1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus

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Yeah, a great budget rig with a great guy using it. That's what adventure is all about -- even at subzero temperatures. If we weren't in the midst of a pandemic -- with my immunity at dismal levels besides -- I would have invited him home for some substantial grub.

Switching the subject to winter storage, as I've demonstrated in my wee garage, corrosive salt mixed with humidity can be a real problem in our climate or any climate. The evening I encountered Gregor and Janice of Live.Travel.Play and told them that I ran the van year-round, Janice jolted somewhat and looked at me like I was a raving lunatic or child molester. Having lived in Cowtown through numerous salt-encrusted winters, they knew what I was doing to poor ol' Fritz.

Out in Quebec, they do things with style and flair. It ain't like the Wild West where vans get left outside to go feral over the winter. I first discovered the charms of La Belle Province (not to be confused with the fast food chain of the same name) at the tender age of 16 when I hitch-hiked through with my now brother-in-law -- who was an old man of 19 then -- from Windsor, Ontario to Prince Edward Island. The things dumb kids do! At the time, hitch-hiking was a fairly safe activity that folks did across the continent. It was the golden age of thumbing and thousands of idiots like us did it. I think we had all of twenty bucks between the two of us but what an adventure. The cast of characters we met en route included a couple of envious old guys who shelled out for meals for us, a hot chick in a fast car who dropped us off in the middle of Toronto on a no-hitching expressway, an OPP officer who nailed us for hitching on that aforementioned expressway, a prostitute on her way to work in a Bowmanville hotel (she was fishing for customers when she gave us a lift), a drunk driver in a VW bug who picked us up on the 401 and kept weaving from lane to lane (between stops for beer in the front trunk), another OPP officer who stopped said drunken VW buggie in the dark of night and kicked us out to the side of the road, an elderly couple in a spotless Cadillac who picked us up sopping wet in a pounding rainstorm in New Brunswick and treated us to a hot meal, a middle-aged fellow who dropped us off on an off-ramp and was immediately and dramatically rear-ended because he didn't check his rear view mirror etc etc. The highlights for me were in Quebec for both good and bad. We had to take a bus through Montreal because you weren't allow to hitch-hike. This was the time of the FLQ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_de_lib%C3%A9ration_du_Qu%C3%A9bec and those letters were sprayed in big black font on highway underpasses. Scared the crap out of us since we could speak all of about three phrases of French. The other side of the coin, though, was being picked up by a friendly Quebecois troubadour along the magnificent St. Lawrence River who eventually stopped and regaled us with a French song while strumming on his guitar as the sun set over those famous waters. Then there was the surprised naked couple I encountered in the pre-dawn hours in the men's shower area of the hostel in Quebec City -- my first sighting of the elusive nude female form that I'd so often dreamed about. Score! That was not the last time I enjoyed the exquisite sights and sounds of Quebec. But I'm digressing again...

In October, tens of thousands of migrating greater snow geese flock to the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area near Quebec City. It's quite a sight with exceptional scenery and ambience. In the same manner, and almost the same distance from Quebec City only to the south, a migration of another sort occurs: the fall migration of hundreds of Westies for winter storage. Destination: the tiny town of Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage and the hibernation facilities of Rene Caux:

Rene Caux: The Westy Wizard of the East

If the Guiness Book of World Records held a category for the greatest number of Westfalias crammed into the most crowded/nicest storage space, Rene would win hands down. The guy is a real wizard when it comes to winter comfort. He preaches that no Westy should be inflicted with the disease of salted roads and urges his flock of owners to use his hibernation facilities. Those Westy owners from across Quebec come in dribs and drabs initially, then start adding up:

Eventually the vehicles go into the large storage barns he's built on site, the first in 2009 (80 ft X 220 ft) and the second in 2012 (90 ft X 230 ft):

The second building built in 2012 is obviously larger than the first as seen from the air and ground:

Wowsers! That is one big tight bunching of Westfalias. Thankfully, Westies don't have to social distance or wear masks during a pandemic:

[Illustration credit: NRWSTR http://nrwstr.com/ ]

[Photo credit and translated info from "Sea of Kombies": www.autoentusiastas.com.br/2019/01/mar-de-kombis . Crikey, they have guys in Brazil writing about this place in Portuguese!]

Rene knows how to maintain happy customers: keep the storage area dry, well ventilated, vermin free and secure. Those first two hibernation barns held up to 325 Westies and RVs but were soon bursting at the seams. What to do? Well, how about building another huge winter home last year -- this one coming in at 180 ft X 270 ft and bringing the total storage area to 92,000 sq ft with room for 700+ vehicles:

Cost for that last humongous storage building? A cool million bucks!

If Rene Caux's operation -- and that also includes mechanical and bodywork on site -- was located in an English-speaking province or state, he'd be a legend continent wide with Westy loving visitors from all over dropping by to see the place. I found out about him accidentally through a friend down the street who was negotiating with a Quebec Westy owner for his mint-looking van. Why was that vehicle in such great shape? It was stored in winter in Rene's hibernation dens. He is the main reason why there are so many exceptional looking Westies in that part of the world.

