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Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:56 pm

To-Do list to follow soon.

Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:12 pm

Looks like a perfect fixer-upper to me ;)

Congrats!

Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:27 pm

Arrrrrrrrr....and she'll be a fine ship, Jack!
It could be worse...the rats had forgotten to abandon ship in my 1980 barn find. :shock:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=1126328

Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:46 pm

The later style 3-window tent will give you more ventilation... but I see you already have pretty good air movement up there.

Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:51 pm

Ahwahnee wrote: The later style 3-window tent will give you more ventilation... but I see you already have pretty good air movement up there.

Go Westy's prototype right there.

Nice van, keep us updated on the progress!

We like pictures.

Lots

of

pictures. :popcorn:

Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:16 pm

welcome, that is a cool name for your rig. seems fitting as well.

Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:53 pm

Ha! Great name.

Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:14 pm

History:
This van was my Dad's. He had VW vans since the 50's, when he used them for delivery vans for his scientific equipment sales and repair (German microscopes = German van).
I always liked the camper vans; they are like little rolling playhouses :)
Dad quit driving in 2001, so that's when it got parked. Outside.
It has the original engine, almost 100K mi.
Maybe 6-7 years ago, we used some starting fluid and jump started it (!) and got it up into the barn. I think we put some Stabil in it too.

That's when it became a MOUSE playhouse.

3 years ago, we put a new battery in it, gas, and started it again (!) and trailered it to a storage unit so the meth-heads wouldn't get to it. They already had pulled all the badging off of it.

Last summer I washed it. And put new wiper blades on it. And put on a dust mask and shop-vac'd as much of the mouse stuff I could get to.

Before it was washed. This side faced north, as you can tell. I have to confess, I used a scrubbing pad. And Soft Scrub with bleach on the roof.

Inside. Not bad shape, just years old dirty. And mousy. They didn't seem to chew much of anything. There was an epic nest on the upper bunk, under the roof. And little mouse mummies. Bleah. When I popped the top, it rained mouse nest down on me.

When I was done vacuuming, it didn't look half bad. The smell, though, oh my.

Last winter my nephew gave it a tune up, new calipers (old ones were frozen on), master cylinder, brake lines. Pads were all still great.
Les Schwab put on new tires and rear brake cylinders.

Old tires:

Then after a few test jaunts, we filled it with gas, hung two pine tree air fresheners, and drove it 250 mi to our house! Went like a champ. Got it to 70 mph steady! Well, you know, except for uphill. The air fresheners were very helpful.

Elwood the Cat genuflecting to The Ghost Ship, minutes after it was parked in his yard. He can't quite believe his eyes! and those are the new tires. BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A 195/75/14, same size as the old Les Schwab ones.

Still making to-do list.

Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:18 pm

I'm not certain I'll be calling it The Ghost Ship once I replace the tent. Even though the tent is the GW prototype :) we'll see.

I was calling it White Lightning when we were BLAZING up I-5! At 70 mph!

Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:07 pm

Seriously? that is the absolute best name I've heard for a van. Period.
The story and the pictures back it up.

Rock it. :D

Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:14 pm

All righty then!

Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:19 pm

Glad to see it's settled. I am insanely jealous of the name, btw, and I'm not a "name your vehicle" type.

Good luck with your van!

Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:52 pm

I am a "name your vehicle" guy, and I love the name.

Ours is "Hamish", though I've been referring to it as das Flederhaus of late. :)

Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:59 am

This looks like a great project. Have fun -- and watch out for "Mouse Mummies."

Sun Jul 27, 2014 6:24 am

Think of it as a "land yacht" ..
I hope you will take great care of yourself and future shipmates as you clean...clean ...CLEAN!
Hantavirus is a real hazard. TAKE EVERY PRECAUTION...
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001382.htm

Then, take care of your van..change ALL the fuel lines. Fire onboard a vessel, especially these tubs...er, tankers..uh, tugboats is a real hazard.
There are extensive, encyclopedic and exhaustive (whew!) expert infused threads on the Samba that will guided me as they will you through these waters. Search the forum, you'll find many safe harbors here on the Samba, Then, you won't have to change the name to "the Fire Ship"...
http://www.benplace.com/fuel_line.htm

Looking forward to your addition to the fleet...keep the dry side up. John in GA
Elwood smells dinner...

Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:23 am

The goal right now is to have the van clean and functional. Then I'll work on things like making the kitchen work (I don't think Dad ever used it). And put some tunes in it. There's not even a radio!

When I make a to-do list, I like to put things on it I've already done, and check them off. And of course, this list will be added to as we find more things.

Brakes. New master cylinder, lines, calipers, rear brake cylinders, fluid. DONE

New cap/rotor/plugs/wires DONE

New BF Goodrich All-Terrains DONE

Clean. Clean. Clean. I plan to pull out and clean and reuse everything I can. This is such a satisfying clean. You can definitely see where you’ve been. Thanks for the warnings about hantavirus. We're trying to be careful. ONGOING

Sliding door won’t open. Can put key in but it won’t turn. Inside, can flip lock button up, but turning and pulling inside lever does nothing. Already been reading some forums on this. Need to take door panel off to have a look see. NOW OPEN BUT KEY IS STILL AN ISSUE

Replace pop-up canvas. It has the aluminum strip and screw setup. Will take the top off to do this, because the top needs a good clean, especially due to epic mouse nest that was built on upper bunk. Need to investigate on the forum more about the prop-up system. I seem to recall it was spring loaded, so you would get more assist in pushing up the top. If that’s so, it ain’t springing anymore. It’s all muscle. Perhaps I recall incorrectly.

When fueling up, when it gets close to full, gas comes gushing out of the filler neck somewhere. Also, the fuel gauge is not too accurate. So, need to drop the fuel tank and fix. We think the fuel pump is making intermittent noises too, like it’s not happy. Maybe it’s in its death throes. And it smells gassy as you’re driving along. Need to go through the whole fuel system, sounds like. Thanks OldHuldy for the tip. This will not be The Fire Ship.

On trip north, oxygen sensor light came on and stayed on. Maybe it’s because of the fuel system issues. Maybe the sensor finally cacked. Or the catalytic converter. Van still runs ok.

There is a decent-sized oil leak in the back. Maybe engine? Maybe transmission? Investigate.

Replace transmission oil.

Replace coolant.

One of the hubs squirted a little. Need to keep an eye on it.

Needs new windshield washer pump

Rust/paint spot repair

Heater core

Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:27 am

Methinks you're enjoying the maritime theme. Aargh!

"O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won..." W.Whitman

Or, here's Dad's favorite:
The boy stood on the burning deck
Eating peanuts by the peck

:D

My cannon: pew pew pew!

Sun Jul 27, 2014 1:04 pm

Some more photos of mouse horror. Come on, I know you love it :) :

Site of former epic mouse nest in upper bunk

Missed one on my first go around with the shop vac.

In another cupboard, found another curtain and a screen that looks untouched. Not sure where they go yet...:

OK, need to take off door panel. Looks like someone has been in there in the past. I got a trim removal tool from Harbor Freight, so hopefully I won't screw it up more:

As I'm pulling clips out, dried mouse turds pouring out from bottom. (yes I have mask and gloves on) Got all clips out, screw is stripped on back handle, so need to wait for hubby to get home to .. drill it out? I guess. But, I can pull the panel back to reveal... aaaugh! (cue Pyscho music)

Sun Jul 27, 2014 1:50 pm

Wow...I can remember the smell by just looking at the pics.. Where's my respirator?! Mine was the same... It ALL had to come out...don't give up unti the smell is gone... ;-)

Sun Jul 27, 2014 2:23 pm

this is getting SPOOKY ! :shock:

your gonna find the Ghost of Stewart Little in there somewhere :)