An Irresponsible Adventure: Andy the Bus

[OB Bus]

[spectre6000]

Zombie again, but I'll answer.

I sold Andy in 2011 when I moved to the mountains in Colorado. Having grown up and subsequently learning to drive in Texas without ever really having seen snow, I didn't want to learn in a vehicle where my crumple zones (legs) were required to leave the scene of the accident. It was a difficult decision, and I shed a tear when he was loaded on the trailer, but he went to a good home in Ohio and has since been restored. The new owner called me with updates during the restoration, and we've been in touch. He may park in my garage again some day.

Sadness aside, it turned out to be an excellent decision. I replaced Andy with a '99 Toyota 4Runner (4X4 with safety features), and that winter my wife rolled it in slow motion in the transition gap (where rain in the flats turns to ice for a very brief section before finally turning to snow at altitude). She was uninjured, but the 4Runner was totaled. It would have been a very different story in Andy.
_________________
Jason Hopper

-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me

[mandraks]

found this online from december 2011

http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/62-vw-panel-bus-for-trade.545199/

_________________
regards

Uli

----------------------------------------
'53 3-Fold Oval, L35 Metallic Blue, looking for a narrow hatch panel

[Stuartzickefoose]

Just been reading a lot lately and curious what happened to this bus....
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[Mr. Electric Wizard]

Zombie thread alert.
_________________
"Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know."
~ Cullen Hightower

(T)exas (C)oalition (B)uses
(H)eidenhammer (B)ully (B)oyz

--1966 De Luxe Camper

[Stuartzickefoose]

Any new updates on Andy?
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[j.pickens]

Too bad the next trip won't be as much fun to read about.
You know what you're doing now!

Seriously, though, I remember reading this thread last March.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks.
j.
_________________
Founder and Chairman Emeritus, ECMSAS
BBX BBXII and BBXXI Long Distance Award Winner

[dawerks]

.. but we just heard your story. For free

Just kidding bro, I'm sure someone will buy it. But, one question. How did you know it was a DIME bag. Hmmmm.

[spectre6000]

FYI for those interested, my fiancée and I are working on a book documenting our adventures (likely the first in a series) that will have all sorts of photos (including many not found here) and a more detailed narrative. We'll be selling them at shows and such and maybe here on the Samba if there is any interest. It'll probably be a coffee table sort of book; hard/soft cover will be dependent upon interest levels and cost. So the question is, is there any real interest out there? Is it worth pursuing on a more-than-one-off basis?
_________________
Jason Hopper

-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me

[spectre6000]

[EODinert]

Epic awesomeness found here.

I just bought a bus with an asthmatic 1500... my first bus. Had to drive it from PHX to LA for OCTO and the Classic, then to San Diego, and back to PHX (and beyond).

I thought I was smart by taking a spare motor with me... just change it out on the side of the freeway, right? Motor made it the whole way (barely), but even though the bus was 12 volt, the motor still had a 6 volt flywheel on it (so there is no way I could have stuffed the new motor in there on the side of the road).

Irresponsible? Only if you're not prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. I'm itching to take another road trip... Mexico City, maybe..

Thanks for the cool thread.
_________________
'61 rag top beetle, '73 type 181, '66 13 window deluxe

[Kugen60]

Great thread,enjoyed all the pictures

[69sback]

that's awesome

[Adam]

Great story, thanks for sharing

[doppelkabine265]

Great story, You have got to bring that out to the Fredricksburg show!
http://www.texasvwclassic.com/
_________________
Todd

'55 Euro Wolfsburg Kombi
"Volkswagens in particular, as the Peoples' Car, tend to get passed around like a reasonably priced sex worker, and it is rare to find one that hasn't been pawed at by a train of users applying more urgency than finesse." M. Crawford- Shop Class as Soulcraft

[Emeritusx]

So how was the weed?
_________________
82 Westy ☢, 66 Splitty ☮, 73 Type 181 ✠

[slamnfreak]

Awesome story and great pics.
_________________
"sometimes i wish you could kick people through the internet..."

[Keysar]

Yes, a very insperational story, thanks!
_________________

[spectre6000]

Update: The 40-horse is a no-go... We got the 1600sp out, and I figured it would be easier to adjust the 40-horse on the bench. I went to turn it to TDC, and it would only turn about 179* in either direction (not compression, definite blockage of some sort in a cylinder). I had a spare set of 40-horse cylinders and a full gasket set laying around (like you do) and went about rebuilding the thing. I was told when I got it that the 40-horse was a recent rebuild and would fire right up when put into service. It turns out the 40-horse had been rebuilt in the past with a different set of cylinders with very small wrist pins and considerably less cooling fins. It was also covered from top to toe in oily grime... There were some bushings pressed into the rods that prevented using the new cylinder set, so I just put it back together with the gaskets and crossed my fingers. I got it in the bus and no spark... the generator was dead. I'm a little annoyed at this point.

Last night I tore down the 1600sp to see what the problem was. As suspected, the #2 cylinder was experiencing some serious blow-by... #1 and #3 weren't far behind. The cylinders were just very very worn. I spec'd out what I would need to rebuild the thing (don't forget the carb that was crapping out the whole way), and it wasn't much more to just buy a long block (with a warranty no less) from a shop here in town. I'll head down there Saturday to pick one up, and in the meantime try to take care of some of my other minor electrical issues so I can pass inspection and get the thing registered...

"Running" is a relative term.
_________________
Jason Hopper

-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me

[Lou V.]

I don't think the old owner would have left any behind
_________________