Another poor sap with Bus fever

[KentABQ]

It's time for an update on what's been happening with Chloe...

I was working in Orlando for a month, so Chloe was sitting in the garage with a trickle charger for that time. But as soon as I got home and dropped my suitcase, I unplugged her, checked oil, and she started right up. So I had to climb in and go for a spin after neglecting her for so long. It felt great to be back and cruising with her. I seriously missed that experience while being gone.

The ongoing struggle with TS2 has been solved (hacked!)... After going thru 3 TS2's in less than a year, I finally installed the potentiometer work-around posted here on the Samba somewhere. Originally I was going to install a switch to override the TS2, and the potentiometer would be used instead of the sensor. But instead, I ran a 2-wire 18-gage thermostat cable from the engine bay to the cab. And I connected one wire to the TS2 spade and the other wire where the TS2 plugs into the harness. And of course the other end of the cable is connected to a 5k-ohm potentiometer. In effect, the potentiometer is wired in-line with the TS2.
Now, I turn the potentiometer up half way (about 2.5k ohms) to start when it's cold, and turn it down to zero when it's warmed up. Works great now, and no worries about being stranded when the TS2 decides to die.

This weekend is the Pomona Swap Meet, and am planning on going again. Anyone else heading that way? Last time, it was great getting there the night before and camping out in the car show lot. That way, you're awake and ready to scour the swap meet when it starts at 5 am.

And the next planned outing is another attempt to get to the Grand Canyon in May. The plan was to meet my brother and sis-in-law there, but she had open heart surgery (ruptured aorta! YIKES!) a month ago, and may not be up for the journey. If not, I may go by myself. It would be a chance to stop by WilliamM's again and see how Big Blue is progressing.

Overall, Chloe has been running well, and she's my daily driver for work and play. It's interesting to meet new clients and get their reaction when I drive up. Either they smile and share a memory from their past involving a VW bus, or they raise one eye brow and question their decision to hire me. Lol!
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[CarlosZ]

Great to have you back. I was wondering where you disappeared to.

[Abscate]

I wonder what kind of protocol you need to make sure you remember to retreat the pot to the warm position. Is it only needed for first 20-30 seconds of run??
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.ssS!

[KentABQ]

[KentABQ]

Gotta love The Samba!

Yesterday, I was driving around with a friend, and the left turn signal started blinking really fast, but not the right turn signal. So I did a search for turn signals, and VOILA!... The answer presented itself: either a burned out bulb, or a bad ground. And sure enough, the rear tail light's connection had some corrosion built up on it. A little cleaning, a smear of dielectric grease, and all is back to normal again.

Once again, thanks Sambanistas!
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[KentABQ]

Today was the latest Pomona Classic Car Show and Swap Meet, and it was a good one. (Sorry you couldn't make it, WilliamM and Tommu! Next one for sure). Lots of beautiful buses on show and for sale. And the VW swap meet selling area was very full of vendors. I even had 3 people ask me if I wanted to sell Chloe. Ummmm... No way in hell am I selling her, thankyouverymuch!

I arrived around 10:30 last night and camped out in the show lot. Dang, 40 degrees feels pretty dang cold to this desert dweller! Had some nice, cold (!) liquid refreshments with Robbie and Brian for a bit before turning in. Then woke up to the sun streaming in thru the windshield, so I knew it was going to be a nice day.

Here are a couple pics of the VWs being shown...

There were significantly more buses to show than had been present at the last two meets I've attended. If I had been in the market, there was a pretty nice early Westy selling for a pretty decent price ($11,500 I think). And in contrast, there was a late bay Westy that had a huge engine fire that destroyed the back 1/3 of the bus, sitting on a trailer, selling for $4500. Good thing they left it on the trailer... I'm positive it was going home with them again.

The next show and meet is April 15, and I'm betting there will be a huge turn out for that one.

In the swap meet area was this sketchy character...

I hung out with Robbie and Brian for a bit more (and had my first breakfast beer ever!). While I was there, Robbie had quite a number of people stop by and ask about his Air Schooled service. I think he's found a great niche for himself, and is going to do great. I know I feel lucky to have met him when I was struggling to figure out how to tackle Chloe when I got her. She would still be sitting in the garage with parts strewn all over my condo if Robbie hadn't been around. Either that, or I would have given up and sold her on eBay. Instead, she's now my daily driver and favorite girl!
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-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[SamboSamba22]

Looks like it was a great day under the sun with some great people and passionate rides.
Glad to know Chloe is seeing some windshield time
_________________
The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[Clatter]

I really dig this thread.
You have done a great job of doing the work, and following through.

So many threads here like:
"I just bought an old bus off of the Internet, been working on it for six hours,
And it's still not ready to go camping!!"

Nice to see someone pay their dues and get it right.

Props.
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[KentABQ]

Thanks Clatter. That's very kind of you to say. It's been a fun, frustrating, exhilarating, scary experience... and I'm ecstatic to have gone thru it. And super appreciative of the Samba community for the support and occasional kick-in-the-butt.
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[williamM]

[KentABQ]

Today was a great and productive day!

Robbie came by to Air School me on a few things. And Dana (BGB on the Samba) stopped by with the Big Green Burrito to learn a little bit too...

I'm jazzed, since Robbie found out what I did wrong with my parking brake. (Right side rear stars needs big adjustment.). Now it functions decently, and I just need to adjust the cables to make them better. He also showed me how to replace my drag link. Driving to lunch, Chloe not only tracked better, but the steering wheel spokes were almost at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Previously, it was closer to 4 and 10. It's those little things that add up to make a big difference.

