The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

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Amskeptic
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The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:13 am

Columbia Gorge on the way to Walla Walla.
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Views like these inspires some ancient recognition out of my cells:

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This is the Ochoco (?) Valley east of John Day:

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This is a 1970 VW Bus:

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Leaving Bend OR:

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Outside of Sisters OR

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Long day's travel from Walla Walla to Medford . . . :

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Oregon is a fiercely beautiful state:

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This little old brown cow just did it . . . once I understood that you Cannot Push The Cow:

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Next morning, I spied a little weigh station:

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How much does my little pig weigh?

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Front axle, with your portly chauffeur duly included?

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Therefore, rear axle:

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So, I didn't tell you about my little temper tantrum. Since I have owned the car, the driver's window has occasionally shrieked with the sound of wire gouging the glass as you roll the window either up or down.
Now, I fixed the end of the retainer wire that holds the inner scraper, but a new scrape/scratch developed right in the middle of the glass. Many times, I have had to press the retainer back into the little rectangular slot in the door sill, but days later, it would pop out. WTF? So, one day, I had had enough and removed the inner scraper and the retainer springy thing, and I bent each little tent to make it behave. Well the center one mentioned above would not stay in place, still! after my tender ministrations! So, I got tough on it and prised that little bastard into the door with a wood chisel. Bent the door sill and suddenly, the window would not move. My temper tantrum trying to find spiffy's house had yielded a dead engine, now this one yielded a non-operational window. Chloe does not brook little temper tantrums!

Tore the window regulator out near Cottage Grove:

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. . . and looky here!

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This window regulator was bent by some long-ago installer who did not know about the need to scoot the vent window frame bracket to get the regulator in place. The bent regulator was why the inner scraper would not clip into place correctly, it was blocking the hole right there along the center of the scraper.
Straightened the door sill and the regulator nicely, lubricated it, assembled the door, and now the window just glides and the scraper retainer stays in place. Even punched a few holes in the vapor barrier to get rid of a wind whistle (holes are above water entry):

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Got passed by a bug down in Ashland.

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I have a whole California epistle waiting. Was this too many photographs for one post?
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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lilpig88
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by lilpig88 » Thu Jul 16, 2015 2:23 pm

Too many photos?
no way...they were fantastic...
...ly beautiful

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Bleyseng
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by Bleyseng » Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:57 pm

Nope, as I am headed to Ashland with my Westy in August and love the scenery along the way. Got a friend there to go camping in his secret spots.
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: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by wcfvw69 » Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:15 pm

Nice pics Colin. Glad you got ur window resolved as well.
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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asiab3
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by asiab3 » Fri Jul 17, 2015 2:32 pm

I get my parents pictures from Mt. Hood last week, then this?? It's just not fair!! :bom:

No such thing as too many pictures. That is, as long as whatever wifi network you're on can handle the upload... :cherry:

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

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Amskeptic
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:07 pm

asiab3 wrote:I get my parents pictures from Mt. Hood last week, then this?? It's just not fair!! :bom:

No such thing as too many pictures. That is, as long as whatever wifi network you're on can handle the upload... :cherry:

Robbie

Robbie, how do you get your wheels balanced down there?

I am in the middle of a FUBAR after getting new tires installed.
Les Shwab said, "we can balance those wide-fives, no problemo."
Only after they dismounted my perfectly stable round high mileage Maxxis tires, did it become very apparent that no, they could not get the wheels to pilot with their stupid cone. Car wobbled and tramped at 50 mph, bad enough, but the brake pedal is dancing up and down too. My beautiful cross-country perfect balance and smooth brake pedal is history.
"Your wheels are bent."
"Yes, and the tires wore down smoothly with no symptoms."
. . .

Went to another place. "yeah, we have the finger plate."
"But it only has four of the five studs."
"Oh, it is in the back, we'll get it."
I discovered them balancing the wheels with only four of the five studs.
Car is wobbling and tramping. Brake pedal is thumping.

I have another appointment tomorrow morning eating into an income-generating itinerary call.
Ayeeeeeeeeeeeee.
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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hambone
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by hambone » Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:22 pm

Try another Shwab, they did my bus no problema.
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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dingo
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by dingo » Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:07 pm

3800 lbs ! damn. 1584 cc deserves so much respect for pushing that load over hill and dale....
'71 Kombi, 1600 dp

';78 Tranzporter 2L

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

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Amskeptic
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:10 pm

dingo wrote:3800 lbs ! damn. 1584 cc deserves so much respect for pushing that load over hill and dale....
I respect it, plead with it, thank it, attend to its every need with a little guilt thrown in. Do I need *all* of these tools? My free weights have not been exercised half enough, but the engine lifts them every day.

