"The Toaster" ~ Personal History and restoration

[DadaCheese]

Good gosh; it looks like I haven't even gotten around to posting pictures from the SOTO meet.

However; here's:

Kelly Park 2024
Sunday, April 21st at Kelly Park in San Jose, California

Another perfect weather day for Kelly Park this year.

Although it was pretty packed with cars showing, this year I felt that there were still some open show spaces.
Not sure if they limited the amount that came in this year, or if just less people were showing.

Split-buses were nicely represented, but we'd love to see more next year!
Here's just a few:

This was the first time that I was in the swap area for a show.
Kathy, her sister and their mom took a girl's trip together to the Grand Canyon last week.
So I went ahead and cleaned out part of our shed of VW parts that could either continue gathering dust, or, make someone's day.

I priced everything as low or fair as seemed more-than-reasonable and packed it all up into The Toaster.

When I arrived Sunday morning to the meet, I was fortunate to have great company parking alongside Clara & Greg.

Pretty much everything sold. Most pleasing (to sell) were the bigger items like the Ghia seats and bumpers.

Everyone was wonderful, as expected, and I really hope that everyone I sold something to is happy with their purchase.
I, and our shed, thank you.

Kathy's Ghia ("Shamrock Shake") did NOT make it out this year...
...we have BIG things happening with it.
I should really get around to posting in the Ghia forum about it, but here's a teaser:


Link

Sure, I can repair basic VW mechanical things, and keep our VWs tuned up, but I'm hiring out for a lot of work on Shamrock Shake. Particularly body work.

There were a LOT of beautiful Ghia's out though at Kelly Park:

Our wonderful leader of the NorCal Karmann Ghia Enthusiasts, George was naturally on-hand, as well as many of our friends that we meet with at least once a month for that club.

As always at Kelly Park, the variety of VWs was fantastic... just a few examples:

...and so many more.

Here's a link that should bring you to all the snapshots that I, and hopefully others, have posted from the meet:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php...ts=summary

As always, it was fantastic to talk to folks we know, and meet a whole lot more people too.

Next up? Well; there's the:

Madera VW Spring Fling #29 2024
April 26, 2024 - April 28, 2024
Madera, California
You can camp both nights, or you can come to the show portion which is this Sunday the 28th of April, 2024.
Look at "Community" and "Shows" here on TheSamba for all the details.

I really want to go... and most likely will, but Kathy and I have houseguests this weekend. Our friends "get" our obsession though, so perhaps we'll make the 3-hour drive early, early Sunday morning and come back in the late afternoon.

Hope to see YOU there too (if you make it, if we make it); be sure to drop by The Toaster and introduce/re-introduce yourself if you see us!

_________________
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Dada as in dadaism.
Cheese as in the stuff I love to eat.

[DadaCheese]

S.O.T.O. Spring Meet
Tomorrow: Sunday, March 24th, 2024 9am - 1pm

Rain or shine, come on out and enjoy being in the company of Split Buses!

FREE, informal and fun!

_________________
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Dada as in dadaism.
Cheese as in the stuff I love to eat.

[DadaCheese]

SHE-852 VW Cruises #14, Grizzly Peak

Sunday, March 10th, 2024
East Bay area of the SF Bay, California.

Jason M. plans a variety of SF Bay Area cruises a few times a year.
It is named after the licence plate of his previous bug.
The "She-852 VW Cruises" can be found on Facebook.

Met at 9am at the Safeway by the JCPennys
707 Contra Costa Blvd, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
Drove the hilly back roads to Grizzly Peak, and ended the cruise at the Europa Hoffbrau in Orinda, CA

Great group of people as always. It had been raining a lot leading up to the Sunday of the cruise; beautiful day, however, and incredible views of the San Francisco Bay.

There were about 21+ cars for this one, the most modern being the one Vanagon.

I'll put a couple pics from it below, but all the snap-shots I took can be found here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?...ts=summary

"The Toaster" and the San Francisco Bay:

Kathy and I are about to have a variety of guests over the next four weeks+ (relatives, friends from Portland, friends from Germany...).
We do plan on attending Kelly Park, however (just with The Toaster).
Might even sell some old parts.

If you know anyone looking for 1971 Ghia seats (nicely upholstered) or 1971 Ghia bumpers (older chrome, and one hole from a prior owner), then reach out to me. Reasonable. Not looking for profit; looking for the right home for the parts.
_________________
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Dada as in dadaism.
Cheese as in the stuff I love to eat.

[DadaCheese]

[BarryL]

[DadaCheese]

[BarryL]

What does it spell at the end?