Here's a peek at the mechanical/bodywork side of the business: http://www.renecaux.com/nouvelles%20constructions/CarrossiersEnAction.mp4 (video). The great thing here is that you can drop your van off for storage and arrange to have additional work done on it over the winter/spring before hitting the road. Beauty! The Quebec government did put a bit of of damper on that this spring during the pandemic -- causing them to close for a month and backlogging work -- but they're back at it now.

Radio Canada paid them a visit for an exclusive interview recently ("A Garage Just for Westfalias"): https://ici.radio-canada.ca/tele/quebec-sur-demand...tfalia-qsd . I wish I could speak/understand French!

As the story goes, in 1973 at the age of thirteen, Rene fell in love with an orange Westy owned by the parents of a school chum. The dream of ownership stayed with him until he laid his hands on his first one in 1992 and that dream quickly turned into a passion. And he doesn't just work on those camping vehicles, he drives one: his immaculate-looking 1988 Westy has chalked up 300,000 kms on his watch. The winter of 2019-2020 saw him doing his 5th tour down to Florida with 8,800 kms added to bring the grand total on his van's odometer to 460,000:

His son Alexandre is now sliding into the business's drivers seat but Rene is still around. His succession is assured, though.

Another little known fact is that the Quebec owners have a dedicated club with regular newsletters:

To access more Info-Falia newsletters, use https://www.westfalia.qc.ca/images/stories/Info-Falia/PDF/vol_24_1.pdf and just change out the last numerical values to go to other issues.

For words of wisdom from the Westy Wizard of the East use this translated link: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl...brique.htm .

Yup, those fine French-speaking folks in Quebec certainly have a lot of style and flair -- especially when it comes to Westies. Me? I keep driving my salt-encrusted Fritz into a tiny 1940s garage and hoping for the best.
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

Okay, let's set aside the salty side of storage for now and have a comparison look at the fuel injectors that I've had cleaned and tested. We have three to put on the table for a grudge match: the scrappy used OEM ones that I picked up from Dustin of The Rusty Bus, the Denso/Defus Chinese injectors from Concept-1 and, finally, my own 31-year-old OEM ones that were extracted after the Chinese injectors were installed.

In case you've forgotten, here's how the rough looking bunch from Dustin came out:

Not exactly exceptional with #4 being noticeably out of whack.

Next up, the questionable Chinese injectors that, once cleaned up and back-flushed, have been working superbly:

Those 4-hole injectors turned out to be very good after getting the leftover crud back-flushed from #4.

My plan originally was to get my own OEMs cleaned up and tested after the Denso/Defus injectors went in. Assuming they'd be the bee's knees after years of religiously adding fuel injector cleaner regularly -- in my mind they'd be MUCH better than the $10 injectors that I bought from Dustin -- I dropped them off with Super Stefan in O.O.M. aka High River, AB on October 12th so I could eventually get them reinstalled.

The news, however, wasn't good: My OEMs sucked big time! In fact, they were crapola with a capital C. As Stefan put it in his polite, understated way:

"I did have a look at your injectors, and the findings are not favorable. I think the best course of action is to bring me your other 4, so we can attempt to make a decent set from all 8. I was shocked at the findings, with little improvement after cleaning."

Now when mild-mannered "Clark Kent" uses the term shocked, you know you're in big trouble. Here's what the testing showed:

Quickly donning his Super suit, Stefan continued:

"The 2 photos with the most flow deviation [the first two above] are in the idle/light-mid throttle area, where you spend most of the time driving. The 2 photos where the flow balances out [the third and fourth above] are the 'full' throttle and static tests. This would explain why you are seeing a quicker start up, and smoother idle with the new, more balanced set of [Denso/Defus Chinese] injectors."

Crikey! What's the world coming to? My ol' OEM injectors that I held in such high regard were, well, crappy. So south to Outer Outer Mongolia on Halloween I drove to do a little trick or treating and hand over the cleaned, tested set from Dustin to get the-best-out-of-8 set [the black set to the left are the ones from Dustin; the silver set to the right are mine after cleaning]:

Moral of the story? DO NOT assume that your OEM injectors are the bee's knees even if you doted over them and fed them injector cleaner on a regular basis.

A safer/cheaper strategy might be to forego the cleaning and testing entirely and just buy a rebuilt set from Van Cafe, using your old ones as "core" exchanges: https://www.vancafe.com/025906031RBLT-p/025906031-rblt.htm . Those VC injectors are not just cleaned up, they have new internal seals and FIC coils installed and are then thoroughly static and dynamically tested. As Stefan explained it to me, in the old days -- like the 80s when Vanagons were built -- the injectors were only static tested. If they matched up, out the door they went. According to him, he'd seen early Ferrari injectors with the same dismal results as mine when tested dynamically. Static was fine, dynamic sucked. I took some solace in that explanation. In the meantime, I'm keeping the Denso/Defus injectors installed and the OEM-best-out-of-8 set as spares. Being the suspicious sort that I am, I'd recommend having any VC rebuilt set tested before installing them for peace of mind regardless of what that webpage description says. Do it once, then rest easy. Alternatively, buy a brand new set of injectors and have them tested before installation.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention the Halloween treat that I got in High River a block from Stefan's place:

That view was sweeter than candy!
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"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

Now around the time of spooky Halloween day, my 65th birthday clicked by and I paused to thank the good Lord for the extra time that he'd divvied out to me. A year ago, I thought I was a goner and wouldn't make it three months.

