71 Westy -- bought new in London by my father, rolls again!

[pierrox]

Or go for a Beetle exhaust. I like the look, but that's personal. Technically they're a little less restrictive because they have two exits, not just one.

I've been toying with the idea of putting the flaps back in as well. Clearly the urban legend that they are not necessary have done a lot of damage against them in the VW community over the years!
_________________
Our bus is on Instagram
instagram.com/biencuitbus

[wcfvw69]

[calo1956]

First off, Welcome!!! You have a incredible story to go with your bus! Isn't is so awesome when you realize how that bus cruised all over with out a worry? Im so glad that she's back in your family life and running to boot! I to have a westy that i have owned from day one! Its funny i forget my own kids birthdays sometimes, but i have never forgotten October 17 1980 the day i bought her. Like you, my 3 kids grew up in the van, we took all our vacations camping in it, as well as a daily driver for the wife for sometime. Now 38 years later, i can't even imagine how the ex could drive it, let alone parallel park it! Today as I drive it, wielding that huge steering wheel i don't even want to try that! I love it, and all the memories that go along with it, both my boys do too, and each of them used it as there own for a stint, my younger son, really used it the most, camping in the Catskill Mts a lot, and even chasing Phis around going to concerts, till it broke down to many times and we replaced the motor 3 times! Life happened, and it too sat for 6 or 8 years. I have now replaced just about every part on it, and still have drivability issues. The good news , is that here on the Samba, the family of VW crazys help you get through your issues. I have to say, when i have a good day with it, like i have this past week out driving it, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face! Not its time to make your new family memories! Happy trails!

[Spike0180]

[airschooled]

Bill is right about the stock muffler- it will trap a little extra heat in if you need it. I totally forgot when we chatted the other day about potential stalling out before fully-warmed-up; yes a thermostat will help, but so would better heat riser plumbing from a stock muffler.

You WILL notice a bit of a high-RPM power drop off though- your engine absolutely pulled beautifully from the 3,000-4,000 RPM range. Would that be worth it?

Plus, it's quieter. So it's probably the cheapest stereo upgrade you can make.

Robbie
_________________
Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[Stuartzickefoose]

Drank beer and farted around...


Back to that again are we?


_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[sunnydog]

Thanks for your replies everybody! And all y'all are right of course.
This collector and Thunderbird Muffler doesn't put any heat across the manifold riser at all... so the base of the carb is cold and icy until the whole thing heats up enough. I have the preheat stove pipe in place to draw in ~50% heated air off the heads, but now with the flaps in place to get the heads and motor up to temp faster, the heat doesn't get pulled up the stove pipe until the flaps open... It's like the whole thing was engineered to work together as some sort of integrated system!

wcfvw69: good to confirm from your experience that getting heat across the riser makes it run much better. My situation is that I am principally a lazy fairweather Sunday driver and don't get out much when it is a cold morning.

Pierrox: wcfvw69 is right and the beetle exhaust leaves a big cloud of exhaust in the eddy pocket behind the bus. It is better to get the exhaust out to the side, but as long as you have glass in the back window, you'll probably be fine

calo1956: nice story and I am glad your whole family has enjoyed it! The only thing that could make your story better is if it was a graceful, curved baywindow bus instead of one of those boxy, squarish vanagons...

asiab3: it does pull real well and I like it like that, don't forget I have oversized valves on this singleport 1776, so I would like to keep the exhaust a little more open than stock. I also don't mind a throatier exhaust note as I mostly don't listen to music while driving, only when parked. The Thunderbird muffler is starting to fail on the seam, so I have been looking at options and frankly the classic VintageSpeed seems where I want to be: sized right for my horsepower, stainless for durability, has better-design to get some pressure flow across the heat riser (but how much?). YOU had one in 2013, and initially liked it, but took it off and passed it over to Rich Parker? Whyfor? Dissatisfied or interested in stock?

Stuartzickefoose: "drank beer and farted around?" Yes. Yes indeed. But only for a couple of decades now.

Here's a formal posed portrait from last night's sunset drive, taken by daughter #1. I normally stay out of these photos, but I had to roll it forward to the right angle to catch the river and the mountain, and she snapped it while I was still in.

