Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

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Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Feb 13, 2017 7:27 am

Lotta time-wasting down here in the sunshine and 80's on U.S. 1 in Miami:

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I take dopey tourist photographs when it is sunny and warm in February:

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Visited with VW Treasure after the poptop canvas fiasco to see what harm I could bring to yet another Volkswagen:

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His bus was parked right where it belonged, in the front yard, with projected projects including things like air-conditioning. This visit was all about rebuilding the doors with new scrapers and felts:

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We had one obstacle in a vent window that came apart at one of the aluminum rivets. Drills and battery chargers and bits and awls and little screws saved the day with a nicely self-tapped screw now holding the vent window together. Do not underestimate the perseverence of VW Treasure:

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By sheer force of will, Dory shall come to completion and Dory shall be a fine air-conditioned testament to Chromed Seven Passenger Volkswagen Conveyance.

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The Porsche won't even have a chance to compete . . . :

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Decided to drive across the bottom of Florida to visit with Manaman, my penultimate call of 2016 with the 1982 Vanagon that needed a quickie engine teardown to re-index the cam and crank gears. Now it wasn't running quite too fresh yet, so I drove across the Big Cypress Swamp/Alligator Alley to have a look:

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On the way, I finally fixed that damn license plate bracket on NaranjaWesty. It was riveted crookedly to the engine hatch and it was, of course, completely painted orange like everything else on that poor car. Stopped at the gate to the Miccosukee Reservation "no trespassing!", and drilled those orange rivets out so the orange license plate bracket could clatter free. Razored off the paint, sanded, washed, and set to dry the screws and the bracket.

Two guys in a a little Nissan rice rocket roll down to the gate. They both get out of the car and take off their shirts, wtf?
"Howdy, what are you doing down here?"
"I am painting the license plate bracket. What are you doing here?"
"Well, you have fun painting your bracket."
Then they climbed over the fence and walked down the path into the brush conversing about canals and marshes. I was on Duplicolor Aluminum 1605 coat number two when they returned. I had to gather the bracket/coat hanger and screws off the gate to let them clamber over it.
"Well, I don't know about you but I think your Nissan looks a lot better now with a little silver sparkle."
"What, what do you mean, what did you do, what are you saying?"
The one guy wasn't getting it, the other was laughing at his friend's discomfiture.

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Did the headlamp rings too:

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Re-sprayed the insides of the chrome headlamp bezels with rust-catalyzing primer:

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... and painted up two Bus Depot timing scales with red highlights and several coats of clearcoat so the numbers won't wipe OFF as is their wont. The bargain scale on the left is available for $10.00. The deluxe is now available for $20.00:

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The 1982 Vanagon just needed a little fine-tuning of the timing and mixture and a file attack upon the throttle plate so more air could pass at idle. When I got there, the idle timing was near 30* and the speed screw was way out, yet the idle speed was still inadequate. You may NOT adjust the timing to compensate for an idle issue, now may you? No, of course you mayn't. It is a fine 1982 Vanagon, Manaman.

Gloried in the crickets and the breeze and the magnificent penumbra moonrise eclipse aligned expertly with 94th Avenue in Miami after my second visit with exoticdvm. Did I mention that NaranjaWesty has been running f.l.a.w.l.e.s.s.l.y?

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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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hippiewannabe
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by hippiewannabe » Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:39 pm

Here's a potential PPI gig for you:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... p?t=672678
Hi i found a westy in sarasota florida that I am really interested in but i'm in michigan lol... i plan to have her shipped up to me but would really like someone to go an give me an honest state of her situation running/driving/rust are the main ones! I will pay! thanks!
Truth is like poetry.
And most people fucking hate poetry.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by airkooledchris » Thu Feb 16, 2017 1:03 pm

Usually I prefer late bays without the early bay deluxe trim on them, but that bus is just SO SO nice it works on that one. (esp with the matching chrome bumpers/overriders.)

My timing scale is holding up OK so far, been just a few years now, but this is a good reminder to keep it that way.

Good tip on spraying the inside/back's of the headlight bezels.
1979 California Transporter

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Feb 17, 2017 8:08 am

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Fort Myers, Florida in the February sunshine:

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Ever been spooked? Sitting at a traffic light. Looked over to my right . . . :

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My last afternoon in warm sunny Miami at the Manny Palm Tree Nursery, I painted the breather:

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Somewhere off US-27 heading out of Miami, I pulled off and found a power line trail with plenty of second-hand resources:

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This, for example, is a "boat":

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This is the "engine" to the boat:

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I was more interested in the "house remnants":

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Made some front insulation panels with an R value of 19, or thereabouts (used a sharpie marker to make headlamp bucket cut-outs:

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There. Ready for the icy cold howling winds north of Tampa:

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I drove to Pensacola in the Flawlessly Running NaranjaWesty to visit with Jack The Lawyer, interview for a lodging stint with Rodney The Pilot, and show NaranjaWesty to a prospective purchaser. Temperatures plummeted, plummeted, I tell ya, to 44* at night and barely 65* in the daytime sun. I am currently driving to Atlanta to pick up the computer/monitors/art supplies, and maybe Chloe's engine if it will fit in Naranja, and I shall get back to the drawing board in Pensacola through the end of April.
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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asiab3
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by asiab3 » Fri Feb 17, 2017 9:07 pm

Type 1 engines fit quite nicely in seven-passenger buses. :cyclopsani:

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Good luck with the sale, I hope that whoever purchases NaranjaWesty will enjoy it out on the road and trails all over
Robbie.
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Feb 18, 2017 1:00 pm

Robbie, thanks for that photograph. I might strip down Chloe's engine to a longblock and stick it in right there.
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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asiab3
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by asiab3 » Sun Feb 19, 2017 5:03 pm

Bleyseng wrote:Do one of those fancy type 1 oil filter setups (in Robbie's picture) work on a stock engine with stock muffler, tin etc?? Maybe I should put one on my Ghia
Work? Define.

They filter the oil as well as any full flow setup we've seen. (It's my friend Brian's engine, he drives it all over creation.)

The fit is tricky. It will collide with the pulley tin, so you'll have to grind a cm or two off the thing to prevent the pulley from rubbing. They you'll take a few mm off the top bolts that it come with (gotta loose the stock studs, boooo,) so the whole thing fits underneath. If you have a stock muffler, the flow should be from left to right. If your heat risers flow from right to left, the "low pressure" pipe will occupy the space required by the filter, so you can't use it.

It's tight, but I think it's an elegant idea if all the variables line up.

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Colin, are you going to break in Chloe's new parts on a 22,000 mile drive? And do you have plans to install the original heads? I'm trying to formulate a plan for a replacement 3/4 head for Buddy soon, and I'm curious what the final milage will be on the Yuma Swap Meet heads…

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

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Feb 21, 2017 10:56 am

asiab3 wrote: Colin, are you going to break in Chloe's new parts on a 22,000 mile drive?
And do you have plans to install the original heads?
I'm curious what the final mileage will be on the Yuma Swap Meet heads…
Robbie
I could not no way no how fit the engine into NaranjaWesty, so I am going to Pensacola only with computer/art supplies. Will figure out Chloe engine Case Transplant later.

Yuma used heads are assured of continued use until they tell me that they are tired. This engine work is strictly a case transplant. Pistons and cylinders will be removed as assembled units, crank, rods, cam, lifters, pump, all hardware is being re-used. All I am doing is putting in a new crankcase and bearings.

I have the repaired original-to-Mike's-rebuild heads waiting for the demise of the junkyard Yuma heads (now at 77,000 miles or something). I have never owned/driven an air-cooled Volkswagen with replaced seats. These Mike heads have four new exhaust seats installed by some machinist guy, so they can just stay in the box for now.
Colin


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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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Manaman
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Manaman » Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:03 pm

Thanks Colin Lolo is running great still a little rough on cold start but I know its the cam but it starts and when its warmed up its running great ! Also thanks for the tips when driving, I have been doing them, it makes a world of difference. Safe travels my friend
1982 Vanagon Westfalia Federal Manual FI
1985 Vanagon L WBX
1972 Super Beetle

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Feb 22, 2017 8:46 am

Manaman wrote:Thanks Colin Lolo is running great still a little rough on cold start but I know its the cam but it starts and when its warmed up its running great ! Also thanks for the tips when driving, I have been doing them, it makes a world of difference. Safe travels my friend
Hope to swing by in Septemberish on my way to Miamimaybe.
Colin :flower:
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

Wild Bill
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Wild Bill » Mon Feb 27, 2017 4:19 pm

Colin . You were spied by me today blasting down Fairfield Drive. Call me if you get a chance. 850-982-2455. I'll buy you a beer.
Wild Bill Tucker
Pensacola, Florida
1978 High Top Camper, 2.0L, FI
1969 Squareback,2.0L, T-4

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Florida ii

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Feb 28, 2017 4:54 pm

Wild Bill wrote:
Mon Feb 27, 2017 4:19 pm
Colin . You were spied by me today blasting down Fairfield Drive. Call me if you get a chance. 850-982-2455.
a) I'll buy you a beer.
b) you will refer to me to competent machinist/balancer
c) you will graciously find a host to my crankcase rinsing party
d) you will accept pizza with beer.

I have to go back to Georgia tonight. Stranger and stranger, my life is.
"Ask me about my two-day migraine/vomit party!"
Colin
(all dry heaves, thank the little louse who gave me this wicked flu)
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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