Colin in Cleveland - Jun 3, 2011

[vwlover77]

Colin passed through the Cleveland, Ohio area on Friday. Sean G. and I met up with him at a little Italian joint in Seven Hills for lunch at 1:30PM. Colin decided the place was high-class enough to replace the "wife beater" with a regular shirt!

Colin and Sean discuss the finer points of the starter to AFM circuit cutover for powering the fuel pump on an L-Jet bus:


Sean arrived in a Ford Ranger which warranted no photos . However, here are a few shots of the Tortoise and the Bob D:





From lunch, we went to inspect the wrecked '58. The conclusion was that a totally insane person with a deep love of these vehicles and skills to match could bring it back to life. Otherwise, it has been "tweaked" beyond the skills or fortitude of most to fix it properly.









From there, it was on to Dale's VW Repair to see Sean's "new" 78 Bay, which Colin promptly got running and proclaimed "good to go".

Finally, a test drive of my Bus determined that my mixture is too lean and I have work to do on the smoothness of the accelerator pedal operation.

At approximately 4:30, Colin turned west onto I-480 on his way to St. Clair Shores, MI.

What a great afternoon!!!

[JLT]

From lunch, we went to inspect the wrecked '58. The conclusion was that a totally insane person with a deep love of these vehicles and skills to match could bring it back to life. Otherwise, it has been "tweaked" beyond the skills or fortitude of most to fix it properly.

Alas. But from the pics of the inside, it looks like it could still be a good parts bus. As Justin Campbell of Sacramento's Kombi Haus once philosophized:

"Some buses have to die so that others may live."

May at least half of it continue to roll.

[Sean Gallagher]

I've been overly focused for the past few years on the LEAKOIL website, resulting in my scarcity of posts over here, but a visit from Colin, or Don for that matter, warrants comment.

First off, Colin looks great and is really on top of his game. As I get older, he gets younger. Go figure. I do relish the time with him. He is really good person. Even if he knew nothing about VW's, I would still enjoy his company. My wife says, "You guys look at the world in a similar manner" I take that as a compliment.

The Bob "D" looks great. It may not be the Road Warrior, but it's making its own legacy. Its own name will come in time.

So here's Don and Colin preparing for a little Italian...


The crashed 1958 is my buddy Josh's. He's one of the young guys in LEAKOIL. While not "head on" it reminded me of Colin's crash. Here's a photo of Josh's bus at the crash scene in Cleveland. (FYI 16 year old girl broadsided him on Snow Road)


Josh is back on his feet. With a wife and daughter that's what's important.


So Don ragged me out about driving a Ranger. Guilty as charged! Here's the bus I just grabbed from a Cleveland guy moving to Iceland! (no kidding). I thought Cleveland was Iceland! Yes, Colin got it running in under 3 minutes.


We did get to take Colin to Dale's VW in Cleveland which is really old school. These aren't pics from that day but you get the idea of this place...




I know Colin heard about it, but don't know if he saw it. But, here's a cam gear from a GEX engine seen at Dales...


Dales is old school.

[Amskeptic]

I've been overly focused for the past few years on the LEAKOIL website, resulting in my scarcity of posts over here, but a visit from Colin, or Don for that matter, warrants comment.

The BobD looks great. It may not be the Road Warrior, but it's making its own legacy.
Its own name will come in time.

Josh is back on his feet. With a wife and daughter that's what's important.

Hey Sean. It was good to see you again. That picture of us is funny, we look like earnest Everymans trying to answer a news reporter. Thank you for the gas card! Every bit helps . . .

The BobD is slowly developing the rapport that comes only from shared experience. In just months it will hit the 81,262 miles that were on the odometer of the Road Warrior the day I brought it home.

I am still pissed as all get out about the Josh bus. It is a shame to wreck such beautiful worthy history, and the threat to his life was so close to unforgiveable ... not all on the 16 year-old's head, mind you, but how we are preparing children for the sometimes deadly elements of modern life like driving.

I hope to be able to spend a more sensible slot of time next time through ...
Colin

See? Two people sitting in the front of the immaculate vwlover77's bus evens the keel right out:


I had to photograph the rear view mirror, there was this Ford Ranger in front of me, see, and I ... just had to photograph the rear view mirror: