TBRRD Hits The Road

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poptop tom
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by poptop tom » Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:12 am

Safe travels, once again, to you Colin!!

How do you compare the comfort of the drivers seat in the early bay to the BobD late bay?
Mr. Blotto wrote, "Boy - thanks for the offer, but a month in poptop tom's world means 5 years"

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dtrumbo
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by dtrumbo » Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:22 am

Since we're peppering you with questions... did Mike wire up the front reflectors to be marker lights? I know sometimes, if the angle is right, they will reflect camera flash and appear to be lit, but in every picture posted so far they appear actually lit. I can't believe the stock-enthusiast Mike Browning would have committed such an atrocity. We'll blame it on a previous previous owner.

Safe travels and say hi to Mike for me. I know he's riding shotgun with you even if you can't see him.
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

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jimbear
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by jimbear » Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:18 am

Good luck Colin and early bay! Enjoy the patient pace and old bay feel. I am looking forward to the next northeast visit...
'74 Hardtop Westy
Pretty much stock engine setup

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Amskeptic
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:55 am

sped372 wrote: It's already developed lazy mirror syndrome! :blackeye:
Ahh no. That is Parallax Syndrome, whereupon my desperate desire to get a full view of the I-5 Portland Metro traffic hurtling up behind me has caused me to commit an aesthetic faux-pas that is shared with the BobD. The upper inner edges of both mirrors are canted to the longest visible line of road behind the bus. Then the outside edge gives me a preview of any idiot swooping in from two lanes over. Looks stupid, no debate there ...

The BobD in Death Valley:
Image

TBRRD near Mount Shasta:
Image

This bus sneaks the miles in. It did all the mountain passes between Oregon and California and I found it to be effortless for this 48net hp engine so long as I kept it in the happy spot around 3,500 rpm. Yes, when the hill looms, I dive for the climbing lane, but once there, it is a great time to catch up on:
*dusting the top of the dash
*realigning both outside and rearview mirrors
*cleaning the instrument glass
*picking at that dried glue near the headliner
*finishing chapter 17
The TBRRD has the same odometer error as the Road Warrior did. Every mile is recorded as only 9/10ths on the odometer. Tires are standard. Does this car actually have 99,500 miles??

Image

(p.s. I too find the illuminated front markers dumb on the early buses with their parking lamps so close by. But I think they could serve a purpose on the later buses where the legally required side marker illumination are these diddly little things stuck in up under the windshield in the turn signal housings. The replacement turn signal housings do not have provision for the side marker bulbs, so it is a nice idea, Mike .... just overpowering on the early buses )
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: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:09 am

Oregon72 wrote::thumbleft: Sorry I missed the lab - 'twas out of town. Looks like the TBRRD has survived it's first leg - it's good to see it on the road again.
Hello Troy. I wanted to drive your bus just a little, just to get some early bus juju WITH a Type 4 engine for just a little moment. This bus has no idea how things have changed for it ... starts up "sure, let's go to the store", then finds out that it is running at speed for the next 12 hours straight. Yee HAW, it's Highway Time!
ColinSunnyInRedding!MustGoToChillyCoastNow
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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sped372
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by sped372 » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:29 am

It's funny to read your accounts of the hill climbs... sounds so familiar. Sometimes it feels like you're riding a ski-lift or something. There you are, puttering up the hill at a constant mediocre speed with the trees passing by and the engine humming away at it's happy spot. I feel like our bus has a way of splitting the journey into it's divisible components... you notice the hills, you get real acquainted with them because you have no choice but to slow down. They become milestones on the journey and landmarks to look forward to next time. The areas between the hills are enjoyed in a different way entirely. It's hard to explain; to some it might seem a nuisance but I've grown to find comfort in it.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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ruckman101
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by ruckman101 » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:56 am

Indeed, hills are noticed. Like Cabbage Hill east of Pendleton, OR on 84. Or that monster 95 going north out of Lewiston, ID. I thought that one would never end. Unforgettable.


neal
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jtauxe
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by jtauxe » Wed Oct 12, 2011 2:44 pm

We have a landmark hill on I-25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe: La Bajada.

We also have on that must be scaled to get up to Los Alamos: the Main Hill Road, topping off the substantial climb up from the Rio Grande to get all the way up onto Pajarito Plateau where the town sits.
John
"The bus came by and I got on. That's when it all began..." - Garcia/Weir/Kreutzman
http://vw.tauxe.net

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Birdibus
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by Birdibus » Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:24 pm

It looks like you found some sun. It was over 100 here today. Tomorrow will also be hot.
71 bus, 74 westy

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SlowLane
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by SlowLane » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:57 pm

sped372 wrote: It's funny to read your accounts of the hill climbs... sounds so familiar. Sometimes it feels like you're riding a ski-lift or something. There you are, puttering up the hill at a constant mediocre speed with the trees passing by and the engine humming away at it's happy spot.
Light-bulb moment here. I think I just figured out what VW was thinking when they came up with the air-cooled Vanagon. They were just trying to help people get back into that laid-back, we'll-get-there-when-we-get-there headspace.

I can just picture a design meeting, 1977 or so:
"Dammit Heinz, people are just going too fast in our latest type IIs. They're not enjoying the journey."
"No problem Fritz, we'll just add weight. That should slow them down on the climbs. Better improve the brakes though..."

Yup, that explains everything. (well, except the wasserboxer)
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

Lanval
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by Lanval » Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:41 am

Birdibus wrote:It looks like you found some sun. It was over 100 here today. Tomorrow will also be hot.
Seriously, quit effing around in the NW and come to where the sun is....


http://sciencedude.ocregister.com/2011/ ... ts/146363/

Have I taught you nothing?

Lanval

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Sylvester
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by Sylvester » Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:47 am

Lanval wrote:Seriously, quit effing around in the NW and come to where the sun is....


http://sciencedude.ocregister.com/2011/ ... ts/146363/

Have I taught you nothing?

Lanval
Today Colin meets up with Airkooledchris. I wonder how that is going? What is the weather like out there?
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue, I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace. Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod, The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

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airkooledchris
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by airkooledchris » Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:58 am

We actually ended up doing our visit yesterday.

it was bright and sunny all day long. I even got a mild sunburn on my neck and arms from being in the direct sunlight most of the morning/afternoon.

it was a great visit this time around, nowhere near as crazy as our marathon session last time around thankfully.
1979 California Transporter

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ruckman101
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by ruckman101 » Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:28 pm

The rain has it's own perks.

Image

Image

Image

Yummers.


neal
The slipper has no teeth.

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glasseye
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Re: TBRRD Hits The Road

Post by glasseye » Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:50 pm

Yummers is RIGHT! :cheers:

Thass a shedload of chanterelles, right there.

Autumn is good.
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.

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