We also checked the front bearings, which were a little loose, but in very good condition. We didn't have time to remove and regrease them, so that will wait til next time. Robbie was surprised to see the original VW caulk over the speedo cable end poking thru the cap. And when we opened it up, the bearings and grease were in very good condition, so we just put everything back together. (This also confirms that Chloe has around 177,000 miles on her, and not 277,000 as I had previously assumed.)

The more I learn about my van, the more I appreciate the engineering that went into the design, and amazed at the longevity it's achieved. How many vehicles built in 2000 will still be around in 2045? And how many of us will be around in 2045 to witness it?
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[KentABQ]

Since I'm planning on making a trip up to Seattle this Summer, I've been slowly working thru a list of repairs and upgrades I want to have done prior to leaving. Robbie helped me with some of them the last time he was here. And one was finding the source of another loud squeak under the cab, which turned out to be caused by the shock bushings. A squirt of white lithium grease on each of them and the squeak is gone. Thanks to Chabanais for one of his postings for that fix.

The next big item was to finally have a WORKING fuel gauge. During the refresh of the drivetrain, I found the sending unit had several broken wires inside. At the time, I tried the fuel sender repair from one of the Samba threads, which involved winding thread-sized wire very closely around a phenolic plate. As the saying goes, "the operation was a success but the patient died". Although the sending unit tested close to the correct resistance values when I was done, it never functioned after it was installed.

So today I finally took the big plunge...by plunge cutting thru the bed above the sender. It was extremely nerve-wracking, seeing huge amounts of sparks so close to the gas tank. But I took off the firewall and had a high velocity fan blowing into the engine compartment, dissipating any fumes that may have been lingering. And before taking out the original sender, I tested it... and s.o.b., it STILL tested correctly. After taking it out, it also read the correct values, so I tested the two wires going to the unit, and they were good too.

So my initial thoughts were that I had wasted money on a new sender, and had just hacked up Chloe for no good reason. But as long as I had come this far, wtf, I'll stick in the new sending unit. And wattayaknow... IT WORKED! Now I have a functioning fuel gauge! It's amazing how the little improvements make such a big difference in the driving experience. Now I don't need to monitor the odometer on a daily basis to make sure I don't run out of gas (which has happened four times in the past year ).

There are still a few more fixes on the to-do list, but the fuel sender was the biggest PITA item to do. Now it's downhill getting ready for a Grand Canyon trip in May and a drive up the coast in July. Being out of the desert for July will be a big bonus.
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[airschooled]

Now that you've cut the Hole That VW Forgot, you can calibrate the new sender so it reads full, unlike the last two I installed. Then you can calibrate the new one when that one fails.


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

[KentABQ]

So far, it appears to be pretty accurate. There was about 1/3 of a tank, and the gauge was about in that range. And I just filled up, and the needle is pointing directly at the “F”.
But, yeah, from what I’ve read, it’s good to keep the access door available for easy replacement.

I found a Bosch fuel sender unit. If the one I just installed dies, I’m going to see if the Bosch sender can be retrofitted for use in a bus/van.
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[KentABQ]

[KentABQ]

[KentABQ]

It's time for an update...

A little problem occurred while driving the last few miles into the Grand Canyon Natl Park...
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=699716&highlight=kentps

That was an eventful trip, and one I hope to not experience again.

So over the past few days, I removed the drive train and removed the heads.
As expected, #3 exhaust valve was out. Here are all the valves and pistons:

#1 valves:

#2 valves:

#3 valves:

#4 valves: Is that exhaust valve about to go out too?

#1 piston:

#2 piston:

#3 piston: I'm surprised I didn't hear the seat as it hit the piston.

#4 piston:

So new heads, pistons, rings and cylinders are needed, at least.

Also, the aluminum shims were still installed on top of all the cylinders.
Does that indicate the engine hasn't been rebuilt? Or do some builders still install them?

Now for the big questions...
Since I don't know the miles on this 45 year old engine (it was a transplant by some previous owner), is a full rebuild required? If so, she will likely have to sit for a year until funds are available to do it.
Of course, my preference is to just do the top end. Would that be a foolish move, just to be able to get her on the road sooner?
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-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[skills@eurocarsplus]

I think like we all said in the last thread about the engine drama, new heads, and new P+C minimum.

if you're confident the lower end is ok, you can probably get more out of it...BUT...galley plugs, flywheel seal, oil cooler seals, etc etc....it always turns into the case of the "may as wells" while its out.

it all boils down to how nice do you want to spend. honestly, I WOULD NOT use that donor head you got. I would get new, re-worked heads. I think using some unknown head is a big mistake on these things...but you know....money

even though it got a 1/2 assed back yard valve job, the seats and guides are the issue with these....you know that. choose wisely
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[scrivyscriv]

Thubaru thwap it!!
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[wcfvw69]

I think I said it on your other thread Kent. I agree with Skills on the heads. Those type 4 heads need to be the best you can get so you don't go round two of a dropped seat.

My engine in my 69 bug was a mileage unknown when I bought it. It ran ok. I had it out of the car to reseal the leaks a decade ago. Looking it over and the condition of it made me think it was a higher mileage engine. I said screw it and spent 2-3 hours splitting the case to inspect it. If things looked ok, I would of cleaned and reassembled it.

I found the main bearings had worn through the babbitt material and had copper showing. The rod bearings were well worn too. The crank still looked perfect as did the case. I installed new bearings, rebuilt rods, had the heads rebuilt and put it back together with a seal kit. 5k miles later, it runs perfect. It's not driven much.
_________________
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

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