IAC visit with Sylvester

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Sylvester
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Location: Sylvester, Georgia
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IAC visit with Sylvester

Post by Sylvester » Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:15 pm

After defending the Beatles to VWB this morning, Colin arrived and away we went. I only really wanted to get my brakes, steering and shifting looked at, but I was still motionless after my battery swap. With Colin's help, we narrowed it down to the starter. In my career I have gone thru I know 20 starters, so I should have guessed this was my issue. I got a re-built Bosch from AZ, for as long as that lasts. Also replaced my front brake pads, they were shot. I even found a set in town on a Sunday, go figure. In six short hours, Colin and I:
Adjusted my carb, a bit. It was running very rich.
Timed it. Found I have a Petronix, oh boy.
Did the valves. Not too shabby.
Fixed my shifting, it is a case.
Fixed my gas pedal, oh boy on that too.
More details later. It runs sooo much better. My details will shock some, startle others. It has been a long day. Get Colin, it will make your day.
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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Amskeptic
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Re: IAC visit with Sylvester

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:49 pm

Sylvester wrote:In six short hours Colin and I
Fixed It
That is a nice bus. It really has potential to be a quintessential early bus, so long as we stop the rust and soon. I did say I wouldn't tell anyone how nice the pink above the beltline was, so I won't.

Colin :flower:

[Squareback started right up and waited until I was in heavy traffic to blow open a fuel hose (yes, one of the new ones from Bus Depot NOT DESIGNED FOR FUEL INJECTION!) at the #3 injector. . . Main Source Germany, tomorrow]
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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Sylvester
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Location: Sylvester, Georgia
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Post by Sylvester » Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:52 pm

I have posted the problems with my Bus on here before in the Type 2 forums, but in a nutshell it started with issues it had since I bought it in June of this year. I want to remind the reader that I bought my Bus sight unseen, not a wise thing to do. Also, I camped the heck out of it and have driven around 1500 miles in it since then. I knew Colin was coming so I held off in my working on it to when he got here. Also a weekend off for me is a rare thing. What I wanted Colin to look at was:
1. Steering. The Bus pulls to the right a bit. Bought the German Supply swing lever bushing kit, center pin kit.
2. Shifting. My Bus shifts with a wide arc for 3rd and 4th. It took me awhile to learn where the gears were, I saw it as an anti-theft device. You would not get far hot wired. Bought the German Supply coupler at the transaxle and front bushing.
3. Starting. Sam had started on her own the last time on Wednesday; please see “Stranded in the Storm” on the Type 2 forums for the details. I figured these three were good to get done for a half day.

