Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jun 26, 2018 10:52 am

An admission, one of many to come, that regardless of the wonderful synergy of many human beings in an urban setting all networking and interacting with each other like neurons wiring up in a developing brain, I find cities ever more an experience only to endure.
You know why?
Because cities illuminate the promise of humans, but they display the glaring failures of humans at the same time. Take Portland/Seattle. At night, I see the lit buildings, the reflections off the waters, the white and red circulation of their traffic arteries, and the child in me thrills to it all (I used to love coming in to New York City as a child).
Now, as an adult, I know the costs of my car being beaten half to death on crumbling heaved streets, the incessant and sometimes angry energy of those who find me in their way, the homeless people and their encampments a glaring example of our societal failure to *take care of each other*, the trash, the trash, the trash, the pell-mell growth of these housing blocks with no attendant improvement of the surrounding infrastructure, the trash, did I mention the trash?, and the new infection of zombie textcell drivers and pedestrians, but worse for my own crumbling infrastructure, the incessant noise is invading my ability to take in the city energy.

The northwest Portland-to-Seattle I-5 corridor required my full attention at all times. I know this about the northwest, it is very much the same as the northeast, the density of habitat is reflected in the behavior of drivers. At a gas stop, I spied a perfect replica of the first car I ever illegally owned, this one was a 1971, but it was original and red:

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It was a member of the family, and it sat for a long time, and it is to be restored with fealty to originality, and its new owner should be showing up on this forum:

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A couple of miles up the road, I pulled off and decided to remove the Four Strand Clutch Cable for a new one provided by I think it was pdlrofdrms (?) . The pedal was getting tickier and tickier, and you do not do Seattle traffic with an impending clutch cable failure.

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It was such a nice windy day behind the Walmart, I decided to do the throttle cable too. Good thing. It was down to TWO strands but the boot was still intact:

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Arrived in Seattle at sunset for the next morning's appointment with Ronin10. Could not find my favorite cityscape campsite. Finally conceded defeat behind a Thai restaurant as the rain fell and greased up the streets and pot holes and loud exhaust systems from the current crop of kids who must somehow love their claptrap Hondas a great deal. Pulled the curtains and sank into my 1970's orange plaid cocoon, grateful for the flimsy filter from the din of the city. Woke up to a sprinkley grey chilly morning and an equally chilly stare from the Thai restaurant morning trashbag-toting employee. I loved seeing his disdain. I could imagine what he was thinking about this homeless camper squatter emerging from his camper to shave with his jalousie "mirror". On his third trashbag toting trip to the smelly dumpster, he sees that I am washing my car in the rain with the rain and I am losing the battle against avoiding bug guts on my thoroughly over-saturated paper towel.
"You don't litter here. You understand?"
"Of course. That is why I made sure to park near a dumpster."
"You leave soon?"
"I leave soon."

Don't know how I found Ronin10's house, so disoriented was I from prior visits from a different direction. The reason I love visiting Ronin10 is that he has a sense of humor underneath at the ready. You don't get to see it until it is triggered. It is only triggered when it decides to get triggered. This avoids the all too usual annoyance of people trying to be funny. Don't try. Let it happen. And it was not funny anyways that Seattle decided to drop the temperatures a good 15* or so and dump a misty welcome on my tattered sweat-shirted self and my taped-up long pants that date back to 1983, yes, they do. We replaced the brake booster and master cylinder. We did a fine job of it. We removed the old reservoir with professional coolness captured for posterity under the video supervision of Bleyseng (um, NSFW):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3247809 ... 937360155/

It was decided that the front brake pads might need replacement soon. No really, I have NEVER seen the spreader spring trapped by the pads because they were so close to each other:

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You knew this was coming, Ronin10, suck it up. Did I already mention that your whole family was depending on these brakes all the way to Maupin and back? I think so:

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Ronin10 graciously agreed to a whole nuther day of abuse hosting my next customer, Zelten. What both of these poor suffering pupils did not realize was that Seattle had beaten me down pretty good by the time I showed up the next morning after getting lost AGAIN.
(yes, to be continued)
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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Ronin10
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Ronin10 » Wed Jun 27, 2018 10:22 am

Amskeptic wrote:
Tue Jun 26, 2018 10:52 am
I know this about the northwest, it is very much the same as the northeast, the density of habitat is reflected in the behavior of drivers.
I have the same conflicting feelings about Seattle and other cities in general as well and I've lived here virtually my entire life. I struggle to resolve the thoughtless, unrestrained growth. I struggle to resolve the cold disregard for the hardship of the so-called lowly from those in the heights of affluence, I struggle to resolve the insular, non-reciprocal culture of America. The Seattle Freeze. My neighbors. Myself. I struggle, I struggle, I struggle.

