Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Aug 23, 2019 9:47 am

That night after the Las Vegas NV visit was so lovely with hot sand, illuminated truck caterpillars gliding by down on the road, craggy mountain silhouettes and aforementioned pre-warmed wash water (120* right out of the jugs!). Next morning was a customary desert-morning-after valve adjustment HERE:

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My imperturbable 1999 WalMart-issue Road Warrior Crash Clock ticks imperturbably on, year after year ...

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This is the Colorado River cut under the Hoover Dam. I had to get to Kingman so I could head east to Albuquerque so I could head north to Santa Fe so I could head west to Los Alamos, the site of my next appointment.

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Fuel mixture adjustment HERE ... then I realized that the wash was very quick-sandy. You should have seen how quickly I had to go back and forth from reverse to first to utilize the punky momentum of sand berms as I did a 10 point turn aroundpleasedon'tbogdown:

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Scenery quickly shut off desert and turned on mountain as I approached Flagstaff at a chilly 85*:

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Seriously? Planet Earth is too pretty for the likes of us:

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No, really:

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Woke up somewhere. Looked out the poptop front window. What are those?:

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Slammed down a cup of coffee from my commemorative ScottInLasVegas Box o Coffee. Now, I am pissed. You CAN'T just splat senseless words around! Please!
"Caution! Caribou Coffee® is always hot and fresh!" Not on DAY THREE, people!

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Ah yes, we must be in New Mexico:

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Gander at this ... I say we are too rich. And we were. 13 mpg:

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The Rain Gods once again laid out a welcome for me:

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Well, I thought it was rain ... :

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Next morning's hill climb to Los Alamos followed an interesting conversation with the Pohoaque tribal police at 3:35AM at the threshold of my usual camping spot down in the valley. See, it HAD rained hard, and I did not want to climb the dirt/mud path, so I camped on the pavement. At 3:30AM, I got a knock on the sliding door, oh I was so tired, so tired, "you cannot stay here."
"Who ... am I bothering at this late hour HERE?"
"You have to leave. The Pojoaque Reservation does not allow camping on any of its lands."
"It must feel great to be a red man telling the white man to get off his land."
"It does feel great, it really does."
We laughed, "you can camp at the gas station four miles up the road."

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Walked into pmaggiore's house like I owned the place, "coffee!" But we all know who really owns the place:

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Pmaggiore is growing into his retirement, you can see it happening:

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We get into the particulars, then that guy shows up in this beautiful RHD doublecab:

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I'll be visiting "that guy" the day after next, but we have particulars to battle:

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I particularly disdained the washers helping to hold the engine in the vehicle. Hey, thousands of dollars of mechanic bill doesn't guarantee that the mechanic will use decent washers ... or install the thermostat that was paid for :

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Seriously, keep your eyes open, folks. Take nothing for granted:

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Look at the dimension miss here on the new exhaust system. We eventually pried it onto the engine, eventually:

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Drove down the hill again at the end of a satisfying day of prying exhaust systems on and putting high-quality $0.37 washers on critical bolts. Got the heater blower blowing and the right arm rest installed securely.
The moon is there:

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Spent the next day in Espanola taking out my botched rear window job from long-ago Spokane WA and repainting the tailgate:

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Then I HAD to go to the laundromat. I had to. Most every article of fabric that has ever touched me was in those three front-loaders. I am just sitting around like a tired traveling VW bus guy when this young couple sweeps in. They seem very nice and give me a hug:

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They manage to collect people who recognize them. It is like a cocktail party at the laundromat as I say hello to strangers and fold my Tommy Hilfiger underwear (med 32-36 wideband w/logo). Then we go out to dinner, because, now, I have clean underwear:

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Slightly sauced, I made it back to the Pojoaque Reservation aborted camping spot, and was able to drive up the dirt path now. Naranja was a little goat up there. We safely hid and gloried in the stars and the brutal low 60's.
Next morning was back up the hill, to visit "that guy", jtauxe:

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All you phone denizens looking at these little baby pictures on your little baby screens, get a 19" desktop monitor and feel yourself breathe once again:

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I do not tire of this region. I DO tire of new no-name brake pads detaching from the backs ... that is why the singlecab had a slight veer under braking:

