GoBigEmma Pan-American Roadtrip log

[Xevin]

Glad the bus is mobile Sveen. I think I know why Big Emma is so tough
Bet you'd like one of those now.

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Keep on Busin'

[GoBigEmma]

[GoBigEmma]

Hey guys,

it seems we're having a new problem with bringing Big Emma back to the States. This might sound stupid, but we can't find anybody to pick up the container for us at the port.

I posted a thread on the General Chat (here: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8587334), if you have any idea how we could get out of this one, please let us know!!

Your help is greatly appreciated as always!
Sven
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1975 Bus "Big Emma", 1.8 FI, Hydraulic lifters
Interrupting our Pan-American Roadtrip for post-flood repairs: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657738
Follow the trip on our blog: http://www.gobigemma.com

[Tcash]

Contact the Port Authority and ask them what companies haul out of that port.
Another thing to consider is getting the Bus off the container. If the trucking Co, does not have a Roll off trailer. A loading dock or a flatbed tow truck will be needed.
Good luck
Tcash

[GoBigEmma]

Hey guys,

some time has passed and I think it's a good moment to tell the story of how our shipping adventure has panned out.

Where did I leave off? Somewhere in Belize, with Big Emma in the container on the way to Miami, but with problems of getting her out on the other end I think.

Well, after spending some (more of less, thanks to a million phone calls to agents, trucking companies, etc.) relaxing days on Caye Caulker, a tiny island off the coast of Belize, we flew home. Our two different homes to be exact. Emma took a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to pick up Big Emma. I traveled back to Mexico, where I flew out of Cancun to Germany (The US made it clear to me I couldn't come back without going home first, that's why I didn't fly to Florida).

Home, the first time in 16 months. It's good to see friends and family, but it sucks not to be able to help Emma with the bus. But she managed well. Her Dad came down from Illinois and together they managed to get the container out of the port, Big Emma onto a tow truck and finally on a semi heading north, home to Urbana.

The pandorica opens in Florida

While the car was on the way, we received at least two messages of complete strangers who had spotted her on the Interstate. One even took a video and sent it to us. It felt like a bunch of people were watching out for our bus, people we hadn't even met yet. Awesome!

Emma and Big Emma reunited

Rolling onto the semi trailer

And off she goes, riding piggy back

Home, after many long months

Despite all this unfortunate interruption of our trip, we're having an insane amount of luck in the aftermath of it. As it so happens, Robbie was scheduled to come by and work on andrewtf's (Emma's Dad) bus this week. And now Emma's home, and Big Emma too, so it's a big reunion with lots of buses and beer and stuff.

Robbie made a pre-winter to-do list for Big Emma. Right now, Emma is repacking the front wheel bearings, over the weekend she'll tackle the CV joints, change all fluids in the car, and do a gazillion minor things. It sucks I can't be there, but can I just point out how awesome it is that she's doing all this greasy and heavy-duty car stuff by herself?

Meanwhile, we're working on first designs for the new interior. I think a full-size bed and a swivel seat for the passenger side are in the cards. A new waterproof poptop canvas. An awning. What else? Dunno. If there's anything you guys can think of you can't live without in your bus, I'd like to hear it. This is going to be a rebuild from scratch, all options are open!

Thanks for being along for this wild ride. We are more than grateful to have this amazing community to have our back, both when we need help and when it's about hanging out over a beer or ponder bus details online. Cheers!

Sven
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1975 Bus "Big Emma", 1.8 FI, Hydraulic lifters
Interrupting our Pan-American Roadtrip for post-flood repairs: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657738
Follow the trip on our blog: http://www.gobigemma.com

[dobryan]

Looking forward to the build out.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Abscate]

If you don't put a (piston) ring on her finger in the very near future, you will regret it the rest of your life.



I snagged my supermodel SO on an oil change date 32 years ago..
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.ssS!

