Date:         Fri, 23 Nov 2012 10:36:16 -0600
Reply-To:     Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Gave thanks for my vanagon yesterday
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hi everyone,

So, yesterday I completed my "around the block" drive in my Bostig
conversion.  In my version, this is an overall check where you drive the
car for about ten minutes and let it stop and idle a few times, then dump
the log from the SCT tool and send it to Bostig.  They check it over to see
if there are any major issues (for example, my first one showed that my
alternator wasn't regulating the voltage correctly).

I completed that drive and sent it off, then got to work on some other
projects that had been put off.  I dug out my headlight relay kit and got
my 12-yr-old off the computer to come work with me on installing it.  He is
semi-fascinated with tech--you never know what he will find interesting and
what he will find boring.  So the first part of the installation we were
supposed to check to see which was the input side of the fuses (apparently
the whole thing can be installed "upside down").  That little activity--I
held the negative probe on ground and had him do all the testing with the
other probe--was apparently "cool".  This sparked a lot of questions about
generation and storage of electricity.  It was good father son time.

I installed higher amperage fuses on the high beam side as part of the
relay install because I was putting in higher wattage halogens.  I got this
set from Bus Depot:

http://www.busdepot.com/visionkit1/

I ended up doing the headlight replacement on my own later that evening. It
was very satisfying to see the nice, bright halogens lighting up the
garage.

I just like seeing things still work after I've made changes, to tell the
truth :).

Oh yeah, one more thing I did was to finally replace a connection that I
had done with one of those twist-on wire connectors (realize my van is
still in project/test mode, it was never intended to be permanent) with a
3M solderless butt connector that Stacy Schneider sent me just because I
was asking about what to use:

 I Would use a non insulated butt connector and double heat shrink it  .  I
> like to double heat shrink these connections,I use one piece that is about
> 3/4 longer on both sides and then the next piece about 1 1/2" on both side
> .
>       I have some real nice 3M solderless butts that are the best I've
> found . Send me a P mail and I'll put a couple of them and some shrink in
> Monday's mail .
>

I'm not sure if the crimper I used was the right one, but it looked good
and felt tight when I tugged on it, and the van started fine (the wire in
question is one that is only used in the automatic--it leads down to a
switch on the shifter that makes sure you don't try to power the starter
unless you're in park or neutral.  I have converted my van to a manual, so
the two ends of that wire that used to be on either side of that switch
just needed to be connected together).

It was a great day, made me happy to have this project that I've learned so
much from.

So, the next thing I'm contemplating is that I got a big brake kit and a
set of wheels (15's?  Not even sure, but I think that's what I went with)
from Van Cafe more than a year ago.  They've been sitting in the garage,
still in boxes, while I've done my famous fits-and-starts work on my Bostig
conversion.  Now that I'm near the end on the conversion, I'm thinking it's
time to tackle the wheels-and-brakes.  Besides the improved safety, it will
Free Up Space In The Garage, which is an excellent sub-activity in the
larger goal of Keeping the Other Half Happy.

Does anyone know of a step-by-step writeup anywhere of the brake
conversion?  I tend to need things to be really dumbed down due to the
depth of my ignorance.

Many thanks to the list and its vendors for all your help in reducing that
ignorance over the years, btw!

mike