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I always plough into political hot potatoes at coffee with jtauxe. It is a real pleasure. He starts getting nervous, you see, and I am just warming up to do a rally in the kitchen with his wife and daughter, but we have work to do and there are clouds and I have NO rear window in my bus, either:

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(to be cont.)
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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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:45 pm

Jtauxe was already eyeing the clock as we discussed the future of our country, and he was eyeing me a little askance when I mentioned in passing that I would like to get my rear window in before the rains pelt down. We set up on getting the rear end up on the RHD doublecab so we could check alignment of the transaxle and the shift rod. It was bent just like NaranjaWesty's was, so we fixed it like NaranjaWesty's fix, serious bench-press of a wrench on the shift rod with pieces of wood to serve as the anchor blocks, then we adjusted the rear brakes to get back some ebrake action. Right next to it was the singlecab that needed a look at the pulling under braking, so we jacked it up, wheels off, pads out, pistons rotated to correct orientation with the shim plate tabs knocked back out to help hold them, and I was surreptitiously soaping the window opening of NaranjaWesty's tailgate, "hey John, I need to wash my hands, you have Dawn dishwashing liquid?"
"There's the orange lava soap on the sink."
"I think I need Dawn, John."
Then I would go back to the brakes on the singlecab, "you're doing great there, John, let me go get my (fill in the blank), and I soaped the WolfsburgWest rear seal, and installed the Venetian Blind Cord, and even set the window on the open tailgate as the skies darkened a bit and John finished off the brakes. The rear window slipped in way too easily (it has the new squishy seals that I hate, but they are easier to install so people love 'em! easier!yep! 8/23/19 > and sure enough the new seal leaks at the upper corners! it does! it is not molded with corners! they pull away from the opening at the upper corners, no compression force! @*!&^%@$!! I will let you know how/if they respond to my hot email (edit 09/11/19 > refund offered), and we broke for lunch then got back to work. In short order, we got the horn and turn indicator blinkyindicator working, we installed a new (used) RHD dash pad, then drove the RHD doublecab up the road to see if we quieted down the rattling shifter a la NaranjaWesty last October:

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It is freaky to be sitting in the "driver's" seat with NOTHING to do while the "passenger" over there on the right is sawing at a steering wheel and reaching for the shifter. You have no idea.

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So we went up a narrow hill into the mountain, and I felt like I was on an amusement park ride. Then I drove it back down the hill. Freakayy. Mailboxes rushed me, the edge of the road threatened me, the rear view mirror was throwing wild images at me, intersections suddenly looked unfamiliar, and I was damned if I was going to let John know that all of my few remaining brain cells were being taxed by this dyslexic interior:

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It is a beautiful driver, and it is beautifully turned-out. Jtauxe, it is a gem:

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Camped again at the dirt path up from the pavement where I got busted a couple of nights prior. Here! Here is where I blew a mental fuse in 2017! The bugs had gotten me. I was supposed to wait to do an appointment with pmaggiore in some seven days, and I just said no can do and drove east against my better judgment to the east coast calls. Well, this time, I wasn't going to let no little bitey bug drive me off. Camped in the poptop. Awoke to the sunrise:

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Reinstalled my optimistically orange-plus-a-little-yellow curtains:

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Doesn't the car look nice with the day-old rear window seal? It leaks. In the same spot as the 42 year-old seal. This crummy $29.99 Wolfsburg West extrusion is NOT formed at the corners ("they all come like this" NO they do not) and it is mushy under your hands. It is all-too-easy to install and doesn't do its job, just the way we all seem to like it these days:

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Cranked my crabby ass to the driver's seat and drove to Taos where I could be gracious and charming and informed. New Mexico is a garden of beautiful vistas:

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This is Taos. See the rain coming down over there, way over there? Yeah, that is where Kit and JR were, trying to put on a Taos Vanlife Gathering .... :blackeye:

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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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by Jivermo » Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:03 am

Yes. They got it right on the license plates: New Mexico, Land of Enchantment.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Aug 24, 2019 9:54 am

Jivermo wrote:
Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:03 am
Yes. They got it right on the license plates: New Mexico, Land of Enchantment.
The second to last shot of the gulch was exquisite. So was last night's camping spot.

