Date: Sun, 30 Apr 1995 11:57:21 +0600
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: anon869@vt.edu (Christopher Bridge)
Subject: My 71 bus update.
Well, my bus is back on the road. I pulled the engine out of the 68 bug
donor on Wednesday. I managed to strip it down to the long block on
Thursday, and tipped the engine up onto the parts washer to clean it. The
thing was filthy. I got it all cleaned up and started putting it back
together Thursday afternoon. I replaced the flywheel seal, and the oil
sender, which someone had mentioned can leak. Sure enough, the plastic part
was loose, and leaking. I am really amazed at how much dammage time and
water can do to and engine. I had to drill out 6 tin bolts and had to
replace 2 of the exaust studs, the heads on the tin bolts just snapped off.
The other real ugly thing is the valve covers. Both covers had pinhole
leaks in them, but no water had gotten inside. Strange. I also had to
install one of those aftermarket rear crossmember mounting plates. I love
how these things are called "bolt-on", never! I had to grind on the plate
to get it to fit the case, and had to make a 1/8"spacer to go between the
oil pump and the plate. I also had to drill and tap the case on the left
hand side. I have decided that different year cases have different chunks
of metal which are in the way of mounting this thing. I eventually got it
mounted, which took about 3 hours. On Friday, I finished installing all the
parts, just as the guys who mow tyhe law showed up. Anyone guess where I
was working? Yep, on the lawn. I got the engine installed without a hitch,
and drove it around a good amount on Friday and Saturday. My bus is back on
the road, just in time, as we sold the Mercades on Friday! Talk about
close. I guess that the next things to do fix the shifter, and flush the
engine. Does anyone know about a product which _really_ cleans the engine
from the inside? Like some sort of motor flush?
Chris Bridge
''71 Westy (Sportsmobile?)
Favorite quotes:
"Virginia Tech- yea, the best 5, or maybe even 6 years of your life."
"They even throw in the stomach ulcers for free."
E-mail: cbridge@vt.edu
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