Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:43:00 -0400
Reply-To: Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Subject: FW: Long Trip report from Gord Potts - John Brown's Buses
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Gord sent this to a few folks off-line, and was okay (I think!) with me
passing it on to the list. It’s a nice trip report!
Joy
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Joy Hecht
now living in a real house in northern Virginia
and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon
now living in the driveway and resting after two and a half years
lugging Joy and her stuff around...
For musings about life and the vanadventures:
http://www.joyhecht.net
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________________________________________
From: gord@pottsfamily.ca [mailto:gord@pottsfamily.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 11:50 AM
To: theauchs@triad.rr.com; The 4 Corners; Steve Cope; Scope; Ron Dunn;
Patricia Mackellar; Glenn Cockwell; Boltons
Cc: RAlanen@aol.com
Subject: Long Trip report, or two.
Hello everybody
Way back when I was a kid on a pedal bike ( A hot bike I built myself)
I admired an early 50’s caddy at the golf club where I liked to ride.
The chauffer, who was polishing it said
"All that glisters is not gold"
What a great quote...
He was right, especially when a Vanagon is glistering.
This is a brief outline of the last 2 weeks.
We went to Ron & Mary Dunn’s place in DC, then to JBB then home, then
Almonte to fix Putter n Knit
IN DETAIL
We took 219 out of Buffalo, tired of Interstate 90 / 79 etc.
All is well till 219 meets 87 for.008 miles the instructions say merge onto,
we missed the quick connection, part of the interchange. ( Frank says it is
just one big turn)
We missed it partly because I was preoccupied by the oil light which was
flickering with no apparent reason, or connection to what the engine was
doing.
We,and our flickering light finally pulled off in Cuba. CUBA New York.
About 30 miles away from 219.
The light stayed out when I stopped and sat at idle against the brake. It
would not do that if the problem was real..
It had to be electrical.
I got Greg to ask the Vanagon list, we got some really helpful replies..
I asked a guy in the service centre where we should stay.
He said go under the bridge there is a great motel called The Coach Light.
We went under the bridge, saw the Coach Light sign with an arrow pointing
west. Drove on past a Comfort Inn, and 7 miles down a back road , no Coach
light.
OH WELL< we will stay at the Comfort Inn.
While checking in, I see some congratulations signs, the "Coach Light" is
the Comfort Inn.
Or more correctly it used to be.
Old customers, like our advisor, still call it by it's old name.
All is well that ends well.
Good sleep, OK breakfast, off we go, Lookin for 219 south, by taking 87
west.
I stop after 20 miles, we are now 50 miles past 219, at intersection 39, we
were to take 219 at interchange number 23.
Back track for about 50 miles.
We could have taken # 15, just a few miles further, but we were vetting 219
for Greg and Colleen who were on their way down on Friday.
The oil light has gone out, not to be seen again for a few days.
We got to Ron & Mary's just in time to ruin their dinner.
Settled in, swapped stories, went to "Our room" and slept like logs.
With the occasional chain saw noise.
I missed my train to Washington by 3 minutes on thursday, I was craving more
Smithsonian WW 2 airplanes. I have a better camera now to get the details.
DAMM ! Parking is a hassle in DC so the train was the only practical way in.
Gotta be more purposeful.
We had a great day anyway, but I think Mary & Marg would have had more fun
without me there.
I found a turkey fryer kit in Wally World for $37.
On Friday I talked to Greg who was on his way down he had left at 6AM with
the whole family, the shelter, and his trailer.
It was a straight through drive 600 plus miles.
Somewhere after Buffalo he dropped # 3 valve, so he was limping, but
determined.
We set a system for reporting in, and I waited for calls, not that I could
help much..
Going slow, but OK,, was the report.
We packed the busses and proceeded to John Brown's Busses, this year in
Brunswick Maryland.
New location not the KOA in Harpers Ferry, new weekend , so more locals
could attend, and the same weekend as the local Railroad Days event so there
was lots to do.
Nice location.
But Ron & Mary, Marg & I knew that, cause we scoped it out last year for the
organisers, the KOA was too busy, and expensive.
Greg was there when we arrived, and his girls had hooked up with their good
VW friends .
These friendships are the glue that makes them stay together for 14 hour
road trips. (Well mostly together)
On Saturday it rained...the kind of rain that tricks you, stops , starts,
heavy , then drizzly.
A wet day
We took a train ride that was offered, it was fun and somewhat educational.
We traipsed around the town in and out of the booths selling everything from
candied Pecans to Funnel cakes YUMMM!
We had the big tarp, affectionately called the white sky,and Greg had
arranged to have a pot luck deep fried turkey dinner on sat.
Canadian Thanksgiving dinner.
Everyone kicked in.
The deep fried turkeys take three and a half minutes a pound and are moist
and tasty. Honest.
Just a bit scary when you lower them into the 325 degree peanut oil.
The rain held off for dinner time and we all had too much too eat.
Typical Thanksgiving dinner.
After dinner the thanks and the prizes, and the fellowship.
Greg's engine problem had a lot of folks too the rescue, notably a guy named
Bruce, who volunteered a motor in his yard that would be suitable.
