TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:26 am

So I'm getting a bit of stick for keeping the source of my engine a "secret." :o

Didn't mean to, but I was asked out of respect for Colin to wait a few days.

Anyhow, this post was meant for the IAC, but instead of re-writing a whole new post explaining how/why I got the engine, I'm just going to repaste here.

-----

This is adapted from a message I sent to Colin, but I figured I would let everyone know that the heart of the Road Warrior will continue to beat inside my 75 Transporter.

First, I wanted to formally introduce myself, since most of you don't know me. My name is Joe Rogel, and I am the benefactor of the engine of the beloved Road Warrior.

While I won't claim to know as much about Colin or the history of his IAC travels, I do want you to know that I am aware of who he is and the immense contribution he has made to the VW community. I've read testimonials from Colin's customers and their descriptions of him as a man of integrity, who possesses great knowledge and always goes the extra mile to make sure people know how to take care of their VWs.

I have profound respect for Colin, and I am truly grateful to receive the heart of the vehicle that he bonded with over a half-million miles of adventures, travels and happy memories.

Just a bit about myself - I grew up surrounded by VWs in Mexico, and when I turned 18, I got the car I always wanted - an aircooled Beetle. I am now 26 and after 3 Beetles (all sold, one killed by a 79 Cadillac), I am the proud owner of a 1975 bus, which I purchased in June.

Since buying it, I began working like a dog to accommodate the 71 T1 motor that was mounted, since the previous owners blew the T4.

Unfortunately, the poor thing was not well-maintained and was very tired. Also, they never properly sealed the engine compartment, and it was breathing in hot air for over 1 1/2 years, and not surprisingly, isn't in the greatest shape.

My summer and early fall was spent doing the following:

- Replaced aftermarket doghouse shroud with stock shroud, along with air scoop in rear
- Restored working flaps (had to make some brackets of my own)
- Added Bellows thermostat
- Added mustache bar and mounts for engine support from 71 bus
- Replaced air filter
- Installed heaterboxes in good condition
- Replaced heat accordion tubes
- Replaced fuel neck
- Replaced fuel filler neck
- Installed new generator
- Installed new generator pulley set
- Installed new generator belt
- Installed new spark plug wires
- Installed new preheat hoses
- Installed new stock VW valve covers
- Installed new Empi deep oil sump (extra 3.5 qts)
- Installed new fiberglass cooling tin (for buses 72 and up with T1 engines)

Since my wife and I really enjoy camping, we also swapped out the remaining original interior for a late Westfalia camper interior instead.

Having the bus has been really exciting, fun and rewarding to work on. We've even met some amazing people like pb24ss, Bretski and Calivw78 for wrenching and going camping.

But it was also mentally tolling at times (and physically - vertigo really sucks!). Having the wrong engine in my bus has not been fun, and problematic to say the least.

When I got word that Colin's engine was up for sale, I couldn't resist. I'd been wavering back and forth between saving up for a rebuild on the Type 1 or trying to buy a Type 4 core and going through the painstaking trouble of getting all necessary tin and parts for the switch back. Knowing how meticulous Colin was with the Road Warrior, I knew that nothing else I could have bought would have been cared for the same way, and I would know nothing about its history. Now that I have Colin's engine, I can have peace of mind and hopefully start doing what my wife and I have been dreaming of: doing cross-country road trips and seeing our families with the bus.

What I want to try and communicate is that though I am by all accounts an amateur, I am an individual who doesn't rest when knowing there is something wrong with his motor. Now that I have Colin's, I will do my best to maintain it to the best possible standard, and ensure that it is cared for. I admire that Colin got it to this point, and I want to continue its life for as long as possible. Also, Bretski, pb24ss and Calivw78 have encouraged me to continue recording the mileage, and I fully intend to do so (anyone know how to reset an odometer? :D ).

- Joe
----

Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:38 am

What a great story...my motor is just a motor. Your motor is a GOD!!!! :shock:

Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:07 pm

Very cool RIOMX. That engine definitely has quite the pedigree. Congrats.

Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:38 pm

Congratulations! 8)

Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:55 pm

man that motor is beautiful =P~ =P~ =P~

Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:28 pm

Wow! I haven't seen a type 4 with the stock solexes in a long time. Cool deal.

P.S. - I saw you on I-25 again the other day.

Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:45 pm

I am secretly hoping that like any warrior who has the misfortune of being maimed, the desire to live and enjoy life will bring the spirit back to life as a lightened panel trailer after the damaged part is removed and properly put to rest. Then with as much enthusiasm it will tour the country with another of its kin nearby.

Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:58 pm

SGKent wrote: I am secretly hoping that like any warrior who has the misfortune of being maimed, the desire to live and enjoy life will bring the spirit back to life as a lightened panel trailer after the damaged part is removed and properly put to rest. Then with as much enthusiasm it will tour the country with another of its kin nearby.

That would be amazing. I've seen a photo like that on the forums...but can't remember who has it. It's an orange westy, I think.

Thu Nov 05, 2009 10:00 pm

redwagon wrote: Wow! I haven't seen a type 4 with the stock solexes in a long time. Cool deal.

P.S. - I saw you on I-25 again the other day.

Haha. That's what Sean (or Shawn?) at Painter's said the other day.

We missed each other this summer, but hope we can meet up at a GTG soon or something. Hope your South African project is going well.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:30 am

frank79 wrote: What a great story...my motor is just a motor. Your motor is a GOD!!!! :shock:
that's kinda sick

Fri Nov 06, 2009 5:22 pm

RIOMX wrote: redwagon wrote: Wow! I haven't seen a type 4 with the stock solexes in a long time. Cool deal.

