Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

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Jivermo
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by Jivermo » Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:28 am

Neat work, Colin. You didn't mention the hockey stick ball here, although I see it in the picture of the laid out parts. It appears to be a metal one. How bad was your existing one? Why were they made in plastic, and what was your preference? Was the purpose to lessen wear on some other, more expensive or difficult to service, part? Informed readers want to know.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:41 am

Jivermo wrote:Neat work, Colin. You didn't mention the hockey stick ball here, although I see it in the picture of the laid out parts. It appears to be a metal one. How bad was your existing one? Why were they made in plastic, and what was your preference? Was the purpose to lessen wear on some other, more expensive or difficult to service, part? Informed readers want to know.

I asked for **plastic**, it is quieter and smoother. Rick forgot to send one. Fortunately mine was perfect.

People need metal balls and gusseted selector brackets when they are infected with spasmosis and violent tendencies to shove the poor shifter because they can't find their gear in their mad rush not to upset the impatient idiot in their rear-view mirror.
ColinHeyThisCoffee'sGREAT
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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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:51 am

Bleyseng wrote:Nice, was there are whining that went away after this?
There was are always a nice transmission-at-work whine, not obtrusive in the slightest, but there was a sloppy coursing growly whine in 1st when I trolled dirt roads slowly that has become much more steady. I have not done a windows-up highway run yet to see if 4th is quieter, but what I really need is no more popping out of 4th gear . . . :cyclopsani:
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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Bleyseng
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by Bleyseng » Fri Aug 30, 2013 11:06 am

Amskeptic wrote:
Bleyseng wrote:Nice, was there are whining that went away after this?
There was are always a nice transmission-at-work whine, not obtrusive in the slightest, but there was a sloppy coursing growly whine in 1st when I trolled dirt roads slowly that has become much more steady. I have not done a windows-up highway run yet to see if 4th is quieter, but what I really need is no more popping out of 4th gear . . . :cyclopsani:
Well, this fix should do it for you then unless the teeth are too worn...
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

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glasseye
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by glasseye » Sat Aug 31, 2013 12:46 pm

All that techie stuff aside, HOLY CRAP that is a beautiful photograph. (the "night" shot)
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:37 am

glasseye wrote:All that techie stuff aside, HOLY CRAP that is a beautiful photograph. (the "night" shot)
I know, I know, this technical goddledegook is missing the parade of life by a mile, we HAVE a technical section for that.

Are you talking about the BobD green against that sky? It was gorgeous in real life.

Today, I take the engine and transaxle out of the BobD, and take out the spring-loaded selector, and "mill" down the nose cone as necessary. No Long Enterprises retainer plate today, just a razor blade and a steel hockey stick ball.

This is a "modification-by-deletion" on an original VW bus. I have some reservations about it, but I am very familiar with the Volkswagenwerk engineering decisions that led to this spring-loaded gear shifter, and I have decided that they missed an important aspect to fitting it to the bus.

In 1975, the Golf was introduced to the U.S. market with an infamous rubber ducky shifter mechanism that had to translate the longitudinal movement of the gearshift to transverse for the transversely-mounted transaxle. It worked beautifully on the new car, but as soon as the bushings got the least bit worn, all unselectable hell broke loose.

In 1976, across the entire model run, Volkswagenwerk introduced the spring-loaded neutral gate. The 1st/2nd position was unloaded, you had to overcome spring tension to find the 3rd/4th gate and the reverse gate. This was helpful in all VWs with a short path to the transmission.

For the bus, however, that spring-loaded neutral gate worked against the 12 foot distance from the gear shift and the transaxle.
If there is a spring resisting your twisting the shift rod to the 3rd/4th gate or the reverse gate, any slop (imagine a garden hose instead of a shift rod, NOW) prevents you from finding your gear.

I have driven several late model buses where we had to relax the stop plate adjustment so people could catch all of their gears, as the coupler and the hockey stick ball and the front bushing all wore. Phooey on that spring-loaded gate in the bus!

Chloe is the best shifting bus I have driven, light, relaxed and precise. BobD is going there, TODAY. Photographs to follow . . .
ColinHappyLABORDay
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

Jivermo
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by Jivermo » Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:51 am

I'm guessing that was/is going on with my '78. When you drove it, Colin, you commented about the weird slop in the shift pattern. Right now, the only problem I have is an occasional difficulty getting it into first-usually when there are many cars behind me at a light. Next visit, we'll deal with that.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:02 pm

Jivermo wrote:I'm guessing that was/is going on with my '78. When you drove it, Colin, you commented about the weird slop in the shift pattern. Right now, the only problem I have is an occasional difficulty getting it into first-usually when there are many cars behind me at a light. Next visit, we'll deal with that.
See Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II
viewtopic.php?f=67&t=11627

I think steel is better choice for our 091 spring-loaded shifters. I have not yet decided if I am going to remove the spring . . . . . . . . what to do, what to do . . . . . . .
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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glasseye
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta

Post by glasseye » Mon Sep 02, 2013 8:38 am

Amskeptic wrote:
glasseye wrote:All that techie stuff aside, HOLY CRAP that is a beautiful photograph. (the "night" shot)
Are you talking about the BobD green against that sky? It was gorgeous in real life.
Yah, that one. You shot it at magic hour. I keep saying to myself, "He deserves a new camera." But no. Yer doin' fine with that Jurassic Kodak. And no tripod. WTF.

If you wind up with the BobD shifting as well as he looks, you're golden.

ChloeintheDesert looks fine, too.
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.

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