Come Sunday at 0900, I was busy posting about VWBusRepairman’s Beatle snubbing, fixed my house’s hot water heater then met Colin. Colin asked for clarity what I wanted done, but first and foremost would be to adjust the valves with the cold engine. It seemed all my exhaust valves were a little tight, so we adjusted them. New cork gaskets sealed only with grease, thin please. The old ones were rubber and leaking, not good. We scraped the head and the valve covers with a razor blade, to ensure a good seal. Looking in the engine hatch, Colin revealed my hatch catch, the metal spring that locks your hatch into place when you open it up, was on backwards. He corrected that, then stressed the importance of oiling the hatch hinges, which he did to mine and his Bus. I knew my bus was running rich, so we decided to time it and check the dwell, and points. Colin popped the distributor, and viola! Petronix representing! Say, that explains the two wires running from the distributor to the coil, so no points for me. Under my killer Holley 2 barrel, is some carbon and what appears to be a something leaking down. Colin cleans it, reminding me to keep an eye open for my carburator possibly flooding and spilling off onto my brake booster hose. Bad point on my engine, booster hose goes behind the firewall tin, Holly carburetor adjustment screws all face the fan shroud to allow the linkage to be on the right side. The loose wire from my regulator is supposed to ground on top of my generator. But, in its chrome covered sleeve there is no hole. It still hangs until I figure out where to put it on the generator. We jumped Samantha to take her for a ride. Colin had issues shifting her, along with my butchered gas pedal, he saw lots to do. We check the timing. It is a bit erratic, but not far off. I am still unsure as to why, I am sure Colin explained this but somehow I missed it today. Colin tried his best to adjust the mixture on the carburetor, and did lean it a bit, but the screw is hard to get at in its current setup. Also, my newly purchased multimeter a bunch of us bought on the web, did not work well trying to find the rpm. It jumped all over the place, where Colin’s analog meter did just fine. Colin cleaned the air filter for the carburetor, and we were done with the engine. Next, Colin decided my butchered gas pedal had to go. He had me remove the front tires to check the brakes, since it pulled to the right, while he looked at the shifting and gas pedal. My front brakes were beyond drivable, they were wafer thin. Miracle of miracles, I found a NAPA down the road with a set of “organic” shoes, they were very sorry to be out of the ceramic ones. I left Colin, got the shoes, came back and proceeded to put on the new pads. With Colin’s instruction and his noticing my piston plates were on upside down from the PO, and heard his report. My Bus is crusty rusty down under. It was from California in the early 90’s, and had been in a garage in Indiana until I bought it. Colin explained this was sitting rust, this Bus had sat awhile, somewhere. The seep holes in the front torsion bar tubes had been pinched shut, probably from a jack in the past. Colin chiseled both out after showing me where they were. Also, my floorboard in front was crusty. I discovered the drivers side had leaked a lot at one time, I had rust through where the floorboard meets the step. I need Geno. Colin sprayed it all down with rust catalyzing primer. I must attend to this pronto, so this will be ongoing this winter.
My gas pedal was a Home Despot special. The bottom hinge was for a door, all shiny and galvanized. It sat at an angle to the lever going under the Bus, making it difficult to push down. Colin Moved it center, lubed it up, and now it pushes like new, and does not squeak. My shifter had taken a pounding. Obviously aftermarket, it had been hammered so hard at one time it had bent the outside of the plate on the floor. I didn’t see all what Colin did here, he did put in the new plastic bushing, moved the spring pin on the shifter that had been worn on it’s sides, pounded up the floor to meet it, and replaced it back as it was. What had once been two feet between second and third, was now mere inches. Now I had to get used to almost factory shifting. My gas pedal only needs a half an inch to be peppy now. Before, it was a slug. You might think these two fixes were insignificant, that it all should just screw down and you are done. When it is thirty six years old all mucked up from a PO, and you have someone like Colin who presses details to where it can be enjoyed, is a great thing. I would have put those things at the bottom of the fix list. Colin realized how much more enjoyment I could get out of my Bus if those were fixed.
I almost forgot, I could not start my Bus. Really the first thing Colin had me do was turn it over and he listened. It turned once. The he had me turn on the headlights, then the emergency flashers. He noticed the headlights did not dim while the flashers lit, meaning the battery was good. It had 12.56v on it, and my VDO gauge did read 13.5 while running. But, with this test Colin determined the starter was shot. I did get a rebuilt Bosch later in the day, was a pain but once in, a mere two cranks and it was running.
We did this and a lot more details, including two test drives, we did a lot for a half a day. Colin strives to make your Bus enjoyable again. My Bus was non-running and in sad shape before Colin came, now it is happily and safely on the road again. Now on to the rust issues I face. I hate rust, coo coo cachuoob!
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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Quadratrückseite
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Post by Quadratrückseite » Fri Nov 02, 2007 6:34 am

Great writeup!
I hope to get Colin out here next year sometime as well.
"The bus is the real talisman. It's the thing that runs through all of this history. It's not a thing anybody owns or controls. No matter how peeved you get with people, the bus always makes your heart jump. Everybody was attached to it."
- Ken Kesey

Steve
1978 Country Homes Camper conversion - "Gus"

http://gusthevwbus.com
http://freshandmodern.com/blog

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Amskeptic
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Post by Amskeptic » Fri Nov 02, 2007 7:10 am

I will be passing through North Carolina just this coming Tuesday. . . :flower:
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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Quadratrückseite
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Post by Quadratrückseite » Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:48 am

Amskeptic wrote:I will be passing through North Carolina just this coming Tuesday. . . :flower:
Man, I'd love to have you stop by...
but to quote John Muir, "I'm a little short on bread right now." :flower: :hippy2: Actually, a lot short. Whatever your daily charge is, I'm short at least that much... :) I'm like the analogy in the Muir book of the guy who is going cross country in his bus and only has $75 - minus the $75 :)
The missus has me on a short leash with this one.
I'm working on selling a few things to get some "bread" together for my bus. A visit from you is definitely one of those first priorities for the bus. I really think the service you offer is incredible - you are like a modern day traveling John Muir!
"The bus is the real talisman. It's the thing that runs through all of this history. It's not a thing anybody owns or controls. No matter how peeved you get with people, the bus always makes your heart jump. Everybody was attached to it."
- Ken Kesey

