Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

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Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:26 pm

Yeah, Las Vegas! We are just rolling in dough:

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Hell, I papered my new yacht in 100's, they're water-proof, you know. Wait! How would you know?

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Those are gold coins along the top, to reflect the sunlight off, like the Lunar Module. Did I mention I tried to buy that LM but stupid old NASA said I couldn't, "for any price". So I went here instead:

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You better have plenty of firepower to protect your boat when you park it in public. You sure can't boat with your boat . . . Lake Mead is pretty much dried up. So you just go home, after putting the boat in the storage unit. Here's home, "177,899 Paradise Blvd Building Block 489 Unit Y546 4th Floor Apt 227P" just enter the gate code # 177899489546227, park somewhere, and wander through the forest of stucco canyons and die, wondering if you ever might see the mountains ever again:

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Thank God for 22 miles away:

Evening:

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Morning!

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Seriously. Cynical, cheap, crammed, ugly, stacked boxes have proliferated unbelievably since I was last on Blue Diamond Highway. Endless endless boxes o' humans. "What? Beauty? Get outta here.":

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Chatted with the truck driver until he had to take a call, "Detroit Diesel, 903 cid, only 518 hp, but it has 1,850 ft/lbs torque, and it weighes just under 3,000 pounds."
"Oh yeah, pal? I got 67 hp and a hundred AANNDD one ft/lbs of torque, and my engine weighs 283 pounds...":

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As ever it was good to see Scott, sporting his best Buffalo Bills shirt (poor Bills, what a bunch of losers in the front office!!) and giving me a hint of a northeast attitude (very much grounded in reality). We had a day planned, a day of electrical nightmare to sort out:

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Turned out to be simple. The PO (nameless is best) had run a parallel wire the length of the bus, the length of underneath the bus, had hacked OFF the oem ignition wire at the fuse box, had grafted his pigs liver blob of electrical crap to our delicate little Riviera's fuse box, and for good measure, had attempted to install an "auxilliary power supply" to the foam of the dashboard and butchered wires to our critical essential #30 red lifeline to the beating pulse of our poor Riviera.

Here, Scott solders a replacement black wire to the oem wire, and we crimped a good solid brass barbed! female spade connector that clicked into its proper berth at the heater blower relay and ran to the coil.

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We also soldered a black wire from the other end of the oem wire directly to fuse box #12 where it was graced with another brass female spade connector, and guess what? Guess what? The original wire was absolutely FINE. Of course. Then we tested the horn, the oil pressure idiot light (it was the sender), and tracked an oil leak to an ominous gallery plug possibility.
(Then I had to take drugs, there was no escape. Foofache! Fuvvel in Farafife)
Look at this interior:

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Sure did drive nicely. Then I promised his kid that we would be needing his help next year. An eight year won't forget. You are welcome.

Woke up here:

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Must go miss flood warnings. Can you believe it? The rains found me way out here in the desert. YUMA is under water.
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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sped372
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by sped372 » Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:39 pm

Oh, Las Vegas, what a weird place. I've been there twice (once for a tradeshow and once as a gateway to Zion and Bryce) and am not in any hurry to return.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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airkooledchris
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by airkooledchris » Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:57 pm

im not always a fan of non-stock door panels, but those are looking pretty nice.

also, I figure 50% of the time someone says the PO did something, they just mean themselves more than 5 years ago :p


it started raining here yesterday, so the CA coast is out also unfortunately. I slept with the windows wide open, it was lovely.
1979 California Transporter

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:23 pm

airkooledchris wrote:
Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:57 pm
A) im not always a fan of non-stock door panels, but those are looking pretty nice.

B) also, I figure 50% of the time someone says the PO did something, they just mean themselves more than 5 years ago :p


C) it started raining here yesterday, so the CA coast is out also unfortunately. I slept with the windows wide open, it was lovely.

a) I agree, this interior is working for me, and I am not easily impressed.

b) ... I can't guess, but that my customers had the sense to hire someone familiar and competent to bring it back. Most of these run-amok hone-grown electrical engineering disasters I don't think could bring themselves to hire someone to fix their "creativity".

c) and it did not drip but three drops here in Kingman today . . . after all of those flash flood threats. But, I did see the Yuma Fortuna Wash torrent on the news. That wash was exactly across the road from the as-yet unbuilt sub-division where I did the BobD's sliding door write-up.
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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ScottLasVegas
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by ScottLasVegas » Thu Oct 04, 2018 2:09 am

so, this visit came together quickly. I missed out on this year's itinerant lap, so when i noticed that the "walkabout" had meandered to the Phoenix area, I casually asked on a Facebook post if Colin was coming near Vegas. That turned into a couple of PM's on here to see what needed to be addressed, and figuring out if there was a date that worked, This all happened in the span of 2 days or so.

This visit's purpose was to finally evict one of the previous owners from the electrical system. Earlier this year, I had an issue that was burning up ignition switches (5 in total), and it really put a damper on my confidence of hopping in the bus and taking a spin. There was also a bit of a rat's nest going on under the dash, so I just didn't know where to start, plus, electrical just freaks me out, so Colin gave me a crash course in the wiring diagram, and we were on our way.

No Oil Idiot Light
This turned out to be a pretty simple fix in the grand scheme of things. A simple grounding of the wire lit up the dash bulb, so we changed out the switch, and once again I have illumination at startup, and she goes out a second or two later. Peace of Mind.

Non-Op Horn
Since also turned out to be a pretty simple fix. In my continuous break down of steering column to replace ignition switches, the gap is too great to make contact to engage the horn.