[DadaCheese]

[rollinwithwillie]

BBB Lantern parade .. Hopefully this link comes through or you can open. Texted it to you, Bryce. Think that’s you and Kathy a little past the halfway mark.


https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hpDvqLcPm/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
_________________
~let the good times roll~

[DadaCheese]

[rollinwithwillie]

Guy on the right looks like Chad from / with Vantigo
_________________
~let the good times roll~

[Mile High Puma]

The guy stirring looks like the "Let's talk dubs" podcast host.
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1965 Velvet Green DC

[rollinwithwillie]

What a great trip and photos! I had no idea how cold it was going to be so in hindsight it was a good thing I didn't go ... would have been ill prepared! Hoping this year to get my bus camping ready and to be able to sleep in it. If so, then I'll be ready for BBTB 2025! Would be great to caravan and have friends to camp with. I saw a photo online of the young boy and his parents who had the lucky raffle ticket for the new engine. Pretty exciting! What a raffle win!
_________________
~let the good times roll~

[DadaCheese]

Buses by the Bridge (BBB) 2024

January 11th - 14th. 2024
at Lake Havasu, NV.
Over 560+ buses were in attendance this year.

What a fantastic several days off!
Kathy and I managed to leave Richmond, CA at about noon on Wednesday the 10th of January, 2024 and head to Buttonwillow, CA.

There, we met up with our friend Ken, of Lakeport, CA who we were to caravan with.

Ken, who is a retired fireman and entrepreneur, introduced us to a great sit-down BBQ place we didn't know about in Buttonwillow; "Willow Ranch" https://www.willowranchrestaurant.com/

We all had a great meal there, and in the morning reconvened for the rest of the journey.

There are a variety of passes on the route we took, such as the Tehachapi Pass.
The Toaster's new 1776 single-port, single-carb engine took it all really well.
Yes; there were times that Ken's 1776 dual-carb had him much further along than us, although he also tows a small trailer with his Bay Camper. However, what was impressive for The Toaster was that despite the steeper grades, and the constant wind we were up against, is that our engine had us in four gear the majority of the time, and often cruising up (more minor grades) at 55mph.
The few times I had to downshift, I was still going at a good clip; 40 to 45 mph.
Oh; I'll also mention that we had the bus pretty well loaded with more things than any normal person camping would ever possibly need.

Once we arrived (about 3:30pm on Thursday the 11th), we were warmly greeting by the BBB staff and other campers. We were bus 412.

All the "best" spots (on grass/near the water/near picnic tables, etc.) were naturally already taken by the the folks and clubs that arrived days early to stake out their favorite areas once they were let in at 9am on Thursday.

A very nice couple from Missouri (Darrin & Shelly) with a spectacular 1967 red & white SO-42 Tin-Top welcomed us into their area where we, as well as Ken parked to camp. While waiting in the pre-line for the event, their bus made it into the local newspaper!
It wasn't long before our little camp was well represented with 2 Splits (both SO-42 Tin-Tops; ours and Darrin & Shelly's), 3 Bays (including one of which is owned by Chad of San Francisco) and one Vanagon (David & Miriam of Redding, CA), all facing in towards one another for a communal area.

If you haven't been to BBB before, this is very much how it is; not too much space per se.
Buses are mostly crowded in bumper to bumper with one another, so it is great when you can create a shared space with your friends, clubs, or meet new folks as we had.

More examples of what that's like as people circle their wagons together:

Naturally there's "lanes" for walking and bike riding in this city of buses, but once you arrive, you really don't move your Bus again until Sunday.

Kathy and I were pretty ecstatic to be at this meet again... there's so much to see, and do.

Any dietary promises we had made for ourselves for the start of the new year had been purposefully put off until after the BBB weekend, so we fully enjoyed ourselves serving up fondue to a great many of friends and strangers, as well as vodka or gin tonics.

This was met in kind by folks who fed us homemade tacos, foods, drinks, beer. It's all like a movable feast as you wander about and get in conversations with folks.

No fewer than three folks from TheSamba made sure to specifically introduce themselves to us; some of whom have read some of my ramblings here, and others too that we have chatted with one other concerning parts, S0-42s, etc!
I'm sorry that I'm so bad with names; you know how it goes: "oh yeah; the people with the such-and-such bus," etc. I'm always impressed by folks that have a photographic memory for names. Apologies when mine isn't as sharp.
Point is: SO pleased to have met you all either for the first time, or again.

Many of our VW friends were naturally there too; Volksfire (Jahnai), Robert and Marlo Skinner (of Skinner Classics), Fresno James, Greg (of Clara & Greg)... and many, many more... another dozen folks or more that we know that I'm forgetting to name too...
Oh, also Justin of Kombi Haus who, along with his amazing staff, had just finished up the Toaster's 1776.

Justin and his 1967 Camper:

No; we didn't win anything in the raffle which was extensive and fun, not even either of two engines. Here's the approx. retail value $11,000 engine which was the last raffle prize on the Sunday:

It's also so great to have so many families at the meet, and they do a great job providing a variety of activities at different times for kids to take part of/in:

One of the things we hadn't done the last time attended was take the almost free ($4 or $6 I think?) ferry over to the casino on the other side of the lake.
The best part IS the boat ride. It also afforded a nice view of some of the buses closest to the water at BBB.

The Casino is small with mainly electronic slot machines. Kathy and I don't tend to gamble much, but we decided to waste $20 each. Oddly, I ended up winning $35.50 and Kathy won $7.50. We both stopped after these big wins.

