TheSamba.com :: View topic - Thinking of selling my 79... please talk me out of it :)

Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:07 am

Yes but I have a working 79 engine sitting in my garage.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:11 am

Bummer the OP hasn't gotten back with anyone with the invites for local help...Hell, I'll stand around around and watch, and offer suggestions!!! And hand out the beer and crack jokes!!!!! Lots of help from those of us close to you dude!!!! get back with us!!!!! Frank79, are you with me on this?????

Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:19 pm

VWBusMan1 wrote: I have a 79 beige deluxe Westy that has been a project for a couple of years now. On the way back from the campout at Harper's Ferry (John Brown's Busses--a fun group) I dropped a valve seat and limped home. Anyway, found a strong 79 FI engine out of a running 79 (the fastest bus I ever had:) and now am stalled putting it back in. I bought this bus via The Samba, shipped it from California and have been f---ing around with it ever since. In the meanwhile looking for parts (it's a long story) I bought a 72 that has been pretty much a daily driver for a year. And, I end up camping out in it instead of my much nicer Westy (of course getting there is important).

Since winter is coming and I only have a carport to work on it I'm thinking of unloading at a loss. And, at the risk of being P. whipped my girlfriend is upset that I seem so lost in the project. Still I know I'll feel badly as I see it being towed away by the new owner.

Hence, I need a pepp talk.

Thanks guys, it's just a down day for me--feels like Monday.

It's time to deal with your troubles like a real 21st century man... pay somebody else to do it.

A good mechanic can have your bus singing like a canary in a few days. All you have to do is write a check. If that is too hard use a credit card :lol:

This is a radical idea for me. I used to feel I had to fix everything myself. In the last year or 2 I have been hiring people to do things and it's wonderful, usually. You can't imagine the thrill of having something done with no work or worry on your part.

The exception is when you hire some cheap goon and he messes up. Therefore I try not to hire cheap goons. I look for the best guy around and surprisingly, it usually doesn't cost any more and sometimes costs less.

Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:43 am

actually, I've had the guys at Peek Performance take very good care of a couple of my busses over the years. They are dependable and honest but not cheap. I'm sold on the dependable and honest part.

However, hearing all the praises about how great VW FI is, how it's origninal and all, I replaced the engine with an FI engine. Unfortunately, the guys at Peek don't do FI and I couldn't figure it out either.

Now I doubt FI blew up my engine, yet when I go back to VW it will be with carbs.

So to answer, the question: Yes, I am cheap yet I get a lot of satifaction doing the stuff I don't need a lift or machine shop tools for. The rest I take to Peek and I have been very happy.

Sorry to you guys who've PMed me. I didn't notice till I got back to this thread.

Thanks again, Mark

Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:43 am

actually, I've had the guys at Peek Performance take very good care of a couple of my busses over the years. They are dependable and honest but not cheap. I'm sold on the dependable and honest part.

However, hearing all the praises about how great VW FI is, how it's origninal and all, I replaced the engine with an FI engine. Unfortunately, the guys at Peek don't do FI and I couldn't figure it out either.

Now I doubt FI blew up my engine, yet when I go back to VW it will be with carbs.

So to answer, the question: Yes, I am cheap yet I get a lot of satifaction doing the stuff I don't need a lift or machine shop tools for. The rest I take to Peek and I have been very happy.

Sorry to you guys who've PMed me. I didn't notice till I got back to this thread.

Thanks again, Mark

Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:08 am

Quote: Hell, I'll stand around around and watch, and offer suggestions!!! And hand out the beer and crack jokes!!!!! Lots of help from those of us close to you dude!!!! get back with us!!!!!

I know this is not all you're good for, but you are damn good at it!! :D

OP is tired of constant problems with this particular Westy. He's definitely selling it. He was cool and responded to my PM offering parts/time. He's moving on...

Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:27 am

And Randy still has a bus tow bar and a 79 bus engine in his garage.

Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:43 am

yet I really do want to move on. I know it's psychological yet if I have to slide under my bus one more time I might piss myself. I'm just getting that adverse to working on it. Maybe if summer were coming I'd be more positive.

Hopefully, the next guy will have better luck and I'll see it at shows and such. And, I agree, I've done this before and will be kicking myself afterward.

Thanks again, Mark

P.S. Sorry, sometimes, because of my aversion, I go a long time without checking into Samba.

Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:52 am

I will give you a saw-buck for it.....

Just give yourself a rest from it. Put everything away and stay away from it and don't think about it. In other words give your brain a rest!!!!!!!!

Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:01 pm

that's is a good prescription. I would be more enthusiastic in Spring.

However, since parking is such a hassle in DC (they actually tow expired tags and such off private property and one is not allowed to park an RV, boat or trailer on the street) I'm sick of dealing with DC gov't as well. And, unfortunatley to even renew Historic tags I need to get her back thru inspection and I doubt they'll pass her in tow.

Kind of between a rock and a hard place--as it were, Mark

Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:00 pm

DC ....good luck

Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:36 am

Well I towed back Mark's bus from DC to Maine last weekend.

Note to self: Pulling a bus behind a 1990 Jeep Comanche is not for the weak at heart. Too much load for too light of a truck. Wind doesn't help. No one with MA plates is actually capable of driving.

Jeremyrockjock's towbar is a work of art and works great. Very secure.

It will soon be driving around New England after some work is performed over the winter. Maybe we will get it to the Litchfield show?

Thanks Mark for all of your help in this one. I appreciate it.