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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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asiab3
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by asiab3 » Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:28 pm

Amskeptic wrote: Robbie, how do you get your wheels balanced down there?
Discount Tire Oceanside, (near your San Marcos call, actually,) has this mandrill that looks like a simplified brake drum. It fits the wide-five pattern exactly, then mounts on the standard 21st century concentric-center rim balancer machine. They offered me the standard "static" with the weights only on the inside or the "dynamic" with weights exactly where they're needed, giving smoother running. I went for the latter in hopes of extending the life of my wheel bearings and spindles. The weights are ugly as sin, but I feel no difference. These Hankooks have 48,000 miles on them, plenty of tread left, but the valve stems started cracking so I had them balanced during stem replacement.

When I asked the store manager about the wide-five adapter, he said that he manages four stores or so, and that device happened to be at the right store at the right day. (It might not have hurt that I had an appointment for a '69 bus, but I can't honestly say they planned it…)

If you would like to do your own static balancing, there is a garage here that rents out lifts and balancing machines for $15 an hour-ish, but it's "bring your own everything" and the safety video is excruciating. Plus, they have to drive your car onto the lift, to which I promptly took my keys and said "thanks anyway." That's usually my response when I ask "how do you get this bus in reverse" and they tell me it's to the right and up…… :pale:

My mom's bug actually has a bent rim, and the first time Discount Tire balanced the tires without catching it, then added WAY too many weights and it drove terribly. When I took it back, they looked more carefully and actually showed me the bent rim. I didn't feel it on the first test drive, because 21-year-old tires will conform to pretty much anything…

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

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wcfvw69
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by wcfvw69 » Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:41 pm

My local Discount tire also has a cone for the wide 5 tires as well. It may be worth stopping by one or calling one to check. I'd hope they put the bent rim in the back after installing new tires? A bent front wheel on the front will cause all kinds of dynamic nightmares obviously.

On the front wheels you have up and down balance (static) and side to side balance (dynamic) since the wheel turns. You really need to have the wheel weights on the outside as wheel to balance out all the dynamic.

Out of HS, I use to work at a frame/alignment shop. We balanced all tires on the vehicle. We also "trued" the tires as well. The machine would cut off the high spots of the rubber. I remember super beetles, 240, 260Z's where super sensitive to the dreaded shimmy. Our shop was well known for correcting these problems when the newish tire balancers came out.

Colin, I have a snap-on tire spinner at my house. We can check your tires during my appointment. It spins the tires/rims that are mounted on the bus up to 60-70mph to balance them. I balanced my front tires when I bought my 70' bus. It had no wheel weights on it and shimmed. After balancing them, it's smooth as glass.
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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asiab3
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by asiab3 » Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:37 am

Bill, what kind of wide-five adapter do you have?
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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wcfvw69
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by wcfvw69 » Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:02 pm

asiab3 wrote:Bill, what kind of wide-five adapter do you have?
Hey Robbie,

I don't have any adapters. I simply jack up the front of the bus to where the front tires are off the ground. The snap-on machine is basically an electric motor with a hub on it. I push the hub against the tire and it spins it up to speed. Depending on how bad the vibration is, I choose how much wheel weight to try. You basically move the wheel weight around every 45 degrees until you get it close. You then move it side to side until you are on the money. Then, you add or subtract weight until all the vibration is gone. Sometimes on the front wheels it likes the weight inside. Sometimes it likes it on the outside for the dynamic purposes. Once you get the static balanced, you spin it up and while its spinning, you go to the other front tire and slightly turn the wheel from side to side, trying to feel any dynamic out of balance.

It wasn't unusual on a front super beetle tire (tall and skinny) to balance the static first then have to balance out the dynamic to insure you had no 45mph shimmy. What I'd do is (depending on how bad the dynamic shimmy was) is hammer say a .75 ounce weight on the outside and then the same weight on the inside 180* away. You'd move them both around until you killed the dynamic vibration. You'd go up and down with the weight as well as fine tuning the position, left or right a few inches.

I know this sounds terribly labor intensive, but with experience, you could balance a front tire in less than 10 minutes. The back tires are easy. Only 5 minutes per side.

Sorry if I was windy. In case others where curious about how people balanced tires on the car.
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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Randy in Maine
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Re: The East Oregon Loop In Pictures

Post by Randy in Maine » Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:57 pm

Back in Utah when I used to drive splitties in the 70's, I had a gizmo sort of like this that I had to take to most tire shops for tire balancing....I bought it from a tire dealer back then for about $10 I think.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... id=1476281
79 VW Bus

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