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

[mcdonaldneal]

Our predictions about finding a campsite were correct. With the weather getting hotter and hotter, temps into the 90'sF, and tempers getting shorter, the first campsite said they were full, the village up the coast was full and the village down the coast was full...
Ok. Let's abandon the coastal plan.

We headed inland and found a small town, Schagen. The site there juggled a few things around and found us a space! We then made the mistake of walking into town. It was ancient and beautiful with plenty of bars and cafes, a tuneful chiming clock tower that sounded every 15 minutes, and a supermarket where we could buy dinner to cook in the Kombi. The mistake was that it was easily a two mile walk in, and by the time we got back to the bus we were shattered! Even the cat was too bad tempered to cooperate with a selfie!

The next morning we were determined to reach the sea, so we saddled up and cycled the 20mile round trip to the beach. We started at 8am, as it was shaping up to be a scorcher! Notable sights for the yellow bus T-shirt were the fields of flowers and two battered Bay panel vans and a beetle at an ACVW restoration shop! I couldn't work out why the water was too dangerous to swim in, but the North Sea is notoriously cold, so we didn't!
We travelled the short distance down the North Holland coast but it was really getting unpleasantly hot, despite all windows open and the 'accessory' fan on full blast all day. Any car parks were too exposed to the sun to be able to leave the poor cat, so we found a shady tree between the bike path and the road to have a cool lunch.

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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]

We eventually gave up on beach parking and, after a short ferry ride to our big ferry terminal, parked in the welcome shade next to some murals and a beetle vert, checked in the cat and boarded the ferry for home.
This time we squeezed onto the car deck, next to some very illustrious neighbours; an E-type jag and a couple of Austin Healey's. I just hope the motorbikes on the way to the Isle of Man are well strapped down!

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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!

[Spike0180]

Dang, what a good looking bunch of cars. Your trip looks like fun. Enjoy it!
_________________
Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[TDCTDI]

Lot of great memories there, keep the pics coming. Thanks!
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[mcdonaldneal]

I found this video clip from the canal lock gates at Workum in the central Netherlands.


Link


After we arrived back on British soil, and remembered to start driving on the left again, we came up the Northumberland coastal route I had taken a couple of weeks ago. The oil temp was behaving very well in the cooler British conditions but then, on the main road back towards Edinburgh the temp light (225 F) came on if we drove above about 50mph. Clearly that is no good at all, so I am going to record a standardised set of temperature and pressure readings, from cold, with the current setup and then get hold of some Valvoline VR1 20W50, which seems to be a popular choice on the 3245 page oil selection thread and compare the readings. (I'm going with that heavier weight because of the low oil pressure on startup and at hot idle, and because if the engine temps do get hot, that oil will handle it a bit better than a lighter weight.

Well, that's the end of this travelling adventure. We had a blast, and I hope you enjoyed following along with us! More to come as soon as we are able!...

_________________
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!

[dasdachshund]

Your "Scottish tan" legs are freaking me out in some pics.....
Take care my friend and glad you had a good time. All the best to Shona, too. 90F over here in Vancouver over the weekend.

Of all the pics this one is my fav.

[mcdonaldneal]

I want to be able to make a comparison to see what effects changing the oil weight has.
I have devised a test route that takes about an hour to drive, a mixture of hills and quiet dual carriageway, where I can get up to and maintain a good speed (70mph) and stop at defined points to check the temperature.

I realise that there are real limitations in the accuracy of (20 year old) dash gauges and of IR temp measuring guns, but this is what I have:
VDO oil pressure gauge, marked at 20, 40 and 60 psi
VDO oil temp gauge, marked at 50, 100, 125 and 150deg C. The sensor is drilled into the oil pressure relief plug, which seems to be (according to Samba search!) one of the better and 'hottest' test locations, although with a bit of a time lag. I can't know if the scale is linear, but I'm assuming that the mid point between 100 and 125 is 112.5deg C.
Infra-red temp gun. I am taking readings from the black painted bottom of the oil filter, at right angles to the surface, averaging over five or so readings. On my test runs, this IR reading is within a few degrees of the dash gauge.

The temp sensor location does mean that I haven't checked the length and condition of the oil pressure relief spring, but I should do that sometime. The engine was 'rebuilt' and checked a couple of years ago, but I can't assume that was checked then.

For info, the engine is a 2.0 litre, dual carb, type 4, in a relatively heavy camper conversion with steel 'roo bars. Valves, timing, choke adjustment and air/fuel mixture are all OK.

I'll post the results of last night's test run next.

