Mojave desert Westy

[Russpauly]

[Wasted youth]

Well!

I finally have some time to sort, edit and upload the pics. The trip went great! Only problems were the cost and availability of camping spots and some minor mechanical annoyances detailed here.

A word about camping along the California Coast... I am familiar with a lot of the ins and outs of this, but it bears repeating some things. First, you will be highly unlucky in winning the "Hey, let's go camping this Thursday." lottery and actually being able to reserve a spot online (mandatory process for State Parks and now the National Forest, too) for impromptu camping trips. You will be equally unlucky most of the time showing up and hoping for 'no-shows' or a standby list.

On July 18 at 07:00 PST, the Los Padres National Forest bookings opened up their next six months of openings. I forgot to get online and handle my business, so by 2:00PM that afternoon there was nothing left, except a two day (Sun-Mon) opening at Platchett in early November. I grabbed it to the tune of $78

That's how it goes.

So... stealth camping! Yep. You can do that... sometimes. This whole coast from Malibu to Mendocino is famous, and as a result it gets A LOT of pressure for visiting. So a lot of the stealth camping ideas and spots are well-known by the local cops/authorities and yeah, guys... they know all the spots, probably grew up there doing that, too. And they've heard all the excuses and reasons.

Not to say it can't or shouldn't be done, but definitely saying you need to be prepared for some added stress to your journey.

But I did find a great place after I was turned away from everywhere else. I camped at Big Sur Campground and Cabins for $70 a night, no hook-ups. Nice, clean central bathroom with hot showers included! We have stayed at the place right up river from there before, too. That place is called Riverside Campground and Cabins.

I really like both of these enterprises and will happily return to either. The advantage Big Sur Campground and Cabins has over Riverside is their soft serve machine... obviously, right?! Only thing I did not like was the baskeball court was noisy all day, both days. You can try to get a spot on the west end of the campground away from that, but I was just lucky to get a spot at all. I got the last $70 spot that day.

Both of these places are right on the Big Sur River, just east of Andrew Molera (no camping) State Park.

The dog is clearly impatient to get into the woods, so let's go!

With all of my on-board camping systems working great, I made a fresh cup of coffee for the trip from Cambria north... for me, there are few simpler pleasures than a damp coastal summer morning and fresh cup of super-strong French Roast made right in the comfort of any Westy you choose.

From Cambria, dog and I headed right up to San Simeon beach. She has a number of issues, first being large plate glass windows, dark hallways, ocean surf and rivers. The last time she was here, I had the whole family (family visiting relatives overseas this time while I do some remodeling and repair to our home) and she was terrified by the beach. I wound up carrying her, and her thanks was to give me two of her wood tics.

This time, she romped and chased, so we're making progress. No pics of that and we headed north from there.

First stop to 'earn a sticker' was Ragged Point and I had a look around. Another cup of coffee and I checked the fridge. Putting the Bentley refrigerator mod for the air pump and upgrading the cooling fan to a 12V computer cooling fan did me well on our 1987 Westy, and I see I am at 46* F on the 12VDC chilling option. Not as cold as my fridge at home, but I am totally fine with this. And, like the fridge in our '87, this one is about 5 degrees cooler in propane mode. I'll get hosed on that one later!

The drive up the coast from there put me into mountain grade territory, with steep, winding curves and a lot of shifting gears. The work I did on the power train has paid off! No clutch issues and the power was always there when I needed it. I was super nice to know I could climb some of the steep grades and not have to baby the clutch or engine. Just drive!

Just south of the village of Gorda I was stopped for a couple of minutes while the hardhats kept busy keeping Hwy 1 open. This section of the coast is famous for its show-stopping landslides, and this location is another chapter in the long and storied history of the area. This is the Mud Creek slide.

Here is a Los Angeles Times story about it, but I have no idea how long this link will work:

https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-highway-one-repairs/

Later, dog and me took a break at one of the many Scenic Piss Areas along the route. Coffee has go somewhere, so I went full Van Life and... actually used my Campa-Potty! Yep, bought that sucker three years ago and never used it. Ya know what? It's pretty cool! Just shut the doors, slide a few curtains and... well, you get it. I was worried about the smell or spills, so I figured I'd work it all out on my own before I brought it along on a big family trip. Works great! Easy to use and clean. Yeah... you though I was gonna pe in the bushes, didn't you?! That was last trip.

No. No pics of me using it. As if!

By now, the passenger side view mirror was getting loose, but I was not burning up oil, the parking brake held on grades and everything else was working just fine.