[SamboSamba22]

[tristessa]

[wcfvw69]

[Abscate]

She's an 11/10 at least..Emma, I mean.
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.ssS!

[OrangeZA]

Hi Sven, I’ve enjoyed following your travels and hope to see you, Emma and Big Emma back on the road again soon.

Have you seen Volkswagen’s Z4-Booklet “Travelling Under Difficult Conditions”? It’s a guidebook written by the Volkswagen engineers giving advice on how to prepare your VW Transporter or VW LT for travelling in conditions not usually found in Central Europe, you may find it interesting.

There is a German language version of it on Michael Knappmann’s site http://www.michaelknappmann.de/bulli/michaelk/vw_bus_d/ratgeber/frame.html

You can read English versions at the following links:
http://wetwesties.tripod.com/Journeys1/01.html
or
http://www.syncro.org/sitephotos/Galleries/Mods_for_Difficult_Journeys/index.htm
Sadly both English language versions of the booklet in the above sites are incomplete.

For Tropical, Artic and unmade roads they recommend fitting protection plates and stone guard equipment such as these fitted to the Iron Lion belonging to the Dutch brothers MadMax78 and Bursch.

Instructions on how to fabricate these items can be found at the end of the Z4-Booklet.
(The above photo was taken from their thread detailing how they were preparing their Riviera for travelling from Amsterdam to Cape Town -> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=370281)

If you are going to fit a swivelling seat on the passenger side I imagine you are going to cut out the partial partition behind the backrest, the metal that ties the B-pillar to the wheel well. I’d recommend welding some reinforcement in that area to retain the structural integrity of the shell.

The above photo shows how VW strengthened this area when they equipped vehicles with the M690 option

This photo shows how they did it in the later Mexican and Brazilian T2s. I’ve seen late model water-cooled Brazilian T2 campers fitted with that reinforcement and swivelling seats. I notice the top of the triangular reinforcement appears to be the same height in both versions.

Good luck!

[GoBigEmma]

[airschooled]

We went into turbo mode this week- a quick memory jog gives me this list of our too-brief time together.

Diagnose no-start to rusty double relay causing intermittent no-go on fuel pump power.
Remove hot-start relay since it would occasionally hang after releasing key. (Rust. Needs replacement because...)
Rebuilt starter and solenoid. Hyper-cleaned all connections. Still no solenoid action 1 out of every 5 starts.
Clean and repack front wheel bearings.
Clean and repack right rear and left rear outer bearings.
New left rear inner wheel bearing. (Could not get river grit out of old bearing.)
Clean and repack CV joints with new boots and tasteful axle paint.
Clean mud out of and adjust brake drums.
Paint all lug nuts yellow! Except for the one red one I snuck in towards the end.
Assemble swivel-seat base from Bus Depot.

Still to do:
Replace broken brake pad retaining clip on right front.
Drain engine oil for transaxle and refill with hyoid oil.
Drain and refill steering box.
Remove engine and clean mud deposits from fins and tins.
Paint tin and intake runners again!
Find Wolters in the USA.

All in all, I think th big message here is don't drive underwater, ok?

Robbie


Link

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Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[richparker]

So Robbie, how did you get to Illinois?
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
’63 Deluxe Build

[airschooled]

[andrewtf]

And it looks like a tornado swept thru my garage.

Also - besides the Big Emma turbo restoration, Robbie was helping me (or to be honest - telling me what to do) to reassemble my engine for Murphy in terms of converting back to F.I. And more on that on my thread later.

It was a couple of long days and evenings of intense and ohhhhh sooo beneficial bus attention, but we had good beer and better company, and things went relatively smoothly all things considered.
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'75 Riviera - 'BIG EMMA' (Pan American highway trip paused for a make over)
'77 Riviera - Murphy' (being reborn.... slowly)
'63 Austin Healey

[notchboy]

Check you guys out. Long distance bus love.

And I mean that in a - how cool is that way
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[Xevin]

[airschooled]