Hitting 65 was a big deal. So once my neighbour -- his '84 Westy was the subject of the docudrama "Hailstorm Alley" on the previous page of this thread -- got wind of that special occasion, he decided to mark the event with some cool gifts. Didn't I mention previously that he was a great guy (aren't all folks who drive Westies exceptional people)? He was actually so excited by what he'd ordered for me that he let the cat out of the bag early. He and I share many common characteristics, one of them being we can't keep a secret for long:

Cool VW swag/schwag! https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/shop/AircooledAndCo?section_id=25632485 . BTW SGD 58.32 is roughly $43.50 U.S. or $57 CDN and that includes shipping. Generous guy!

Since he hadn't seen my pop-top up in quite awhile -- and only once at that -- he couldn't recall the colour but he did send Alona Valca, the Etsy vendor from Jurmala, Latvia, a photo of the rest of the van and she matched it the best she could:

Somehow or other, a fancy matching T-shirt from AircooledAndCo was also thrown into the gift bag with the same design (including Fritz's ever-present bra and bedliner look):

Coooool! I should turn 65 every year!

The mask is one I described on another page of this thread, a Respro Ultralight with a Hepa filter that will filter out practically anything other than chemical solvents:

Just the thing a guy with immunity issues needs around town when grocery shopping and running errands. I first bought one of these several years ago to use when cycling 50 miles in wildfire smoke conditions. Stops it cold! The young ladies that herded the weed-eating goats on the bluff near my home loved to call me "Darth Weeder" every time I wore it goat-herding during smoky conditions. For obvious reasons, the masks are sold out on a regular basis and you have to hop to it to get the popular sizes and colours: https://respro.com/store/product/ultra-light . The mask I'm wearing is a size large and my wife and daughter use size medium.

Deciding that the swag from Latvia wouldn't get here fast enough, my neighbour -- now elevated to a ranking of fantastic fellow not just great -- decided to add to the gift pile with VW dealership items including a toque and this "cool" white summer ball cap:

This was like an early Christmas and I mention it only to get everyone else in the giving mood since December 25th isn't all that far off. If your family members don't know what to get you, buy something nice for yourself like that custom cap and T-shirt and have them gift wrap it and give it to you for Xmas. If so inclined, you could have the name of your van added to the customized shirt or cap.

To my neighbour "W2" (we use coded abbreviations for each other -- and, yes, there's a back story for that), all I can say is "Wow! Thanks for all those goodies!"
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"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VicVan]

Love the pop-top embroidery !
The analysis of the different injectors is pretty thorough. VC seems indeed the way to go.
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'90 Little Blue Truck, 2WD auto, FAS GenV 2.0 NA (AVH)

[Jake de Villiers]

Happy birthday, Wayne! Your neighbour is fantastic!!
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'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

[VdubVanner]

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[VicVan]

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Looking at that pop-top embroidery colour it just didn't sit right with me since Fritzie's canvas is grey (and it wouldn't sit right with "W2" either because he's at the same fussy end of the scale that I'm at on certain matters). So what did I do? Presto, change-o:

BEFORE:

AFTER with a little help from a Metallic Silver Sharpie https://www.staples.ca/products/586069-en-sharpie-fine-tip-metallic-permanent-markers-silver-2-pack :

Staples is doing free delivery with COVID-19 going on so it was an easy job of "re-canvassing" Fritz. That's a little closer colour-wise. The hat got the same treatment.

Even though Sharpies are permanent markers and supposedly waterproof I won't know how the shirt holds up in the wash until it goes in for the first time. My hats rarely get washed. At any rate, I got a package of two silver Sharpies for five bucks and can simply reapply if necessary.

Why bother doing the switch? Because the first time I'm out camping with the van and wearing that sweet swag, someone's going to point out that the pop-top colour doesn't match the van. Now it does.
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VicVan]

[VdubVanner]

Time to go have a look at the engine. Easy peasy: insert key in front door lock, turn it and listen as the power lock system snaps to attention. Scoot to the rear hatch, press the lock in with thumb and ...

NOTHING!

Hmmmm. Let me try that again... and again...still nothing. Okay, let's get the key out, insert and turn it to the two o'clock position and push. No, it can't be: NOTHING! Let's try that again... and again...

Walking back to the front passenger door lock, I cycle the key a few times: open, shut, open, shut, open -- then scoot to the back again. NOTHING!! Now that key cycling usually works like a charm. It didn't this time. What I wouldn't give to see the golden sight of this little beauty:

But no luck. I got out the big guns and sprayed the key hole:

I like silicone because unlike lithium spray -- which is petroleum based -- it can't harm plastic or rubber components or trim. After waiting and trying the key cycling again, that rear hatch lock finally let me in. Whewwww! But I knew it was time to get at the inside and do a similar spray job to the inner works. So off came the rear hatch fiberboard panel to get at the goodies (please ignore the fact that I had this hatch board off not too long ago and forgot to lube the lock then = DUMB).

