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IAC's visit with Soulful66

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:32 pm
by soulful66
Wow! Another visit with Colin, and the buses are better than ever. This is the third year I have had visit, and once again I am wiped out.

Our '79 westie was the focual point of this visit, as I could not get it to run. viewtopic.php?t=2173&highlight=
After months of trying my best at it, Colin guided me through a very indepth troubleshooting of the engine. Turned out to be an ECU problem. In only 3 hours, I learned more "tricks" and knowledged than I had expected. The bus was running like a top, and Colin ensured that every adjustment was perfect for the elevation here in Colorado. I was made aware, last year, that my dizzy was "dancing" a bit at higher rpm. I had bought a new SVDA, and we timed it for the elevation as well. I have not yet been camping in the bus, and now we are stoked to take our new baby camping! Colin has an eye for detail. He discovered an exhaust leak, not quite right t-stat flap rod, and dressed the engine up.

Since the night was still young, we went through some parts I have, and I was taught how to inspect them in areas that the "books" did not even mention. The day was full of little bits of knowledge being passed on to me, as well as several tuturials on various aspects of my bus. To get a jump start on the next days work, Colin inspected the carburetors I had on hand for the next phase of repairs.

We converted my '73 bus back to the dual solex carbs. While I had spent a lot of time gathering the parts, I thought it was going to be a fast swap. Boy was I mistaken about the complexity of this improvement. Colin started rebuilding the best two carbs I had, and I started removing the single webber carb. While the weber was removed, Colin noticed that intake manifolds studs were bent, so I got to work replacing them. After the carbs were rebuild, and on the manifolds, I was tasked with building the neccessary wiring harness for the dual carbs. Colin busied himself with getting all of the pipes, dual vac dizzy, and other components on the engine. After a crazy few minutes of driving rain, we continued our adventure. What a joy it was to hear my bus running on those carbs! We did have problems with the carbs & tuning. It was very late, so we called it a night.

Here is the measure of Colin's character. I was very concerned when the little grimlins were acting up, and this was my last day of my 2 day visit. Colin must have been aware of the panic that was in the forethought of my mind. He stated that he was going to get the bus running properly while i was at work, the next day!!! Where can one find resolve and commitment to a customer like that?!?! When I arrived home, my bus was back to his former glory, with his smooth idle and drive-ability. We had some more tuturials, and explainations of the workings and tuning of my "new" dual carbs. Although Colin was needing to get on the road the previous night, he stuck to his word and ensured that I was completely satified before he left.

I look forward to next years visit. I hope to retain at least a quarter of the knowledge that was imparted to me. For the next customer on his tour, Colin will arrive happy, knowing that his dual carb relay shaft is pleased. I , too, am very happy although worn out. My '73 with dual carbs is every bit as smooth as my '79 F.I. bus.

Keep the rubber side down Colin! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Regards,
John

Re: IAC's visit with Soulful66

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:38 pm
by Amskeptic
soulful66 wrote: When I arrived home, my bus was back to his former glory,
And here is his proud poppa. Can't see the engine room too well, but it is a spitting image of my engine compartment. . . . except his wiring is a lot more professional than mine! It must be reiterated that Soulful66 is a serious asset to this community with his amazing catalogue of parts and his engineer's mind. I had a damn good time setting up the engine room with him as he showed such attention to detail and a real desire for a quality result.


Image


His wife is a serious bus pilot with a sure unflappable hand at the wheel of her 1979 FI Westy. Here we have a happy Soulful66 next to the now running engine. Tricky little terminal on the ECU had shoved in a little. . . preventing the ECU from providing an injector ground path.

Image

Good times, John, and excellenty pie, Jean. Say hey to that pint of Jack.
Colin

Re: IAC's visit with Soulful66

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:39 pm
by chitwnvw
Amskeptic wrote:It must be reiterated that Soulful66 is a serious asset to this community with his amazing catalogue of parts and his engineer's mind.
I don't think it was ever iterated! I welcome Soulful to the fold, and it sounds like he's 180 degrees to me, perhaps there's a symbiotic relationship there...
Amskeptic wrote:I had a damn good time setting up the engine room with him as he showed such attention to detail and a real desire for a quality result.
I bet you did! :wink:

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:49 pm
by soulful66
chitwnvw,
Do I spy a '73 westy in you avatar?
Best Regards,
John

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:32 pm
by chitwnvw
soulful66 wrote: Do I spy a '73 westy in you avatar?
Indeed it is! What in that long shot gave it away?

