What did YOU do to your van today?

[bobbyblack]

Got the leaky radiator out of the '87 and disassembled from the A/C condenser. Didn't have too much trouble, but everything just took a long time. Like letting the coolant trickle out in a controlled manner rather than making a big mess. I had some good advice, and dutifully read a few threads to get ready, and checked youtube too. After cleaning things up a bit, I noticed some wear on the condenser. I had a harder time letting the radiator down than I had heard of in threads, or videos, and I have a hunch on what has happened.

So, I made a guess that my nose had taken a hit at some point in the past, and bent in the vertical supports that are in front of the condenser. I decided to see if a large pipe wrench could help with a bend-back.. I moved them a bit, probably not much tho. Then I put some RTV on the lines that looked to have taken the 'pain' of rubber malleting the radiator down, and also put a piece of the thin cutting board material in as a slider while reinstalling..

Started at 10, as I am fairly lazy, and took a long lunch at 1. Back at it by 2:30, and finally quit at 6:50, having gotten the major parts of the job done.

Tomorrow I will find out if the new radiator is "good" or if I've had it the box for years in a 'bad-out-of-the-box' thing.. I hope not.

Update, now that it is Sunday evening:

Took advantage of what I thought would be a "good time" to switch out my Temp 1 sensor (needle/blinkey for dash, black) since I had drained so much coolant out of the system on the radiator replacement. I kind of figured I wouldn't get a squirt of coolant in my face this time. But Nope, somehow there was still plenty of coolant in the area, and sure enough, coolant in the face, and down my arm.

So, after all that, and refill coolant, I got everything back in place, and took a short trip to check for leaks. None that I could see when I got back into the garage and poked around under it for a few minutes.. Temp gauge on dash now reads properly again, new radiator seems to be fine.

On the down side, I wanted to have some heat on the little trip, so I turned up my PWM that I just got installed last week... it started out fine, then it just jumped to full blast all of a sudden and wouldn't turn back down. Then a smell I don't like at all; burned electronics! I pulled over and yanked the ash tray, and pulled the lead for + to the PWM from the stock front blower switch plug block. Cheap crap that took 5 weeks to arrive, I am guessing from a Far Eastern country, although nothing on it or the box, or the advertisement made that assertion. Grr! Since I do have a couple other PWMs on hand, I am not "put out" as much as grumpy that a: I had waited a long time for it to arrive, and b: now I have to do that whole job again. So, that is what I am calling the "Its Just Fine" end of the working on the '87 this weekend.

Oh, and an update on the '86 Westy: It is 'home' but now sits waiting attention to get the dead coil out, and the not so dead, but obviously used working one put into the stock bracket... ugh what a bunch of fun that is, AGAIN!!

I guess it is time to order more spare coils. Suggestions? I'm kind of sick of this coil replacing thing.. But, I am stuck with them until I get some cash to go MansiSpeed-MicroSquirt. I do like what I hear from folks who have installed his kit.
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[teej]

Got the reverse lights working properly. They had started to occasionally not work, so after checking circuit (jumpered wires at switch) and switch, I removed the stock sorta thick washer at the switch. Then they worked in R but also flickered when shifting 3 to 4. So I got a hold of a thinner washer than stock, I think I used about .95mm vs stock 1.5mm. Working properly again.
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1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans

[Sodo]

You could “relay” the reverse lights. Then your “old” reverse switch only has to connect 0.15 amps, and the relay provides the full 4amps to the bulbs.

I have LED bulbs in my sockets and am inclined to put back the 23w incandescents. They look bright when you’re lookin’ at them from the rear but don’t throw light far enough “in use”. I added an aux LED (tractor) light to the bumper and now I can see great (reversing). I’d prefer to delete the tractor light and get some better LEDds for the OEM sockets, if there are better reverse bulbs available.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Sodo]

Cutting out the swivel for my (2nd! ) passenger swivel piano hinge project.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[BCE56]

Cleaned the glass.
Applied a new US flag sticker to the rear window.

Drove down to the beach, parked on the Esplanade for a few minutes. (Sunny and breezy, with tiny shore-breakers.)
Waved to drivers of a Westy and a beautiful Split Bus.
Cycled diff lock and A/C.

Everything A-OK.
For now.
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=BCE56=

'86 Syncro tintop
EJ22, OBD II early SC adapter plate conversion

Side project: '69 Frankenbug "It's alive!"

