First bus purchase: From North Dakota to Florida

[TurkisMafia]

After several months of looking we finally found our late bay. 1978 Westy Automatic, found right here on the Samba. One problem: the bus lived in North Dakota, and we live in Florida. Solution: a one way plane ticket to Bismarck. Sure it would be easier, and probably cheaper to ship it.. but what fun is that? A route was drawn up and off I went.

2,458 miles.. or so.

As an airline pilot by trade, this was a bit easier for my wife & I than most. I landed at JFK from a work trip to Scotland and headed directly to NoDak. I landed at about 9pm, the new owner scooped me up, and I owned the bus by 10.

I made it approximately a half mile down the road before I was pulled over. No, quite literally I was pulled over leaving the previous owners neighborhood. After 30 seconds of explanation of why I had no plates, and 5 minutes of chatting about how cool the bus was, he let me go and it was off to Walmart for supplies and sleep.

A quick stop at the airport to pick up the wife and pup, and we were headed south.

We headed down the road and it wasn’t long before the first issue. By the first fuel stop (after we had officially arrived in the middle of nowhere), it would appear we blew out a rear main seal... or something

I thought we were dead in the water before we had even started, but we were a couple hundred miles from the nearest civilization and had no choice but to press on. I pulled over every 20 miles or so to check the oil level. To my surprise, despite how significant the leak appeared, it really was not dropping a discernible amount.

Soon we were in South Dakota.

When we had reached the doorstep of the black hills, I started getting a bit cocky. The bus was still chugging along like a champ, and it really was not pushing out much oil. We decided to keep going along the planned route and grab lunch in Deadwood.

Unfortunately, to get from sturgis over to Deadwood, one must climb a modest mountain pass. The bus did not like this. After a 30 mph hill climb, we arrived in the saloon town to find our bus not only leaking oil but also a significant amount of automatic tranny fluid. I thought we were for sure toast this time.

We had lunch and let the bus cool off. It quit leaking ATF. All we had on board was motor oil, so I added 2 quarts of 20w-50 to the transmission to get it to the bottom dot on the dipstick, and then headed back down the hill. To my surprise and delight, the bus did not leak a drop of transmission fluid for the rest of the trip. It was on to rapid city... where we parked at a Walmart and took an Uber to go see the heads

From there it was on to Badlands National Park to camp for the night. We woke up at sunrise, and drove thru the park.

Next, it was full steam ahead to Omaha


Link

After initially thinking the road trip was a terrible idea and there was no chance it was going to happen, we ended up having a great weekend. The bus made it safely to a great little air cooled shop, where she is getting the full treatment. Over the 16 hours or so of driving, she only lost about one quart of oil. We flew home on Sunday, and when she’s ready we will be back to carry on the journey. Next stop, Memphis. Until then...

[Angus II]

Hello,
Welcome to Baywindow ownership club....
Now, that's over...
You put what in your auto transmisson? motor oil?. Any port in a storm, I guess..
You do have faith or at least a black credit card for a long road trip with/in a new too you 41 year old bus. But hell, you only live once...(again the CC comes into play)..
I hope the shop takes pictures of the inside of that tranny or at least the drained fluid.. Keep us posted.. That should be an interesting bill.
Once again, welcome to the zoo...

[TurkisMafia]

[Angus II]

Hello,
Hey, I hear ya...
Been stuck between a rock and a hard spot before myself.... Heck, fluid is fluid; correct.
Some of the things one can come up with when the time/issue is presented.... The trick is knowing: that it's just a quick fix type of band aid and needs to be taken care of ASAP..
Here is a picture of what the Previous Owner did/used on my bus for a fuel leak. Yes, it was that way when I bought it.... Lord knows how long it was that way... Glad, I pulled the engine first thing, for new seals and inspection when I got it home. I'm lucky that was the "only" quick fix on the bus...

He must have forgotten to correct it.... No one in their right mind would leave that as a "repair" for the absence of hose clamps.... But, not too many people in their right mind would be driving around a 48 year old bus anyway.... Yet, We're all a little off in that department... though.