I sense little conversational engagement threading through these posts here these days.
Are we too picturey?
I have more photographs than things to say.

I can only be as interesting as you all.
Yeah, I said that. Here.
Colin :bom:
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 To Las Alamos

Post by tommu » Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:38 pm

We have never been to New Mexico. Gary has just passed into a new phase of drivability. Something to do with our tuning and another 1000 miles on the engine. We must take him and Alexi to see the spellbinding, confounding beauty out there.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by BusBassist » Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:44 pm

I sense little conversational engagement threading through these posts here these days.
Are we too picturey?
I have more photographs than things to say.

I can only be as interesting as you all.
Yeah, I said that. Here.
I find the photos very engaging and they have their own story to tell. Colin, of course your commentary gives greater depth to the photos, especially since you are the one selecting what is framed in the viewfinder.

I do appreciate when others chime in per the technical details of a particular write up as it helps me to learn and glean from others’ experiences. For example I want to know where to purchase the higher quality valve cover gaskets mentioned in .... oh rats, I’ve forgotten by whom and from which thread this was mentioned - but this kind of dialogue is helpful to me.

Jeff
Late 73 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by SlowLane » Sun Aug 25, 2019 4:02 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Aug 24, 2019 9:54 am
I sense little conversational engagement threading through these posts here these days.
Speaking for myself, I'm simply so gobsmacked at the pictures, the narrative and the sheer audacity of this thing that you do year after year that I feel I have little of value to add to it.

Or would you like for me to chime in with today's project in suburban home maintenance: ripping out and reconstructing the water-damaged base of our kitchen sink cabinet. Yay, adventures in black mould removal and black widow avoidance.

Westy still sitting in the driveway guilting me out about the sorry state of her pop-top every time I get in the other car to go to work.
Are we too picturey?
I have more photographs than things to say.
Not in the least.
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by Jivermo » Fri Aug 30, 2019 3:16 pm

Come on! Love the pictures. And the writing. This has been some kind of very cool Itinerant Run. Much better, and WAAAAYYYY more fun, than the Saga of the Clogging Fuel Filter.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:12 pm

Jivermo wrote:
Fri Aug 30, 2019 3:16 pm
Come on! Love the pictures. And the writing. This has been some kind of very cool Itinerant Run. Much better, and WAAAAYYYY more fun, than the Saga of the Clogging Fuel Filter.

ONE cannot JUDGE such things, as they fall under the province of HAPPENCHANCE. I recall being challenged in good ways, meeting strangers, practicing my exit/merge skills, dealing with bracing cold, and bonding fiercely with my struggled steed.

This year? Yaah, installed a used booster then I drove 17,000 miles. Oh yeah, and went camping.
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by asiab3 » Fri Aug 30, 2019 8:24 pm

I feel the photographs do quite a bit of justice to the travels. Maybe the lack of conversational participation is an audience growing more visual.. (post a few of each update on Instagram?)

The photos are fantastic, really. Combined with the captions, they’re why I come here. Plus it’s a bonus that we get to follow one more Volkswagen out there just doing its job.
Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by BoltonFTW » Sat Aug 31, 2019 11:01 am

Love the photos- technical and roadscapes.
Enjoying seeing your adventures continue across a country I have yet to traverse myself via four wheels. Someday.
-Drew
'78 Campmobile Deluxe
'77 Tintop Weekender (SOLD) - first car!

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled To Las Alamos

Post by BoltonFTW » Sat Aug 31, 2019 11:05 am

BusBassist wrote:
Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:44 pm
I do appreciate when others chime in per the technical details of a particular write up as it helps me to learn and glean from others’ experiences. For example I want to know where to purchase the higher quality valve cover gaskets mentioned in .... oh rats, I’ve forgotten by whom and from which thread this was mentioned - but this kind of dialogue is helpful to me.

Jeff
That was from my visit with Colin--- CB Performance valve cover gaskets have been superior to the Victor Reinz from busdepot-- so far so good for me. (https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/1979.htm)

cheers
-Drew
'78 Campmobile Deluxe
'77 Tintop Weekender (SOLD) - first car!

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