Story of a girl and her new Volkswagen Bus, Sunny

[TDCTDI]

[airschooled]

[KentABQ]

Has anyone heard from NYCynthia? Hopefully she's out touring the country in Sunny.

But if memory serves correctly (which is rare!), I think she mentioned she was going to go back to school. So she's probably swamped.

Wherever you are, NYCynthia, have a good time with Sunny!
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[Tcash]

This is another way to give feedback on your experience.

AIR Import Repairs Yelp reviews
https://www.yelp.com/biz/air-import-repairs-university-place-2

[skills@eurocarsplus]

just trying to give some perspective from being the guy on the other side of the counter.

the lynch mob mentality towards a shop irks me, that's all. and honestly, if you don't reach out to the shop, they will never know that you had an issue...they may really and truly believe that all is well...no news is good news, ya know?

I don't know this shop at all, but it seems to me that they did try and do the right thing. they may be willing to help either by a partial refund/fix the issue. if you go in there guns blazing, they will likely tell you to eat it. I would reach out to them anyway and explain the issue. then you'll know for sure.

just say it was an issue on their end....they may have opened a case for a known spec, but the "oversized" bearing could have been a few thou undersized....this is why it's paramount to do stuff as an assembly...

(using easy numbers here) lets say the specs for the case should be 2. you cut the case to 2. it's perfect. the bearing comes in a parts order, and it measures 1.7589. shit...now you don't have enough crush. the thing to do is measure the parts BEFORE you start....this may or may not have happened here...who knows

it's little things like this that make or break a project, and as someone who (on a very limited basis) does overhauls adds soooooo much time to a build.

as I recall, I have 60-80 hours building a 1904 (I'd have to look) at 100/hr that's 6-8K in labor....before any parts got ordered. big difference between a builder and an assembler....
_________________

[NYCynthia]

[Busstom]

[telford dorr]

In this case, the engine will be torn down, and many eyes will look at it. We will know. And it will be documented.
_________________
'71 panel, now with FI
'Experience' is the ability to recognize a mistake when you're making it again - Franklin P. Jones
In theory, theory works in practice; in practice, it doesn't - William T. Harbaugh
When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. The pain is only felt by others.
Same thing happens when you're stupid. - Philippe Geluck
More VW electrical at http://telforddorr.com/ (available 9am to 9pm PST)

[skills@eurocarsplus]

I know...it's all speculation. how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? the world may never know


Link

_________________

[telford dorr]

I might tend to agree with you, except for the fact that the first build barely made it out the door, and thus they had to do it a second time. I have the feeling such a thing wouldn't have happened at your shop, and as such, I understand your feeling. In this case, I have my suspicions (like a "line-bore" job, probably done with a tool indexed only on the already out-of-spec case bores using a power drill). As you say, while these are old designs, that doesn't make the skill level needed to work on them minimal, and finding that skill level in a shop these days is not easy or trivial.

Some shops do good work; many do not. Only an engine autopsy will tell for sure.
_________________
'71 panel, now with FI
'Experience' is the ability to recognize a mistake when you're making it again - Franklin P. Jones
In theory, theory works in practice; in practice, it doesn't - William T. Harbaugh
When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. The pain is only felt by others.
Same thing happens when you're stupid. - Philippe Geluck
More VW electrical at http://telforddorr.com/ (available 9am to 9pm PST)

[skills@eurocarsplus]

want my .02?

first, she didn't get "ripped off"...the parts/labor was in line with what it costs to run a f*cking business. we can all agree that the shop did what they could, did what they say they did and it left, on it's own power and was fine.

second, pressure plates don't just go tits up for no reason. my guess (actually, gut feeling) is the clutch cable was not adjusted right, and over extended the PP thus the collapse. in the meantime, the over adjusted clutch pounded the shit out of the thrust bearing and/or improper use of the clutch (riding the clutch, sitting with the clutch pedal depressed etc) and here we are today...

funny, no one like to assume responsibility for anything, and it's always the big evil shop who is to blame. in there rare event that I have a comeback it's all in how BOTH parties handle the issue. you come in kicking and screaming, you'll be shown the door here very quickly.

with all of the sub par parts out there people should feel lucky that ANYONE is willing to work on this kind of stuff. when the cards are stacked against you out of the gate (doesn't matter if you are a DIY'er or a shop) it's pretty hard to have good results.

back when these were new, average miles per year were 7-10K...now it's normal to do an ez 15K+ per year....so thinking these are going to go on and on like a 2010 Toyota is just a dream. how many here have had cranks blow up, heads fall apart, cam gears eat themselves to death, lifters go flat etc?

they were pretty reliable back in the day, now add 35+years of wear and tear and crappy parts and where are we? back to using engines made of glass because they are so fragile, and need (major) attention every 30-50K...which is fine if you're willing to accept the fact that these are OLD designs...

and all of the threads of travelers pulling off the road to pull an oil pump, drop an engine etc doesn't bode well for how "robust" and "reliable" these are today..that's a far cry from "basic maintenance" so you have to ask yourself is it parts quality, crappy design or lack of skills when building one of these things?

so you know how to tell you got screwed? when you leave a shop and it's exactly the same or worse than when it rolled in...that is when you got screwed. what happens in 1500+ miles is irrelevant if it left the shop just fine. often times I have found people tamper with work I have done because they want to see if I actually did it...because you know every shop owner wakes up in the morning and says "boy, who am I gonna fleece today?"

bottom line is these take constant attention to keep in tip top shape. they are from an era where every 3K was an oil change and a valve adjustment, adjust brakes, check timing, carb settings etc etc....people just don't seem to realize that anymore and want to gas up and go like they were driving a new car
_________________

[fes]

[telford dorr]

[Tcash]

[wcfvw69]

[Abscate]

I would call/meet over email if you can make the trip worthwhile for biz purposes.

If you go the email route, add your experience to the feedback forum in one post. keeping it in summary form with dates, and factual only - no whining, griping,

What I asked for
What I spent
What I got and when
What I experienced

and leave it open as in 'currently negotiating settlement'

If they totally stonewall your next step - cc them the feedback and ask if that is how they want to leave the final history...
_________________
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[Tcash]

[Tcash]

I did not realize there where previous issues with your builder.
In that case, your best bet is to see if you can get some money back.
Have a figure of what it will cost to repair it and try and negotiate a refund.
All it will cost you is a call. If you don't want to talk to them in person, email your request.
Good luck
Tcash

http://www.atg.wa.gov/small-claims-court-0

[Abscate]

Yeah, it's time to let these guys go. A Warranty seldom involves cash back, and you don't want these guys proving again that they can't build an engine.

(Fun watching the LA crowd process how someone doesn't need a car...)

" for $20 , he's out of your life forever....you're ahead"
_________________
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[airschooled]