You know, Dingo, I had an epically long post typed out, I hit preview, and said "that looks good" as I closed the window and lost it forever. I am sorely lacking motivation to write it all up again. It included highlights such as, 57H Oceanblau, (which according to my research is the same as Oceanic Blue and Reef Blue,) the missing valve locking nut on #4's exhaust adjuster, the deafening backfires resulting from such lack, the pressurized gas spraying from non-FI braided fuel hose, the biblical flood of rain, (which involved siphoning(!) water out of a friend's bug,) the "performance" muffler burning my legs, the discovery of TWO German crossover pipes, a replacement muffler, catalytic converter, J-pipe, and tailpipe, sanding and painting the blue house-paint rims, re-keying the bus, installing sound deadener, lubricating everything that moves, and driving hundreds of miles. Here are some random pictures. I wish I saved the old post. :(
It started with too many furry cooks in the kitchen. Even HE can see the vacuum leaks!
Uh oh, where's the adjuster nut? Could that be the horrible scraping sound on cranking??
FOUND IT! False alarm, and the scraping was only for a few seconds. Probably rust on the cylinder walls from sitting a year.
This car is remarkably clean under the tiki interior, and the mechanicals are as tight as I've ever driven except for the BobD bus.
Running enough to test it! Power was decent, so we went to get burgers.
After remembering to reconnect the #3 injector plug, the bus was incredibly well-mannered and powerful. I made the two hour trek to Pomona in a torrential downpour. Note the blue house paint on the rim:
Of course I had a chase car all the way, there and back:
After the swap meet we painted the rims.
I scored an entire fuel injection system with a new Bosch pump for $100. And it's the 75-76 setup like mine!! Plus, I got two crossover pipes, and now I understand Colin's pain. So. Many. Rusted. Fasteners.
On the way back to Oceanside, we made a stop in Huntington Beach for lunch, where the bus kept us safe and dry in a sandstorm. We ate lunch on the rear seats and used Wolfsburg West boxes as a table.
To kill time during rush hour, we headed to Balboa Island and crossed the channel by ferry. Spooky, feeling a Volkswagen rock back and forth like a ship. Been to
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com recently? See the picture?
All in all, this bus has been a splendid travel companion for the last 250+ miles in two days. It's nothing compared to what I put Buddy through on my long trips, but it has kept me dry in a downpour, kept me safe in a sand storm, kept me safe in a panic stop, and given me memories already.
Thanks, car.
Robbie