Here's what I could spy through the lower big round hole:

That's the underside of the lock cylinder but I needed to get to the rear actuator as well (pictured to the left below -- the black villain):

Here's how it hooked up to the lock mechanism:

A look from the other side once the insulation over there was removed:

Anything I could get that silicone spray on received a generous shower. Yeah, I like silicone lube spray almost as much as I like silicone sealant.

When I shut the hatch and cycled the key up front again, I didn't get the usual wimpy "clunk". Nope, now it was "CLUNK!" Mission accomplished. All I had to do now -- after catching the cascade of excess dripping silicone spray with a cloth -- was mend some of the damage that had occurred prying that rear fiberboard panel off with my wee orange lever tools (pictured in use earlier in the thread). Most of the black retaining clips came free but a few didn't. I took the hatch panel inside for the night to reattach the loose clips and glued and reinforced the works with my standard gold champ, Gorilla Wood Glue. Worked like a charm.

This time I decided to add a time capsule element to the job:

The patched areas with the duct tape covering were the prior work that I'd done using wood glue and popsicle sticks. Still chugging along as reinforcement to that panel.

The only reason I was out there working on the van in the alley was due to the record-setting temperature. Sizzling hot for December!

I thought I'd commemorate the occasion with the hidden message for a future explorer to discover.

BTW If you were really on the ball -- unlike myself -- some of that yellow rear hatch insulation could be strategically moved aside or trimmed so the silicone could be sprayed inside on a regular basis without having to pop the brittle aging panel each time:

Of course I thought of that after pounding the panel back on with my hand and then reviewing the photos. Maybe next time -- although come to think of it, that's the first time I've lubed that interior lock mechanism and actuator in 26 years.
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

As I mentioned upthread, Super Stefan of Performance Fuel Injection in High River recently sorted out a set of eight OEM injectors to get me a decent "best of" set of four. Today they arrived in the mail and I quickly opened the package to see what they looked like. Now normally Stefan puts something witty/clever in the address line so I was a bit disappointed that there was nothing special on the mailing label. Nonetheless I soldiered on and cut into the package to pull out the goodies which included a spiffy PFI sticker:

Okay, he was warming up now with one package labelled "Ze Best" and the other "Ze Wurst".

But at the bottom of the box was some of the crap inner filters etc in a bag labelled "Odd Bits" and another strange looking red injector that I didn't recognize. Even stranger it had a tiny Performance Fuel Injection tag on it with THANK YOU written on the opposite side. The real puzzler, though, was the paper clip hanging off of it. Then it dawned on me: a Christmas ornament!

That's more what I'd expect from ol' Stefan. Here it is posing in front of my wife's Xmas village scene that she puts up every year:

Immediately after that it was hung with care on our little fake Christmas tree -- a hand-me-down/donation from my sister and brother-in-law from decades ago (it saw service in Oz as well).

Well done, Stefan. But you missed a big opportunity on labelling those Best and Wurst bags. They should have been tagged as Naughty and Nice instead.
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

Remember this crazy looking character?

That's my mechanic Jesse modelling one of the ten custom Tony's Auto Service COVID-19 masks that I designed and had made up for a select few folks involved with Tony's including the mechanics, "Old Bert" and his wife and myself. I called that exclusive group Tony's Dirty Dozen Minus Two. In theory, then, I still had wiggle room to add at least a couple more deserving individuals to round that number out to a neat Dirty Dozen.

And here they are:

On the left is Jad Josey, General Manager at GoWesty, and on the right -- in front of his favourite Vanagon -- is the Head Honcho himself, S. Lucas Valdes. These two fellas went the extra mile to help me out with my recent warranty claim on the wonky piston set and I wanted to make it perfectly clear that I held no grudges. Now that they've both been inducted into the exclusive Tony's Auto Service Dirty Dozen Club, no more masks will be made.

Based on the recent news reports -- with California in almost complete lockdown due to the pandemic -- the masks couldn't have arrived at a better time.

Stay safe, guys. And thanks again for the help!

BTW GoWesty takes the pandemic very seriously as reflected in its COVID-19 update as found on the header of its website:

"IMPORTANT! For the time being, our doors remain closed to all foot traffic. This means no in-person parts collection until further notice.

Since the very beginning of this pandemic, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that our employees and their families stay healthy—that is our top priority! We are now back to 100% of our normal staffing and have made numerous adjustments on campus to remain socially-distanced from one another. We hired a registered nurse full-time to perform wellness checks on every employee each day, keep our team educated about best practices, and distribute PPE and sanitizing products each day.

Thank you all for your support. Stay safe and healthy out there, folks."

Now that's a company worth emulating, cheering on and buying from.
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

After an absence of a couple weeks or more, our friend the wise Great Horned Owl favoured us with another visit last night -- alighting on the top of the utility pole behind our garage (in the dusky dark) and staying put long enough to hoot out something about a forgotten story. Oops, he was right.

