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I've owned VW bugs since the early 80's and have been working on them since I was a kid w/my Dad, back in the 70's. I currently have a 69' convertible that I did a full body-off restoration during 1999-2002. Many rusted out panels were repaired and replaced. I did all the metal work and body work and then had a shop paint it. I then went thru the mechanicals on it and I then rebuilt the engine around 8 years ago. I also own a 67 bug that I bought out of S. California in 2006. It was in original condition, with original paint but was worn out. I did a mechanical refresh of the 67 (front suspension overhauled, cables, brakes, transmission was rebuilt (before I bought it) and I also rebuilt it's original engine as well. I then painted it in my garage a couple of years ago. The interior was refreshed back to like new/original condition. I've owned several bugs over the years and this 67 is the most solid, tight, original driving/feeling bug I've owned. Both bugs are purist stock w/all the original, rebuilt parts on the engines.
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I've spent the past several years on The Samba reading threads, while learning from the most proficient VW mechanics/contributors. Having the two bugs done, I wanted a new project. I had really fallen in love with the Bay bus campers. I then spent my time in the Bay forums on The Samba and here on this site. Reading Colin's threads and his write ups made me really appreciate his knowledge, passion and his skills with these old buses. I decided to hire him for a day on his 2015 tour, with the sole purpose of him doing a very anal, nit picky assessment of all three of my VW's and check the work that I've performed on them. I've never had anyone with Colin's vast experience drive these VW's. While I'm not a mechanic by trade, I've learned over the years of wrenching on them. With the great resources of VW manuals and now this site and The Samba, it's easier than ever to do the work on these VW's ourselves. I've learned so much from the experienced contributors from both sites and especially Colin's posts and write ups.
I was blowing my driveway off when the familiar sound of a beautifully running bus drove up the street at our scheduled time and backed into my drive way. Colin was being followed and "stalked" by a freshly developing haboob to our east. Colin jumped out of his bus and after our greetings, he pointed to the storm heading our way. We adjourned to the house and a cup of coffee, to let the haboob blow over us. Note to self ... NEXT TIME it would probably be a great idea for me to shut my garage door before going into the house! My spotlessly clean garage looked horrific after we went back out there.
Colin confessed to only having about 2 hours sleep due to some not so quiet and respectful neighbors at his motel. I was also sleep deprived as well from a couple poor nights of sleep. Colin proceeded to discuss some theories with me, then get an understanding of my skill set and what my objectives of the visit where. While he quizzed me with what should of been some simple questions, my brain failed to comprehend nor articulate any thing resembling a cohesive, correct answer. He patiently kept w/me until my poor, tired brain wrapped my head around what he's was teaching me.
Colin hopped into the 67 bug first. I asked him to PLEASE be OCD, anal and nit picky. He said no problem. We drove the bug a few miles and other than suggesting a slight tightening of the steering gear worm adjuster and replacing the rear shocks that he felt were getting weak, he gave the 67 a thumbs up. I had the engine rotating assembly balanced when I rebuilt the engine. When I put it all back together, I felt like it ran good but had never had an expert assess it. Colin slighted tweaked the fuel mixture screw, then said it ran great and smooth and we moved onto him doing the same assessment to the 69 vert.
Luckily the rain and dust storm had passed and the skies were not threatening. We jumped into the 69 convertible and headed off. Colin noticed it had a slight, lean backfire when driving it. We pulled in and he proceeded to adjust the Solex carb. He discovered that while the carb's fuel adjustment screw would adjust, it simply wasn't responsive enough to the adjustments. We also discovered the original throttle positioner was not working. I happened to have bought an NOS rebuild kit a year or two ago for the throttle positioner and I hope it fits and corrects that problem when I get to it. So, on the 69, I was left with a list that included, removing, then disassemble the Solex 30-2 carb, soak it and blow out all the vacuum ports to see if it improves the sensitivity of the air/fuel mixture adjustment. Then, I need to fix the throttle positioner. We also saw some slight oil moisture/weeps that I need to follow up with. I was relieved that nothing else was noted or pointed out.
To say I felt relief after Colin drove both bugs and gave them a thumbs up would be an understatement. I was certain with these engines I'd rebuilt, he'd say "what's that knocking or internal noise I'm hearing"! I've only rebuilt 3 VW engines in my life and was happy they passed his inspection.
Finally, we got to the 70 bus. The first thing he noticed was the engine lid rod/holder was installed backwards and the rollers were probably frozen. It's not exactly an easy opening lid. I opened his engine lid and went WOW.. He pointed out other things that I was not aware of that I noted for future repair and we got in for a drive.
The two big rocks he noticed was the steering gear worm adjustment was a bit tight and the bus didn't return to center as easy as it should. I had installed new ball joints (the good ones that don't bind up) and tie rods too and he said they need to work in. He also noted a slight flat spot on the engine due to probably the 30/31 carb. Overall, he felt the 1776 engine was very smooth, balanced and ran well with good power. He then proceeded to test the brakes. The roads were still a bit wet from the storm that passed through earlier and when he stomped on them (all drums), the right rear locked, throwing the bus into a bit of a scary sway to the left. Oh boy, I thought. We pulled the bus into the garage and removed the rear drums to explore why this was happening. I had only inspected the rear brakes but they looked fine to me. Colin noticed that the drivers side leading shoe brake lining was smaller than the rear shoe's. We looked at the passenger side rear linings and they were both the same length. So, the right rear brake leading shoe had a lot more lining than the left side. After thinking about it, we came up with grabbing a grinder and carefully removing the extra lining material from that shoe so it was the same length as the other side. We did this, then put it back together. Colin explored more under the bus, looking for anything else of concern.
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Colin noticed that the bus shifter rod was squeaky in the tube. While I had it out and replaced one of the bushings on the shaft, I was far too stingy in NOT lubing it or the tunnel up enough. Colin came up with a good solution/plan to spray some white lithium grease into the tube then used compressed air to blow it back thru the tube and blow onto the bushing. This lubed the bushings back up and we had no more noise. He "gently" suggested that I get busy on treating the surface rust under the bus and then undercoating it. He then did a wonderful job of adjusting the steering gear that I had adjusted a bit too tight. He quizzed me on what other things I had lubed under there and then asked me if I had gone thru the sliding door bearing cleaning, adjusting. I proudly stated that I had and go ahead and check it Mister! He did and said, it's actually not too bad. Colin applied just a slight bit of grease on the lower track, pulled the upper guide roller bracket off, re-lubed that bearing and adjusted it. Now, It was pretty good before Colin did this. After, it was EVEN BETTER.. When you pop the door handle, the door rolled down the track on it's own, twice as far.. He said it's one of the better opening doors. I tried his sliding door on Chloe and of course it opened spectacularly.. Damn show off.
I had a chance to really look at Chloe in person. To say it's an amazing bus would be an understatement. Colin let me drive it and wow, was it like driving a new bus. His shifter was so silky smooth, tight and crisp. The steering felt terrific and his engine was responsive, crisp and simply ran beautifully and quiet.
We did a final road test of my bus and the brake pad tweaking/readjustment resolved the right rear lock up. The steering was much lighter and returned to center easier as well. Colin's expertise and his decades of experience with these old air cooled VW's is VERY apparent.
The day was complete. My GF knew Colin was visiting and we were not sure if he'd have time to stay for dinner before heading off. He agreed to stay. My GF Eva spoiled us both with a fantastic dinner and beer. We had a very enjoyable conversation during and after dinner. Colin then left us to head towards NM.
It was great to finally meet you Colin and thanks again
Bill