Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2018 18:44:38 -0500
Reply-To: Eric Caron <eric.caron@ICLOUD.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Eric Caron <eric.caron@ICLOUD.COM>
Subject: Re: On a flat bed
In-Reply-To: <16139de253d-1723-d52a8@webjas-vae169.srv.aolmail.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Hi Dave and others,
Age 19 with my girlfriend driving my 73 bus with over 100,000 miles. I put in a bed and we went off on a summer around the country trip.
After traveling into carls bad in over 100 degree temperature I filled the tank at a Stuarts, and I topped it off totally full. I went into the station and found it air conditioned. We stayed there a long time. I went out and when the bus was started the starter failed.
This was on a Sunday.
I called AAA and they sent someone. A guy showed up in a beat up truck. He went under my bus and said the starter was filled with gas as I popped a line.
OK, I now know, never, never, top off a tank. He took off a wheel and cleaned up the starter and put it back in. During this time I stayed out of the way. Suddenly with the wheel off and the man under the bus the bus came off the jack. He then yelled at me for not putting on the emergency brake. Not sure why he thought the young guy who topped off a tank in dessert heat would know to put on the brake.
Still he survived, the bus survived and, though he told me it was a Sunday temporary fix I was glad to be back on the road. I got the part replaced a few weeks later. The dangerous living mechanic told me I was lucky I didn’t blow up with all that gas!
So no flat bed but a break down that worked out and could have been really bad.
Eric Caron
Living under many lucky stars.
On Jan 27, 2018, at 18:05, ddbjorkman@verizon.net <mailto:ddbjorkman@verizon.net> wrote:
I have a few good breakdown stories from our RT. 66 trip. Here's one. We were on the Cali coast part of the trip. We left the PCH and headed inland looking to get to Crater Lake in time to get a campsite. Going over a mountain pass we got stuck behind a school bus. Suddenly a passing lane opened up. I downshifted, dumped the clutch and the FAS inline 4 Golf roared into action. We slowly passed the even slower school bus, and as we passed I remarked to wife Diane that I could understand why the school bus was so slow due to the large amount of noise it was making. Something was wrong with that bus. As we pulled away, we could still hear the noise from the bus. We slowly realized the other bus was not the bus making the noise. It was us!! Potential exhaust noise. Quite loud. I pulled into a pullout and climbed underneath. I found that the flanged end of the pipe entering the muffler from the cat had cracked and most of the flange was gone. While pondering this, a guy and his wife in a bay window bus stopped to see if they could help. They were on their way back home from a weekend camping trip to the coast. The fellow was very nice but unknowledgeable about water cooled, but he did know a good mechanic in his area, which was the direction we were going anyways. I ended up fashioning a fix using a wide hose clamp to catch any of the broken flange I could and found some long bolts and the triangle piece to stretch to the muffler flange and pull things together. Thank God Diane told me to keep all those odds and ends I almost took out of the tool area to lighten things up for the trip. It worked so well we joked about just leaving it that way, but I knew it was a temporary fix just clinging on. The folks in the bay followed us down to the shop. By this time it was lunch at the shop, so I said "Hi", told them I was in trouble and went out to check out the busses (all kinds), bugs, and some wild buggies around the lot. The mechanic came out, took one look at what was wrong, and sent me to a weld shop down the street telling me to use his name. When I got there to guy I was supposed to see was not there, but his other man was. To our dismay (we tried to not show it too much), he explained that they were busy with a guys truck that he was picking up after work and they could not do it. I politely asked if he knew a campground close by were we could spend the night and I would come back the next day. He grumbled a bit, and said, oh hell, and took a look. He pulled himself out from under the Westy. told us to go have lunch and come back in about a half hour. The guy with the truck just had to go home to his wife, and we to a campground, he could wait. We went across the street to a deli kind of spot with some tables and had lunch. Went back about 45 minutes later and he was done! He cut the end of the broken pipe off as well as the triangle flange on the muffler and welded a new piece of pipe between the two, making one piece. He told me the cat to muffler pipe was fine and the job would outlast the muffler and when it needed replacing, just cut it off and weld on a new one. Better to have it a solid connection (muffler man). As an aside, that is exactly what happened. Muffler finally failed and I had a new one welded on. Back to story, he charged me $25.00 for the job!! I was so happy I gave him 10 bucks more and many thanks. We were on our way and made it to Crater Lake in time to pick out a nice campsite. Still snow in the campground, so we made cocktails.
Dave B.
-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Caron <eric.caron@ICLOUD.COM <mailto:eric.caron@ICLOUD.COM>>
To: vanagon <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>>
Sent: Fri, Jan 26, 2018 8:05 pm
Subject: Re: On a flat bed
Hi folks,
At the risk of bringing up bad memories do you have a good breakdown story to tell?
Some time around 1992 I had a 1976 auto weekender I bought from a German Mechanic outside of Ithaca New York. He was the go to guy for older VW work and had a field of bugs and buses. I decided to purchase a bus from him because the mechanics would be good and I could work on the body stuff.
I took my savings and purchased it and with a friend headed out on a summer trip out west.
About 500 miles away we started to notice white smoke at start up. About 1,500 miles away it was much worse.
I ended up being towed to a VW dealer after hours. I think maybe in Minnesota or Michigan.
Dozens of people stopped to talked to me as I cooked dinner and set up for the night on the dealer lot. I heard so many VW stories.
The next day the dealer said they couldn’t help, my van was too old.
Somehow I got towed to a local shop and stayed there part of the time and with a rental car went to a hotel a few nights. The shop was really for working on race cars. they took out my engine and rebuilt it and put it back in. It was a challenge for them but I never had trouble with that motor right up until I sold the van a few years later.
The original Mechanic I purchased the van from was not interested in my call from the road asking for help. he also was not interested in paying any of the repair costs.
I think eventually he did split the cost with me, but I had to hear a lot of yelling.
The Transmission on that bus will be a different break down story.
So though I’d rather not break down, Other then the original mechanic so many people were supportive and willing to give time and energy to work on the bus or at least offer a story and good advice. I had so much time to kill that I listened to music at a used CD store for hours. I could only afford a few CD’s but those new artists and albums I found are still some of my favorites!
I wish you all either no breakdowns or ones that add to the joy of VW living.
I had lots of great trips but I remember the breakdown adventures the most and they worked out ok.
Got a good break down story?
Mark Drillock’s story of repair on his frozen 85 comes to mind.
Eric Caron
Vanagon currently getting a breakdown prevention spa treatment
On Jan 25, 2018, at 01:33, Eric Wunrow <VW@ERICWUNROW.COM <mailto:VW@ERICWUNROW.COM>> wrote:
If you find out, we're near Parker if anyone needs a hand.
Eric
Eric Wunrow Pictures
303. 988. 8717
VW@EricWunrow.com <mailto:VW@EricWunrow.com> (for this list's emails)
EW@EricWunrow.com <mailto:EW@EricWunrow.com> (for private messages)
On Jan 24, 2018, at 10:35 AM, Rob <vwrobb@gmail.com <mailto:vwrobb@gmail.com>> wrote:
> I'm in Quartzsite AZ just sitting here.
>
> Out the window I just saw a brown Westy on the back of a flat bed heading
> towards town down Dome Rock Rd E.
>
> If you see this I feel for you!
>
> Rob
> vwrobb@gmail.com <mailto:vwrobb@gmail.com>
> Not in a vw today....
>
