Honeymoon Road Trip: 4K Miles in a '62 Panel (With Photos!)

[spectre6000]

We're leaving tomorrow morning bright and early. Dallas to Boston, down through NYC, DC, and whatever looks interesting in between. It's a good 1,800 miles from here to the furthest destination if you ignore any detours (there will be plenty of detours). We're keeping it loose; any particularly scenic roads, enormous balls of string, or museums of interest will get priority over getting to a certain point at a certain time. We have one reservation along the way, and that's because it is the only camp ground within many many miles of the one destination AND it is Labor Day weekend.

For those of you familiar with the situation, we were planning to ship the bus to Europe and tour around in a similar vein. That fell through when half of the funding for the wedding fell through. As such, the Europe trip will mark some anniversary or another.

Meanwhile, in preparation for our wedding in April, Andy (our bus) got a new paint job. He was yellow with original ruby red showing through, and now he's a shade of Krylon blue. I replaced door hinges (so they close more easily and more quietly), ended up getting a new engine (long story, but between the wedding and the honeymoon, it was needed), and hammered out a few dents.

In preparation for the wedding, I bought and installed a Retrosound radio, a cigarette lighter (hidden up under the dash), installed an Aircooled.net SVDA distributor with electronic points, changed gear oil in the tranny, steering box (which is in the process of leaking it all back out anyway), and RGBs, changed oil, adjusted valves, adjusted brakes, lubed suspension, and aired up tires (they were a little low). The day before the scheduled lube job, I noticed a pretty nasty oil leak had sprung from the drivers side cylinder head, and I figured it had sucked the valve cover gasket a little. It wasn't pouring oil, so I figured it would get through to the next day. It did just fine, and I replaced the gaskets, sealed them with good ol' black Permatex, and went about my way. It turns out that wasn't the issue... One of the pushrod tube gaskets was hosed. It was a pretty spontaneous hosing, and not entirely consistent, but the engine builder said he's had a few of those fail in the past few months (Elring for those of you in the need to know category). Best gasket kits available, but that's the state of the hobby (quit buying cheap crap everyone!). By the time I figured out what the source of the leak was, it was Saturday night, and I needed the bus to get to work on Monday. My dad (who just bought a '57 Ghia) is just getting into the hobby, so I figured it would be a great learning experience (and I needed some help). We dropped the engine, broke it down, replaced the gaskets, threw it all back together, and stabbed it back in. Leak mitigated.

Meanwhile, my wife (still not used to that moniker) and my father-in-law (even less used to that one) undertook the interior projects. She made up some window covers that are pretty excellent. They fit the windows exactly, and stick up with magnets. Together, they took a Bay era Z-bed box and mechanism that is made to go on the drivers side and rebuilt the box and converted the mechanism to go on the passenger side (to fit the interior we plan to make later on down the road). She got some new foam for the bed cushions, and reupholstered it all. She also got a seat cover to keep the original vinyl from being so uncomfortable (hot vinyl sucks). We finished installing the seat part of the bed last night, and tonight she'll cut and upholster the rearmost cushion. In addition to that, tonight's 11th hour plans include cutting and laying some cardboard down to protect the yet unfinished floor (furniture grade plywood), get the cushion finished, get the carpet in (just a rug that she had in her college apartment that happens to match the paint and fit the floor), clean the bird cage and wash the dog (we're dropping them off with my parents on the way out of town), and pack and load. She also put in some insulation stuff (it's like foil bubble wrap) that was supposed to keep noise out, but it doesn't add any mass (F=MA), so it's just thermal insulation... Oh well.

Having driven this bus across country before (http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=405754) and having not quite made it (Santa Rosa, NM) I've learned what is a good idea to bring and how to prepare. As such, Murphy is a dick, so I'm bringing pretty much everything else too. The long block is new and of new parts, so I'm not concerning myself with any parts contained therein (although a p/c kit would have saved our bacon on the last trip). I am bringing spares of pretty much everything else though: spare points, a spare distributor, spare fuel line, spare fuel pump, spare vacuum hose, vacuum plugs, spare starter, spare alternator, spare belt, spare coil, spare fuel filter, some wire, various and assorted connectors, and some things I'm forgetting. There's a good sized box full of goodies. I'm bringing my standard road kit for tools including a full socket set, wrenches, screw drivers, timing light, tire pressure gauge, crescent wrench, knife, etc. and I'm bringing a big jack, torque wrench, a tow bar, and a few other suck-it-Murphy's. Additionally, I'll be printing the AIRS lists for every state on the route. Needless to say, there's not much that can keep us down.

