Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

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Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Aug 19, 2019 6:35 pm

Hi! Finally! Phew! Slumming, I am slumming for thirty minutes here in Dalhart TX.

We left off, so very long ago, in a faraway land called "California", way back on August 7th. I can't tell you how unique that visit was with Blauvelt's dad in San Diego. He had no internet. We relayed through his son. I showed up in San Diego at night. It looked glamorous at night, but it had gritty Portland vibe in the neighborhood and smelled like pee where I camped alongside the freeway on a weird one-way frontage road:

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San Diego had a charming San Francisco, then a Santa Monica vibe on the way to Blauvelt Dad's house:

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I was taken by this dormer window:

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Yeah, but then San Diego threw me this, this monstrous "moderne" frou-frou:

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Spot the useless "elements" (10 pts)

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Blauvelt's dad pretty much lived in the house his grandfather built. The family cars were from 1903, 1906, 1918, and I forget the year of the Jensen Interceptor but it was a Jensen Interceptor. The 1906 had a horizontally-opposed 2 cylinder engine with lubrication pipes to the wrist pins (!) and a radiator that he built up. Just ridiculously fascinating. But we had a Vanagon to recuscitate:

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I was treated to a review of many interventions that did not yield results. We plowed through my favorite detail points. Valves, timing-sans-electronic control via the idle stabilizer plugs, mixture sans the O-2 sensor feedback, and yes, the plastic nipple was not seated fully in the s-boot. Neither were this that and the other correctly done. Missing flaps, exposed oil cooler ... and somewhere we did an AFM adjustment and timing tweak and the test drive yielded acceptable behavior. On that test drive, I heckled my poor customer that his obvious automotive sophistication must be able to execute a flawless double-clutch downshift because you HAVE TO with all of those old cars ... and he did with the Vanagon. And It Was Good. And this visit sticks in my mind. James. A man of many talents and experiences, a man of refreshing rectitude:

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My Wolfsburg West parts order, I had it all on my computer with a file date of August 2nd and with a tracking number, but no order.
"Why is that?" I asked Wolfsburg West.
"I don't know, man, but it does not exist."
"Well, it does, with a tracking number and a date," I replied.
"Oh no, it does not," said Wolfsburg West.
................................................... ?
"Can I do a will-call?"
"Oh, absolutely! We will have it on the counter! We open at 8:00AM!"

8:00AM the next morning, from San Diego to Corona CA, NaranjaWest saucily sits in the parking lot telling her friends just how fun it is to lock in at 70 mph ... :

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"Uh, the parts counter doesn't open until 9:00AM. You sure you called in an order?"
I went down the road, pulled into a parking lot overgrown with weeds and I conducted an unexpected shave and Motel6 bucket wash, then came back at 9:00AM

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Look at how subtlely Volkswagen teased the sheet metal to ensconse a Type 4 engine:

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This is the "intimate confine" of a splitty's driving environment:

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And here I am escaping the smog and the traffic of LA on the 15 north to Barstow with my little Super Beetle friend. I ain't braggin' or nuttin, but we smoked that bug, NaranjaWesty and I:

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... then we didn't. We settled in at 43 mph for the long 3rd gear slog to the summit:

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Must run! To Amarillo! Much to fill in! Next in this thread, ScottInLasVegas!
Colin
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 Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:39 pm

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Barstow! Nice and hot as heck. I saw a parking lot that said "bus parking" with parking spaces that said "bus" and there you go, a bus in a bus parking lot with buses:

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Bought my Tommy Hilfiger® undies and Reebok® socks at those stifling outlet stores in Barstow, and I dreamed of getting away, getting away from that drugged advertising imagery of skulking emaciated teenagers in panties. Put on my new breathable Reebok® "training" shoes with breathable Reebok® socks here:

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Drove out onto the interstate, still in decompression mode, towards Las Vegas. I love the desert:

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I did not yet know of the sabotage that awaited ...
Got gas here.

