Intro and a thanks...

Bus, Microbus, Transporter, Station Wagon, Vanagon, Camper, Pick-Up.

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

Post Reply
JPower6210
I'm New!
Status: Offline

Intro and a thanks...

Post by JPower6210 » Wed May 03, 2017 10:29 am

Hey y'all- thought I would take a second introduce myself. I am JP, and I have been lurking here for a while, and have received a fair amount of help from some of the folks here over on the other board. I got "Tallulah", my early 76 Westy, about a a year and a half ago. She had been sitting in a junkyard up in Maine, and was rescued by my sister. We are super close, and 13 years apart. We both had always wanted a bus, preferably a Westy, and she found this one. It sat in her yard for quite a few years until she offered it to me saying that she didn't think she was going to be able to do much with it. I had her trucked down to me in NC.

This is my first ACVW, but I am fairly handy with stuff. First thing was to get all the mouse evidence cleaned out, (still have some heater tubes to work on I think), and start addressing all the mechanical stuff. I pulled the motor to do some clean up and the real work started there. I found a motor that looked like a fairly recent rebuild, stamped JCS in the heads. At least it wasn't GEX. The heads had some receding valves, so were replaced with a set of HAM heads. I found all the missing tin, bought an exhaust (hopefully to be replaced by a stock setup), renewed seals, got rid of the 009, renewed the fuel lines, got the injectors serviced, etc. I cleaned up all the grounds, started rehabbing all the PO electrical hacks, and so on and so on. Got the engine back in and idling nicely. Timing was a bit of a chore as I seemed to be getting misfires at higher RPM's.

I moved on to the other important stuff that needed work from sitting for 15+years- brakes rehabbed, new MC, new ball joints, bent tie rod replaced, new shocks, and so on... Replaced the canvas, gave the top a wash and a quick paint, rust converted and primed some drip rail area surface rust, etc. In the midst of all this, my 4yo boy and I camped out in the bus a few times in the driveway and out in the field. His excitement is a great motivator. Still lots to do, but focusing on mechanicals before I move on to rust and paint. The rust is fairly minimal compared to some I have seen, and shouldn't require too much major surgery. I am planning to respray myself.

I have been driving the bus within a few miles of the house, it's been running great at 20 MPH or less, but performing terribly at anything above that. My dilemma was that I have no idea what to expect from the bus as this is my first experience with one. After spending a bunch of time reading posts here, I went and did a couple of things on the bus- checked, and modified, the routing of the fuel hose from the tank to the filter to remove a sharp bend, oiled the wick in the distributor, manually checked the vacuum advance, and cleaned/checked all the connections/ground on the DR. Wow- the bus revs up nicely now. Went for a ride last night after the kids went to bed. This is fun! Tallulah drives great now! I still have a lot of stuff to work on, and I am sure that Colin's visit in September will address some of those, as well as create more, but I am definitely excited again.

So thanks to all of you who take the time to help trouble shoot, and post the results. It has been a huge help to me bringing this bus back from certain destruction. And Iook for the slow, but steady return to good condition for this bus!

Take care all-

JP

PS- Colin- you thought the overspray on Naranja was bad... the green around the doors is from the PO spraying the inside of the bus blue, which when combined with Chrome yellow, creates a particularly unpleasant color of green.
Attachments
IMG_0973 (1).jpg
1976 Chrome Yellow Westy - "Tallulah"

User avatar
Mike Boell
Old School!
Status: Offline

Re: Intro and a thanks...

Post by Mike Boell » Wed May 03, 2017 10:44 am

Welcome,
More pics please.
Still running FI?
Mike Boell
1975 FI Westy
Oregon City

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY'RE PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

JPower6210
I'm New!
Status: Offline

Re: Intro and a thanks...

Post by JPower6210 » Wed May 03, 2017 10:50 am

I'll take some more pics over the next day or two- That was a before pic, and although still needing lots, she does look better that she did. I am still running FI, and planning on keeping as long as possible!

JP
1976 Chrome Yellow Westy - "Tallulah"

Jivermo
IAC Addict!
Status: Offline

Re: Intro and a thanks...

Post by Jivermo » Wed May 03, 2017 1:12 pm

Very cool. Welcome aboard!

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Intro and a thanks...

Post by Amskeptic » Fri May 05, 2017 8:00 am

JPower6210 wrote:
Wed May 03, 2017 10:50 am
I am still running FI, and planning on keeping as long as possible!
JP



Dang tootin'. Once you have done your due diligence, these cars pay you back with reliability.
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

Post Reply