P.S. - I saw you on I-25 again the other day.

Haha. That's what Sean (or Shawn?) at Painter's said the other day.

We missed each other this summer, but hope we can meet up at a GTG soon or something. Hope your South African project is going well.

You're hard to miss because your bus is so distinctive! My S.A. bus project is going pretty smoothly. I made it run and spent a ton of time cleaning it. I took it to a couple shows in september too. I need to work on the brakes and suspension a bit this winter and I plan on driving it a lot next summer. Hopefully I'll run into you soon!

Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:16 pm

The bus lives.

I was at it with friends for 10 1/2 hours on Saturday, 11 hours on Sunday, 12 hours on Monday after work, and 2 hours last night. We've overhauled my bus in many ways trying to prepare it for its "new" engine.

We gave the bus this treatment:

- Removed 1971 T1, mounted 1973 T4 motor
- New heater cables
- New clutch cable
- New "kidney"-shaped piece for clutch cable
- New clevis pin
- Adjustment of accelerator cable
- Rebuilt starter
- New battery wires
- New battery tray
- New gear oil
- New felt seal where input shaft goes in transmission
- New fuel pump
- New fuel lines
- Restored metal where A/C compressor used to be
- Repaired wiring harness
- Used blower motor
- Used plastic heater tube for blower motor
- Slightly used complete engine seal
- Removal of all A/C components under the body

Painter's Grinding in Denver took care of timing, adjusting carbs and some wiring, since we had trouble getting it to idle.

Hopefully it'll be reliable and less of a pain now.

Thanks to all for your help! It's been quite a crazy past few days.

Hopefully the bastard will stop being a cranky teenager and appreciate the love it's gotten.

Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:22 pm

Pics or it didn't happen.

Congrats on getting the engine installed!!

Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:31 pm

VDubTech wrote: Pics or it didn't happen.

Shaddup! :lol: :lol:

Great work Joe! Keep it coming! :D

Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:38 pm

Awesome story. Glad you have a motor that not only works for you but is legendary.

I like the black stripe around your bay ;)

Are you removing the aircon completely? if so what are you doing with it?
It was never an option here to my knowledge so I've never seen one in the flesh. Don't know why as we sure need it. just consulted the online converter for translation to the Units of the Ancients. Right now we see temps of about 110F, and it's still got a way to go before it hits its peak.

If / when you have kids you'll probably finding yourself trying to think of a use for the bay. my second arrived a few weeks ago. After an awful trip in hot fly-swarmy weather requiring a few stops it occurred to me that a subtly modified camper would make a great day tripper with heaps of room to tend to children etc. just something to think of in the future.

We had better see some trip reports with lots of photos to show us that the soul of the motor lives on in its new owners!

Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:08 pm

RIOMX wrote: Painter's Grinding in Denver

Do you really like Painters? Really?

Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:58 pm

VDubTech wrote: Pics or it didn't happen.

Congrats on getting the engine installed!!

Good call. I'm getting my camera from the bus right now and will have pics up in a bit!

By the way, in true bus d*ck move fashion, the parking light on the left side stopped working, and so did my heat, after all of the cable repairs! @#$% dammit! Couldn't expect any less from it, though.

EDIT: Pics will have to wait. My buddy who owns the shop where my bus was at took my personal stuff out of my bus so it wouldn't be sitting in the lot overnight.

Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:07 pm

peaceful warrior wrote: VDubTech wrote: Pics or it didn't happen.

Shaddup! :lol: :lol:

Great work Joe! Keep it coming! :D

Thanks man, but I have to give huge credit to my friends Jon and Dan (pb24ss) for helping me through it. Without their help, this thing would have taken ages to get back on the road.

Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:19 pm

RatCamper wrote: Awesome story. Glad you have a motor that not only works for you but is legendary.

I like the black stripe around your bay ;)

Thanks man, but I'm not digging the yellow. It's gonna have to go :)

My wife and I are planning to do a dark brown respray with beige pinstripes.

Quote: Are you removing the aircon completely? if so what are you doing with it?

It was never an option here to my knowledge so I've never seen one in the flesh. Don't know why as we sure need it. just consulted the online converter for translation to the Units of the Ancients. Right now we see temps of about 110F, and it's still got a way to go before it hits its peak.

I have all of the components except for the compressor, so I am going to be selling it. I wanted to get it running again, but I'm pretty exhausted and just want to enjoy my bus without worrying about restoring yet another major part of it. Besides, Colorado gets hot, but there's no use for it in the mountains, since the air is very cold up there.

Quote: If / when you have kids you'll probably finding yourself trying to think of a use for the bay. my second arrived a few weeks ago. After an awful trip in hot fly-swarmy weather requiring a few stops it occurred to me that a subtly modified camper would make a great day tripper with heaps of room to tend to children etc. just something to think of in the future.

My buddy Jon was trying to convince us to buy a Westfalia camper and make the bus into a transporter again and using it to cart the kids around in the future.

Funny thing is, my bus was probably a hardtop riviera. It was ordered as a bare-bones Kombi and converted to a camper. There are all sorts of holes indicating that camping gear had been installed at some point.

Quote: We had better see some trip reports with lots of photos to show us that the soul of the motor lives on in its new owners!

I'll do my best to keep updating with pictures!

Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:21 pm

73kombi wrote:
Do you really like Painters? Really?

Painter's is exceptionally good to me. The guys are awesome and do quality work.