside the carburetor. Took off the carburetor. Tore it down. Hey, I have to get to Iowa. Spritzed it with carb spray to help keep my fingernail quicks inflamed with raging pain. Re-assembled and the engine actually smoothed out and ran on both carbs.
"You'll like these carbs" I offered as we surveyed the new engine compartment layout:

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We went on a test drive.
"Do you like these carbs?"
" I like these carbs."

Image


Then I went to Iowa. There was a storm brewing. Said there'd be hail and wind and thunderstorms. With my late late departure from the greater Minneapolis metropolitan area, I was due to get slammed right smack dab at the Iowa border. I could see clouds building to my right and I thought I might outrun the impending storm (Chloe: out-walk it). :

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But noooooooo, MN 60 had to hit me with a detour, a big feignt east that did not allow me to get south in time:

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Now I had flashes of lightning to my left and my right and it was beautiful but I was tired, so tired, and where is Iowa, anyway? Did I mention lilpig88 was my Iowa call? Here are the message headers for #1,2,3:

Re: quick update: no baby yet...all signs go (at this point)

Stopped at a McDonalds for another coffee refill to read the latest message header:

Re: quick update: no baby yet...all signs go (at this point)

Then the storm howled in with wind gusts and sheets of rain. An old lady walks to my table, and peers out at the storm. She launches into a stream of consciousness about her daughter and son and weather and visits and her car and Rainstorms She Has Weathered.
"Is that a computer?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how to use it and all?"
"No. Not really."

Drove out into the storm on my way to Orange City Iowa at 11:00PM. Chloe just saunters with little skips and dances through the howling and almost constant flashes of lightning. I like lightning. It lets me look for approaching tornado funnels that must surely be lurking in this infernal maelstrom. Arrived at the exit to Orange City and camped off the highway along a corn field. A couple of good thunderbolts blasted my sorely needed sleep. Awoke at 7:00AM, no more storm. Step out into the mud and get ready to shave, I can SHAVE can't I? No, said the pop-up rain shower. Demoralized and cranky, I drive to Orange City up from the highway. Sun came out at the car wash, damn right I went to car wash, don't want anyone to see this wretched display of entomological carnage all over my poor Volkswagen. Shaved at the car wash, too, 9:00AM, better get moving. Drove to lilpig88's house. All is quiet. Fired up the laptop in his driveway. Checked my PMs:
Re: quick update: a baby came already...
Sent: Sat Jun 20, 2015 10:03 am
From: Amskeptic
To: lilpig88

lilpig88 wrote:
So we had our baby earlier this morning.
Not sure if you're around (or every were), but call if you are. I might be able to at least say hello for a bit.

Andrew


Congratulations!
I am sitting in your driveway. Green house. Looking at the bicycles that need baby seats. Flowers on the patio table.
I knew right away . . . :flower:

Please feel free to attend to your new mother and family member, it is a big day.
I will be heading to South Dakota.
Share a coffee at the hospital? Where at?
Colin

Here is the proud new dad at Hour Two:

Image


I'll tell you about the hail storm that smacked up Chloe pretty good in Spearfish before installing the engine for mpls-ham yesterday . . . but I have to get to Montana NOW.
Colin :blackeye:
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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the miz
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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by the miz » Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:15 am

Amskeptic wrote: Themiz is a too fine a gentleman to drag you all through the swearing and slipping and cussing and contortions we endured getting the assemblies back together. It was a timely job:

I hope the engine install and camping trip all come together for you.
Thanks again, Colin...as to contortions, I could barely walk Saturday and Sunday! I'll continue to update the engine install thread I have going, hopefully it ends in us leaving for our trip at the end of the week...and also hopefully with an epilogue of us making it back...

miz
1982 Westy- Vana White

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wcfvw69
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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by wcfvw69 » Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:58 am

I have to be honest Colin, I shudder when I think of Chloe getting in a fight with a big thunderstorm that includes baseball size hail! OMG, that would be horrific!
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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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by andrewtf » Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:55 am

Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa
wcfvw69 wrote: I have to be honest Colin, I shudder when I think of Chloe getting in a fight with a big thunderstorm that includes baseball size hail! OMG, that would be horrific!
That's exactly how I felt on June 7 whilst I watched Chloe drive head long into an oncoming tornado warning.

"Are you Sure you don't want to spend the night?"