We have his motor, not his last name (How is that for unique personal
relationships).
He lives across from Gary & Sharon , who ran the event along with Jeff
Stewart.
A mighty thank you to them, since the names came up.
The rain is not your fault..
About 10, a bunch of the guys went almost to DC to get the motor. I went to
bed
In the morning we saw shadows.
The donor motor is a tie died beauty, A prize from the raffle at Natural Bus
a couple of years back.
The work of Mark Dearing's shop (Salem Imports),each year they donate a
stylish motor, part of their charity work .Ronald Mc Donald House gets the
proceeds..
The year we went to Natural Bus (A great weekend camp) the motor was an
upright painted up in the stars & Stripes.
Mark was there, and he verified that the motor would be great.
However it had no alternator, and to swap one in from Greg's engine would
have been a few hours work.
Greg had adjusted the valves on 3 and had some compression.
(90, 90, 30, 110.. it ran..
We divided Greg's load up, the White Sky went home to Toronto in a Eurovan
with Don MacKinnis, I took the Westrailer and Matthew, and the tie died
engine (Just in case).
We said our goodbyes and off we went.
Another adventure.
Decided to take "The Road More Traveled" as it has slow lanes and less
violent hills.
After the first few hills you get used to going slow....very slow.
I asked Greg " Is that all you got " he said "YUP"
we journeyed on . Estimate in Toronto about 1 AM. It is noon.
Flying down the highway, on a down hill , and suddenly Greg says "It's gone"
" No power"
We pull over.
Full diagnostic indicates their is no spark.
We swap in the colourfull coil off of the "Spare " engine...Off we go.
Moral...always carry a spare engine.
Really was not much to report after that.
Dinner just off the highway at about six, Park n Eat, was great family food.
Cross border, drop trailer about 1:30 AM.
Oh yea the damned oil light came back on when we came into Canda, like it
was wired to react to the border.
We paid no attention, well truth be told we were too tired to care.
Monday is a holiday here in Canada... we slept.
Tuesday LAUNDRY.
I got lots of advice on the oil light thing, most everybody figured
electrical gremlins.
We decided to get a gauge installed, we also needed to flush the coolant,
and their was a leak of lubricant issue, and the heater motor had failed.
ETC!!!!.
Vanagons are "Modern " vehicles, not too simple, and not to be ignored.
We have a great one, and it is an important item in our plans short and
long..
It glisters.
It is not Gold, it eats Gold
On Thursday we drove to Ottawa, well Almonte, Frank Condelli has agreed to
have a go at my list of woes.
We are booked into a B&B that Greg has used (Yes my friends, Gord & Marg
staying at a B & B.)
Frank takes a look on Thursday afternoon and we agree on the sequence of the
repairs.
First thing, see the oil pressure patterns.
We are 10 as lowest, 30 at 3000 RPM. when running hot (After 1 hour at idle)
We are good to go. The engine is sound.
Later we find a wire that has a mars connector twice. you guessed it, the
pressure light wire.
Also the sender is wrong. Red , and not original equipment.
The PCV hose was flattened, it has crumbled inside and it might have
contributed some rubber "Crumble" to the crankcase.
That could explain some temporary blockage of the oil flow. The lumps
dissolved in motor oil, when we immersed them and rubbed them between our
fingers.
They would have found their way to the filter eventually.
My muffler is leaking, and missing a critical bracket.
My throttle body switch was out of adjustment
My fuel pump has a corroded connector.
My drain plug is not right.
My steering boots are ripped
My heater has no fan
The routing of the constant flow gas return line was changed to eliminate /
bypass the "Plastc" at the firewall.
(If that fails you got fire)
and more, lots more.
"ALL THAT GLISTERS IS NOT GOLD"
On Saturday , at 9 pm we finished , Frank does not charge extra for you to
help,
Marg has a new shopping companion, and I have a new respect for my machine.
On Sunday Marg & I Got up early in the glorious B & B that I virtually never
really saw, and went with Frank & Rita to the Ottawa Valley VW club October
meeting.
I wish I had taped the astonished expression on Hans' face when he saw Marg
& I.
He thought we had come from Toronto for the "Meeting". he was so pleased to
see us and went out of his way to make us comfortable in a new crowd.
The meeting takes the form of their annual trip to the Hershey Factory, and
then to Perth for a lunch together.
A place called Fiddleheads , highly recommended if you are there and hungry.
There were 20 of us in 5 vanagons 3 beetles a 72 bay, a 200? Jetta. (I
could be out in my count)
Across the street is a full size bronze of BIG BEN ,the horse, not the
clock.
Big Ben was from thereabouts.
We said our thanks, and our goodbyes, and drove home.
That was our "Holiday ?".
All things considered it was a great 2 weeks.
Having a vehicle as a hobby is not unique, my neighbour has a 2005 dodge
station wagon with as big Turbo hemi that he worships.
His wheels are worth more than I paid for Putter n Knit
It is not a cheap way to recreate. But it is great fun, and you meet the
nicest people.
Billy Shakespeare was right "All that glisters is not gold"
Oh ! I still have a list of maintenance things that are "Pending".
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