[bobbyblack]

R1, the "transport" was kind enough to help today! It dropped 40F from 2 days ago to yesterday, and it seems persistent, local 'winter' has arrived. So, the Transport was needed to move two electric pottery wheels, a variety of colorant oxides, other materials including several hundred pounds of clay, and oddly, a half gallon of vinegar from the Summer Studio to the 'Big House' .. Thus, it is now incumbent that the R1 bus has somewhere under cover to wait out the Spring. I hope tomorrow that I can clear a path to a Winter settling place in the 'big house' garage.
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[ntuley94]

Had to go put a new alternator in mine this morning, it died on the way home from my brothers house at 11pm. luckily I had a spare & it wasn't too far from home, so a nice Sunday morning project was kinda fun. 10 minutes to change things out & it was back on the road!

[Sodo]

Added the “piano hinge” so the passenger seat can tip up to reveal storage below, and easy battery access.

My method is not a “piano” hinge, that’s just what member puchfinnland named the mod. I just cut some pipe sections (with a 3/8” hole) that are welded alternately to the swivel base and the seat track,

I’ll put a large primary fuseblock in here. Where fuse#:

#1 feeds “the van”, the main fuseblock.
#2 feeds 400 watts of headlight relays.
#3 charges the house battery

I’ll store jumper cables here too
And perhaps “electrical” spare parts or devices.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[bobbyblack]

well, this is a first for me;

Ran my furnace (CDH) fuel tank dry, got to the parking lot after work -- a LONG way from my 'office' and there was no blower noise. Figured the BMS had decided it got too cold and shut down, but no, it was at 1C according to the readings. I got my silver blanket out and laid down under the bus to harass the furnace tank, and saw that indeed, there was noting left to pump to the furnace.

Thus, it was near freezing inside my bus, and I was not happy. Conditions here seem to be the worst of the worst, always the hottest with the highest humidity, or the coldest.. Usually colder than International Falls. I don't know why. Our local chamber of commerce even got the weather reporting station moved to the warmest location possible, and its still so very cold a lot of winter mornings. And it's not even Winter yet, apparently.

So, I am filling the tank now. It is a rig-up that I use a marine fuel hook-up, and put a half full 6 gallon tank of diesel/kerosene up in the luggage rack with a boat jiggle feeder to the 3.5 Gal tank under the bus. Not ideal, but at lest I don't have to drop the tank to fill it.
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[djkeev]

[vanis13]

[jlrftype7]

Replaced the overflow hose from my Van Cafe Coolant Tank to the stock Overflow Tank. General check of all fuel connections while I was in there.
Belt tension check
Oil level.
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[shadetreemech]

Pulled the instrument cluster to fix an intermittent stutter in the light over the tach. Unplugged all connections and the speedo cable then juggled the little white cardboard inserts behind the brake-fasten belts light, played shake-out-the-little-metal-shim for the tach light, then reassembled the attachments. Light works.
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'84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "MZDRTHY"

[bobbyblack]

I got the '87's new coil installed in the stock location. I am not sure of why, but I find the coil replacement job, as a whole, one of the most aggravating of all the routine stuff that needs done. I know that there is some guy out there with two left hands, and this is an easy to do job. That guy is not me. Every time, I've fought it for several hours until finally like magic, the bolts thread up, and it's done. Today I spotted a PO's 'temporary relocation' hole to thread a temp spare into. It seems more likely now that the coil he'd left me was a replacement. The first one I put in [August] looked to be a replacement OG stock coil. I am sure that the 'new' one will crap out at some time not too far off. I guess I can only be ready with two spares.

Good news, she fires up. Tomorrow, we'll see if we are going to be giving thanks, or taking heat. Looking for a problem free mission of 300 miles round trip.

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[campism]

[bobbyblack]

Rolled the Odo to 339,000 miles on our trip to Cedar Falls. I waved to Al Brais's house as I rolled past, no time to stop to check his turkey!

The new coil was not a total failure, but it seemed to be gutless. I might have to try something else. It'll be a while 'til I can afford to get the microsquirt kit from Marco.. But I DO intend to get the heck away from the digifant. I'm pretty "over it".

Who knew Iowa has places that are posted 65MPH?!?!?

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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[MsTaboo]

Received a box of new carpet today from Newton Commercial in the UK. Came early, they said to expect in January.
Nice stuff, looks to be well made. Good match, just a bit darker, slightly different texture. Same thickness, moulded, and with matching vinyl pressings.
I'll start an install thread when the time comes.

Here's a quick pic to show color.

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Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

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[djkeev]

[bobbyblack]

[vanis13]