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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:11 pm

After lilpig88 had to take care of some family matters, I drove to Spearfish SD and was pretty wiped out from the night before's late night stormy drive. Zonked in a WalMart parking lot over near the edge where there were no electric lights. I think it was 11:45PM when I sank down into my little cocoon. I think it was 12:15AM when the car shook violently and a hellacious clattering with a couple of very singular big whaps began to blanket the car.

You have not seen an old man tear into the driver's seat whilst simultaneously starting the engine and shifting into 1st and gunning the engine the instant the cylinders fired then ripping through the parked trucks wildly looking for cover, cover, spied a little shed roof over these emergency exit doors, hit reverse and backed up against the doors, windshield just barely under the protection while the front bumper took a few strikes:

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The next morning I saw just how narrow that little doorway was to back into during a windy hailstorm still groggy from sleep.

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It will not be worth it for this car to get battered by hail. I have to keep a close eye on weather reports. Don't know about you, but I definitely sense that the weather is getting more extreme overall.
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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wcfvw69
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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by wcfvw69 » Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:26 pm

Chloe is lucky to have you Colin. Nice work in finding that shelter!
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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dingo
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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by dingo » Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:28 pm

Keith said he wrote 'Gimme Shelter' while watching an impending storm barge in on London.
'71 Kombi, 1600 dp

';78 Tranzporter 2L

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

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lilpig88
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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by lilpig88 » Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:44 am

I'm not sure who was more exhausted that morning Colin pulled into town...he off of his (I didn't realize it at the time) harrowing, stormy and perilous journey south and me after a night of no sleep and adrenaline. But it was a pleasure to at least get to meet Colin.

After missing the loop last summer I was determined to get an itinerant day this summer. What are the chances that our baby will be born on the same day I schedule a visit? Slim I thought. Our first messages about setting up an appointment mentioned this possibility and contingency plans IF it were to happen, but the Colin date seemed far enough off of the baby's due date that "there shouldn't be any issue...more than likely." Or so I thought.

The due date passed and I started to think about odds leaving my favor. Even my wonderful wife was excited for Colin to be around for the day...what are the chances, right?
The appointment was scheduled for Saturday and the weather was to be fantastic! Thursday all was well. Friday all was well. Friday at midnight things started happening. "maybe it's just false labor" my wife said in hopes i could still get my Saturday with Colin...I had a hunch she was wrong. As extreme excitement set in so did a bit of disappointment (although not nearly as extreme) at the realization that June 20 had been double booked.

I hadn't yet figured out how to install a car seat in the bus, so we took the jetta to the hospital. A few hours later we had a baby! Between the time Colin had checked his PMs Friday night and again Saturday morning, my wife had gone into labor and had our baby. I felt bad that I couldn't contact Colin in time and he had to drive to our little town only to find an empty driveway and no one home. Thankfully my wife encouraged me to leave the hospital and meet Colin for a bit (again, she's amazing). I'm glad I did.

Although it was merely an hour of time, the conversation with Colin was fantastic. It ran the gamut from babies (of course) to fatherless politicians to foreign trade to poor quality parts to oil pressure to rust control and on and on. My mind was running as we did a quick look around of my bus and then toured Chloe. What a beautiful machine.

I always look forward to everyone's write ups and debriefing of their Colin visit and I was excited to contribute my own (next year). While I don't have many photos to post or items we fixed, I'm happy to say that meeting Colin for a short bit was encouraging and enlightening. I've already addressed many of the small items on my Itinerant-visit list and have added new items at Colin's recommendation.

The little piglet is doing well and she loves long bus rides already!
I think she's excited to meet the Itinerant himself next year.

Image

Andrew
readyfornextyear

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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by Jivermo » Sun Jul 05, 2015 4:01 pm

She is adorable.
Congrats.

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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by jcbrock » Sun Jul 05, 2015 4:05 pm

Coleen? No, that would be going too far. Crazy the things that happen, but this at least is a very happy one. Congratulations, dad!
'76 Type II Station Wagon - in the family since new!
Corvallis, OR

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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:43 am

lilpig88 wrote:
Image

Andrew
readyfornextyear

This photograph just made my day.
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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wcfvw69
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Re: MN 4 The Travel Day To Iowa

Post by wcfvw69 » Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:49 pm

Adorable baby! Congrats!
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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