After we were done taking pictures, guess what! We drank beer and farted around...
_________________
'71 Westy w/ a 1776 singleport, 34P3 & 205Q. Points.

[sunnydog]

Howdy Baywindow Fans! Spring season is over in the Pacific Northwest and we have gotten into summer, where it climbs all the way up to 70 degrees at midday, and one wears their summer weight fleeces and summer hiking boots. Occasionally you might see a flash of pasty flesh as somebody slathers on the SPF 45.

A few Mondays back I took the bus over to Lucky Lab in downtown Portland for a beer (well, the beer was for me). Here's a picture of the PDX skyline: This is illegal. Don't do this.

I get there and find our boy Stuart Zickefoose has stopped in town while on some crazy 18-hour mission to drive to Southern Oregon, pull a motor, then drive back to Seattle. He opens up the motor lid on my bus without asking and proceeds to peer inside. He turns the motorbox lights on. "Everything looks pretty good!" he says, "You know, for a Type 1..." And keeps looking. Then he looks up and announces "Your distributor is not seated, dude. What's up with that? That's a janky distributor clamp." Then he leans back and rests proudly like he got one up on me. Look for yourself! I took a photo.

I sent this photo to asiab3 who responded, "Stu was there? He only texts me when he has issues."

Dang, he should should be texting Robbie all the time! ALL THE TIME! Get it?!! ALL THE TIME!!!

Ahh but dammit Stu's right anyhow, and Robbie mentioned that hinky clamp to me last summer when he walked me through rebuilding my 205Q. Look:

Question for the English nerds: is that clamp more janky or more hinky? Can it be both? Anyhow, one visit to Avery's and purchase of an old-old-stock clamp:

A little red pen alignment marking and one swapped out distributor clamp = much better! The 10mm nut even came pre-rounded for authenticity!

For me personally, this time of year means a return to evening bonfire season, but I got a brilliant new accessory to assist with parking the bus in the yard and bonfire-ing. Check it out: Possibly the best $2.99 impulse buy I've ever spent.

And then check this out:

Happy summer motoring everyone, even if it is only across the yard!
_________________
'71 Westy w/ a 1776 singleport, 34P3 & 205Q. Points.

[airschooled]

Heck yeah! Get that fire pit going!

(nice bus, too…)

Robbie
_________________
Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[Tcash]

[71whitewesty]

That looks perfect. I gotta come join you guys at the lab soon. I’m currently bus camping around good beach, pistol river area looking for some wind.
_________________
71 Westy 1600 DP, all stock Bus 1
1970's Snow Trac 1600 SP (sold 12/2016)
1968 Tucker sno cat, sold 2021
1969 Tucker Sno cat 542
2017 VW Alltrac
71 tin top stock 1600 DP (project but runs)
Twin 71 White Westy, Bus 2, that I pulled from a 15 year slumber in a dry eastern WA field in 2015.
1966 Sundial Camper "Boomer"

[sunnydog]

Here's a parking lot panorama from last night's local air-coolers first Thursday meetup. We let that one guy with a wasserboxer syncro hang out, too, but make fun of him non-stop. "Parking lot panorama" is also the name of my post-punk revival power duo.

I drank too much beer then decided to stop for some rum at one of my favorite bars and when I walked in the bartender yelled out, "Sunnydog! I never knew you've got a bus!" and everybody turned and looked; I told him: "bring me some rum and I'll tell you a story!", so he did, then I started to tell him the story, opening up with "My dad bought a bus in London in late 1970" and a guy who was also listening suddenly stood up and pushed his chair in and put his hat on and said, "shut the f*** up!" but not in anger -- in disbelief, with eyes extra-wide. I said, "What? I haven't even really gotten started yet!" He replied, "Yeah, but I think I know where it is going and it's unbelievable already!" So I told the story while I sipped rum and then showed them 2 pictures of the bus in St Peter's square and outside British Parliament, but not more because you gotta "always leave them wanting more". Then each of them told me their bus stories: the bartender drove one from the west coast to North Carolina and parked it at a pine plantation and used it as a cabin. He would drive a Jeep Waggonneer up on weekends to the piney woods and camp. He left that bus somewhere in North Carolina but still has the title. A lady who was there once rode from the Lower 48 to Alaska in the their bus when she was a kid, with her mom driving, spent 3 months there, then drove back.