It took me several hours of searching, asking, driving and waiting to see if there were any campground openings or cancellations. So I got to Pfeiffer Big Sur Park around lunch and popped the top. The new Bus Depot canvas that I bought on sale was working nicely (update with story on that later!) and I put the the top up in the State Park parking lot so I could make lunch. Less than ten minutes into this, the maintenance crew rolled by in the golf cart and politely warned me not to try and camp there. The Ranger would surely cite me.

After a quick cold lunch, I went to the gift shop and paid $2.50 for a stick of butter because that's the one thing I forgot. I told the clerk it would be easier math if they just evened out the price to $10 a pound. At this she laughed... then laughed again because yeah... the joke's on ME! I then confirmed with staff there would be no vacancies. I went back to the pay phone (no cell service here) and at 50 cents a call, went down the list. Every place was sold out as expected, but I could not get through to Big Sur Campgrounds and Cabins, so I drove there. Lucky me!

I enjoyed spoiling these noisy little blue guys, setting up my chair a foot deep in the Big Sur River and just unwinding after beating myself up all week doing remodeling work in 100+ degree weather all week. I also enjoyed teasing the dog a little bit at river's edge. She's smarter than me, but I seem to have more courage when it comes to things like water and plate glass windows.

Worked on tightening the mirror, and started noticing some propane smell during dinner...

Next morning out and about! Here are a few views of Point Sur Lighthouse, of course fully automated, un-staffed and maybe someday restored. Tours currently unavailable.

We got a great suggestion from the camp host and took the Westy on the Old Coast Road for a couple of miles. Great views, and several spots where the unique 'micro-climates' of the Big Sur region are clearly evident. In this, you can have very arid-adapted vegetation and less than a few feet away it can completely change to very damp, mossy and lush areas with delicate ferns.

Driving up the Old Coast Road a mile or two changes the coastal perspective and experience considerably. No longer near any surf or river, the heat and arid summer climate is very pronounced. Yet, even at this late summer date there were a few springs with running water.

Here is the Old Coast Road heading toward Carmel...

Not sure about this peak if it is a part of El Sur Ranch or within Los Padres National Forest.

Along the edge of the road there are numerous signs regarding the El Sur Ranch, which might actually be connected to the earlier Spanish Land Grants or Mission system. Best not to get off into the pasture as this really is a working cattle ranch.

Here is Point Sur Lighthouse from the Old Coast Road...

Andrew Molera State Beach:

Dog and I thought it would be great to head to the beach at Andrew Molera, but... wow! What a mess. Humanity overflowing! The frazzled youth from the park collection booth told me No Dogs Allowed, and a Park Ranger and California Highway Patrol officer were coaching drivers on highway-side parking and also ticketing cars for being stupidly parked.

We decided to drive on up to Carmel, get gas and a couple of treats.

At Carmel, I paid some real gold for gasoline, but not the absolute robbery of $5.98 a gallon at Ragged Point! Also got another bag of popcorn for the Blue Jays and a pack of Double Stuff Oreos for me.

Leaving Carmel, we were on the lookout for wild boar. No kidding... if you hit one of these full size guys, your car will be seriously damaged.

I also noticed my odometer is not always working. And sometime I have lost the turn signal indicator on the panel, but no issues with the actual signaling.

We got back to camp after a leisurely drive down the coast. The Driver's seat belt retractor is getting sticky when I buckle up, but slides in and out normally while I drive.

I met these fine folks from Great Britain, if I recall correctly. They rented the Westy from a company down in Costa Mesa in Orange County and guess what? They were unprepared for not being able to just pull off the road and camp like they do back home. We had a great conversation about such problems, the crush of humanity and buying a home in California.

So many Westies were seen on this trip... I seem to stopped counting at 12. I passed only one Baywindow bus.

After an afternoon nap, Dog and I headed down the coast to catch the sunset...

We caught this band playing at the Henry Miller library..

Then on down the road a bit for the sunst! I was hoping to catch the Green Flash, but it didn't happen for us today.

Then back to camp! Bonfire and BBQ, then a good sleep. Dog was starting to piss me off, moving from the floor to the passenger seat, then back down, then up to the driver's seat, then over to me, then knocks over my water, then back to thecockpit, then DAMMIT, dog! What the hell?!

So. Shorts and flip flops. Let's go pooch, you need to get out and let's walk for awhile... and she instantly craps in the road.

See? I told you she was smarter than me! Back to the van for a clean-up bag, a little more walk and guess what? She went right to sleep. So did I!

