Indeed a battleground. . . .
So, I moved the Adventurewagen write-up to its own thread.
Battle Ground was my quickie appointment with plj who had two VWs, a very nice 1971 camper with Chrysler metallic red and white paint, and a 1973 Thing with metallic blue paint.
It should be noted right here, that we displayed a heartwarming delicate and totally adult America At Its Best conversation that was initiated by a "I can't stand John Kerry and I really can't stand Hillary Clinton." Somewhere in there one of the two participants mentioned that upstate New York rural rednecks actually respect their new senator.
But the bus was a beauty, with stock exhaust, a mellow and gracious engine that was very happy to get a valve adjustment, light steering made slightly more accurate, a gearshift made lighter by application of great gobs of grease, and a workmanlike brake adjustment. Once again, I had a customer shooting looks at me as I wound it out to 45 in 3rd, "hey, it is DESIGNED to run at this speed." (it is, you know. . .) (well, it is). We did find a missing doghouse cooler tin. Now what good is a dog house cooler if it is going to spew hot air into the engine compartment?
The Thing was a blast to drive. Quite firm suspension like the old microbuses with a bug's quick steering and snappy clutch/brakes/accelerator. We discovered a left dustcap on the right wheel. What does that mean, class?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Correct. The speedometer cable hole was a nice small incursion point for bearing-killing dust. We smeared red RTV over the hole and a repack is in the future.
Sent on my way with banana bread, it was a blessedly blessedly easy day.
Take care of your historically significant very nice VWs, plj. I enjoyed the sunny day on real flat concrete and a real garage and our beautifully moderated conversation, sprinkled with some of those saltier observations. . .
Colin
Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Battle Ground WA
- Amskeptic
- IAC "Help Desk"
- Status: Offline
Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Battle Ground WA
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
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
- soulful66
- Addicted!
- Status: Offline
Sounds like a very rewarding visit...well done fellas. There is nothin quite like having a good stock of parts on hand during IAC visit. It sure is a huge time saver. I can't wait to see some pics. Colin's bus looks like it is being "escorted" by some mob guys.
Best Regards,
John
Best Regards,
John
'72 westy 3TC
'73 westy 1700 dual solex
'79 westy 2000 F.I.
'73 westy 1700 dual solex
'79 westy 2000 F.I.
- lari
- Getting Hooked!
- Location: west seattle, wa
- Status: Offline
wow, I gotta learn how to find parts like that...impressive! I get overwhelmed knowing where to start, even. (such a newbie)
And I wish there was a pick-n-pull somewhere near Seattle (or anywhere with in a 3-4 hour drive)--is there one that I don't know about? I'd love to go scavenging, and it doesn't really count if you can't see what's on the bus yourself.
lari
And I wish there was a pick-n-pull somewhere near Seattle (or anywhere with in a 3-4 hour drive)--is there one that I don't know about? I'd love to go scavenging, and it doesn't really count if you can't see what's on the bus yourself.
lari
78 CE westy-Simon LeBus
I want a WESTY TABLE!! PM me if you've got one for Simon!
I want a WESTY TABLE!! PM me if you've got one for Simon!
-
- Addicted!
- Status: Offline
Colin, I do appreciate everything you helped me with on my two vehicles. I took your advice to heart and this weekend took the 500 mile roundtrip to Yakima, running through those gears at a much higher rpm level than what the ol' bus had been used to. We attended Volksfest 2007 where we had a very good time, thought we had a chance at winning best camper, but were beat by a very nice late 50's camper. (bummer) The bus ran really well getting about 18 mpg and only dropping to third on those really steep hills on highway's 12 and 97.
I know some day you'll come to the "right" way of thinking. Until then we know that you did us a real service and we look forward to your return next year out here where the Army met the Indians and not much happened, but a town name.
Below are pictures of the pictures of the aforementioned vehicles.
I know some day you'll come to the "right" way of thinking. Until then we know that you did us a real service and we look forward to your return next year out here where the Army met the Indians and not much happened, but a town name.
Below are pictures of the pictures of the aforementioned vehicles.
- Amskeptic
- IAC "Help Desk"
- Status: Offline
That red photographs beautifully in the shade. Glad it ran well. I miss those good old days in Battle Ground. . . . when it was sunny and warm. . . now it is an icy 60* and cloudyish as I head to Montana. . .pj wrote: we had a chance at winning best camper, but were beat by a very nice late 50's camper. (bummer)
Colin
(ahem. . . front reflectors?? korrect orientation?
. . . .ze VW StockNaziPatrol)
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
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