Date:         Mon, 14 May 2007 01:17:15 +0000
Reply-To:     kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      More ramblings about 66 VW Bus

I made a ton of progress on my 66 Bus project this week (in fact it is almost done).  Just wanted to share with you folks.

I completely painted the underneath of the van with a rust preventative (Rustoleum Rust Reformer).  It took me about 6 hours total.  Powerwashed underneath, and then painted the next day.  You wouldn't think there is much room underneath of an old VW Bus but it took me nine full spray paint cans to do the whole underside of the van.  The van has very little rust.  What little there was, was a very light petina.  I cleaned up the few scaley spots and painted the rest.  The rust inhibitor should keep the rust at bay for many years to come.  My sister once painted a metal swing that was super rusty with this stuff.  She wire brushed it down and then painted it.  It is still sitting outside at my parents house fifteen years later.  Some rust has returned but it is still holding up rather well and it is just sitting outside with no care whatsoever.  The bus is going to be garaged and not driven much so I am expecting it to last for a long time.

I got the A/C fully installed and up and running.  I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the system.  It went together pretty easily and seems to work well.  The fan moves a lot of air and the evaporator gets super cold.  The whole system only takes two cans of R134a max.  I actually only put in a can and a half at the most and it was working well so I stopped.  The high side doesn't even see 200 psi.  Low side is around 20 psi (this is on an 85 degree day).  These pressures are well below what I would normally see in a Vanagon system and it seems to get colder.

I installed new KYB gas shocks and tie rod ends.  The shocks looked original!  Can you imagine 40 year old shocks.  And the front ones were still good!  The rears were shot and must have been the cause of the boat like (up and down) driving experience.  The tie rods also looked original.  One side was shot but the other side is still tight!  Wow, talk about good quality parts!

We took the van for a ride to town again after the A/C was installed on Saturday.  It is definately a neat experience as a long time Vanagon owner and driver to drive one of these split window buses.  When you drive a Vanagon occasionally you get the peace sign flashed at you.  More than likely you will get some stares and a look of "what the heck is that?"  When you drive a splitty you get smiles from almost everyone who gets anywhere near the bus.  You come to a light and people are looking, pointing, smiling, it could get addictive :-)

With the new shocks, and tie rod ends the van rides much better.  The steering still has a little slop in the very center but I am going to replace a few more parts which I think will tighten it up even more, but it rides pretty smooth and I also have a brand new set of Yokohama Super Van load range C tires on it.  Probably the best tires the bus has ever had in it's entire life.

Road noise is much more of an issue with these older buses though.  They have no sound deadening whatsoever anywhere.  So if you are going 50 mph, the driver and passenger are going to have to speak up to talk to each other (at least with the exhaust system I have which is a little louder than stock).  If I owned it I would probably put some B-quiet stuff all around the engine bay to make it less noisy on the inside, but the customer doesn't care so it is going to leave noisy.

I got back into my Vanagon today and I felt like I was driving a Cadilac!  I have a 91 Carat with power everything, automatic transmission, etc.  It is so quiet and smooth compared to the bus.  I think I appreciated it more.

This should be the final week with the bus.  A few folks have told me that they have never seen one of these buses in real life before.  If you want to stop by this week I would be glad to show it to you.  I have a couple small issues to work on and then it is headed up to New York for a repaint (getting the flower child look), and then on to the Bahamas where it will live out it's days sitting under a palm tree sipping 87 Octane.  I am going to tell the customer that I will do a yearly inspection/tune up on the van for free if he will fly my wife and myself down every winter for a week.  After all I have to check up on a bus who has become a friend.

Thanks for listening,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com