Date:         Wed, 22 May 1996 22:31:39 -0300
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Roy Nicholl <rnicholl@asg.unb.ca>
Subject:      The adventures of Ras Bulli Split (part 2)

The following message is a courtesy copy of an article
that has been posted as well.


For those new to the chronicles....Hey wait that would be everyone...as
this is only installment number two, Ras Bulli Split is a '67 Westy
in various degrees of restoration...at least I think that is the
direction I am headed....;-)

Big Day...lots of sun.  For the first time in almost a week I was able
to slip out of work early and slide under the Bus.  I had managed to
pay a brief visit on the weekend, between showers, to get the old lock
free and WD40 applied to things that though they appeared to be one
piece, Bentley swears that they are not.  This turned out to have been
a wise decision, as I managed to get the front hubs apart without much
hassle.  Of course, 'wise' is completely open to interpretation and
has nothing what-so-ever to do with fortunate.

The front drums and bearings came apart all right...and after, I found all
32 of those little silver rollers and got them in the Gerber jar
(Gotta love neighbours with a 7 month old kid), I uncovered the
problem that got me started on this adventure, only it was worse than
I thought (I am becoming accustomed to this sensation...it does not
make me nearly as 'quesie' as it once did).  Here I thought I would be
clever and order all new wheel cylinders, shoes, springs, etc.  Hell,
I was ready to haul that drum off and discover that there were no
brakes inside at all!  Actually that would have been pleasant, thought
I as I stared blankly at what, at one time, must have been a backing
plate. :-(

"Dont hurry", "Examine closely what you are up against", I could hear
the voice of St. Muir.  "Yeah, well then you grab a rachette and get
under here!", I snarked back.  "Who are you talking to?", I heard my
girlfriend ask from Ras Split's side, "The more you lay under this
thing, the more you talk to yourself...you getting too many fumes?" I
tried to explain to here that its a Bus, not a 'thing', the 'thing' was
the one we saw two weeks ago that you thought was ugly.  "You really
should call him 'Ras Split', or you'll hurt his feelings."  She gave I
that "You better be joking" look and went back into the house.

Meanwhile, I had managed to check the round of the front drums...and
they aren't.  So I threw them in the Jetta [remembering to place a
towel on the seat first this time :-)], and drove over to the local
machine shop.  I stuck my head in the door and asked if they turned
brake drums.  "Yep!" was the reply.  Taking this as a good thing, I
went back to the car to grab the drums.  As I walked back in the
fellow behind the counter looked at my cargo and uttered, "Nope!".
"What do you mean 'Nope'?", I responded, "you said you turn brake
drums, these are break drums...", I laid them on the counter, "...and
they can be turned, I measured them myself."  Grinning and examining
one of the drums over his glasses, he said, "Oh, they're plenty thick,
but they're off one of them old Volkswagens, aren't they?"  I nodded.
"Yep, can't turn them, they won't fit on the new bench.  You're the
second 'feller' to bring in a pair of them this month.  Couldn't turn
his either."

So, episode two ends with the front end dismantled, two drums in need
of turning, one dilapidated backing plate (know where I can find
one?), an annoyed girlfriend (It seems that the towel was not that
old), and less than one month before St-Jean Baptiste (the week that
Ras Bulli Split is to go to Montreal).... 

Stay tuned for part 3 ;-)

Bugs & Things, & Bricks....Oh my!

Roy