Here is a brief (like 2 minute) video compilation of the van doing 70 from Paso Robles toward Kettleman City. You can see the odometer has completely stopped working! The video wasn't edited in order, so the little bit of rolling hills was from the top of the summit out of Cambria headed towards Paso Robles. I did just under 40 in 3rd gear up out of Cambria and a little less climbing the grade near the San Luis Obispo / Kern County border on the way to Kettleman City.

The purpose of this video is simply to put to rest so many nay-sayers about how an air cooled engine is gutless and is slow. Not true! FWIW, this van performs on par with our '87 Westy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KVJVPaHuwg

Back at home, I put the last 'earned' sticker on after I clean out the van. I'll clean off the bug spatter later...

Stats:

Miles: Well... the odometer stopped, so who knows. But Kingsburg to Carmel is 232 miles using Hwy 1, plus plenty of side trips up and down the coast. Go figure; maybe 550?

Oil: 1/2 quart 10W40 Castrol High Mileage

Gas: A bunch. I figure 1981 auto mileage in a big bread box? Why are we concerned about such things? Just so long as the oil doesn't start smelling like fuel and I get decent compression, I'm good. I still have all the receipts, so I'll add it up and post it later.

Fun: A lot!

Propane: Oh yeah, about that. The propane regulator took a dive. It leaks through the regulator vent port, and it all pissed away. Fridge worked fine on 12VDC on the way home, but second half of second day was all cold food and sandwiches, but I am totally fine for this until I get that replaced.

[Wasted youth]

FWIW... Gas receipts added up to $128.00 at various rates. $3.44 to $4.65, but it was 32.7 gallons. Roughly 550 miles puts the MPG around 16.8

[Wasted youth]

I was able to isolate the problem with the propane system, it really turned out to be a simple matter of changing out the regulator with one I had on hand.

Today I started getting into the shifter. It’s somewhat difficult to find the right gear when shifting and this could be attributed to many things, but my transmission shifts just fine and I figured the nylon bushings on the shifter were bad so I bought the kit from Vancafe, along with the tower rebuild kit. Not sure exactly what the part number is for the tower kit: 251798116A or 798215003 or 1131700810 and I don’t know what the part number is for the nylon bushing kit.

I will also add the missing rubber wear piece on the shifter box.

Hopefully, when I’m done with all of this, the Vanagon will shift just as nicely as my 1977 Baywindow did after I renovated the shifter in that.

[AZ Landshaper]

I did a ton of camping along this route in the 90s. Was a diff day man. Cant imagine te folks that hit it in the 60s and 70s. I met a lot of great perps and saw some fantastic sunsets. Pickedup a few hitchhikers but non as memorable as Terry and Kim from Ontario. Boy they had a large sack of 20 bills and i mean large and a huge stash of Shulginceuticals And they were eager to repay for the ride. We skinny dipped the coast from Bandon to LA and i thanked the powers that be every time we hit the beach. A VW van might take some energy to keep moving but boy do they repay you by attracting some really fun loving folks.

Rust in Peace my beloved Orange 72 tin-top. May the 4 winds blow you safely home.
_________________
Support Small Business.

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85 Weekender w/ EJ22
Previously
64, 71, 72, 73, 76, 81, 84, 85 & 87 Campmobiles and Westfalias
and a 67 bug.

[Wasted youth]

[Wasted youth]

The shifter project went well! The kit I bought was great because everything fit perfectly. The only parts I did not change was the nylon bushings and bolt connecting the shift lever to the shift rod down in the box above the spare tire. Mine were in surprising great shape, so I decided to keep the small bag of those parts as a part of my 'on-board spares'

I used the two kits from RockyMountainWesty/VanCafe.

Kit -VCSELECTORSHAFTKIT

and also

Kit - 251798116A

I think I put the nylon tabs on the wrong way, but I can tell you that after both kits were installed and I re-adjusted my shifter, I am extremely pleased with the greatly improved function!

The kit mentions about the installation of the nylon tabs where they need to be carefully sleeved over the ears of the shift rod. They are not a great fit, so some filing of the edges of the shift rod are necessary... or you can force them into place and crack them, the choice is yours. Some filing on the shifter ears only allowed the smaller of the two pieces to sit perfectly for me to install just one of the aluminum rivets that come with the kit. I still could not get the nylon piece to slide down far enough to use the rivet on the bigger one. This is a minor disappointment, and the large blob of two-part epoxy should work fine for many years to come.

