Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 11:52:19 -0400
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Matt Goike <goikem@state.mi.us>
Subject: stuff i did this weekend - sorta long
well - it was raining in my van, and i found the leak (i think). it was
coming from a little plastic disk/bolt/gasket which seems to fill a hole
between the interior and the air intake vents. silicon sealed it from the
inside, couldn't reach the outside - i'll try the hose on it tonight. regarding
the cracked manifold - got the welded stainless manifold back from the
welding place, waited three days for gaskets, went to put the thing back
on. the ports were 1/4" too close together - doh! when they welded the
inside of a corner, they didn't pay attention to the previous alignment.
ran screaming to the welding shop (not really, but i got there pretty fast)
right away (this is saturday morning about 8:30 a.m.), but they couldn't
get to it until monday. i gave them center-to center measurements of the
bolts this time. i hope they can get the contact areas on the same/proper
plane though. i noticed a small decrease in the inside cross-section of
the manifold due to the weld - is this going to be a problem?
cleaned, fixed little stuff, etc. also got the westy cabinets/seat out of the
garage that i got from my brothers rolled :-( parts westy. they had been
out in the middle of a forest without any windows protecting them for a
couple of years, so they're pretty rotted/smelly and partially broken.
pretty cool unofficial junkyard, though - cars lined up between rows of
pines, shady area , smelled nice, and hidden from official view. i noticed
a bird's nest inside the intact part of the pop-top, lucky them. with the
saws i borrowed for the weekend, i cut all new (donated and scrap)
wood to replace the rotted stuff, using the rotted stuff as a template, and
salvaging all hardware. this took quite awhile, as there are many curves,
angles, etc. got some cool and cheap upholstery fabric for the
seats/cushion ($15). any ideas on what to cover the plywood with? i'm
torn between a wood veneer (expensive/difficult/permanant/easy to
clean) and a heavy fabric (cheap/easy/possibly won't last/gets and
stays dirty). also, i'm looking for the plastic stripping that goes around
some cabinet corners/doors.
also began speaker installation (for some 6x9s i had) on the rear door.
mounted em to the panel with some really big washers, they seem very
solid for being mounted to such flimsy stuff. while i had the panel off i
sprayed the inside near the bottom vents with rubberized rustproof stuff
(thanks, joel!). i also glued on some carpet padding to deaden road
noise/keep the speaker magnets from adhering to the metal. ran wires
up inside the door and through the little hole in the top. i'll have to drill a
hole in the little rubber plug and re-insert it with the wires running
through. it got dark so i had to stop. whew! i was really tired when i
woke up for work this morning. 1/2 hour debate on whether to call in
sick and continue or not. (do sick vans count?). i write this from my desk.
:-(
matthew (81 adventurewagen-mobius) goikem@state.mi.us
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