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A story from the 70s and
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11Bravo
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Joined: March 04, 2017
Posts: 185
Location: New York
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 5:31 pm    Post subject: A story from the 70s and Reply with quote

After I post this all will know. Up until today only two people knew about this VW story, my good buddy and my wife. This can also be a good learning story. It starts with my throwing a rod on my daily driver (got me home with a hole in the case) So I see in the local paper a 64 for $75 as is. I call and owner claims it runs good. My friend goes with me the 25 miles to look at it and it sounds fine, so I buy it. Understand the owner tells me the brakes don't work. I'm young and crazy so I throw my plates on and start the trip home using the gears and E-brake. All was fine till I was about 3 miles from home on a 65mph parkway. Well the left rear wheel and drum leave the car and the shower of sparks my buddy said looked cool as I steered to the shoulder. Bottom line and I wont get into police problems is the PO took it in for no brakes. He got the quote for repairs and said forget it. Well the shop must have been pissed and never put the cotter pin back on the axle nut.
Moral of the story, flat bed home so you can check things out first.
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René R.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 8:30 pm    Post subject: Re: A story from the 70s and Reply with quote

Ouch! That sure tops any old story I can remember. Getting a speeding ticket in a 1950 beetle in 1966 hardly counts!
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Alan Brase
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Joined: March 28, 2004
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Location: Cedar Falls, Iowa
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 12:17 am    Post subject: Re: A story from the 70s and Reply with quote

Similar thing happened to me just a couple years ago, but I was flat towing my 67 bug while moving to new shop. Late at night, going around a corner about 2 miles from home and I saw sparks in the mirror. Pulled over and came to find out I forgot to torque the axle nuts. Lost a rear wheel and drum. This bug was engineless and while pulling straight ahead, the backing plate didn't even drag. So I just finished my trip.
Next day the gravity of my situation set in and I realized it is gonna be very hard for me to find a rear drum and wheel for a 67 bug. Not to mention, I really don't like to leave roadside debris. I bicycle sometimes and see so much of it!
Backtracking from where I first saw sparks I got out and walked. Pretty soon, I found the axle nut in the middle of the road. This was just before I turned so I had my search area marked out. Walking the shoulder I eventually noticed a trace in the tall grass clear down in the ditch. At the end was my wheel and drum. So, I found every part. A little heating and welding and the backing plate was fixed.
Could have ended worse! Lesson learned, tho!
Al
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Al Brase
Projects: 67 sunroof bug, 67 Porsche 912 Targa, 70 Westy
Dec 1955 Single Cab pickup WANT 15" BUS RIMS dated 8/55, thru 12/55
To New owners: 1969 doublecab, 1971 Dormobile
Vanagons:
80 P27 Westy JUL 1979, 3rd oldest known US
83 1.6TD Vanagon, 87 Wolfie Westy daily driver, swap meet home
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mark tucker
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Location: SHALIMAR ,FLORIDA
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:30 am    Post subject: Re: A story from the 70s and Reply with quote

I went to the strip with a racing buddy&his wife. we had just put the slicks on the car before puting it on the trailer. made 3 or 4 runs then the next launch the axle sheered off..... first thing he did was come a running and count the lug nuts I could hear him telling him seld I know I tightened the nuts, I know I tightened the nuts.......... as he had put that side on. boy was he relieved. those fricking axles were humoungus compared to these vw axles.(strange, dana 60 axles) it slightly bent the fender/quarter a tad. we just picked it up and put it on the trailer. and the $$ I won the week before at the big bash went for new axles.as usual it all works out and you have fun.
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Cusser
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 9:47 am    Post subject: Re: A story from the 70s and Reply with quote

Memorial Day 1981, driving west from Arizona on Interstate 10 to go on cruise with Mrs. Cusser #1, barefoot, shirtless guy waves my 1970 VW down near Desert Center, middle of nowhere (well over 100 °F).

Turns out his older VW threw his wheel and drum; he had found his rear axle nut somehow, didn't have a jack, so flagged me down to borrow mine. It turned out that I also had my 36mm socket/breaker bar AND a new rear axle cotter pin with me, that guy was luckier than a lottery winner !!! Who else could've helped him get going on a holiday, decades before cell phones???

Whatever happened to that guy? I have no idea; could be a US Senator, or a serial killer, or anything in between. He was NOT Mark Tucker though.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297
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raygreenwood
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Joined: November 24, 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 12:07 pm    Post subject: Re: A story from the 70s and Reply with quote

Kind of along the same lines of....check your junk before you roll ...when non-vw people have touched your car.

Probably my first year of college. I was home for the weekend and driving my 1972 411 four door. Stopped at a small tire shop outside of Oklahoma City near my parents house to have the front tires balanced.

Car goes up on floor jacks both sides in front....guy wheels my tires in...8 minutes later comes back out and installs them I turn around and the car is on the ground..guy hands me a bill for $15.

I ask..."did you torque them with a torque wrench?" ...he says"yup...good to go".

I drive off....4 miles later on a smooth stretch of road the right front wheel comes off....at 50 mph. Shocked I was so lucky it stayed under the fender....and there was very little traffic.

The stud on the bottom of the ball joint left a groove in the pavement about 65 feet long. I was kind of out of the traffic lane...flashers on. Three of the four lug bolts were in the hubcap...one was gone.

I got my jack out of the trunk, jacked it up, put on the wheel....dug out a spare lug bolt from the parts bucket I carried...took the torque wrench out of my toolbox and torqued it right and drove off.

See...I had the torque wrench in my trunk and could have just checked the torque on the spot...but I did not want to be a snot-nosed kid and basically say I did not trust the guys word.

Yeah....for the rest of my life...anytime anyone works on any of my vehicles wheels....I pull the torque wrench out of the trunk and check it myself.
Trust no one with your life.

By the way....every few weeks for about 17 years......when I drove that same road or was back home from living elsewhere....I saw that same scratch still in the pavement. After about 17 years the road finally got repaved. Ray
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