'Let's Go! Scotland-Croatia and onwards in our Kombi!'

[mcdonaldneal]

Some pictures from the journey through, the first is the gatehouse of Gosford House Estate, seat of the Earl of Wemyss!

Anyone wondering if the cat is stressed travelling in the Kombi? Here's your answer!

Arrived in Dundonald, Shona's mum's has a great view of the 12th century castle...

We spent the afternoon down by the castle as today is the Dundonald Highland games! Plenty of Highland dancing, Pipe bands, Caber tossing and kilts worn by all shapes and sizes.
Terrible Scottish joke:
Tourist to hairy Highlander, 'Excuse me, is anything worn under the kilt?'
Said Highlander, 'Cairtainly no, madam. It's all in pairfect wurrking order".

Kombi did a little sunbathing while we were away,

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

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[EverettB]

[skid]

I can't stop laughing at the look on that cat's face. Amazing.
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'71 Westfalia

[mikedjames]

We have done up to 500 miles in a day from Cologne to Southampton and just did 390 miles in a day in our bus going south in France into the heat two weeks ago.

Keeping the mileage down to about 300 or less each day is a lot easier as no matter how much padding the bus seats have added on, it still starts to get uncomfortable.

But the advantage of not being cramped in a modern car, being able to see at difficult junctions because of narrow body pillars and big windows make driving even a right hand drive bus in Europe a pleasant experience.

One upgrade that has helped in Europe was a convex passenger side mirror glass - I originally fitted it because I failed to see a cyclist who bounced off the side of my bus while they were overtaking on the inside and I pulled nearer the kerb going slowly round a corner in the UK. This helped on the autoroute as I could see cars around me much easier.

And one of those Fresnel lenses high up in the rear window to be able to see a view around the back of the bus on the autoroute even with camping kit nearly to the ceiling.

PS I love the mad cat hat.

[chabanais]

Silly pussy.
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"I spud therefore I yam."

[mcdonaldneal]

Well, today's weather has been what the Scots describe as 'dreich'.

A combination of dull, overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather. At least 4 of the above adjectives must apply before the weather is truly dreich

We had the full six adjectives!

Pretty relaxed 110 mile trip back home, oil temp sitting at 110 degC. I never fail to be surprised by how much the loaded Kombi is affected by wind, and by gradient! The speed drops and drops, down to 80 kph, 'what's wrong, what's wrong?', then you crest the imperceptible rise on the motorway, and the next thing you're doing 110 kph! (I've given up mentally converting to mph, we're so rarely anywhere near the speed limit anyway).

Stopped at Troon railway station to pick up tickets for Shonas mum.

We all stopped for an Indian meal for a late lunch. The restaurant was filled with a huge happy birthday party, the ladies all in beautiful, brightly coloured, Sunday best saris. The waiters came over to us excitedly and said, 'is that your camper van outside?' 'Did you know there's a cat inside at the window?'
Errr, yes.
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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Sven F]

Well its super hot and sunny here at the moment, hopefully you'll get here in time before it turns sour again.

Weather is now my no.1 concern on our trip heading your way.

The powdercoaters did your wheels one coat over the other without sanding or blasting in between so the layers cant adhere, it will just flake now. I wouldn't recommend that place to anyone.

[mcdonaldneal]

Oh Lordy!
Ever get that sinking feeling when you try and sort a mess of VW spares for two different vehicles, only half of which are labelled, into a compact tool kit and essential spares package?

Even the packets of seals are mixed up, I had to put a cry for help onto the Samba!

I know, I know. Cell phone and breakdown cover?!
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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

[quote="Sven F"]Well its super hot and sunny here at the moment, hopefully you'll get here in time before it turns sour again.

Weather is now my no.1 concern on our trip heading your way.
/quote]

Ok Sven, get me excited, what temperatures have you been having? I know Zagreb can get pretty hot.
We are getting very unseasonal stormy weather the few days, the tail end of Hurricane Bertha! I was diverted by the police this morning as a huge tree had blown down on my way to work!
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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

Well, managed to be fairly ruthless and reduce the mess from the living room floor into a tools and spares kit.

Looks a lot, but boils down to:
Foam and powder fire extinguishers and heat proof gloves, to go with the fire blanket (camping) and Blazecut in the engine compartment.
Big spares like; distributor, coil, brake MC, bulbs.
Miscellaneous small spares and electrical stuff in the workmate box, which doubles as a seat and step up.
Multimeter.
Bum bag of basic tools.
Brown bag with throttle cables, fanbelt, jump leads, rocker cover gaskets, carb refurb kit, Idiot book, Bentley (among other things)
There's also a few other bits to come, like the jack, axle stand, litre of oil and of petrol.

I've tried to limit it to things I personally could diagnose and fix while on the road, as well as the things to do the couple of jobs I've been saving for the holiday (which might not get done! ) like; reroute heater cables, electrical wiring tidying and fine tuning the carbs.