Back in June, I promised to write up an R-rated episode Chilled To The Bone: The Spine-Tingling Tale of the Insulated, Updated Dometic Fridge and Its Cooler Sidekick, The Thick-skinned Engel. All the ensuing TAPPing/ SLAPPing of the pistons and other distractions had it put on the backburner.

Let's get after it!

Here's what the interior looked like in early June after the interior went back in somewhat haphazardly:

The last piece required to complete the jigsaw puzzle was the fridge.

As some alert readers might recall, I was looking for a place to dump the final bits of the Frost King insulation after doing the area behind the cabinets, the back bench, rear hatch, under the back mattress and the sliding door. The last remnants went on the back of the fridge:

I had some trouble with a wonky GW retrofit/retrograde fridge fan replacement so, at this stage, took the removed fridge to an RV appliance repair specialist who checked the ol' Dometic out from head to toe and installed a recycled computer fan in its place as most Sambanistas do:

The owner of the establishment told me what a fine piece of machinery the Dometic was and shocked me with the news that it held its own against the modern versions in RVs being used nowadays, only being slightly behind their cooling skills. (Those kind words almost had me forget about the speeding ticket I got later after visiting his location out of town.)

I decided not to add too much more to the fridge rear except for some double-overed heavy duty aluminum foil shields that I applied to the sizzling hot exhaust stack:

That would help keep the heat load from the lower boiler off the back of the fridge and hopefully the new used computer fan would also assist in that regard.

This is what the top of the fridge looked like at the time:

Note that red arrow: that's how I tucked the wee connector to keep it out of harm's way. Of course, once I man-handled and shoved the fridge back into place -- and installed half the screws to keep it in place -- guess where that tidy connection was? Still resting out of the way AND out of reach @#$%@#! Yup, the whole works had to come back out to drape that little bugger with the other two connections. Ah, well, live and learn.

Dion and the lads at Powerchief Auto Body had, for some strange reason, glued sections of red vinyl on the back of the outside vent pad so I paused to mull that over:

More to come....
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

Rhetorical question: Do you really need refrigeration to lead the life of a nomadic vanner?

The answer of course is a big fat NO. The only real exception that comes to mind is a means to cool required medication and, despite arguments to the contrary, beer doesn't fit that description.

On the top of page 14 of this thread I alluded to using a cooler during my wandering days as a wildlife photographer in my '73 camperized V-dub van. However, the harder I tried to conjure up an image of the cooler I used, the more I realized that, in fact, I never used one at all. My wife and I were so used to not having a cooler during our canoe camping days that we simply transferred that way of life into our van life. Before getting that van, I remember reading about a retired couple from the UK who roamed the Old World including the torrid climes of Africa using a standard Ford Transit van with no cooler or fridge. They subsisted on a combination of canned and fresh foods acquired along their journey. Google "van life no refrigeration" and you'll find others are doing the same: https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/no-refrigeration-foods/ + https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/comments/65hjny/no_refrigerator_required/ . The only cooler I do recall using at that time -- the era of Kodachrome 64 -- was a soft-sided one to keep my many rolls of film from getting too warm in the closed up van.

Breakfast? Granola and powdered milk with boxed juice followed by a chaser of peanut butter and honey on bread or ryecrisp crackers. Lunch and dinner followed the same theme with fresh veggies and fruit mixed with canned meats or hard cheese. Stopping at a grocery store along the way at some point gave us access to special treats like cooked chicken, potato salad and other deli goodies, yogurt (which keeps fine in cool Canadian overnight temperatures) etc.

But with cancer and a dietary change to almost entirely "rabbit food", I decided it was time to add a cooler to the equation with the Makeover. That way, I could add a couple of jugs of potent homemade veggie juice at the get go and maybe some tubs of quinoa/rice/buckwheat etc. to avoid cooking stuff on the road. I'd break some of my anti-cancer diet rules on the move but still keep close to a predominantly veggie-fruit-whole grain-legumes menu.

The Dometic would be on again, off again using 12V since we dropped the questionable 31-year-old propane tank and wouldn't be replacing it. What we needed was a sidekick cooler. To determine the best fit I consulted the Master Yoda of Westy coolers: "E1". He'd been on the road full-time for years with a plain Jane cooler set-up and recommended the Yeti 50. Size wise, it was perfect: not too big and not too small. In other words a Goldilocks cooler:

As seen in the photo comparison, the Yeti Tundra 50 gets its volume from being TALLER not longer. Unfortunately, Yeti wasn't making that size any more. Enter stage right the Engel 50, almost equivalent in every way:

Better yet, it came in Haze Gray which matched the standard gray Westy interior. Now some folks might find that no big deal but if you're cooped up inside for any length of time that van is your house and I like things that match. A white cooler? Not a chance! Too glaring on the eyes. Haze Gray it had to be. So while the fridge was still out, this arrived one fine day from Amazon.ca, the only place in Canada I could get that colour:

Cooler trivia: Engel has been making thick-skinned roto-molded coolers since 1997. In other words, they started the craze and are, indeed, "The Original" as claimed. Yeti came on the scene almost a decade later after the company founders eyed an inspirational roto-molded cooler made in Thailand i.e. the Engel!