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:08 am
by Amskeptic
chitwnvw wrote:
soulful66 wrote: Do I spy a '73 westy in you avatar?
Indeed it is! What in that long shot gave it away?
The VIN number is right there in the lower left of the windshield.
ColinWith12,950X12,950PixelMonitor

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:32 pm
by soulful66
chitwnvw wrote:
soulful66 wrote: Do I spy a '73 westy in you avatar?
Indeed it is! What in that long shot gave it away?
Well the bumpers, that awesome paint, the lack of low turn signal lenses, and the front hinged pop top.

Ya know..."73 pops had the best hinge assy of all of the '68-'73 pops. They are not tubeular (sp), but are solid. No bending on those bettys!

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:07 pm
by soulful66
Tonight I finished taping up the wiring harness that was needed for dual carbs on the '73. This weekend, I hope to fix an exhaust leak Colin noticed on the '79. We plan on driving the '79 until winter, so we can start building our trust in her.
Best Regards,
John

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:49 pm
by Velokid1
Great!

I had the same experience with Colin, kind of. We tore out the dual carbs and put the FI back in my '76... it was a two-day ordeal and I could tell that Colin's dedication to not leaving before the bus was running (and well!) was matched only by my panic at the thought of him leaving with my bus not running (at all).

Looks like Amskeptic's up to his old tricks!! :flower:

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:38 am
by Amskeptic
Velokid1 wrote: We tore out the (aftermarket) dual carbs and put the (original equipment) FI back in my '76... it was a two-day ordeal (wiring. . . still have our little diagrams)
Is your bus still running well? Gas mileage?
Colin

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:38 pm
by soulful66
This last weekend I started finishing the to do list AMSKEPTIC left for me. I could not find the correct nipple fitting to the 5mm fuel line on my '73. I was frustrated after a day of looking for one, and found one while going through my boxes of shop stock from my old house. It is weird how you never really get fully unpacked after a move. Now the bus is good to drive since there is no more fuel leaking from mal-fitting rigged up adapters.

I tried to get a leaking exhaust gasket to seal on my wife's '79. This was to no avail. I will live with this leak for what is left of this summer. In the fall I will remove the H.E. and "u" pipe to file them flat. That should do the trick. Hopefully this weekend, we will take our first trip in this bus, and start the bonding process.

Next year, I hope to rebuild an engine with Colin for the '79. I have been aquiring the parts for this over the last 2 years, and am sure that I now have everything that is needed. With the knowledge I learn in next years IAC visit, I hope to rbld a spare 1700 eng for my '73 or any traveler who has a major eng failure in my area.

If you happen to see a '79 mexico beige westy in Colorado, it may be us. Please feel free to wave us down if you need assistance, or just to shoot the breeze.

Best Regards,
John

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:45 pm
by chitwnvw
Hey, Soulful, my parts bus is a '79 Mexican Beige, if you're looking for a part let me know and I'll check.

Hope to see you on the road.

Chi'.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 8:13 pm
by soulful66
Why that is a very kind offer CHITWNVW ! Thank you, very much! I will PM you if I discover someting I need. We will be starting on the interior this summer as we us it, and as time permits. If you find yourself in need of 1700 eng parts, I can probably help you out. I hope to get my '72 from storage back in Indiana next summer while we visit my wife's family in Chicago. Perhapse we can meet up them.
Best Regards,
John

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:11 am
by Velokid1
Amskeptic wrote:
Velokid1 wrote: We tore out the (aftermarket) dual carbs and put the (original equipment) FI back in my '76... it was a two-day ordeal (wiring. . . still have our little diagrams)
Is your bus still running well? Gas mileage?
Colin
It runs great. I love it. I haven't been able to measure the gas mileage because I'm still driving w/o a speedometer.
My place of employment moved further away from home and I didn't want to beat the bus to death commuting, so I picked up a little '03 Protege5. The bus has been driven about once a month the past few months.