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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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 Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 6:46 am Post subject: Peter the Czech reunites with his bus for a road trip |
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Hi guys!
I am back - on the Samba and in the USA (for the time being).
This is continuation of the old thread Peter the Czech travels across Mexico, USA, Central America, which is way too long to be continued. So let's start fresh again.
Current plan ez 5 step plan:
1st - get to the US
2nd - revive the bus
3rd - get them papers fixed
4th - ship it to Europe
5th - do big summer-autumn Eurotrip
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Trip log will follow soon.
And yes, I have not shaven for a while... 
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress
Last edited by peterxxl on Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:22 am; edited 4 times in total |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 6:47 am Post subject: |
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Background:
My bus has been resting in Gibbs' garage since September '12 - almost 3 years. Gibbs once posted somewhere he will start charging me rent after five years. Ufff. I almost crossed the mark. I am in eternal spiritual debt to Gibbs for storing my bus that long.
I hadn't have much money to go and fuck around with the bus, so I have been hitchhiking and bumming around Chile and Argentina and trading iPads for motorcycles in Bolivia and Peru.
I recently finished crazy 5 month trip across Patagonia. I have seen it all - active glaciers, active volcanoes, penguins, lakes, mountains, etc. It was amazing. I can post some pictures if someone is interested.
But no matter what I did, I always imagined what it would be if I had my bus with me in that moment and on that place. maaaan.
Can't change the past.... but the future.... oh yes!
1st step - get to the USA:
I arrived to Philly from Santiago, Chile on July 1st to pick up my bus and continue the journey. I was able to get a good deal thanks to Brokenbus
I had to travel 600 miles from the South of Chile to Santiago to catch that flight.
When I got of the airport I took a bus (regular public transit bus) directly to the garage to see me bus.
I arrived around noon and the weather was amazing. There is winder in South America now, so it's a pleasant change for me!
I met with Gibbs in his garage which is being transformed partially to a living space.
I was really hungry and tired after the flight so I went to eat to this place called Porto (Gibbs recommendation), which is run by a bit crazy Polish woman. The food there is amazing thou! Then I took a nap.
Later that day Matt arrived.
My bus all the way back of his garage so we had to pull out many busses first to get to mine.
I have more or less 20 days to enjoy USA before going to Europe and meet with my girlfriend from Chile and do a summer/fall trip with her. If everything goes as expected it's gonna be in my bus!
Check out these photos from the garage:
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress
Last edited by peterxxl on Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:23 am Post subject: |
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2st step - revive the bus
After we pulled out the bus to the front, I started with little sorting and clean up.
I have to confess: almost 3 years have gone by and I forgot a lot of stuff... gotta take me a bit to get back into it.
Next day:
I took all the crap I had stored inside and clean out the interiors a bit.
I have found carpet in a trash pile on the street when going for lunch so I put it inside the bus since I took everything out anyway.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:42 am Post subject: |
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Next day:
Battery was dead because I left it connected to the circuit.
With Matt we have connected the crank booster battery and primed the carb a bit. After couple of turns the engined started like nothing. After three years and it started right up pretty much.... and that's with all that old gasoline.
So I need a new battery!
And shocks - I remember those were baaaad. It was like riding a rollercoaster when I hit a bump.
Next day:
I borrowed Matt's 125cc Yamaha scooter and went around the city to get my bus some shocks. They only had a pair in one store and another pair in different store. Unfortunately those stores were on opposite ends of the city. I was able to haggle down the price a bit so all 4 of them cost me less then $100.
I installed them the same day with Gibbs' help.
When I pulled the old ones out, it was clear this was due for quite a few decades.
Next day:
Gibbs and Matt are going to Chicago for the weekend. Gibbs is flying and Matt is driving his bus accompanied by John Pickens. Matt invited to join him.... I had to make a hard choice.... I love traveling and even more in a bus. But my number one priority is to get my bus on the road again and ready to ship it.
I only got about 20 days in the US in total... so I decided not to go.
Matt will be driving all the way to Washington state after spending 4th of July in Chicago. Pretty bad ass if you ask me... he should write about it on the Samba!
I went to buy a new battery. I got one of them Optima non-spillables. There was a promo for $50 off online for the 4th of July weekend so it cost me less then $200. I decided for this one because some people were recommending it here on The Samba. So now my bus starts on it's own.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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BulliBill
Samba Member
Joined: July 09, 2004
Posts: 4572
Location: St Charles, MO
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:00 am Post subject: |
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Welcome back! Keep telling us all what is going on as you get ready to head to Europe...
Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton
Thanks for any help! |
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Red Fau Veh
Samba Member
Joined: September 07, 2012
Posts: 3037
Location: Prescott Az.
