Brian's First Bus

[hambone]

Ask Sluggo about Dan Hall's machinist, he has the #.

[kiltgy]

Been reading up on the technical forums. I've already identified a couple of issues where i have things put together in the wrong place.

Has anyone ever noticed that Colin knows his sh*t? ;)

Read through the carburetor section on the technical forums. With the help of a friend (who hopefully will make it to the Lab Monday) we got the carbs dialed in pretty close and made the necessary adjustments to get everything working right.

Installed the new ignition switch last night. May need a little verification on one brown wire (part of the pigtail. was cut and taped up on the previous switch, not sure I have it placed correctly this time through). But, the good news is she runs and is "reliable".

Turns out Hambone's dohickey for synching the carbs was not the right type for my Solexes. Anyone have a different one I could borrow (or use at the Lab Monday night)?

[tristessa]

Hambone's meter will work fine with your carbs, as will the other type. Either meter needs something to adapt it to the carb throat .. IIRC a 1-1/2" Fernco coupling from the plumbing section of your Neighborhood Hardware Store does the job, or at least it did for my 32PDSIT carbs on my Fastback once upon a time. I think an frozen OJ can will work too.

It needs to fit fairly snug to the carb and have a flat opening the meter can fit on/in with a reasonable seal. It needs to put the meter high enough that nothing protruding from the carb interferes with the function of the meter, but not so high that the meter fouls on obstructions such as the body of the vehicle. It needs to put the meter where you can read the numbers while you adjust the carbs. As long as those criteria are met, you're golden -- if someone wants to machine adapters from billet aluminum and sell 'em on Fleabay, more power to 'em. But a chunk of radiator hose found alongside the road could work just as well.

[kiltgy]

Got the bus to school today! Not bad considering it is a 2.5 mile climb up the west hills!

Two issues...at about 52 mph the bus lost power and sank back down to about 45-48. This was on a flat straight stretch. I think this has something to do with my carbs not quite being dialed in right.

Also, my flaps are not opening with the thermostat. Going to check my thermostat installation. Worry that i am cooking my poor engine.

[tristessa]

Could be the carbs, could be the timing slipped. The distributor clamp is tight? .. are you
SURE?

Check the flap positioning for the thermostat. I'm not certain which direction of the little tab is open/closed but it's on here someplace...

[kiltgy]

Could be the carbs, could be the timing slipped. The distributor clamp is tight? .. are you
SURE?

96% sure the clamp is tight. The carbs are tuned by ear, no mechanical assistance. And the timing was set with a timing light and me guessing where 3000 rpm's were.

Check the flap positioning for the thermostat. I'm not certain which direction of the little tab is open/closed but it's on here someplace...

ok. n00b question: the thermostat is installed with the flaps closed or open? n00b question the deus: The wire from the thermostat is installed facing the rear of the vehicle?

Right now I have the thermostat installed with the flaps in the closed position and the wire facing the rear of the vehicle. But, after the twenty minute drive to school, the flaps remained unchanged (I was going to say "unmoved", but I have no idea about their emotional state. For all i know it was an extremely moving experience for them).

[kiltgy]

Yeah. My flaps do not get to this position while the bus is running. Must to figure out why.

[tristessa]

Thermostat cable going over the pulley, not jammed in the works?

Flap return springs installed & tensioned?

[kiltgy]

Thermostat cable going over the pulley, not jammed in the works?

Flap return springs installed & tensioned?

Yes and yes. But that does not mean that I have it set up correctly. I think that i have something wrong with the spring/tension/expanding and contracting that occurs.

[kiltgy]

In other words....
I need to go look at the bus and see if I have things reversed or something. Trying to figure out how, mechanically, the expansion of the thermostat causes the flaps to change positions. The passenger side flap needs to lower in that situation (if I understand it correctly). Is it possible the spring is not installed correctly? Or is it a one-way thing?

[kiltgy]

So, the bus did not make it to the Lab last night. The bus died on the way home from school (at the exact location where I blew the engine last year!!!!).

Jumpstart and brought her home.

For mystery reason, battery was dead.

Today I took the bus (with a battery that had been on the charger) to United Battery down on Columbia Blvd. They are able to test batteries and alternators while they are in the bus. Best of all....it was free!!!

My battery tested out fine (just low). My alternator was not so fine.

Luckily I had taken along another alternator I had laying around (the joys of owning 4 engines). that alternator tested out just fine! So, now I am off to install the new alternator.

And, thanks to Hal, I now know how to adjust the engine cooling flaps accordingly!

[steve74baywin]

Luckily I had taken along another alternator I had laying around (the joys of owning 4 engines). that alternator tested out just fine! So, now I am off to install the new alternator.

And, thanks to Hal, I now know how to adjust the engine cooling flaps accordingly!

Hope it goes easy for you.

[kiltgy]

So....

Things have been going well....

Took the bus out for a camping trip (all was well)

Been tooling around town (all was well)

Took the fam to a movie at the park (Japanese monster movies rock).

Came home....

Slider came un-tracked and would not close all the way.

It came off of the top track and generally made a mess of itself.

Since it is dark and late, going to take a look at it in the light of day. It isn't so much the getting the door off that I am worried about (great info in the technical forums). It is the figuring out why it did this and how to fix it. (Yes, I know there is 400 lbs of glass and tie on my door....)

Luckily there is a 74 at the local wrecking yard, so I may go there and take a look at how that door is attached and compare it to mine.

Anyone have any sage words of wisdom?

[kiltgy]

Problem solved :) Kinda fun messing with the slider.

[Amskeptic]

Regarding flaps ...... it is critical that we all understand them, your engine depends on you to have them open when engine is warm.

Yes, most people adjust the cable to close the flaps with a cold engine. This ASSUMES that you HAVE CHECKED that the thermostat is actually contracted!!!!!!!!!!! If you do the above and the thermostat has expanded permanently, you have just adjusted the flaps closed permanently.

For best safety, adjust the cable with a hot engine to NOT PULL THE LEVER, but cable taut enough to stay in the pulley groove. Then you can check tomorrow morning if the thermostat was able to pull the lever to the closed position. This method makes sure that your flaps are guaranteed OPEN when the engine is hot. You do cook an engine in 20 minutes flat on the highway with stuck or adjusted closed flaps!!
Colin