Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Aug 11, 2019 8:52 pm

... via Burbank through San Diego to Las Vegas and here now in Los Alamos.

This car is bringing tears to my eyes, it is driving hard, running flawlessly, and the wrecked ripped rear window seal hasn't leaked a bit through this ridiculous rain in New Mexico.
(EDIT 08/12/19 - oh yes it has, YES IT HAS! It has leaked a "bit" and then some)

Burbank Visit Here:

viewtopic.php?f=78&t=13889


The drive down to Encinitas from Burbank was epic. NaranjaWesty was rarin' to mix it up with the pick-ups and SUVs and little hot Hondas and WRXs. Started off slowly enough at sundown, I was trying to get shots of the Los Angeles skyline and overall ambience:

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(this is titled: A Study In Wires - how many fricken wires have to invade every shot?)

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A lot going on here at the train/truck interchange:

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Now that it was getting dark, I put on my now trusty and appreciated blue-blocker sunglasses, they have given me back the night driving I used to adore:

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I try to amuse the hordes on Facebook with pithy little pictures and subject headers. This one was,
"Here is what a 10.2 earthquake looks like from the driver's seat .... I almost spilled my coffee."

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So, I did field a serious question about that photograph. The sharp vertical jiggles are because CA freeways are getting rougher and rougher, especially at 70 mph. Naranja was just all into it, 103 miles of lickety-split:

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I did not camp in a parking lot that became a car show this year ...
(2018)
https://www.itinerant-air-cooled.com/vi ... 55#p229596

No, I drove until I was exhausted, and retired up some Encinitas Blvd corporate park. Next morning, look. Pacific Ocean:

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I made xyzzy walk with me to "Coffee" and we walked back and dove into uber-arcana Dual Carb Bus Theory:

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We had visitors. I was curt. Dreams of driving a bus across the country? Oh please:

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Another bus pulled out of a garage near by. I do not believe the engine was below 2,500 rpm all the way out to the street. Somebody taught her poorly, and xyzzy and winced in sympathetic pain.
I have a whole nuther career waiting ... Teach You How To Drive And Survive So Your VW Survives Too. :

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xyzzy does valves:

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No really, it is about the "feel", "Feel the contact, Luke, be the contact ..."

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We lapped our test track down 2nd or 3rd or something, several times, trying to discern the cause of a hesitation under acceleration. The engine would seriously lean out at mid-throttle. Well OBVIOUSLY that points out to EGR valve diaphragms without those little "air leak blocking" screws. We used HVAC tape. xyzzy will hopefully chime in here on driveability.
"Now what?"
What about rust bubbles on this pristine 1973 L90D Westy? So we took out the sliding door window .. .. .. :

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.. .. .. and I attacked with a chisel:

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Didn't seem to faze xyzzy, not at all ... :

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No, he believes that paint protects metal from rust, so paint already:

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I'm cool with that:

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I think your bus is appreciative, xyzzy:

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I am being thrown out of here. Must fill you all in on that unique visit to San Diego then ScottInLasVegas in Las Vegas 103* before blasting two states over yesterday. Good grief. Two Los Alamos calls then the Taos Gathering.
Thank-you, NaranjaWesty:

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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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jtauxe
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by jtauxe » Mon Aug 12, 2019 7:19 am

Such a good bus, NW.

I am looking forward to having you in Los Alamos. I'll try to drop by today to harass you and Pete.
John
"The bus came by and I got on. That's when it all began..." - Garcia/Weir/Kreutzman
http://vw.tauxe.net

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by xyzzy » Mon Aug 12, 2019 8:54 am

Thanks again for the visit Colin!

We still have the off-idle mid-range lean-out/hesitation, but the thing runs beautifully everywhere else in the band. I'll move the convo to my Type-2 forum thread to keep it all in one place.

Safe travels, already looking forward to next year!
---
1973 Westfalia
Encinitas, California USA

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by jtauxe » Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:30 am

As I anticipated Colin's visit on 14 Aug, I was thinking... "Not much to do. I am down to two Type 2s and they both run. This will be a relaxed car day with Colin." Then, as I started making a list of work items, it just kept growing.

For the 1975 Mexican single cab,
- it pulls to the right when braking
- the engine still leaks oil
- the fuel pump relay does not seem to work
- rear brakes need snugging up

For the 1978 4-door double cab,
- the shift linkage rattles against the tube
- the horn quit working a couple of weeks ago
- I got a nice used dash pad to install
- rear brakes need snugging up

We got to it.

SC: The right pull on the brakes was due to a stuck disc brake cylinder on the left. We unstuck it, and I ordered new pads to put in when I get time. The leaking engine we did not address -- we are both out of ideas on that one. We debugged the fuel pump relay and determined that it was the relay itself that was not working, and that I had probably fried it when hooking it up wrong once. New one on order. We adjusted the cable brakes with the stars and all is good.

DC: Although we could have removed the engine and transaxle and replaced the entire shift rod, I elected to put that off until the next engine pull (no plans for that any time soon) and we cleverly put a slight bend in the shift rod to gain clearance on the tube. Rattle gone! The horn bit was simply due to the downward movement of the column support below the steering wheel. It had migrated down of its own accord just a millimeter or two -- enough to break contact at the slip ring. Snugged that back up and the horn was back! Then we fought through the awkward contortions needed to gain access to the nuts securing the upper dash pad, and managed to get the nice one secured in place. Whew! We also adjusted the rear brakes. Colin also pointed out that the travel on the brake pedal was excessive, so we investigated the mechanism from the pedal to the curious RHD master cylinder that operates with no booster. (I have since regretted not adding a booster to this vehicle during the refit.) We adjusted the length of the pin that pokes into the MC to make a a couple of mm longer, and the brakes work better. Not as better as if I had a booster, though. Some day...

So, all in all a full day making these trucks run better. I think Colin enjoyed driving the RHD DC!

What did I forget to mention, Colin?

In all the excitement, I plumb forgot to take any pictures. Sorry, folks. I know how we all like photos. I think Colin might have taken some.
John
"The bus came by and I got on. That's when it all began..." - Garcia/Weir/Kreutzman
http://vw.tauxe.net

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by wdollie6 » Tue Aug 20, 2019 5:27 pm

Xyzzy, great bus, wish we had rust free buses like that in upstate NY. I'm a little confused though is that a 72 or 73? The high signal lights and front bumper configuration would suggest a 73, or was this a mid to late year change?
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by BusBassist » Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:32 pm

I'm a little confused though is that a 72 or 73?

I had he same question- my bus is from Sept of ‘73 but there are some elements from a ‘74 bus (like the shift rod bushing under the front floor pan).

And yes, I agree with wdollie, we do have a battle with rust her in Upstate NY. Of course, the humidity, snow, and SALT (that NYS so generously dumps all over the roads) keeps most non-modern cars (including air-cooled VW's) safely tucked away from November through April.
Late 73 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by xyzzy » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:35 pm

It's a 73. I think Colin made a typo. 73 is the one-year-only fabric interior.
---
1973 Westfalia
Encinitas, California USA

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Strafes The Southwest

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:24 pm

xyzzy wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:35 pm
It's a 73. I think Colin made a typo. 73 is the one-year-only fabric interior.
Fixed it. It is a '73.
ColinInTayaxis
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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