Getting ready for the long haul

[clonebug]

[oprn]

Awesome! That was one sweet road!

Nice baking action too by the way!

My wife's question was "Why is his Buggy so quiet?"

"Well dear, it's the turbo that makes it so quiet - should we do that to ours?"

[clonebug]

[clonebug]

We didn't do much for the 2020 season except drive it to work and one 1000 mile trip to the East side of Washington State for our anniversary.
Just east of Roslyn, Wa.

That went really well and I managed to put on 3660 miles for the year even though everything was pretty well shut down with no place to go.

Thoughts for next year are another Long Haul to California. If the Big Bear Manx Meet goes we will go there. The plan this time is to go for 3 weeks and take the coast both ways weather permitting.

I have the buggy apart to check things over and some small upgrades. Not too much is needed but do have an ECU upgrade I might squeeze in and a good check over.

I had some free time so I built a set of Wind Wings to test on our next trip. They are nothing fancy but I don't have too much cash into them but do have a little time spent on them.

From the back.......They are pretty incognito if I can keep them clean and scratch free.

I won't be able to test them until spring. I'll get the buggy back together by April and test once the weather cooperates.
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[oprn]

Our year was pretty quiet too. The Findlater event in Saskatchewan was cancelled. We didn't take it to BC due to a transaxle issue. I had planned to do an IRS swap to fix that but the ownership of the parts car came into question so it was later in the summer before that was cleared up. Then I got called to work in BC for the fall.

All I got accomplished on the Buggy was an oil leak behind the flywheel fixed and it looks like it is holding this time. Ya kind of a messed up year. The Buggy sits now until warmer weather as I don't have a heated garage to work in yet.

I like the wind wings! I am thinking of something similar but lower down as in the rain the water tends to come around the hood and lower corner of the windshield and run down your outboard knee. If I could interrupt that airflow path it would make a big difference.

On the earplug issue, yes they are mandatory in our Buggy for a long drive not because of the engine but the wind noise after a while makes your ears ring.

[Busted Knuckle Garage]

Clonebug, I just enjoyed reading about you're travels. Thanks for posting you're stories and pics. Great entertainment on a cold Ohio New Years Eve.
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Frank

[clonebug]

[MrGoodtunes]

Clonebug, be careful next time you cruise the Pacific Coast Hwy near Big Sur:

Probably won't get fix'd for quite awhile.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/30/us/big-sur-road-collapse-trnd/index.html

[NJ John]

Nothing a ramp and WOT won’t fix.
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1973 standard, yellow, lowered, 3” narrowed front, 1600 blo-thru turbo w/single dell 15.4@86, so far
11.41 et buggy. Long gone
Let’s go O’s! Let’s go O’s!
https://www.youtube.com/@AirSpooledGarage

[clonebug]

That won't stop us from going to California......By the way.....it's in the plans for this summer again. I saw that washout the other day and instantly checked the google map for a detour...
We are going to take 3 weeks this time. We might do the coast both ways but are finding more fun places to see on the Highway 395 section too.
We would really like to see Joshua Tree National Park and Salton Sea then go through Ocotello Wells and Anzo Borrego to the coast.... but not sure if it would be too hot in July. Anybody have any thoughts???

Also wouldn't mind trying to go along the coast from North of San Diego and then travel #1 PCH home if we happen to do 395 to Big Bear on the way down.
It would give us 2 weeks to travel the whole west coast on the way back home.
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[dustymojave]

The low desert in July is no joke. Temps in the 120s are not uncommon. The coast between LA and Sandy Eggo is likely to be stop and go bumper to bumper.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[clonebug]

[kpf]

[dustymojave]

If you're a surfer, there are lots of beaches famous to surfers between Ventura and San Diego. Some tourists just gotta see Santa Monica and Venice beaches. There are some scenic spots around Malibu, though many of those are privately owned. There are some Spanish Missions Like San Fernando where my wife and I got married (39 years ago!), San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara. But along the highways of So Cal, it's mostly developments.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[clonebug]

The countdown continues.....

Our 3 week vacation to California is a go and only a month and a half away.

The buggy engine got a little refresh and cam change to better fit the 1.4 rockers I installed but stayed a 1679. It did have 43,000 hard miles on the bottom end.
It was cheap insurance to go over it..... cheaper than a 200 mile tow.

Plan is to go down 395 with a stop at Crater Lake, Mammoth Lake, Lone Pine, maybe a Mining town southeast of Lone Pine, Whitney Portal and the cool rock formations around Lone Pine where they filmed a lot of movies.
Also Father Crowley's Overlook if it isn't too hot.
Then on to Big Bear Lake for the weekend.......that gives us two full weeks to go up the coast back home.

The Wind Wings seem to be a success and will stay on for the trip. I would say it cuts about 50% of the wind. It's a lot more comfortable especially when you get behind a car or larger truck. The head buffeting is a lot less so the fatigue will be lessened considerably.
For the few bucks I have in them it's worth it.
I redid the luggage rack last year after the rearend hit in 2019 in Mammoth and this spring I added some better hook eyes to be able to strap things to it easier. Need to take some of the comforts of home along........

Will have a gallon of gas, a few tools, the lightweight camping gear we used on our Sturgis trip.....just in case we can't get a Hotel, a couple chairs, cleaning supplies for the windshield and a few select local microbeers in case one gets thirsty or we need bribing material.
We also have our clothing bags and a small soft ice chest to keep 5 or 6 water bottles in for hydration.

I also added a fire extingisher and mount to the roll bar for safety just in case.

We do look forward to a nice cool hotel room every night....along with a hot meal and cold, cold beverages to quench the thirst after a long eventful day.......
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[oprn]

I see the words "refresh" and "bottom end", just curious as to what you found and what it needed.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[clonebug]

[clonebug]

The countdown continues....25 days to launch.

I have the buggy about as ready as I can with 25 days to go. I drive it to work every day the weather is good and keep putting miles on it. I have over 800 miles on it for the season so far, so I'm thinking it's tested and passed for the trip.

Got a fire extinguisher mounted.......

Got rid of my windshield suction phone mount and installed a magnetic one that I bolted to a piece of aluminum and then drilled a small hole in the angle of the dash to mount it. Cleans up the windshield area and I can still easily see the phone through the steering wheel.

Got my luggage rack installed along with a gas can and a couple chairs on the outside and a few essentials on the inside........

It's about as good as it's going to get.....tires are in good shape and it drives like a dream.

Got somewhat of a plan together but the only hotel reservations we made were for the weekend in Big Bear. The rest is however the roads take us.
It should be fun.......We can't wait!!!!!
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[oprn]

Did the engine need an align bore or was it just bearing wear?
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[clonebug]