Good stories, good food, good people on a nice summer evening. My head hurt a little this morning, and then I heard about Anthony Bourdain and all of the sudden it hurt a little more. Last summer, I sang at a Chris Cornell anti-suicide benefit concert in Portland in mid-June, then Chester Bennington went in July. Look, I know I am off-topic all the damn time, telling my stories and travels and food and drink and music and all this stuff that really doesn't necessarily belong on a VW community website but just in case anybody doesn't know it: If you are down, reach out. When you've got depression, the slightest little thing can send you off into a 3-day spin. Reach out! To hotlines, to friends, heck, you can even reach out to me! I am sad today that we are losing so many yarn-spinners and storytellers. Reach out!

Who cares if one more light goes out? Well, I do.

Link

_________________
'71 Westy w/ a 1776 singleport, 34P3 & 205Q. Points.

[sunnydog]

I got a PM today from a longtime Sambaneer who just found this thread, and sent me a kind note. But I had to log in to get it, and I realized my last post here was back in June! Whoops sorry! I know everybody has been breathlessly waiting on the edge of their seats for the next installment...You should subscribe to my instatube channelgram and Patreonize me so I can monetize -- yah never mind about that. My ramblings are free, and there is no schedule. If y'all get together and pass the hat, what you'd get in return for your buck fifty-eight is a karaoke version of me singing the Beatles song "Why Don't We do it in the Road?" Except I'll sing "Bus" instead. "No one will be watching us, Why don't we do it in the bus?"

In June we went for a quick trip to a friend's wedding in Guatemala and I saw this South American Bus headed north: "Uruguay a Alaska". They were parked next to the local market and selling authentic handmade dirty hippie trinkets to pay for gas north. Get ready for a Samba Thread when they get into the US! Does that sound mean-spirited? Does it? Too Bad. Whatever.

Relax, I am still always taking the bus down to my favorite watering hole. I am even planning on heading there as soon as I finish posting this up.

Took the oldest daughter out for Chicago dogs and milkshakes, we drove down to the river and opened the sliding door on a hot evening to simultaneously catch and shoot the breeze. Made her drive the bus back home. Kids these days don't know how to drive manual transmissions! Whose fault is that! Oh right, it's mine. She headed off to grad school not too many weeks back -- two years in New York City means no near term bus-driving for her.

Spent several fine warm Monday evenings this summer heading for the Hawthorne Lucky Lab to drink beer with bus peeps: Following one famous Samba member in a yallerbus, I won't mention his name but he's a Xick-ass Xind of guy. Followed by another fellow bus in the rearview, carabusing down the road. Don't use your phone and drive, kids. It's illegal.

Orangish buses park over here:

Liberals over there:

I was forced out to the corner.

But later when it got dark I was able to LIGHT UP THE ENTIRE PARKING LOT WITH MY MOTORBOX LEDS! Okay, maybe not...

The next day, Greta got a heart transplant... "NO PICTURES! I SAID NO PICTURES, DAMMIT!"

Robbie don't care.

Forest fire smoke made for a summer full of lazy hazy sunsets.

I like cows, they are made of meat.

Rosemary ChiliPowder Barksalot Von Willebrand the crazy Doberman is still terrified of riding in the bus. Here she is thinking about jumping out the window:

Back to the Lucky Lab again! This time I got parking in the front row! Why is that dude wearing a Scooby-Doo backpack and some other dog costume? Oh right, "Keep Portland Weird".

One evening at the best brewpub around I was sitting out front enjoying the evening and a couple came out and walked right up and said, "You must be the owner of that Old Westy!"

"I am!" I replied.

"We've been sitting inside trying to figure out who owns it, but then I saw the tape on your thumb and I knew right away it had to be you!" Turns out they owned a vanagon (but had not brought it to the pub )

I didn't have the heart to tell her I lopped a bit of the end off while slicing onions, not while wrenching.