The big thing with both the Yeti 50 and the Engel 50 is that they leave the passageway between the front and rear open (after removing the large fire extinguisher near the sliding door and replacing it with the compact Element 50 and 100 extinguishers):

Beauty! No hard plastic handles (like the Otterbox 45 and others have) that would stick out into the aisle.

Even better -- and unlike the Pelican coolers etc -- the drain plug was next to the door not the aisleway:

One fault: Pushed up tight to the door corner, the seatbelt retainer was in the way when the cooler opened. Even so, the lid would still open a considerable distance:

Next step, eyebolt kit https://www.gowesty.com/product/-accessories/4372/eye-bolt-kit- to hold it down in case of accidents:

To keep on the safe side, it's a good idea to trim the bolt so it doesn't jut into the plastic fuel expansion tank under the wheel well. A dab of silicone will protect the end.

By now, you might be ready to use a special emergency feature:

BTW That latch hardware is adjustable to ensure the lid closes tightly. A good trick is to use the paper sheet test: put a standard sheet of paper in a side of the cooler top and lock the lid down; if you can pull the sheet out -- even a small ways -- the latch needs to be tightened up.

The big difference between the Yeti and Engel coolers are the latches. The Yeti uses the solid rubber pull latches and the Engel uses a lever lock latch. I actually like the Engel latches because they are easy to open -- and the standard rubber latch can be replaced with a stainless steel one if desired: https://engelcoolers.com/products/hard-cooler-rubber-and-stainless-steel-latches . I find Field & Stream's strong-arm testing a wee bit over the top with an obvious lack of more normal women and children testers/users: https://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/20...eviewed-2/ . Their top pick was a Cabelas cooler. Have your wife or teen daughter try to open one. End of test. The fact that the Engel 50 opened on the pushed-off-the-tailgate test is a good indication that weaker members of the family will be able to open the dang thing when supper rolls around. The test video starts with the Engel 50 being tossed off the end of a speeding pickup truck. Now how many times in real life does that happen? I think the Engel is a safe pick especially if you buy a spare latch set or replace the standard rubber cam lever with the stronger stainless one. If you MUST have the Yeti version of the latch, refer to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuJjQwupQHM .

Recall that I mentioned this fridge/cooler episode would be R-rated? Of course I was talking R-values for insulation. The weak point on any cooler is around the top surface and the drain plug:

[Source: The Big Chill https://expeditionportal.com/the-big-chill-overland-journals-cooler-test/ ]

Luckily I had the solution for that: a thrift store $2 roll of memory foam https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/roots-super-soft-sleeping-pad-22-x-71-in-0762512p.html :

Cut to fit the cooler lid, it makes for a comfortable seat in addition to its R-rated insulating abilities. Because these reinforced coolers are tougher than normal, there's no problem using it as a step to get up top as well.

The insulating topper above is held onto the lid by several self-adhesive velcro patches. In a pinch, some of the remaining closed cell foam roll could also substitute for a Kooler Cap ( https://50campfires.com/the-coldest-beer-youve-ever-had-with-the-kooler-cap/ + https://www.thebestcooler.com/koolercap-ice-extender-regular-size-fits-up-to-65-qts/ + https://koolercap.wixsite.com/mysite-6 ). Of course, on a trip I'd be covering the whole works with a down jacket or down blanket or equivalent to keep the inside temperature as low as possible. A few other ideas from Engel to help with the cooling: https://engelcoolers.com/pages/keep-ice-longer .

The safety lashing straps? Gotta be gray to match the cooler and interior! https://www.amazon.ca/Master-Lock-3060DAT-Lashing-12-Foot/dp/B0009V1WXY

Note the IGBC designation on the cooler: http://igbconline.org/bear-resistant-products/ (there are two holes on the corners of the Engel that accept griz locks)

I always buy spares and accessories at the time I purchase an item like this because you never know when this size might be discontinued (using the Yeti 50 as a prime example). So I immediately added a top basket and divider (which, unfortunately, can't be used at the same time). The divider also doubles as a cutting board:

The black basket is actually a Yeti 50 item which is still available. The Engel basket only comes in white. In Western Canada, a good source for coolers and accessories is UK Products Canada aka Cooler Central https://www.underwaterkineticscanada.com/products/view-category/coolers which is where I bought my basket, spare drain plug, and spare rubber latches. If you live in Canada, ordering anything from Engel HQ in Florida = BIG shipping $$$$. No thanks!

This thermometer goes into that black basket https://www.amazon.ca/Rubbermaid-Commercial-Refrigerator-Thermometer-FGR80DC/dp/B005KDEFNK :

Another unexpected bonus with the Engel 50 cooler? You'll have a Guardian Angel riding shotgun with you. While I was futzing around with the cooler in the alley last summer, a multilingual neighbour walked up for a look at a socially acceptable distance and immediately uttered the word "Angel". Huh? Turns out that the term engel is German for angel. Fritz and I can use all the angelic help we can get these days (did I mention that the van is currently up on a lift at Tony's again?)