Steve
1978 Country Homes Camper conversion - "Gus"

http://gusthevwbus.com
http://freshandmodern.com/blog

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zblair
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Post by zblair » Fri Nov 02, 2007 1:24 pm

North Carolina??? Duuuuude, I thought you were heading WEST? Did I miss a notification somehow, or post or somethin???
1974 T1 Super Beetle "Fweem"
2017 Honda HRV "Domina"


"Love something? Serve it."
~Roshni Mitra

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Elwood
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Post by Elwood » Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:14 pm

Hello Colin, give me a call or pm when your in So Cal, I will buy you a coffee or DC and share some things. Bought you a trinket in the Land of the Midnight Sun. :flower: B/E

ps, I need to meet up with regalaser (Steve) some where in LA to exchancge some parts and talk about selling Jake. Could work at a Starbucks in area of your choosing maybe????
'69 weekender ~ Elwood

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Amskeptic
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Post by Amskeptic » Sat Nov 03, 2007 5:30 pm

zblair wrote:North Carolina??? Duuuuude, I thought you were heading WEST? Did I miss a notification somehow, or post or somethin???
I'm gettin' around to it. . . . I just yesterday dropped the engine in the Squareback to smooth out that horrendous vibration in the clutch area.
PrincessPeaUnderTheMattress
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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Post by Amskeptic » Sat Nov 03, 2007 5:31 pm

Elwood wrote:Hello Colin, give me a call or pm when your in So Cal, I will buy you a coffee or DC and share some things. Bought you a trinket in the Land of the Midnight Sun. :flower: B/E

ps, I need to meet up with regalaser (Steve) some where in LA to exchancge some parts and talk about selling Jake. Could work at a Starbucks in area of your choosing maybe????
Maybe we three at Starbucks?
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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Elwood
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Post by Elwood » Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:06 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Elwood wrote:Hello Colin, give me a call or pm when your in So Cal, I will buy you a coffee or DC and share some things. Bought you a trinket in the Land of the Midnight Sun. :flower: B/E

ps, I need to meet up with regalaser (Steve) some where in LA to exchancge some parts and talk about selling Jake. Could work at a Starbucks in area of your choosing maybe????
Maybe we three at Starbucks?
Colin
All depends on when you will be down our way. I don,t do LA easily, but owe Steve a parts run. Let me/us know and we will see. I will be going to Arizona late in November.
'69 weekender ~ Elwood

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LiveonJG
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Post by LiveonJG » Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:45 pm

Excellent write up, thanks!
Sylvester wrote:Colin asked for clarity what I wanted done, but first and foremost would be to adjust the valves with the cold engine.
How did you possibly get away without being shook down for coffee first thing? If I don't get him a cup forthright, he gets his short-shorts all in wad.

-John
Keep it acoustic.

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Amskeptic
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Post by Amskeptic » Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:45 am

LiveonJG wrote:Excellent write up, thanks!
Sylvester wrote:Colin asked for clarity what I wanted done, but first and foremost would be to adjust the valves with the cold engine.
How did you possibly get away without being shook down for coffee first thing? If I don't get him a cup forthright, he gets his short-shorts all in wad.

-John
I asked him with a cup of coffee already in my hand :bounce:
Otherwise, we would have just been standing there waiting for the sun to come up above the buildings to finally reach us.
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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Sylvester
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Location: Sylvester, Georgia
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Post by Sylvester » Wed Nov 07, 2007 11:48 am

Amskeptic wrote:I asked him with a cup of coffee already in my hand :bounce:
Otherwise, we would have just been standing there waiting for the sun to come up above the buildings to finally reach us.
Colin
Funny you should ask, I brought Colin some coffee in one of my cups after he finished his Starbucks. He looked at me and said, "Where is my Starbucks cup?" Apparently my coffee would only taste good in his fancy-schmancy $3.59 Starbucks cup, and he promptly poured it into it. A mere five minutes later, Colin backed up from my engine and stepped on his full Starbucks cup and splashed all the coffee on the pavement. I think that was the moment he switched to Diet Coke.
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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iwantmybustorun
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Post by iwantmybustorun » Thu Nov 08, 2007 9:40 am

I don't know if Colin does anything around a vw engine without thinking it through first... so my logical conclusion must be that you make really bad coffee. :joker:
73 Westy
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Weber single progressive
[Crane ignition system out]
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