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It is between Los Angeles and Las Vegas along the most heavily traveled rural interstate in the Nation.
"Why's your gas so damn expensive?"
"We are way out here. It is expensive to transport gas to here."

Here is the Baker Grade in the 109* summer heat, telephoto'd by Kodak EZ Share Z612:

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Hey NaranjaWesty, you ready for that? Ahh, we did OK, a little 424* due to getting lost in my experimentation with mixture dynamics:

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The "most desert moment" was here, on the other side of the Baker Grade. I needed to take in just a little searing hot air in my lungs, feel the heat invading the soles of my feet, and glory in the proximity of our local little GV yellow dwarf star:

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"Uh, yeah sure, I got my commercial license ... no, yeah, we practiced bac ... well, it wasn't that bad a hi ... it's just a little I dunno, crumple-like ... no, it isn't leaking, come on give me more credit tha ... out of my paycheck? Out of my paycheck? My paycheck couldn't pay for a license plate light bulb ... yeah, I just said that."

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I was here:

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Hung out with my peeps at the Tesla Charging Station:

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"Is that thing electric?"
"No, but it should be."
"Well why are you here?"
"Shade ... and it just looks so right."

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Up near Xyxx Road, checking out the trash growing season. Looks pretty robust this summer. I feel shame looking at the mountains and the clouds:

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Drove up the next big hill, the Halloran Summit, where I had a very expensive summer home ...

(September 10, 2016):
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Well, they demolished it. It was on the footprint of my very expensive summer home that I modified my gas cap so I can grip it properly. I crushed it (see, JR & Kit, I can "crush" things too) with my vise grips at the finger contact areas, then carefully dremeled it smooth and painted it:

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While letting the cap cure, I plastic bagged the fuel filler and screwed it to the four filler retaining screws:

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Because I painted, I accidentally called forth the rain gods:

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Yes, it was I who found the end of the rainbow. There was no pot of gold. I am calling customer service:

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Approaching Bailey Pass at 4,700 feet, I think ... :

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Remember my mentioning "sabotage"? Cue the sabotage. This here photograph, just at the solar plant in the evening light, was the last photograph my camera wanted to take before its battery expired for the night. I missed a gorgeous other-worldly shot:

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Spent a hot night in Vegas camped in an undeveloped parcel off Blue Diamond Road, carefully located to avoid the searing bright lights. Scampered up into the poptop with the jalousie windows angled for maximum airflow, and the canvas window flaps only halfway open. Listened to the pedestrian chatter at 1:00AM, the dogs at 3:00AM (yeah, I was parked a half a block from a residential dog hotel) and the gardener for the library across the street trying to get a start on the hot day by firing up the blown leaf-blower at 6:00AM.

And Scott and I had a big day planned. We decided to attempt the Oil Leak Eradication Program of:
new flywheel seal
new flywheel graphite o-ring
JB Welded gallery plugs

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That front seal was hard as a rock and showed a decent probability of being the culprit:

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As I threatened Scott with dire stories of how recalcitrant engines can be when re-installing, the engine fell in.
Don't worry, the starter D-bolt did jam up against the flange's cut-out, and we had to partially pull it back out a bit.

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I was so worried about a hot hot hot day, that I didn't realize that the day slipped away. The test drive included a lovely emergency WHAT DO YOU DO IF ...
Yeah, uptown Las Vegas traffic, I pulled into 2nd gear and it felt like the gearshift had detached from the transaxle ... because it had. LUCKILY, I did NOT try to goof with it, and we managed to get back to the house in 1st gear with a couple of coasts above 1st gear range with the clutch in. So, who forgot to install the grub screw? Memeemeeeeee. As ever, Scott, a real pleasure, and the beer at the end of the day ...