One thing I hadn't really thought about was how handy that cooler is when weekly grocery shopping. I leave it in the van permanently now so I can throw items in when tooting around town. Something I noticed early on when doing that tooting -- the plastic handles on the cooler bang around too much. Solution? Install some foam padding around them to get some peace and quiet:

Worked like a charm! Source: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/heavy-duty-corn-broom-0429520p.html . I cut the foam off the handle once the broom wears out. Be sure to use the largest size and leave the foam sections open in case you want to remove them to carry the cooler.

A few related reads/views:
* https://vanrambler.com/coolers/
* https://engelcoolers.com/products/engel-50-ice-box
* https://www.coolersonsale.com/10-days-ice-retention-is-it-really-possible/#1
* https://www.coolersonsale.com/engel-coolers-vs-yeti/
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obKn01UmZXk
Last word: https://landcruisingadventure.com/overland-fridge/ .

Finally, my inside joke https://www.ebay.com/itm/Adventure-awaits-Yeti-for...SwIHVfYjwt :

Adventure awaits and awaits and awaits and awaits. Some day all the mechanical problems with Fritz might be worked out and we can hit the road again on an extended trip or three. Might even get to finally see a Sasquatch aka Yeti.

I'm crossing my fingers and toes!

BTW If you have the brown Westy interior, the Engel 50 cooler comes in a tan colour as well. Gotta watch that colour co-ordination!

One last tip: when purchasing ANY product from Amazon -- especially big ticket items like coolers -- it's a must to use a free online Amazon price tracker service like this one: https://ca.camelcamelcamel.com/ . Paste in the Amazon product webpage, set your price and voila -- you get an online alert with an acceptable price:

Just keep in mind that while waiting for that rock-bottom-one-day-only discount price, that product may be discontinued so weigh your options.

For those folks who are hitting the backcountry for weeks/months -- or simply can't live without an electric fridge-freezer, extra battery, solar panels and other associated $$$ costs -- there is another Guardian Angel that just might fit the bill:

Available in different sizes: https://www.gowesty.com/search-results.php?search_phrase=engel+
(Did you catch the colour coordination going on there? Yup, gray with gray interior again.)
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

Okay, after my thick-skinned, R-rated Guardian Angel was in place and securely lashed down, I took a look at the Dometic fridge and readied it for the reinstall.

As I mentioned upthread, I screwed up by not freeing up and draping one of the connections with the others.

So, after my daughter helped with the first install -- she tilting and guiding the front of the fridge while I was taking the bull by the horns (the intake and exhaust pipes) through the open side grill space -- we deftly got to this point:

I'd added a wee bit of silicone sealant -- what, you expect me to miss an opportunity to slather more on somewhere? -- to the exterior openings for rust protection and then let out a big sigh of relief. Boy that was easy! Until, I finally discovered that a connection was AWOL.

Out came the fridge again. By this time, my daughter had departed the scene so I decided to take on the task myself. Really, it seemed so easy the first time around: slant the fridge in and wrestle the bull horns into place at the same time and -- bingo! -- the worst of the job would be over. I'd made sure that the MIA connector was taped to another larger one so it wouldn't go astray (the black arching connection on the right):

And there it was and easy to line up with my old pencil marks on masking tape:

But while wrestling with the horns/pipes from the rear and simultaneously tilting/shoving the fridge into position blindly with the other arm, I inadvertently screwed things up again. And it all revolved around the little metal plate at the top righthand side of the fridge opening:

While muscling the fridge into place, I'd managed to flatten that plate and push it inward somehow. When I looked at the install something didn't seem right but it didn't jump out at me. Nope, I had to wail until I installed the fridge's front face-plate to discover that the top right screw was rotating into thin air. Lovely! Of course, to undo the damage I'd inflicted meant removing the fridge yet again so I could get at that plate and properly straighten it out. Did I?

Not a bloody chance! I'd likely end up screwing something else up so I made the executive decision to just drill another hole into the hastily unbent plate to accept the top screw. Yup, I'm a yellow-bellied coward -- but it did work so what the heck. It's not like it was a critical connection that was obvious to the eye.

Here's a sneak peek at the air space under the fridge in case you were wondering what it looks like:

That little gap is where all the air "rushes in" to cool off the sizzling hot boiler and pipes at the back of the hard-working Dometic. If your fridge fan is working, it draws that air up over the pipes and cooling fins and exits out top.

To help out in the fridge itself, I splurged for a Camco fan https://www.amazon.com/Camco-44124-Fridge-Airator-Switch/dp/B01E5SNB5I :

Since the fine fellows at the autobody shop had added those pieces of red vinyl behind the exterior rubber flue vent base, I decided to apply some silicone sealant around the "circle" to prevent water penetration and rust formation. But I reached for my much runnier windshield sealant for that job so it would disappear behind that base somewhat cleaner -- and far-reaching -- than the normal sealant https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/permatex-flowable-silicone-sealant-65ar-42-g-0383709p.html . Of course once I got started with the "Greek Windex" I had a hard time stopping and decided to apply it over the exposed rubber to help prolong its life:

That's a dollar store paintbrush with a dollop of windshield sealant applied to the end and then gently swiped on. If I'd been thinking, I could have done the whole base pad but that was the most exposed part and I reckoned it needed the most attention. As far as I knew, that rubber base was NLA and could use some "suntan lotion" to fend off future UV damage.

