Fourteen States in Seven Weeks?

[Stuartzickefoose]

Dude this is sounding more and more like one of my trips man. Bent rim, bad generator brushes a few times, keys getting stuck in the ignition...oh wait.


Short of catching fire you’re quickly following my lead. Don’t do that. Bad idea.
_________________
Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[Brian]

I'm waiting for the picture of Buddy with a windshield popped out then.

Robbie, I can pull some brushes out of my spare 30a (not one of my 6 38a gens) and mail them out. Just a thought
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Wash your hands

'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper

Only losers litter

[Abscate]

In theory you should get four hours running with battery and lights on - in practice Ill go for 2 hours max
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.ssS!

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]

Does getting the bent rim swapped give time for one of your famous "Yank and Paint" sessions?

On a serious note, Buddy has truly ran for quite sometime it seems without much serious maintenance. Don't worry too much, Robbie. A couple things always go out together. I have all the confidence in the world you'll have it sorted out in short order and soon enough you'll be flying down the road as usual.


I'll be watching for the next chapter
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1973 Standard Beetle
1600DP AK case
Solex 34PICT3 Carb
Bosch DVDA 205AJ Distributor

[airschooled]

[vwwestyman]

Reminds me of a time years ago where I limped a VW Corrado home from Colorado on just battery power.

I had driven out to Denver to sell cinnamon roasted nuts at the Bass Pro Shop. Had trailer problems on the way there which occupied much of the weekend and was very frustrating.

So we left Sunday evening for a cannonball run back to Manhattan because I had a job interview in the morning.

Somewhere in Eastern Colorado the serpentine belt broke, which meant no supercharger, no AC, and no alternator. I decided I was not willing to be broke down overnight, so after filling with gas we push started the car and were off. I believe that was also when I pulled a headlight fuse.

Made it to within 70 miles of Hayes KS, got an AAA tow to the Hayes WalMart where I purchased a large marine battery. I used the cigarette lighter harness for a power inverter to backfeed voltage in to the car from the passenger seat footwell.

With another push start, we juuussstt barely made it to Manhattan at about 5:30 in the morning. The car was losing power as I got into town from the battery running low.

With a new serpentine belt and a drive to Kansas City with the battery still plugged to the cigarette lighter, it was totally returnable.
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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[SGKent]

[vwwestyman]

[wcfvw69]

[Tcash]

There have been reports of the aftermarket brushes failing, surprised to hear the NOS brush failed.

For those of you that don't know. Do not use Emery cloth or sandpaper to polish the commutator.
A commutator stone is the correct tool.
https://www.google.com/search?q=commutator+stone&a...ent=safari
Or Garnet paper
https://www.helwigcarbon.com/products/garnett-commutator-papers.html

In a pinch you can use an eraser. But clean with a cleaning stone and alcohol as soon as posible.

Try bedding in the brushes or chamfering the edges.

Good luck
Tcash

[airschooled]

Commutator stone, huh? We's got's those.

And a Yank N' Paint? Got that too! Read on…

Camped in a barn, with permission of course!

I left Illinois and found Tom's '68 bus pulled from a junkyard with no wheels, rear drums, or front right drum for that matter. No seats, engine tin, fuel lines, gas, or distributor either. It drove enough by lunch time for me to back it into the driveway on fast idle… forgot to hook up the accelerator cable!

Found that the '68 Westy rims and tires stopped a horrendous vibration in my car when braking heavily, lightly, or anything in between, really… That comes later though, as I had to return the Westy rims.

I was hit in the head with a headliner for the first time, at around 30mph with no seats, license plates, or glass behind the louvered windows…

Then I booked it out of Wisconsin for Minnesota, and marveled at the Mississippi River Valley… A whopping 1,200 foot climb in fourth gear, floored for the first time on an interstate since the Ozarks!

Of course, the petulant rain, darkness, and boredom were hell on my genuine Bosch generator brushes and I was greeted with The Light again.

Edit: WTF I haven't had a gas gauge in 12 states, and now it shows up?? I didn't even see it that night!


Rules for driving with The Light on:
- Immediately turn on the heat and CHT gauge.
- No heat? Shut it down and coast off. Replace belt.
- Feel heat? Good! Your CHT gauge is now your belt light, and you have approximately three hours to your safe house for the night. Pull JTauxe Comemmorative Fuse Cover, see #5 controls right side low beam, and pull that fuse.
- Let off gas because you're going 70 in a 65 zone with no belt warning light…
- Unplug phone charger, turn off tunes, and hope.
- Arrive to safe house with battery in the low 11 volt range, and scarf brushes off a Ghia.

Crap, what about that brake pedal shudder though? It's pulsing so hard that my steering box is knocking with every pulse. Goodbye box and savings account, I guess… (Snagged a spare box in Wisconsin by chance last week! )

Bosch brushes don't look good:

Commutator Stone seems to work pretty well on brushes too!

But what about the clunk?

Discount Tire in Eagan, Minnesota really hit the game winner with an old cone in a dusty box somewhere in the back room. Punk kid with bleached hair and a nonchalant attitude totally shrugged it off like every kid his age goes above and beyond to Really help out rushed bus owners on their 2-hour lunch break.

Check out that spare rim though! It hasn't seen a lug nut in my ownership!

Borrowed a car made entirely out of air conditioning and blind spots…

The look of that rim was… well… you got your Yank 'N Paint right here!

Drove right into a rainstorm through downtown Minneapolis on what would have been Prince's 60th birthday. Cranked up some '1999' and made it out to see the sun set.

Make sure you take the time to spend nights like this, even on a deadline. We don't get too many of these, I think.

Robbie

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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

[Spike0180]

This is becoming an appropriate road trip in a vw bus. A brutal buddy adventure, instead of a brutal Brutis adventure. you just need something to go wrong roughly every day from here on out, or at least 50% of the days.
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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"

[Tcash]

That reminds me!
Balancer adapter made out of a 69 front drum
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/213950.jpg
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/213951.jpg

For the custom
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1476281

[airschooled]

[Xevin]

[Abscate]

Love the playing card trick on the rims.

Too much information on waxing things
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.ssS!

[Spike0180]

[Tcash]

[70Crew]

Don't think for a moment we're going to be playing Euchre with you any time soon. I know an elaborate card marking scheme dressed up as a bus maintenance story when I see one.
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1970 Crew Cab

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]