Keep on busing folks! Another summer has come and gone and I've had a great time rolling around town, hanging out with friends, meeting random people and hearing their VW stories, spending good family time together and making a summerful of memories. I like this community. But a word of warning to all potential bus-buyers: If you think that "No one will be watching us" -- you are wrong. Driving a bus around and you get honks and waves and peace signs and shakas. Be kind and give 'em back. And always put some tape on your fingers when you are parked so people can pick the bus owners out of a crowd...
_________________
'71 Westy w/ a 1776 singleport, 34P3 & 205Q. Points.

[pierrox]

[Abscate]

[TomWesty]

[wcfvw69]

[sunnydog]

Hey Abscate, I know you like science, so here's a quick response to your exhaust question:

1. Sure a Bus has a bigger trailing eddy pocket (recirculation bubble) than a Beetle, that's just basic fluid dynamics.

2. A beetle exhaust will dump out right into the eddy, clearly the stock side pipe on a bus is intended to get exhaust out into the slip stream.

3. What's likely more important is that exhaust can be drawn into the lower pressure vehicle compartment through bad window or hatch seals, craptastic heaterboxes, uncapped heater tubes, or body holes, whether owner-modified for some purpose, or just general rust cancer. This draw can be minimized by increasing compartment air pressure by opening a front window or the fresh air intake on the nose of the Bus.

4. Whats also likely important is that the exhaust piping in any VW needs to be tight and sealed up so there are no leaks. Its probably slightly less important in a VW because of the rearmount engine, but we've all seen some janky exhaust systems, and how frequently do we hear of somebody needing to flex, bend, or lever pipes into place? Fitment of some aftermarket pieces can be poor, and that's saying it kindly.

5. Keep your engine well tuned so you get complete combustion. Do you have a catalytic converter? Most do not.

So ultimately, if you have a tight and well-maintained bus, then switching Beetle exhaust is probably not gonna be a problem. But if you are rolling some rattlebox with character and patina, then you should probably stick with a side pipe...

Links:
1972 article
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.62.11.1463

1992 Article from Washington Post regarding CO Poisoning in Camper Trucks
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/w...e374a69d67

2018 article on a CO poisoning event while driving:
https://journals.lww.com/amjforensicmedicine/Abstr...le.17.aspx

So, If you get a massive headaches while driving your Bus, or if you always get sleepy behind the wheel, spend $30 and get a CO meter for your Bus and some piece of mind along with it. Here's one integrated into a USB charger:
https://www.amazon.com/7PETAL-Certified-Multi-Purp...s_li_ss_tl

Yes, I am a nerd.
_________________
'71 Westy w/ a 1776 singleport, 34P3 & 205Q. Points.

[Abscate]

You are going to get 5-15 ppmCO in any car , the hard part will be a testof Bug vs Bus muffler. The effect of the side vs rear exit probably isn’t as big As people imagine.

Either muffler requires tight fitting exhaust and all the engine and seals in place.

I happen to have a photo acoustic CO detector in my kids toy box, maybe a cool project this week if I can find a van, I mean, a Bus
_________________
.ssS!

[pierrox]

I ran a bug exhaust on my green van for a while and never noticed any exhaust smells - and its short life on the bus was mainly spent in the winter, with the heating on.

I didn't keep it long because having driven many thousand miles on a 4-1 merged exhaust, it was amazing how the beetle exhaust restricts the engine! Oil temp (and heads too for sure then) was much hotter and I could feel the engine getting out of breath. But the sound was nice, way more quiet than the "quiet pack" I had before. The quest for a good exhaust did last a while, with an other merged stainless this time. I finally settled on an Ahnendorp (costs a kidney and a leg) which is very free, torquey and sounds like a stock engine.

On our red Westy, there is a bug exhaust. Haven't driven with the heating on yet. I did get some fumes in the early stages, but that was with me tuning it so often with the engine lid open as well as the tail door.

Having said that, I remember driving the green with the tail gate open, carrying a sofa across town, and getting some smell inside. I could see that a tail gate with a bad seal or no seal could get some gas coming back inside, especially at low speed or at the stop light.
_________________
Our bus is on Instagram
instagram.com/biencuitbus