But I have a VW Bus so all is good.

Don't know how I found Ronin10's house, so disoriented was I from prior visits from a different direction.
It's substantially harder to get to my house from I-5 than I-90, but ping me next year and I'll give you the best route.

We removed the old reservoir with professional coolness captured for posterity under the video supervision of Bleyseng (um, NSFW):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3247809 ... 937360155/
What was missing from the video was the wide eyed terror with which I first viewed the reservoir.

It was decided that the front brake pads might need replacement soon. No really, I have NEVER seen the spreader spring trapped by the pads because they were so close to each other...

Did I already mention that your whole family was depending on these brakes all the way to Maupin and back?
Indeed you did. Did I mention that the rears were recently adjusted to an impeccable level of responsiveness? No? Does that get me out of hot water? No? Well, crap.

The braking is now awesome. The new Ate master cylinder, brake booster, and pads are all behaving gloriously. We also took the time to investigate some knocking sounds from the steering box and front suspension, resulting in a big ole ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ when it comes to the suspension knock. The uber-tight steering box adjustment Colin game me to eliminate the knock from the pitman arm shaft will be giving me a forearm workout until I can find the time to investigate the box.

Thanks again for the visit, Colin. As always, it was productive and enjoyable. Mitch, was really happy with his visit as well and I'll continue berating him to get him more active on the site (as well as step up my own participation).
Oscar: 1976 Sage Green Bus, Stock Motor, Solid Lifters, Manual Transaxle

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wcfvw69
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by wcfvw69 » Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:38 pm

My gal is from Seattle. I think it's a fine city when we visit once a year. However, the politicians from the past 40 years need to be rounded up and shot and shot dead. How they got decades behind the population growth with the lack of infrastructure is breath taking. I spend time in S. California. The traffic there is wide open compared to the laughable parking lots, oops, I mean freeways in that Metro complex.
1970 Westfalia bus. Stock 1776 dual port type 1 engine. Restored German Solex 34-3. Restored 205Q distributor, restored to factory appearance engine.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Jun 27, 2018 9:56 pm

(the continuance . . . )

After our brake day, I tried to find my favorite urban campsite in Seattle, as per my memory bank, just take MLK Blvd north until a hill finishes it off, then take that hill to the left to the highest point on that street, then take a left and look for the radio towers and there is a grassy knoll with a view. Didn't happen. I think it got developed. The traffic was pretty atrocious, but the streets stood out in their atrociousness. Old concrete heaves in huge patches with sharp edges. Got lost on my way back to the Thai restaurant. But what a beautiful evening to take in the topography, the bay, the late sun, the rising moon. In the morning, I did not have a grumpy employee hauling trash to greet me. I had slurring Jantelle and "Buddy".
"Yo van is so coooool, ain't that coooool, Buddy? Hey, it ain't got a motor!"
"You're right, it is actually in the rear."
"Go ooonnn, where's under the license plate, is it under the license plate, that is sooo cooool, you from New York?"
"Hey, can I buy a cigarette from you, I got change?"
"I don't charge to kill you."
"Aww thanks, buddy, that's Jantelle, I love her, I'm Buddy. I love the way she just goes up and starts talking."
"I caaaaan tell you're good people, you just straight gave Buddy a cigarette, I got to get to New York. Hey that is sooo cute, is that a plant?"

Arrived at 9:15 because I got lost on the way to Ronin10's house again, construction shut down Alaska street, and I was disoriented quickly by other streets that did bends and roundabouts and dead-ends. This time I approached Ronin10's house from the uphill side. Fine. I'm here, aren't I?
Met Mitch who is an air traffic controller who then got barraged by air traffic control questions. It must take a very fine quick mind to be an air traffic controller, but Mitch demurred. Mitch even put on the air of a dense and confused neophyte overwhelmed by basic questions about firing order. Nicely played, sir. See that dumbfounded expression? :

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We decided he was running pretty lean based on the spark plugs.

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Compression was middling for a young engine 125/120/100/110, but the valve covers showed no signs of heat distress. We did discover that the distributor was banging into the cold start valve so the prior mechanic just left it at a retarded setting. We pulled it, checked the drive gear index (it was fine, so the distributor was just weird, some Flame Thrower deal), stuck in a Ronin10 sloppy breaker point distributor that lined up perfectly with the advance can exactly where it belonged. Now, my "idiot" customer was letting slip here and there that he was on to me, but I missed the cues until the very end, where, ladies and gentlemen, he punked my pompous ass. Yeah look:

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I had very diligently sabotaged his engine for his own good. Diagnosis Practice. With only a couple of hints, he had discovered the pulled brake booster line. He reinstalled it, I asked him to go start the engine, and it started fine. Then he shut it off. I quickly surreptitiously pulled the #3 injector plug off and went on some tour of double relay grounds and power supply. Then I offered to start the engine. I knew the #3 injector plug was off, so I expected a rough engine and showed him the tailpipe test. Then I did the distributor cylinder drop test. #3 was participating? !
"I put that injector plug back on, it was just laying there."
I will get him next time, that's a promise. It is already in his dossier for next year.