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:09 am Post subject: |
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Fun stuff! And there is the Jersey looker swivel seat bus, if it isn't to late you should get that bus! 
_________________
1971 Deluxe Sunroof Bay 1905 stroker, dual idf40's, 74mm Scat forged crank, engle 110 cam. CB 044 heads, AutoCraft rockers, chromoly push rods
1973 Orange transporter stock type 4 with dual 40 Dellortos and Empi single quiet pack
1969 Adventurewagen blue whale Gene Berg 1776 built by Dave Kawell dual 36 DRLA's, Vintage Speed exhaust, Bosch 019 screamer
1961 Swivel Seat camper, L345 grey
| Touch Nicks Thing wrote: |
Swivel Seat panels are for people with no friends  |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:39 am Post subject: |
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| Red Fau Veh wrote: |
| Fun stuff! And there is the Jersey looker swivel seat bus, if it isn't to late you should get that bus! |
I think I would do that... it would fit my needs I think. Walk-thru option for camping is priceless. It even has some wardrobe in it. And it has all the papers in order, which would save me a lot of work. I don't think Gibbs would trade me thou... it's a swivel after all. Anyway I can ask him when he comes back from Chicago which should be sometime today. I feel like he wants me and my bus out ASAP and I don't blame him, it's been here 3 years taking up his space so it's probably too late.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress
Last edited by peterxxl on Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:39 am; edited 2 times in total |
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rebapuck
Samba Member
Joined: May 17, 2007
Posts: 1023
Location: Chapel Hill NC
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 10:05 am Post subject: |
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Just one question. How do you afford all this travel?
_________________
Judy
1966 Camper "Hannah"
1967 SingleCab "Khady" |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:47 am Post subject: |
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| rebapuck wrote: |
| Just one question. How do you afford all this travel? |
That one weird trick (governments hate it) )), hahaha
No debt, no bills to pay, no rat race - zero net-worth is always better than negative net worth. I do little jobs online and/or offline here and there to pay for my food. Other than that it's all attitude & good people willing to help:
free/cheap lodging - couchsurfing, camping, sleeping in a bus
free/cheap transportation - hitchhiking, cheap Chinese motorcycles, fare promos & deals
I just try to stay debt free... I don't wanna be slave to the system. I try to avoid long term contracts (pay-as-you go on everything - phone, rent, etc.)
None of my travels would not be possible without the help of GOOD PEOPLE along the way. I do rely on their support. Without them this would not be possible. I do believe that in the world there are more good people than bad.
Unfortunately typical average attitude is opposite: don't talk to strangers, they will take advantage of you. Which is obviously false.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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I just finished taking apart the rear brakes.
A while ago I posted about grinding sound which sometimes occurred.
Detailed description: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6180164#6180164
Sometimes the bus started loosing power out of nowhere and there was a grinding noise in the back. I had never figured out the reason of that.
Before I left for South America, we pulled the engine before with Matt and Gibbs and found nothing wrong.
Today another possible reason occurred to me: e-brake hardware
I don't have e-brake connected as I am missing my cables which are one year only. But I left the e-brake hardware inside of the drums. Could that be causing the trouble? I pull apart the rear drums and took out the loose e-brake hardware.
I think I leave for Vermont tomorrow to try get the registration done there. So I will see then if the problem disappeared or not.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Red Fau Veh wrote: |
Fun stuff! And there is the Jersey looker swivel seat bus, if it isn't to late you should get that bus!
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So I asked Gibbs over the text as he won't be back from Chicago until tomorrow.
He said he would need some extra money for it. And I should ask you if you would trade it if the Looker was yours.
It's a '59 Sealing Wax Red Kombi for '61 Swivel Panel. Rust-wise probably in the same group.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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Manfred58sc
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2009
Posts: 3382
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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Keep your bus, it has the street cred. That "looker" would require fat 70's side burns and a fake brown leather jacket (w/green wire rimmed sun glasses). I just don't see it.
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Fat chick owner/operator |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Today I went to Delaware for test ride.
After that I head up north towards Vermont.
Tomorrow I wanna visit Valley VW in Drums, PA. Gibbs sent me their contact. They might be able to help me with the tranny / engine issue.
Now I will look for parking lot to sleep.
I am happy to announce that with the new shocks the bus drives better than ever. And new battery helps too.
I just can't do highways yet until I fix that popping problem. So I am just going on little road. They are more fun anyways.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:12 am Post subject: |
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Looks like the grinding popping noise mystery is finally over. Unfortunately it's not a very good end.
Spark plug exploded from the head. Cable melted. Not looking good. It's the spark plug on passenger's side towards the front of the car.