Good-bye Restless Las Vegas shot:

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Camped below the Hoover Dam and enjoyed my annual Midnight Automatic Hot Water Motel6 Bucket Bath With Real 120* Hot Water right out of the water jugs, under the stars.
Woke up on Mars:

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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 Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by ScottLasVegas » Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:54 pm

Colin's new breathable kicks & socks:

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So, I was stressed out over this visit for about 2 weeks leading up to it. This was to be my first engine pull ever, and I must of read the Ratwell Engine Removal page 100 times in preparation. I feel infinitely more confident after each Colin visit, and this trip was no exception. I still don't know how folks have the stones to drop an engine in a mud puddle on the side of a dark highway, but I will definitely be more willing to take on some engine out projects from here on out (preferably in the cozy confines of my garage).

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We did uncover that I have VW Canada rebuild, and while the bus does run pretty strong, there are definitely a few things that gave us grief. Whomever rebuilt it seemed to just put whatever bolt head size was closest to them. If it needed to be unbolted, you had to take a 17mm, 15mm and 13mm socket with you. It was gonna be one of those 3, probably... We learned that you can hammer in a new main seal using the flat nose of an old skateboard. Another thing that was pretty remarkable, when Colin measured the end play, it was spot on factory spec. I have a 79 CA model that still runs FI, so there are few parts crammed in there that are 1 year only. Check out the Heat Exchanger/CAT:

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Overall, it was a really good day. Personal highlight was getting a ride in NaranjaWesty to reclaim some obsolete technology, but then getting to drive Naranja for a few laps around the neighborhood was amazing. What a truly pleasurable experience. There hasn't been any oil underneath the bus since the visit, I haven't been driving the bus much since either. We are currently in the second week of close to record breaking temps in excess of 110 degrees.

Thanks again for everything that you do, Colin, can't wait to see ya next lap. Any chance of another walkabout? You know I am in if there is.
79 Riviera CA FI

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by KosmicK1100 » Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:23 am

Amskeptic, you are an amazing person. Driving around the USA in your bus, mentoring people in the Art Of The Bus, managing a schedule, turning wrenches, experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly of being on the road, grooming from a bucket, posting awesome content on IAC, and running a forum! Wow.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by ScottLasVegas » Sun Aug 25, 2019 11:31 pm

Part 2:

I am still battling a bit of an idle issue. On the tail end of our 12 hour day, Colin did check the AFM and timing. The bus will start up at idle around 950-1000rpm, but as i drive a bit it slowly starts creeping up around the 1300-1500rpm range. Doing a bit of digging on here and the Samba, could it be the Aux. Air Regulator? If that is the path I should go down, is there an easy way to test?

Scott in Vegas
79 Riviera CA FI

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:02 pm

ScottLasVegas wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 11:31 pm
Part 2:

I am still battling a bit of an idle issue. On the tail end of our 12 hour day, Colin did check the AFM and timing. The bus will start up at idle around 950-1000rpm, but as i drive a bit it slowly starts creeping up around the 1300-1500rpm range. Doing a bit of digging on here and the Samba, could it be the Aux. Air Regulator? If that is the path I should go down, is there an easy way to test?

Scott in Vegas

Scott, this is well within your wheel house, your journeyman toolbox, your certification.
The centrifugal advance is getting triggered with that idle creeping up too far. Knock the warm idle down to 1,000-1,050. Turn the idle speed screw at the throttle body down slowly because the idle will fall automatically when you drop below centrifugal advance-trigger speed.
This adjustment may reduce your cold idle, but we can then open up the auxiliary air regulator if it is not agreeable.
Pleasepleaseplease report back after adjustment and test-living.
Colin
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 Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by ScottLasVegas » Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:38 pm

Sounds like a plan, we are still hovering around the record breaking temps of 110 degrees daily, but I hope to check it out this weekend. On a side note, I have been sneaking out on some night runs, and the bus is driving beautifully! And the best part!!! Not a drop of oil since your visit.
79 Riviera CA FI

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings San Diego To Las Vegas

Post by Curtp07 » Wed Aug 28, 2019 3:29 am

Wonderful as always. I believe I see jack stands in that picture..... ;)

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