[WildIdea]

Congrats on the new bus!
I like your style, just going for it.
Glad to see ya took the time to check out the Black Hills and Badlands!
Can’t wait to see the rest of the trip.
_________________
1977 Sage Green Westy
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=691987
1965 SWR Walk-Through Standard
1960 211 Panel American Camper Conversion

[WildIdea]

Congrats on the new bus!
I like your style, just going for it.
Glad to see ya took the time to check out the Black Hills and Badlands!
Can’t wait to see the rest of the trip.
_________________
1977 Sage Green Westy
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=691987
1965 SWR Walk-Through Standard
1960 211 Panel American Camper Conversion

[TurkisMafia]

[wcfvw69]

My understanding WAS that airline pilots are a cautious sort? Please advise the readership which airline your fly for so we can avoid it!

Talk about go big or go home! Most wouldn't think of crossing the country in an new to them, unknown maintenance history, 40 something year old classic bus. I love it of course! You do only live once and no risk, no reward (unless you're in a cockpit, right)??

Welcome to the wacky, crazy world of bus ownership! The addiction is hard to overcome once all in!

Keep updating your thread. Road trip threads with pictures are popular and appreciated!

Drive safe.
_________________
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[andrewtf]

If you wanna alter your route a bit and swing thru Illinois........
_________________
'75 Riviera - 'BIG EMMA' (Pan American highway trip paused for a make over)
'77 Riviera - Murphy' (being reborn.... slowly)
'63 Austin Healey

[my59]

[TurkisMafia]

kind of a judgey bunch around here eh?

[Abscate]

More apt to be sarcastic than judgy. Enjoyed your story, enjoy your ride!

Where you guys really excel is in resource management when working a problem,whichpeople here reallly suck at.

I do my part, telling my fellow passengers that just because they used their phone on the last flight, that doesn't mean phones are safe during takeoff.

I explain the cascade to them if I'm bored.

Last week, had to tell UA they had the overwater briefing cards on board and the slide deployment instructions were mismatched with posted placards.

Heh heh. Thanks fir flying us around with six sigma safety.
_________________
.ssS!

[heimlich]

That looks like a fun trip with the wife and kids. It looks like you and your wife treat your dog like we treat ours.
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[TomWesty]

[Wasted youth]

Nice work! You didn’t puss out at the first oil leak. Once you get the basics sorted out, you’ll love your bus even more. Just be prepared for a lot of work over the next couple of years. One piece of advice... these are really old technology by modern standards and good parts are often very difficult to find. But if you see to the whole nine yards as a “lone sailor at sea” situation and learn to make all repairs yourself with the parts you brought with you coupled with a practical approach, you will probably have many, many years of great memories.

Not all will be fun memories, but certainly great in the end.

And please get used to the ‘salt air’ in this forum. Lots of really good people with an endless wealth of knowledge. Part of the admission fare is a thick skin.

[Jeff Geisen]

Nice write up and pictures. Excellently story too.

Heck, you and your crew have already racked up more adventure time in your bus than most of the ACVW owners on this forum. Keep up the great work.
_________________
I Corinthians 4: 1 thru 5

‘63 ragtop - ‘68 single cab

[ToolBox]

[TurkisMafia]

[Wildthings]

If a leak stops on its own, it is almost guaranteed to reoccur.

The thing to watch out for these trannies is oil passing from one box to the other as there are two separate boxes that are bolted together with several different seals that separate their two non-compatible fluids. Depending on which seal fails oil can move one way often causing oil to blow out the vents while the mixed oil can potentially cause failure of the components in either or both boxes.

[Jeffrey Lee]

Welcome, and thanks for the great road trip report! Looks like a sweet rig.

It seems you already know that you need to keep a close eye (and ear) on an old Bus. But you also need to keep a close eye on Bus mechanics. They are becoming more and more rare every day, and the good ones even rarer. When they hand you an 87-point safety checklist with your invoice, DO NOT simply trust that they have covered everything.

Listen to advice here, listen to your gut, be proactive, trust but verify, and make sure your hired help is doing everything you need, esp. if you intend to continue doing these awesome long-haul road trips. Think of paid independent Bus mechanics as another tool, one to use when you are not in a position to do something yourself, and always check their work.

Can't wait for Part 2!
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