Once done and dry, on went the customized vent cap:

But, hold on, now the 31-year-old side window seals looked rather flat and lifeless. Hmmmm...maybe I should try the same trick on them? What could I lose? They were already near the end of their life cycle so away I went with the wee brush and the windshield sealant. I kept to the exposed top of the seals themselves and didn't do beyond their edges so moisture wouldn't be trapped behind them.

Done! And they gleamed like new. Now I have noticed a bit of dust sticking to them but I can live with that. If the silicone gets washed off or flakes off, no biggie -- but they have held up in the car wash so far. A tube of the stuff is cheap enough that it won't break the bank to reapply.

I hope some of you learn from my mistakes. I have -- although I'm hoping I never have to remove that fridge again!

Next episode: The Scoop on Poop. Hey, all that fibre-rich rabbit food in the fridge and cooler eventually has to end up somewhere.
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VdubVanner]

Let's do a quick year end review of the travails of Fritz on the fritz: If I didn't have bad luck with that van, I'd have no luck at all.

TICKing defective muffler that nearly drove me bonkers? Check.
That wonky muffler kept me sidelined for months until it could be replaced under warranty.

TAPPing/SLAPPing defective piston that was similarly driving me crazy? Check. That wonky piston kept me sidelined for months until it could be replaced under warranty.

After finally getting the slapping piston(s) squared away and breaking in the new set with a rushed 1,000 mile Tour de Southern Alberta, I had the oil changed to 10W30 dino oil to meet the minus 25 degree temperatures that were on the approaching horizon. At this point things looked and sounded uncharacteristically good.

Shortly thereafter, however, a new annoying noise came onto the scene -- one I'd never heard in 27 years of driving the ol' van. The disconcerting tune went something like this (and made the performance under the front dash with a crescendo while going around a corner):

Gurgle, gurgle -- slosh, swish, slosh -- gurgle, gurgle!

Sounded like trapped air -- lots of it -- from inside the radiator.

Fritz was up to his old shevanigans again!

Eventually, the coolant was rising in the overflow tank and not being fully sucked back into the system overnight as usual. Back to Tony's it went. Air in the coolant system was a good first guess so the lads bled the radiator of gurgling bubbly gas. That didn't hold for long. Next they tested for exhaust gases in the coolant system and came up dry. Last ditch attempt to solve the problem was draining the coolant and re-torquing the head fasteners. Could this be the cure? Perhaps. After that bout of cranking, the system worked for them over several days and coolant was now circulating back into the engine on cool down.

So time for me to go get Fritz. One glitch, though: the van was ready to pick up on the very same day -- December 22nd -- that we had a record dump of snowfall in the city https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/southern-alberta-calgary-snowstorm-hit-snow-1.5851237 . Yeah, "..the snow fell without a break..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlo1NvEdAw .

After shovelling massive heaps of heavy snow off my sidewalks and back alley three times (or was that four?), I was in no mood to slog through three miles of the white stuff to retrieve Fritzie. No, siree, sir -- he could sit and cool his heels inside the comfy shop overnight while I recuperated.

Of course, the next morning was still chaos on the roads but the fellas were getting ready to close up for Christmas eve so off I trudged. And this was the scene At Tony's on arrival:

Fritz was outside ready and waiting -- with his Y370 Yokohamas on all four corners. Not perfect for these conditions but, hey, the days of getting Nokian Hakkapeliittas in 14-inch sizing were long since past. Dang, those were great winter tires.

Off we slid and slithered:

Within eyesight of my garage, we met our final snowy, sinking Waterloo at the alley entrance:

Did I walk home to get the "grips" out?

Heck, no! I was in home territory and bravely strode up to a neighbour's house and asked for a push. Seeing my predicament, another neighbour popped out of the deep depths of snow.

But Fritz and I never did get through that snowy gully. We tried and failed several times. The Yokos just weren't up for the job. So with a final push, we carried on up the street slithering and slipping to the other end of the alley and gave it a go. Success at last! I'd already cleared the garage approach of snow for our final alignment into the tiny "shack" and in we went triumphantly.

Will the radiator be gurgling again in the near future?

Stay tuned for the cliff-hanger...


HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone and all the best to you and your van-loving families!
_________________
"Fritz", a temperamental and unforgiving 1989 Westy that proudly bears his German flags and status as a member of the exclusive GoWesty Belly Flop Club.
1989 Westy Makeover: GoWesty 2.3L Engine plus plus plus https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[VicVan]

Happy New Year to you, and to Fritz!

I hope that one day, my van will be as clean as the area under your fridge. Looking at your picture made me wonder what I'd find if I triedd to go there.

Have fun with your van and with life in 2021!
_________________
'90 Little Blue Truck, 2WD auto, FAS GenV 2.0 NA (AVH)