Date: Mon, 2 Oct 1995 15:37:47 -0500
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: daukes@mmts.eds.com (dean c aukes)
Subject: Opie goes to work
Opie goes to work
Some of you might remember that in mid-July I lost all my senses, decided
that it wasn't enough work to keep the '73 Campmobile maintained and
purchased Opie, a '68 crew cab pickup. Opie had been abandoned by his owner
under an open barn for over three years. According to the PO, the rear
crossmember/engine bolts had backed out, causing the engine to drop onto the
cross member, cutting the fan belt and overheating the engine. "I was
almost to work, and thought I could make it" he said. He planned on repair,
but never had the time.
I brought Opie home on a trailer. Kinda rusty, dirty, and sad looking.
First thing I did was remove the engine. The PO had left the spark plugs
out for the last three years and I wanted to see what had crawled or been
put in the cylinders. Tore it down and removed the heads. They looked
pretty clean, and while there was some cylinder wear, I've seen lots worse
in engines I've rebuilt. I decided to replace the pushrod tube seals, put
it back together, clean the carb and see if it would run. Also installed
new wires, plugs, dist cap and rotor. Had to remove two pieces of bolts
from the rear engine mount holes. The bolts hadn't just backed out, they
had backed out and broken off. Easy Out's aren't so easy. Long story, but
I won! Clutch looked ok, so I installed the cleaned up product, hooked up
the new battery and tried it. It started right up. Adjusted the choke
(sorry, John Muir), and it idled out really nice. I had installed a new
muffler so it was really quiet. The brakes still worked well, although one
of the cylinders on left front leaks some (to be fixed this week). Ok, it
goes and stops.
Next phase was to get insurance, transfer title and get it inspected. The
first two were easy. The last one wasn't really bad even. Most of the
lights worked - rt. headlight needed fuse, signal relay needed a light tap.
The left headlight bucket needed a little shimming to bring the light up
where it needed to be, instead of the ground directly in front - bent down
by the PO due to a slight altercation with a trailer. A week ago last
Saturday I went looking for an inspection. The first garage I went to
didn't do them, his recommendation was out of stickers and another
recommendation was closed. I went again this last Saturday and this time he
had stickers - it passed with no problem.
Two of the CV joint boots were torn, so I pulled the shafts and checked
them, expecting the worse. I guess they were just really old, and when we
pushed it on the trailer, they let go. The grease was clean, and there was
plenty of it. I just replaced the boots, added more grease and reinstalled
them. Also checked the transmission oil, which was maybe 1/2 pint low.
Whatever else he did, it appears the PO did keep it all lubricated.
This weekend as I pondered driving Opie to work, I realized that none of the
door looks functioned. Wanting to at least lock what I had in the cab, I
decided to remove each door panel, lube the locks, latches and window
mechanisms. All went well, except that it seems the right front door isn't
keyed to the rest of the locks. The gas gauge didn't work, so I put a 2
gallon can in the bed, just in case. Last night I loaded up my work stuff,
cell phone (just in case), tools, The Idiot Guide, jumper cables, jacks,
etc., and this morning I drove it to work.
Not A Problem. Ran great. Could use a wheel balance but is reasonably
quiet considering no insulation in the doors or floor. One thing that does
take getting used to was the "bungee cord shift". I guess even that will
become habit with time.....
Anyway, at least I can drive it and enjoy while I continue to work on it -
and I have quite a list. Full clean up of inside and out, primer of rusty
areas, lube speedometer (installed cable and odometer works fine, but needle
jumps all over - disconnected it to save it), full lube (front end is nice -
not loose, but smooth), pack wheel bearings, and on and on. Lots of stuff I
just want to do for my peace of mind. And to keep me from breaking down.
Oh, and at lunch the gas gauge started working. I guess he likes me.
Dean Aukes
'68 crew cab pickup - Opie
'73 Campmobile
BTW - I've formulated three rules to help keep old cars going:
1)Lubricate it - do everything the manual says - hinges, locks, bearings,
engine, rubber, etc. when or before it says to.
2)If it's rusty, clean it, prime it, and paint it. Stop that cancer!
3)If it's painted, wax it.
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