_________________
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]

OK, the numbers from last night (outside temp was about 16deg C, 60F).
The video shows the delay in the oil warning light going out and the pressure gauge coming up to pressure (cold start, no throttle).
The current oil is quite fresh, but a mixture of weights. I plan to replace with Valvoline VR1 20W50 but I also have 10W30 and 15W40 with ZDDP if the Valvoline is no good.


Link


Cold start:
Time to oil light off, 5sec
Time to stable oil pressure, 12sec
Idle pressure, 35psi

Oil pressure under power with engine cold, 58psi (approx)

Gentle driving until temp coming up, then quite hard driving. Hills and 70mph on dual carriageway. Bus has Automatic transmission.

Time to reach 100degC (212F) on gauge, about 18 min

First stop point:
Oil press at 70mph, 38psi
Temp gauge, 105C (221F)
Oil filter temp 102C (215F)
Idle pressure, 12psi approx

Second stop:
Oil pressure uphill at 55mph, 35psi
Temp gauge, 110C (230F) *Save my bus warning light flickering
Oil filter temp, 112.5C (235F)
Idle pressure, 8psi approx

Third stop:
Oil pressure uphill at 55mph, 30psi
Temp gauge, 115C (240F) *save my bus flickering more strongly
Oil filter temp, 112.5C (235F)
Idle pressure, 7psi approx

So, at least I've got some numbers to make a comparison! Oil is draining out now, I plan to check the pressure relief spring and fill with fresh oil when it arrives in the post!

Any comments at this stage are welcome, I don't have any particular new thoughts after that test run.
_________________
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!

[Abscate]

That's a nice sculptured car in the ferry, and that E-type is nice too...


_________________
.ssS!

[Spike0180]

Did the issue with the oil pressure start after you changed to your Frankenstein oil? And can you remind me of what weight (on average) your oil is currently?
_________________
Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[richparker]

Awesome trip, thanks for sharing!

Good luck with your oil change.
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’63 Deluxe Build

[mcdonaldneal]

[mcdonaldneal]

Interesting.
I noticed today that the engine cooling flap control wire was slack with the engine cold, so the flaps are held by the spring in the 'hot engine' position.
This had definitely been fine for most of the Dutch trip, as I see it when I check the oil (most days).
I assumed (!) that the thermostat has blown, and on my way to work, I stuck my phone under the car to take a pic of the thermostat.

Pop quiz: what is wrong with these photos?
Bonus point: what should I do about it?

_________________
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]

I have removed the combined oil pressure relief spring plug/temp sensor. I thought I would need to seperate them, but unscrewing at the temp sensor pulled the whole plug out.
Specs for the compressed length and force are 6.8-8.8kg at 39mm length. How to check? I rigged up a spring tension tester from bits of socket sets a washer and the bathroom scales, with a trimmed zip tie to check the length!
Answer: 7.2kg at 39mm, so within spec. I'll polish any burrs from the plunger and get hold of a new crush washer.

_________________
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!

[KentABQ]

[wcfvw69]

Phil,

If I was you I'd do this with the oil temp issue-

Drop down to 10-30 and see what that does. I lowered my oil from 10-40 to 10-30 and saw an 8-10 degree lower oil temps. My engine is fairly new so it has tight bearing clearances and excellent oil pressure. The thick oil can keep the relief valve from letting the oil get to the cooler faster. That was the case for me.

I personally would NEVER run a 10-50 weight in any VW. Way too thick in my opinion.

Next, I would insure your cooling air is getting to all parts of your engine. Type 4 engines are not my specialty but.. I'd make sure there's no obstructions and your thermostat system is working and allowing FULL air flow over the cooler and to the heads/cylinders.
_________________
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

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[mcdonaldneal]

[mcdonaldneal]

[Spike0180]

They make a vr1 10w-30. That is what I'm using. It's a racing oil too, so should hold up to heat well. Though it is a bit hard to find at times, it's hopefully worth the hunt (Ive only got 43 miles on my new engine, so it hardly proves anything lol).
_________________
Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[mcdonaldneal]

Thanks Spike, I have some 10W30 with ZDDP and I am probably going to try that first.

I had ordered a new standard oil pressure relief spring which arrived today. You can see it is slightly longer (top) than the old one and the tension at the spec of 39mm is 8.2kg which is nearer the high end of 6.8-8.8kg, so I will use that. It should reduce any potential to divert oil from the cooler.
My plunger piston was clean, but had a bit of a wear pattern on the top surface which shows up in the photo. I don't have a replacement, so I have gently polished it with 2500 grit emery and oil to make sure it is smooth.

Also, I can't find a torque value for the pressure relief plug, just the Bentley caution 'do not overtighten the plug'! I wouldn't worry but as I have a temp sensor integrated into it I'll have to use that nut to tighten. Hopefully I can crush the washer without stripping the sensor out of the plug!

_________________
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!