Just about to head outside to install a 12v fan under the dash (seems a bit mad, as it is 14 degC here today, but hoping for better weather soon!)
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

There we go!
Now we've got a navigation system AND air conditioning!

All mod cons!
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Bala]

[mcdonaldneal]

[mcdonaldneal]

I needed to drop Shonas mum off at Dunbar railway station this morning, so I used the chance to give the Kombi a run out. All going well, the only thing I've noticed is that the Autobox hangs onto second gear a bit longer than it used to, but doesn't really affect drivability.
Refuelled in Dunbar, now getting a shade under 20 mpg British. Dunbar is the birthplace of the conservationist, John Muir. Much better recognised in the States than here, although there a couple of good small museums in Dunbar.

On the way back had a great view of the Bass rock and Tantallon castle, despite the rain!

Stopped briefly above North Berwick, the nearest town to home (fishing harbour in the distance!)

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

Just about finding time to tick off a few small jobs in the last couple of days before the holiday officially starts.
Spent the morning doing what I thought would be a quick, easy job, fitting the thermostat operating mechanism.
I've spent a couple of months accumulating the parts to get the thermostat flaps working, lubed up the flaps themselves, thermostat from vw classic parts, pulley from eBay, cable from vw heritage and bracket fabbed up by a guy in the Scottish Borders.
Jacked up the Kombi, took off the underneath tin, which was held on by 2 screws instead of 4, threaded the wire down through the engine, realised the nut at the stat end has to go on first, tried to pass the nut down from above, but it's too big, attached the stat and bracket and then discovered that the pulley bolt wouldn't thread into the engine block (it was a wee bit bent ), cleared the threads with a fresh bolt, found new tinware screw, and eventually got it all back together about 2 hrs after I started!
Really pleased to say though, that it seems to be working perfectly, which I am delighted about. Tiny bit of slack when the engine is hot, and fully open when cold. Feels great knowing the engine can warm up properly now!
Small victories!
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[andihowe]

Such a great thread, I found this thread this morning, and have thouoroughly enjoyed reading through it. I am looking forward to hearing your experinaces of the trip. Good Luck and have fun!!

Oh and out of curiosity, which ferry are using to get over to Holland on? Is it DFDS? Im hoping to take my 1977 Devon over next year from Glasgow.

[mcdonaldneal]

Thanks Andihowe,
Yes, DFDS Newcastle- Amsterdam. We've taken it a few times, just 2hrs to N'castle from home. Ferry is fine, although food a bit expensive, so we take a cool bag on board with dinner and breakfast (as do many others!) fare isn't cheap, but saves a nights accommodation and avoids the long (dull!) drive down to the English Channel ports.
It's a shame the Rosyth- Zeebrugge ferry stopped running, although that was even more expensive, and as we're East of Edinburgh, still took over an hour to get to Rosyth!
Glad you're following the trip, just going outside in the drizzle to give the Kombi a wash and brush- up!
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[andihowe]

Thats great Thanks. Our First camping trip in Rosie as a whole family was to Tantallon Castle Caravan Park. There are some stunning sights over that way.

Hope it washes and brushed up well!!

[mcdonaldneal]

Well, not an entirely wasted afternoon.
First I washed down the Kombi, then I decided I had time to go over her with the clay bar. I 'discovered' detailing clay at the end of last year and, although the Kombi has always had periodic careful washing and waxing there were areas that never got completely clean, particularly the roof sections. During the winter I spent a couple of long, cold days claying the roof and eventually got the paintwork glassy, squeaky clean. I had never done the body panels though and, although most of them were ok, there were quite a few areas with the rough feel of fine residue that (eventually) comes off with the clay. Could still do with another going over, but there's a limit to time! I was about to wax her after that, but very heavy rain started, so no go.
When the rain stopped the bottom couple of feet of the van were spattered with mud! Ah well!
I changed tack and fixed a broken mudflap, and put the hubcaps back on. All except the older 'dome' style one that used to fit on the spare wheel at the front. The blasted powdercoat must have thickened the rim so much that the hub cap just won't go on! Much hammering with a rubber mallet, followed by putting the hubcap in the oven still didn't manage to get it on! Gave up.
Finished up by packing a few things away. Excited now, just one more day at work then we're on holiday!!!
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

All getting a bit frantic leading up to our departure! I was at work all day yesterday, and we had invited University friends who live in Toronto for dinner. Late night, bed after midnight, so didn't get up till about 8.30am. Due to leave the house about midday, so time for some 'fiddling while Rome burns'!
The sheepskin seat cover has had it's straps sewn on, so I threaded on the clips,

And spent an hour under the back seat screwing in the receiving straps.

Totally over-engineered, but at least it should stay in position now!
Oh yes, still have to pack our stuff in the van!
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!