Searching for first and second gear is no longer a struggle, and I can actually shift gears with just my index and middle fingers quite easily now.

In the Bentley there is mention about the rubber piece that is in the shifter guide box above the spare tire, but mine was missing. I had no idea at all about dimensions, but applied this sheet of 3/16 gasket material with JB Weld. Seems to work just fine right now.

Next up on reports: Windshield corner repair and glass replacement!

[4Gears4Tires]

Wow that's a rust spot in a bad spot. I can see you've got your work cut out for you.
_________________
'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[Wasted youth]

[Wasted youth]

I recently cleaned out the engine compartment, and used water as part of the process. There is always a risk of fouling electrical connections when you do that, and about two or three days after I did the cleanup work, I started having trouble with the Westy getting started and I figured that I did something with the cleaning process to cause this. So today I had time to check each electrical connection.

Right off the bat I found a real problem with the distributor rotor and cap. Not a problem caused by me, and I found the tang on the rotor had broken off sometime recently.

These parts were from O'Reillys more than a year and a half ago. Before you start bashing O'Reilly's, the same thing happened to a brand new genuine Bosch rotor on my 1973 Type 2

You can ponder the gouges in the distributor cap lugs and probably conclude that the clearance was bad from the git-go. I could not disagree with that, so one lesson here after you place a distributor rotor and cap, go back in there and see how it's doing within 10 or 15 miles.

[Wasted youth]

The Westy project has turned out well.

[Wasted youth]

A few months ago it was decided we should sell the 1981 Westfalia to help fund extensive (expensive?) powertrain work on our 1987 Westfalia and also put some money into the 1968 Doublecab.

I drove the Westy up to the San Francisco area where I often work because it would probaly sell faster there than where I am now. On the way 200 mile trip there I noticed a growing growling sensation from the rear of the van. Of course, it just got worse.

I arrived in Richmond and it was just a bad sound and worse gut feeling. Oil level was fine, and the sound quieted when I took it out of gear. I drove it home that same day because I haven't any facility there to make big repairs. I pulled the transmission and did some cursory exploring, but overhaul is beyond my expertise or ability.

The transmission was sent off to Rancho Transmissions in Fullerton, California for a full rebuild. The main shaft had cavitation forming on the gear teeth and several of the bearings were loose.

I just finished reinstalling it today, but I ran out of time to finish the details.

[djkeev]

Sorry but VW’s own you….. not the other way.
You want t walk away?
Not happening!

Good luck finishing up the project.

Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Wasted youth]

Trust me, Dave... I'd like to keep this van. It's easy to work on and has never given me any real trouble. The transmission is the biggest deal so far.

[Wasted youth]

The transmission rebuild from Rancho Transmission has proven to be an excellent choice. First gear is a little hard to find sometimes, but I’ve enjoyed a smooth, quite transmission for months now. No oil leaks at all. I’m estimating between 1,500 and 2,000 miles so far. My odometer has not worked for a very long time.

[Wasted youth]

Now a bi-annual Smog Check is due, and I decided to send off a spare set of fuel injectors to be able to keep driving the van until I’m ready to swap them out. I’ve never serviced the injectors on this van, and I sent my last set from the 1977 Baywindow to Witchhunter, and I thought they did a great job. Witchhunter seems to be very busy these days, so I went with Mr. Injector in Dalton Gardens, Idaho.

Turnaround time was good. I sent them Priority Mail on May 19 and they arrived today May 31 and also included seals. Came with before and after servicing report, of course. Two LifeSaver candies, so I scored there, too. Reminds me of VanCafe

I bought three feet of Gates 4219BF Barricade fuel injection line. I’ve used this exclusively on all my work, and it’s really good quality fuel line. But it’s also fairly pricey now; around $8.70 a foot

I sent Bill, the proprietor, seven injectors and asked that he make 4 of the best as a uniform set. He also answers the phone and I asked him about working on the Cold Start Valve and he can service those also.

All the injectors were double packed and shipped well. The remaining three injectors were also bagged. The blue tape is from me - those are the ohm readings I made prior to sending them.

I was hoping for glass bead or better cleaning on the inlet nipple, but I don’t think that will be a service issue.

New filters, pintle tips and more - check his website for details and instructions.

[campism]

The odometer fix is not difficult. I did mine using threads from here and it's worked ever since.
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[Wasted youth]

There is something weird with my odometer problem. I’ve seen/read several of the threads and the usual problem with the digit wheels and end tab isn’t it and the worm drive works well, but the digit drums won’t rotate.