Heater Blower Molex
So, this is where the craziness begins. The PO decided to run his own Black Ignition wire and just snip the factory one. He then just crammed everything back into the Molex, and liberally wrapped the whole thing in electrical tape. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. We tasked ourselves to return this back to stock. Many crimps and solders later, The OG wire is in operation, my fan blows strong, and my engine bay and dash situation is much more manageable.

The Leak
I had a pretty sizable oil leak under the bus upon Colin's arrival. Leak is probably an understatement, puddle might be a better descriptor. After removal of tins, and a fair amount of cleanup. We are leaning towards either Main Seal or Gallery Plug. I do have an experiment to run this weekend to attempt to rule out one or the other, so I will post the results. We won't discuss the Oil Strainer, and how in my timidness, had only wrenched it to about 7 ft lbs when performing an oil change the day before.*
*note to self: buy a torque wrench

Points of Pride
I have had the luxury of seeing two of Colin's busses in person, so to have him covet my extremely bright LED instrument lights (Brights & Turn Signal), it felt good. I want everyone to feel good, so here is where I purchased them.

http://auto-hub.com/bay-window/

Homework List
Fix Vacuum Leak
Perform Oil Leak Experiment
Drive and Drive and Drive

As always, I love Colin's visits. I am not a super active VW community guy (although I am working on that a bit), so most of the time its just me and my 7 year old looking at the Bentley, The Samba & IAC for guidance. Every time after and IAC visit, I just feel more confident in ability to work on this bus and keep it on the road. It also recharges the stoke I have for my bus. So thanks again, Colin. By the way, it rained like crazy as I typed this, so Mother Nature must of gotten word that you were in Vegas, because it NEVER rains here.
79 Riviera CA FI

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ScottLasVegas
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by ScottLasVegas » Thu Oct 04, 2018 2:34 am

im not always a fan of non-stock door panels, but those are looking pretty nice.

also, I figure 50% of the time someone says the PO did something, they just mean themselves more than 5 years ago :p
I still have the original door cards in the garage, but they were pretty beat from years of abuse and water. I liked the simplicity of these.
If interested, you can find them here: https://bamboomwagens.com/

I really need to redo the seats next, the padding is non-existent at this point, and there are some good sized rips in them. That will be the next big undertaking.

While I have blamed a few of my missteps on the mysterious Previous Owner, the hackery that has taken place on this poor electrical system is astounding, and not by my hand.
79 Riviera CA FI

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sped372
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by sped372 » Thu Oct 04, 2018 5:41 am

I am also a fairly staunch purist, but am digging your interior. One of the only non-stock one's I've seen that actually looks appropriate.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by ScottLasVegas » Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:41 am

I am also a fairly staunch purist, but am digging your interior. One of the only non-stock one's I've seen that actually looks appropriate.
Thank you. I think the Mexico Beige interior paint helps. I don't think it would work as well with any other color.
79 Riviera CA FI

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by airkooledchris » Thu Oct 04, 2018 12:26 pm

RE the oil leak:

If you are still unsure of the source, the UV dye and light system works REALLY well. Just clean it up nice, add the dye, run it for 15 minutes and then shut it off and grab your light.
1979 California Transporter

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:08 pm

airkooledchris wrote:
Thu Oct 04, 2018 12:26 pm
RE the oil leak:

If you are still unsure of the source, the UV dye and light system works REALLY well. Just clean it up nice, add the dye, run it for 15 minutes and then shut it off and grab your light.
We know the source of the leak. It is in the bell housing. Now what do we do to distinguish between a terrible main seal leak and an equally terrible gallery plug leak? The dye would merely say, "its from the bell housing."

NOW THEN. If we decided to pull the engine, I would agree that a dye should be run for one minute prior to pull, and maybe we'd see the actual source.
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 Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by ScottLasVegas » Mon Oct 08, 2018 11:05 am

Horn issue is remedied. Up next, Vacuum Hose.
79 Riviera CA FI

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:11 pm

ScottLasVegas wrote:
Mon Oct 08, 2018 11:05 am
Horn issue is remedied. Up next, Vacuum Hose.
Good. Next year, dual horns. Too many texters.

Vacuum hose. Good.

Now, what about the oil leak? Is it *remaining modest*?
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 Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by ScottLasVegas » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:47 pm

Now, what about the oil leak? Is it *remaining modest*?
It is stressing me out a bit. I will get an image tomorrow morning, and upload for perusal. On a bright side, the Bus has been my daily driver since your visit, including a nice 100 mile roundtrip up to the far reaches of N. Vegas. Running strong on the freeway, and able to check the oil immediately after a drive. The dipstick used to get to temps that would remove fingerprints.
Good. Next year, dual horns. Too many texters.
That's for sure. The amount of things happening in the cars around me other than actually driving stresses me out more than the oil leak.

Scott
79 Riviera CA FI

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by MountainPrana » Wed Dec 12, 2018 7:55 pm

ScottLasVegas wrote:
Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:47 pm
Now, what about the oil leak? Is it *remaining modest*?
It is stressing me out a bit. I will get an image tomorrow morning, and upload for perusal.
Did you get your oil leak figured out? I have a galley plug in the bell housing area of my motor that I wonder about. Or maybe it was the old front main seal. The motor is out now so I’m on the hunt for info on all things to do with oil leaks in that area.

Cheers,
Tim

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Las Vegas?

Post by ScottLasVegas » Fri Dec 28, 2018 2:05 pm

Did you get your oil leak figured out?
I haven't. I did my test that Colin suggested, and it does leak more after a strong highway run than just idling out front for 20 minutes, but I haven't dug any deeper than that yet. An engine pull is definitely in my future though, so I will just do both the main seal, and the jb weld that Colin spoke about on the galley plugs.
79 Riviera CA FI

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