Look. Another volcano, Mount Ranier, on my way to the Snowqualmie Summit :

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So, pretend you are driving here. Looks like a "boring" landscape:

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Then a sign, "downhill" or something, and you are swept down into the Columbia River Gorge vista:

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The wind was intense all the way to Spokane WA. I didn't mind. 18.4 mpg @ 70 MPH 390-410* CHT:

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You all don't know it, but I am filthy rich and old, with many business concerns in Idaho, especially moving and storage:

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Photoshopped? Naw:

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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 From Washington

Post by Boxcar » Wed Jun 27, 2018 11:09 pm

Nice with the link from fb.
The wrenching writing travel life,go Iyam.
1975 003 Auto Westy L90D

repair!!!!aug2015
Jan/16 Bumped mixture a few notches richer. finally developing HP.


1.8L/LJet/Pertron DVDA+PertronixCompufire 42/36Ham Heads/AA 93mm pistons/barrels.Porsc.Swiv.Adjusters/CromoSteel pushrds/ Web 9550Cam/55cc chmbr.,035 squish,8.6:1CR/German Supply VWCanadaReman Rods/Schadek 26mmPump/vdo dualOP8/10#low sender/Quart Deep Sump
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Ronin10
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Ronin10 » Sat Aug 11, 2018 5:04 pm

An update after several hellacious weeks at work...

The mysterious knocking from the front suspension? Solved. I checked the ball joints and found no measurable wear. A couple weeks later, I took my bus in for an alignment which was refused due to wear in the drag link and tie rod ends and inappropriate vertical travel at the center pin. A light bulb went off and I ordered a Febi center pin kit. Installed it today and just got back from a test drive. No ugly clunking from the suspension anymore. Thank goodness.

I still need to Frankenstein my current steering box and my spare into a single unit to try and eliminate the axial travel from the steering box, but that will have to wait a couple weeks.

Lastly, ever since Colin left, I've been getting some ugly squealing from the left front wheel during normal driving conditions (not during braking). I pulled the pads and shims and found the lower tab on the inner shim had been squished flat. We apparently hadn't rotated the caliper piston far enough. Fixed that issue, but the squealing still remained so I lightly filed the C-shaped face of the piston to remove some surface rust and added a thin coat of Sil Glyde to it, the upper and lower sliding surfaces of the pads, and to the face of the pad that contacts the shim. After a quickie test drive that seemed to resolve things. We'll see if it holds up over time.
Oscar: 1976 Sage Green Bus, Stock Motor, Solid Lifters, Manual Transaxle

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:44 am

Ronin10 wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 5:04 pm
An update after several hellacious weeks at work...
Oh, you too?

Ronin10 wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 5:04 pm
I still need to Frankenstein my current steering box and my spare into a single unit to try and eliminate the axial travel from the steering box, but that will have to wait a couple weeks.
Yes, please document/photo.

Ronin10 wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 5:04 pm
Lastly, ever since Colin left, I've been getting some ugly squealing from the left front wheel during normal driving conditions
Sil Glyde to upper and lower sliding surfaces of the pads, and to the back of the pad that contacts the shim. After a quickie test drive that seemed to resolve things. We'll see if it holds up over time.
What kind of pads did you get? Do they have a groove in the middle?
ColinSquarebackBrakesToday
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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Ronin10
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Location: Columbia City, Seattle, WA
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Ronin10 » Sun Aug 12, 2018 9:47 am

Amskeptic wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:44 am
What kind of pads did you get? Do they have a groove in the middle?
ColinSquarebackBrakesToday
Ate pads and yes they had the groove in the middle.
Oscar: 1976 Sage Green Bus, Stock Motor, Solid Lifters, Manual Transaxle

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Aug 13, 2018 5:51 am

Ronin10 wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 9:47 am
Amskeptic wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:44 am
What kind of pads did you get? Do they have a groove in the middle?
ColinSquarebackBrakesToday
Ate pads and yes they had the groove in the middle.

The only thing that can be done in this case is to chamfer the leading edge of the pads a bit, and sand the disks with a 220 or even a 180 cross-hatch (thoroughly), rinse well with GumOut, and hope that the new conditioning process is a quiet one.
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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