White Westies In Hood River OR
Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:37 pm
Well I just looked and my first appt with Colin was 2013 in Maupin, OR, so this was visit #7! Geez, time flies by....
Another great visit this year. I had all three buses lined up with a short list of items to check on. Nothing major and most of our time was focused on replacing the windshield seal and rust eradication on Bus 2. That one would be the easier of the two Westys and figured I'd warm up to it with the easier one first. Basically been scared to death to do this because I fear the worst in the rust dept.
Well Bus 2 wasn't so bad. A couple small holes but no cutting out metal or anything like that. Just some rust conversion, sanding, priming and....that's where it is right now. I have ordered some paint and have decided to also paint the dash while I'm at it. (I ordered L43 from Wolfsburg West for the dash, anyone know if that's a close match?). I plan to paint the dash in place with some careful taping and covering the speaker holes from underneath.
I had a windshield seal already and so far haven't broken the original windshield yet. It has a couple of dings on it already so I'm prepared emotionally if it does break. We put the seal on and it's just sitting there waiting to be put back in after painting it. The windshield work takes time for paint to dry etc, so it's not a one day job for me which I expected. But it's out and we're doing it and I'm happy to get this well on it's way.
We also checked for exhaust leaks on Bus 2 because it's starting to sound a little raspy. We decided that there are no leaks but just a muffler with 45k on it and it's probably time to just replace it. Bus 2 is still running like a top but notice a little smoke when cold. It's been sitting a lot this summer so that doesn't worry me but I'm always curious how many miles I'll get out of it. This is my first Headflow Masters long block and it's been just great and lasted long enough so far that I'm happy as heck with it. Still doesn't leak any oil either.
On Bus 1 we checked ball joint play. It checked out just fine and I was surprised because I've never given them any thought in the 11 years I've owned this Bus. We also tuned the carb adjustments a bit. I have a slight hesitation on take off with it and we smoothed that out a bit. Still a little hesitation I noticed after driving it a bit more. But it's running smoother and the hesitation is pretty minor. I have Bus 2 to compare with and to get them both running exactly the same is tricky. They are identical engines with rebuilt carbs and distributors etc. I think they both run excellent but Bus 2 has a better idle and absolutely no hesitation on take off. Bus 2 has a lot more miles on the engine too (about 45k) Bus 1 now has about 6 or 7k on the engine which is another Headflow Masters long block. I just started to notice a drop or two of oil after a drive with Bus 1 so we checked that out and I think I found the issues which was a loose generator stand. One nut wasn't even finger tight. So that was an easy fix. We will take Bus 1 on our annual family road trip this year after taking Bus 2 for the last 4 or 5 years but either Bus is totally ready for any kind of trip (once I get that windshield back in Bus 2).
Now Bus 3 was started again for the first time since last years visit. I brought it out of the field and washed all the crap that starts to grow on these when they are sitting out to pasture. The mice have moved in and I have several traps set in there all the time and I check them every few weeks and alway have at least one caught in the trap. But the smell is not great and needs a full cleaning etc. It actually started right up and runs on 3 cylinders nowadays. I have another engine for it too when I decide to put more time in this one. After washing it and as time goes by I realize it's not a bad bus, needs some love for sure but really it's a decent start for a tin top project. It's good to bring it out of the field every once in a while. I think I'll mess with it more over the winter. But we gave this no love on this years visit because we had other more important things to do. So it just sat there, patiently waiting for someone to love it....next year....maybe.
I think that about covers our day. I enjoyed it as always and learned a bit more about the Bus, as always, and am left with a little more motivation to tackle windshield replacement and deal with the unknown that lies underneath that seal.
Thank you Colin for what you do. It's the perfect service for a guy like me.
( I hope to insert pics soon...)
(Quick side note, Robbie, you have a way of posting pictures here from your phone, how do you do it again? It's easy but I post pics so infrequently that I can't remember...
I'll add the pictures when I learn how again. )
Another great visit this year. I had all three buses lined up with a short list of items to check on. Nothing major and most of our time was focused on replacing the windshield seal and rust eradication on Bus 2. That one would be the easier of the two Westys and figured I'd warm up to it with the easier one first. Basically been scared to death to do this because I fear the worst in the rust dept.
Well Bus 2 wasn't so bad. A couple small holes but no cutting out metal or anything like that. Just some rust conversion, sanding, priming and....that's where it is right now. I have ordered some paint and have decided to also paint the dash while I'm at it. (I ordered L43 from Wolfsburg West for the dash, anyone know if that's a close match?). I plan to paint the dash in place with some careful taping and covering the speaker holes from underneath.
I had a windshield seal already and so far haven't broken the original windshield yet. It has a couple of dings on it already so I'm prepared emotionally if it does break. We put the seal on and it's just sitting there waiting to be put back in after painting it. The windshield work takes time for paint to dry etc, so it's not a one day job for me which I expected. But it's out and we're doing it and I'm happy to get this well on it's way.
We also checked for exhaust leaks on Bus 2 because it's starting to sound a little raspy. We decided that there are no leaks but just a muffler with 45k on it and it's probably time to just replace it. Bus 2 is still running like a top but notice a little smoke when cold. It's been sitting a lot this summer so that doesn't worry me but I'm always curious how many miles I'll get out of it. This is my first Headflow Masters long block and it's been just great and lasted long enough so far that I'm happy as heck with it. Still doesn't leak any oil either.
On Bus 1 we checked ball joint play. It checked out just fine and I was surprised because I've never given them any thought in the 11 years I've owned this Bus. We also tuned the carb adjustments a bit. I have a slight hesitation on take off with it and we smoothed that out a bit. Still a little hesitation I noticed after driving it a bit more. But it's running smoother and the hesitation is pretty minor. I have Bus 2 to compare with and to get them both running exactly the same is tricky. They are identical engines with rebuilt carbs and distributors etc. I think they both run excellent but Bus 2 has a better idle and absolutely no hesitation on take off. Bus 2 has a lot more miles on the engine too (about 45k) Bus 1 now has about 6 or 7k on the engine which is another Headflow Masters long block. I just started to notice a drop or two of oil after a drive with Bus 1 so we checked that out and I think I found the issues which was a loose generator stand. One nut wasn't even finger tight. So that was an easy fix. We will take Bus 1 on our annual family road trip this year after taking Bus 2 for the last 4 or 5 years but either Bus is totally ready for any kind of trip (once I get that windshield back in Bus 2).
Now Bus 3 was started again for the first time since last years visit. I brought it out of the field and washed all the crap that starts to grow on these when they are sitting out to pasture. The mice have moved in and I have several traps set in there all the time and I check them every few weeks and alway have at least one caught in the trap. But the smell is not great and needs a full cleaning etc. It actually started right up and runs on 3 cylinders nowadays. I have another engine for it too when I decide to put more time in this one. After washing it and as time goes by I realize it's not a bad bus, needs some love for sure but really it's a decent start for a tin top project. It's good to bring it out of the field every once in a while. I think I'll mess with it more over the winter. But we gave this no love on this years visit because we had other more important things to do. So it just sat there, patiently waiting for someone to love it....next year....maybe.
I think that about covers our day. I enjoyed it as always and learned a bit more about the Bus, as always, and am left with a little more motivation to tackle windshield replacement and deal with the unknown that lies underneath that seal.
Thank you Colin for what you do. It's the perfect service for a guy like me.
( I hope to insert pics soon...)
(Quick side note, Robbie, you have a way of posting pictures here from your phone, how do you do it again? It's easy but I post pics so infrequently that I can't remember...
I'll add the pictures when I learn how again. )