The good news: I made it to Drums, PA and I am in front of the Valley VW shop waiting for them to open. Hopefully they can help?
What could be the reason? Cylinder running too hot?
Does it mean I have been running on 3 cylinders this whole time? Or maybe sometimes when it was making the popping noise? Big metallic sound when the pressure finally released?
What could be at fault? Cable? Plug? Or something entirely different?
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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zuggbug
Samba Member
Joined: June 17, 2008
Posts: 3479
Location: Anderson SC
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:40 am Post subject: |
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Sorry to hear about your troubles best of luck getting the bus back on the road.
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SOUTHERN INTEGRITY AIRCOOLERS
58 15 window
56 westy |
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EverettB 
Administrator
Joined: April 11, 2000
Posts: 69809
Location: Phoenix Metro
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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Everett: sorry for that, won't happen again
Now the story:
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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Here we go!
That noise problem has been present for a while now. Some of you might remember I wrote about it before I stashed my bus at UZI's place. It ran smooth when taking it easy, but started to sound under load - speed or going uphill. Over time it got worse.
That was one of the reasons I had to store it as I was running out of my visa time and money back then. I couldn't figure out the reason - we pulled the motor and found nothing wrong. Disassembled the brakes and no difference.
Well it turned out I had crack in the passenger side head. The spark plug hole was enlarged and filled with insert. The crack started forming on the outside of the insert. There was probably no leak under easy load. Only when pushed it started leaking there and the crack slowly turned into a hole.
Yesterday I left UZI's place and headed north towards Vermont to do the paperwork. Drove all day and took it easy for the most part.
Finally in the evening it or really bad. Pretty grinding and popping sound disappeared and turned into more louder fizzing sound.
I texted UZI if he knows some VW people in the region. He recommended Valley VW. I called and girl called Misty picked up. Still thinking it was the tranny I explained my situation. She said they have backlog like 3 weeks on tranny rebuilds but invited me to come over the shop to investigate.
It was already too late and I still had about 80 miles left.
So I went to look for a place to sleep.
I slept near McDonald's somewhere in Pensylvania north of Philly.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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peterxxl
Samba Member
Joined: December 20, 2010
Posts: 425
Location: smwhere between Azerbaijan and Uruguay
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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I slept pretty good. I set my alarm for 8 am but someone woke me up around 7am by yelling outside the bus if someone was home! I didn't respond but I slowly got up.
Went to McD's for breakfast and hygiene and hit the road to Drums, PA
When I was about 10 miles away, I hear very loud noise from the back.
I pull over and go check the engine. I found spark plug completely burned just laying in the engine bay and and the cable melted.
So I picked up the pieces, fired the engine up again and drove to the VW shop on 3 cylinders.
It wasn't yet open so I had to wait a bit.
After a while a guy showed up. He introduced himself as Dennis. The lady from the phone was his wife Misty. Two really nice people.
We pulled the engine out and found the spark plug opening had insert in it. Outside of the insert was a crack that turned into a pretty big hole over time.
So we partially disassembled the engine and replaced the head with a new one.
We also installed new spark plugs and Dennis fixed the cable.
Misty hooked me up wit electronic ignition and Dennis replaced the points.
After we put it all together, the engine fired right up.
Dennis adjusted the valves, carb and fixed my accelerator cable which was about to brake in near future.
We took few pictures together and talked little bit about travels over sandwich and ice tea. They really are the nicest people.
Misty hooked me up with Valley VW T-shirt and I was ready to go.
I said goodbye and hit the road.
The bus now runs better than ever. With new head, shocks, electronic ignition and battery! Awesome! The transaxle still makes not-too-loud grinding noise in the 4th gear but the popping sound is over and it was not related to each other and I was finally able to go 70mph for a minute which is the top speed on my '59 speedo. The engine runs strong now. Mission accomplished.
Dennis recommended to look for big nut transaxle down the road. This transaxle was not rebuilt while I have it. It probably was never rebuilt since it came with the bus and it was sitting decades in Texan desert. But that's task for another day.
I am near Blooming Grove, PA now in McDonald's for free wifi.
Will post some pictures and hit the road again toward Vermont.
Big thanks to Valley VW for their help, Gibbs for the contact and all you nice Samba folk for your advice.
_________________
Hi! I am Peter from Czech Republic...
Bringing VW news en Espaņol to your doorstep since 2009!
* 1961 Panel - my 1st VW - bought near Mexico City - traded for:
* 1959 Kombi - stored in Philly for now
Read my story here:
* Part 1 - Mexico City to Philadelphia
* Part 2 - Philadelphia to Europe - in progress |
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