Spring Once-Over

First I would like to start out with an apology; it has been far too long since I have posted anything.  No excuses, just too lazy to get it done.  I will try to do better.  I have gone from ready to sell the bus to, I am certainly going to keep it.  I am pretty solid on the keep it decision at this point.  I do have too many projects going, but the bus still holds a special place in my heart.
I don't know why, but the weather this spring has been a gift.  Way too warm, way too early.  While the farmers are in a bad way, it does afford us an opportunity to dig the toys out nice and early. 
After getting the bus out of storage quite early this year, I noticed after driving it a few days that it was leaking a bit of oil.  I had just recently gotten back from a big engine builders show in Lansing Michigan a couple of weeks ago and I was holding a spiffy new electronic ignition module in my hand.  I have a Bosch 009 distributor all reworked ready to put it in and a nice new set of plug wires to go with it.  I also have a set of “J” tubes to install, a new Gene Berg oil pump cover that needs to be installed along with a drill and tap of the block for full flow.  My intent is to have a full flow oil filter system on the bus.  So, out came the engine!

It came out very easily.  It took me about 30 minutes just taking my time.  I mounted the stand adapter to the front end and my neighbor and I lifted it in place.  This is pretty nice; I have never had the luxury of working on an engine up on a stand.  I think it was worth the $40 investment and some welding to make that work.

Another thing that has bothered me about the last time I did this engine is that I had painted all the parts up nice and pretty and when I painted the bus, enough overspray got all over the engine to make it look like is was all hazy.  This removal gave me a chance to repaint all the tin ware as well.

I started in on the oil pump.  As anyone who has ever attempted this on an early bay knows, routing the hoses and fittings from the pump and block past the exhaust, through the cooling tins, past the pulley, around the supports is a major pain in the butt.  I spent the better part of a day and about $50 making this work.  (big drill bits and brass fittings are expensive!)

 

In between working on the plumbing, I sprayed the tin ware and it all had a couple of days to dry over Easter.  I got back at it the next week and while attempting to install the upright cooling shroud, I noticed a small “clunk” in the cooling fan.  After a bit of wiggling and Jiggling, I concluded the generator bearings must be bad.  I knew the generator was working fine, and I could not hear any bearing noise, but that clunk was unmistakable.  So off it came.

Better now than once it is in the bus I guess.  Parts are on order now.
Actually the generator was pretty easy to dis-assemble to get at the bearings.  It will give me a chance to clean the years of dust and crud out as well.  If you ever get a chance to dig into one of these, don’t use a strong petroleum based cleaner to do the job.  The problem is the windings inside the generator are delicate.  They are a series of, seemingly, bare copper wires all wound into nice neat coils.  This copper wire actually has a clearish coating to keep them from making contact (electrically) with each other.  This coating is a form of varnish.  Any solvent that will soften, or otherwise attack varnish is a no-no.  I think the best option is to stick to a spray can of electrical contact and parts cleaner available at most auto parts stores.
It looks like the generator parts will be here before the weekend.  That will be nice, as I would really like to have the engine all back together and put back in the bus this weekend if possible.  Hmmm.  That’s a tall order.

A nice little bus trip

It was my first “real” show of the summer, not because there haven’t been others, but life just kept getting in the way.  On Sunday June 26, in South Haven, MI our local V-Dub-Club held a fund raiser/car show.  The weather could not have been better.  It was in the mid 70’s, low humidity, and a beautiful sunny day with a gentle breeze blowing off the lake.  It just doesn’t get much better than that.

The ride down was made better by the fact that I finally got the stereo/CD player installed and working.  A bit of Jimmy Buffet to set the tone, a hot cup of coffee and a nice ride along the lake Michigan shore was a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning.

About 35 cars showed up this year, It seemed a bit lighter than in years past, but a nice group of folks to be sure.  We wandered around, looked at each others cars, and chatted for hours about VW’s, road trips to come, and adventures past, you know, the stuff that seems to happen at all car shows.

As is usually the case, each of these trips affords the opportunity to add several “to-do’s” to the list.  I have discovered that I would really like to lower the front of the bus a couple of inches to make it sit level.  I have a set of Avis adjusters for a link pin beetle, I am sure I can make those work, but it will be a pretty big job.  While I am under there, the ball joints really need to be replaced.  If I just order the ball joints, I bet that will motivate me enough to get going on this.

Show over, door prizes dispersed, things packed up, good-by’s said, and back on the road for home.  About half-way back, Saugatuck, MI, I am lured in by a fresh Michigan strawberries sign.  Strawberry season in Michigan lasts about three weeks,  I couldn’t help myself!  Like I said, A great day.

A nice ride on a nice Spring day!

Just got the itch to take the bus for a ride the other day.  I ended up down at the beach for a quick pic, and an ice cream on the way home.  It feels good to be driving the bus again.

First visit of the season

I got up to the storage garage the other day to visit the bus.  It's starting to get nice out once in a while and it is getting close to car show season.  I wanted to be sure it would start and everything looked good before move back home day.  All was well.  I couldn't resist installing the little piece of "Grill" I bought for the bus this past winter at a show!

New winter project!

As I mentioned a while back, it's time to park the bus for the cold and salty Michigan winter.  I decided it was time to start looking for a new winter project.  My first thought was a rat rod beetle, but I could not find a suitable donor.  I did, However, run across this nice little 67 Beetle that was just begging to be brought back to it's former glory.  I decided to start a new blog for the beetle project.  I will start posting back to the bus blog when I get it out in the Spring.  For now, it's Beetle time.  I hope you enjoy the project as much as I will.

Good times just driving the bus.

I have been having a great time driving the bus and just tinkering with the hundreds of little things that one must do when you own a 40 year old car.  There is always a little clip that needs to be replaced or a seal that needs to be removed and reinstalled, the list never ends.  I have been spending a bit of time working on a hard cover photo book of the bus project.  I found a site that makes this pretty easy to do.  It's called Blurb.  I haven't bought anything from them yet, so I can comment on their quality, or service, however, their software for making the book is pretty good and it's free.  I will be sure to let you know how it comes out.  I thought this would make a nice thing to have sitting in the bus when I take it to shows.
As a part of that project, I needed some pics of the bus in it's finished (current) state.  I headed out to the park and shot a few pics before the weather gets too cold.  Have a look.

Some plans for next summer include a new awning that is a bit more authentic looking than my Walmart pop-up, Maybe a roof rack, I have the front beam adjusters on order so I can lower the front to match the rear, a new stereo, and maybe a new air cleaner and some stainless push rod tubes.  Then it's on to some more shows.  My brother in law and I are talking about making it to Road America this coming June for the big show there.  Sounds like a good time.  Maybe I need a tow dolly or a trailer?

Window seals and a new stripe

It was raining a bit yesterday, so I thought I would see if I could make some headway installing the new door/window seals on the bus.  I started on the passengers side door and just dug in.  It all made pretty good sense as I went, it just seemed to take forever.  I was at it for a bit over 3 hours to do this door.  I didn't get to the door seal itself, just the window and vent seals.  It looks really nice, the only problem I am still having is the window goes up and down very stiff.  I am not sure why this is yet, I can only think it might be how hard the new seals are squeezing on the edges of the glass.  this might be a problem.  I will try putting a couple of wedges in the slot and prying the gap open a bit.  This might help a bit.

The next thing I decided to do was to add a 1/8 (3mm) black stripe to the two tone line between the turquoise lower and the white upper.  I saw this on a white over yellow bus at the show last week and it looked pretty nice.

Upon further inspection, I noticed that my seats also have a black piping on them; it's like it was just meant to be there.  What do you think?  Keep it, or lose it?