...we did spend some coin on swag and things at BBB, however. There's so much being offered. Here's a few small examples.

New parts, used parts, clothing, photography, art... everything you can imagine.
I bought a used light-up Sierra Nevada beer box for our garage (as Kathy is from Chico, CA and that was our local brewery as we were in College together).

Statistics...
Who doesn't like numbers and maps?
This was this new-to-us engine's first long trip. Here's how it did with our bus entirely loaded down with more gear than any sane person should bring for camping (note that I don't have the final fill-up on there; just the final miles):

...and our route (Google Map's time approximation isn't necessarily correct for an old VW):

There's so much more I could write about; the live band performances, the lantern-walk (ending with a dedication to Hot Dog Fred who passed away last year), the bike ride to the Bridge, the polar bear plunge, all the vendors, the Boy Scout pancake breakfast, the organization of the whole event, and so much more.

There were two unrelated somber and sobering things about this meet, however.

I'm very sorry to report that there was a bus owner whose wife and three kids were driving to the meet separately in a non-VW from the Bay Area.
Their car was was part of a fatal accident near San Jose, CA, with only the mother and 1-year old of that family's Dodge surviving.
https://gilroydispatch.com/update-two-children-die-in-crash-on-highway-152-east-of-gilroy/
Everyone at the meet was deeply concerned as the news of this tragedy made it's way through the camp. Our condolences and heart-felt wishes for healing in this difficult time.

The other somber item was that a gentleman for which this is one of his favorite meets, came out specifically to be at it although he was under the care of Hospice.
He did pass away, doing what he loved; being with the VW community.

I imagine there are things here on the Samba about both of these; I think I have found it hard to read more about it at the moment though.

To bring a bit of light after mentioning these things, here's some random photos from BBB.

Am I forgetting anything? Likely. Daytimes were plenty warm enough, but the nights dipped down to a little above freezing.

Once it was all over, we headed to Huntington Beach to visit my mom and take her out to dinner, and the next day (M.L.K.Jr. Day) we drove up the 101 stopping in San Luis Obispo for a late lunch with our friends who now live there.

All of the snapshot photos I dumped onto TheSamba (and hopefully other people's too) can be found here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php...ts=summary

It's amazing how far some people came to be at this meet including Mexico, Canada, New York, etc.

OK; that's enough rambling for now...

What's Next?
We can't make it to O.C.T.O in Long Beach on Saturday, February 3, 2024 but if you've never been to one, I highly recommend it
(Look in the top tab "Community" and then "Shows" and then look for it by date for details.)

We will, however, make it out to our local NorCal Karmann Ghia Enthusiasts meeting Sunday morning, January 21st, 2024 in Pleasanton.
As it's been raining a lot in the SF Bay, George (the organizer) states that you don't have to bring your VW to this one, but if the weather is good, we may do a cruise after meeting up at 9:00am at Inklings Coffee and Tea, 530 Main St, Pleasanton, CA 94566

If we saw you at OCTO; shout out hello again.
If anyone has any questions about how OCTO is/was, just ask.

Hope to see everyone out in their buses!
_________________
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Dada as in dadaism.
Cheese as in the stuff I love to eat.

[Split 66']

Glad to hear the alternator isn't a problem and you got everything solved in the electrical system. With that new 1776 and fully refreshed transaxle, you should be all set, nicely done!
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"OG = Original German" -- TheSamba.com dictionary

[rollinwithwillie]

Can’t wait to hear about and see photos from BBB ‘24!

I look fwd to a near future Bay Area meet and cruise and maybe come spring, if people are interested, we can to do a west Marin/Sonoma coastal cruise! I can map something out and see if you’re game.

Have safe travels to AZ!
_________________
~let the good times roll~

[DadaCheese]

[rollinwithwillie]

Thanks for the BBB review Bryce. Great info. Started to realize how close the 11th is and how I barely have any miles on the new engine. May / most likely will have to wait until next year. Ugh
_________________
~let the good times roll~

[von_hansel]

Hi Bryce,
First off, congrats on the new motor! I had no clue your bus was @ Justin's so it was a wonderful surprise when I walked into Kombi Haus and I saw his team working on your bus.

Regarding the battery- I bought the red top Optima (75-25) because it had more cold cranking amps than the Interstates I was looking at and the battery profile is the correct size to fit in the stock '67 battery tray. The Optima also has the lip for the battery clamp to attach to.

I have only had the battery since August but so far I have no complaints. I know others on here have had bad experience with the newer Optimas not lasting as long as the older versions of them.
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[mdege]

Wish I could go to BBB with my bus. I am sure that would be a lot of fun.

If you like I can can talk you through debugging the battery problem. All you need is a multi-meter and I can tell you where and how to measure. Let me know if I can help.
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- Michael

1965 21F: Restoration of a former '65 firetruck
1963 Typ3 Notchback project
1988 Multivan Magnum 112i
1984 Standard: My son wanted a bug for his first car