There will be PLENTY of photos to come, and hopefully some good stories, but before I get there, I would like to know if anyone has any shops between here and Boston that might be good for parts/assistance in a pinch. Additionally, if you're on that route and you see a blue panel on the side of the road with the deck lid up any time in the next few weeks, HELP! I doubt we'll have any trouble, but just in case...

Stay tuned!
_________________
Jason Hopper

-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me

[my65vert]

hope all goes well.

Hit me up if you are in north florida and need help.
_________________
OGJHC
Kombisutra;
I'm starting to get little wafts of bus stink coming from the north. Something about the unique scent of drivers seat padding when it's glued together with mouse piss and shit that really gets me going... and I'm smelling it! Oh yeah! Time to start loading up the equipment.

[WideFive]

Sounds like fun!

If you're anywhere near Cleveland, OH and need help... let me know.
_________________
Aaron D. Badertscher
Click here for ALL my links.

[vw6366]

Have a safe trip.

[zuggbug]

Sounds like fun - my wife would never, ever do anything like that...
I am in Anderson, SC - if you are near hit me up - don't mind helping.

best of luck with your travels.
_________________
SOUTHERN INTEGRITY AIRCOOLERS
58 15 window
56 westy

[61TXghia]

I'm in Long Island NY for business, but will be here for a couple of weeks. If you need help from NYC area, let me know.

[BUGTHUG]

I'm here in Kansas, if you need to go were the roads are dry , might see a few tornados Just outside of Wichita. Stop on by ,stay out in the pasture. Good luck
_________________
I know you would understand what I'm saying if you could just see my HANDS
Even the middle of the week says W T F

1963 15 window bus
1966 VW bug
1966 21 window micro bus
1969 Dune Buggy
1965 VW bug
1974 VW bug
1972 Kelmark, VW drive line
1948 Chevrolet Hearse

[Culito]

Good luck with the trip, I get nervous taking my junk anywhere over a few hundred miles. (I do it anyway.)

I'm on the AIRS list.
_________________
© CJ Industries, Inc.
'64 standard w/2.0L type 4
'62 bug

[j.pickens]

I'd head up through the mountains.
Arkansas, Tennessee, VA, WV, PA, NY, CT, VT, NH, ME

Scenic Byways:
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/other/usfs

You'll be up high and in the trees, away from the smog and heat in your non-AC bus.

One park I'd suggest, Breaks Interstate Park at the VA, KY, WV junction.
Simply beautiful. You have to go out West to see much like this.

_________________
Founder and Chairman Emeritus, ECMSAS
BBX BBXII and BBXXI Long Distance Award Winner

[spectre6000]

[BulliBill]

If you're in the St. Louis, MO area and need anything let me know... Have a smooth trip and a great time!

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[roamer]

[Buscowboy]

I hope you guys have a wonderful trip full of good memories. I am flying from London to Stockholm, Sweden to collect a 1964 DeLuxe Beetle (7 countries in total, 1,400 miles)
I have done this before and loved it. Sure it can be a worry, buy if you are sensible and carry a few spares and tools you should be fine.
Take plenty of pics and post them up when you return.

Johnny from across the pond.

[bus guy]

Good luck guys! I followed your last trip on here. I too have done several long trips in buses (longest ones were 2000 miles in 4 days and 3600 miles in 2 weeks) just take it easy and make sure your valves are adjusted right and you should be fine.

[busmania]

Sounds like a blast. My fiance and I are contemplating taking the bus on the portion of our honeymoon thta is a road trip. I didnt think she would be for it but she said "think of the memories we will make and stories we can tell later on in life....like when it breaks down etc". My jaw almost hit the ground! My wedding is in a month so Im not sure it will be ready by then but we will see! Good luck with your trip! I would offer help, but I am out west.

[BarryL]

[Andy P]

Sounds fun.
One question though......are you towing a little trailer full of all of the spares and tools?
_________________
Cheers & God Bless

'62 Beetle

Jägdwagen

[jeremyrockjock]

I am in Richmond, Va if you need a place to stay or tools and shop to fix some junk.
_________________
Why buy what you can build.
Step away from the fiberglass and no one gets hurt!!

[Stanagon]

I've got a VW shop in the Boston area. Have a good trip.
_________________
Stan's Classic Service, specializing in air-cooled VWs:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=614073

www.stanagon.com


My '61 Mango bus thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=110367
My '64 vert thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=386344
My '71 squareback thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=637709

[spectre6000]

Due to an incomplete interior and an ugly weatherman, we had to do a good bit of packing the morning we were trying to leave. We got on the road around noon, filled the tank, and headed east.

I was in a bit of a foul mood at our delayed start, but the new radio and new cigarette lighter combined with an iPhone and a bit of advanced planning gave us a Douglas Adams audiobook to lighten things up. Our first fill up was right after we crossed into Arkansas. The bus was running strong and fast averaging about 75 mph at that point.

Things stayed pretty droll (save some pretty obviously flooded rivers) until we got to Memphis. A check of the weather forecasts for the various major cities along our intended route indicated that we would be under perpetually cloudy skies and more or less constant rain (not a pleasant proposition given a pair of leaky windshields, a leaky overhead vent, and leaky quarter windows, all of which I attempted to rectify the afternoon before we left to a small degree of success). I'm proud to say that with the exception of a drip from one corner of the overhead if left open during rain (rightfully to be expected), and the untouched quarter windows (which are fine as long as there's motion), it was pretty dry.

Wet was not our problem, however, as we pulled into Memphis. As we entered the part of town wherein becomes apparent that you've made it to a town, traffic came to a screeching and unexpected halt. It wasn't raining at that moment but it was definitely dark. My fearless sidekick in this adventure (and all future adventures) picked the iPhone up from the parcel tray and proceeded to check the weather report. About that time the sirens started blaring. The weather report indicated a tornado had touched down just few miles to the north of us, then another. We continued on, unabated, albeit with eyes firmly glued to the skies. The storm cell continued along right behind us, if not a bit slower, until nightfall.

By the time we got to Nashville, it was thoroughly dark. The sky had been producing various forms of spittle on and off for several miles prior, and the wind was a real challenge. We got some pretty crappy gas about an hour outside of Nashville, and the hills headed up that way (in an otherwise complete darkness punctuated only by the variously lit tractor trailers) did not help us in our efforts to outrun the storm.

We stopped at a walmart in Nashville to pick up some latex gloves for the eventual maintenance to be performed and a much needed restroom break. While looking for the automotive section, we were greeted/accosted by a largish white male with long greasy hair, clearly in his twenties, and clearly in the middle of an alcohol-fueled evening of fun. He was walking (stumbling really) around a walmart at eleven on a Wednesday night carrying a gladiator-esque pool noodle (a large foam rod that looked not unlike a giant Q-tip).

As we walked by, giving him a wide berth, he came up to me and presented his foam armament, and told me he was going to "whomp them sir-kayduhs" (sic). It's worth noting at this point that, in the south at least, there are these rather large bugs, cicadas, that crawl out of the ground and up on trees to shed their skin this time of year; they're large, loud, and appear suddenly in large numbers. One can be found in Andy's "teeth" here.

I acknowledged his statement while attempting to decipher it in my head. Failing this, I conferred with my spouse and we came to an agreeable conclusion about the bugs and hitting them with he pool toy. Later, I took the opportunity to use the restroom. As I was taking care of things, I heard our oafish friend outside drunkenly explaining to some unlucky passerby that he was going to "whomp" that white boy when he comes outta there. I wasnt the only person in the restroom at the time, but the other inhabitant was in a stall with his shorts down around his shoes covering anything that might alleviate my concerns that I might be the only white boy in the restroom. Attempting to remain composed, I exited the restroom with caution, scanning the empty cashier stations as I did so. What I did not think to scan was the bench immediately outside the restroom, obscured by the wall, upon which my simian pal stood, plush beating stick at the ready. I jumped out of obvious and uninhibited surprise. He laughed and said, "Oh, not you. Is there a white boy in there?" I replied that I honestly didn't know, met up with my spouse, and we left. Between that and the various "ghetto starship" hair cuts, we came to the conclusion that it's probably best to not judge a place and it's people by the inhabitants of it's Walmart at 11:00 at night.

At around one in the morning we pulled into a Walmart parking lot about an hour outside of Knoxville, fixed up the bus, and went to sleep.

We were somewhat rudely awakened when the storm caught up with us... We were forced to tape up the panel vents that were antagonizing our REM cycles by sporadically spitting little droplets of cold water in our faces. Once taken care of, the remainder of the night passed eventfully.

This morning I decided it was probably a good idea to check the valves. I was pretty sure I was battling bad gas and hills, but in the dark it was hard to tell what were hills. Between bouts of precipitation, I rolled out my yoga mat and checked the valves. All is well. I'm going to double check the timing at the next gas stop to make sure. I'm wondering what role an elevation change might play here. Anyone?
_________________
Jason Hopper

-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me