Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 11:10:21 -0700
Reply-To: Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Subject: Re: Kelley Park, and other stuff
Well, the show at Kelley Park was great -- lots of VW's to be seen, although
there were several types I wanted to see but missed. I did not make it there
until noon, so probably my fault. There were some *really* decrepit buses
on hand -- how these actually drive anywhere is a source of divine mystery.
There were, of course, the opposite ones -- how these got there so sparkling
clean was another mystery, although trailers and towing come to mind.
Personally, I like the in-between ones -- still somewhat respectable but still
everyday sort of vehicles. It is kinda sad to see a VW treated like it was
some sort of Bugatti collectable. I only really have eyes for buses -- in
particular the working ones. There were some good examples of splitty trucks,
but almost nothing later. I had the only Vanagon truck. I guess I should have
come early and entered it into "special interest" vehicles alongside the several
new Beetles. My wide really *hates* the low-rider-boom-box-on-VW-wheels, of
which there were too many examples -- suicide doors and louvers all over some
nice oval-window bug seems really tragic. They start off cute as stock and
end up looking like some metalflake nightmare that torments passing eardrums.
My favorite bus was for sale. US$3000 or best offer would have gotten you a
almost-rust-free 1963 double-door panel. 75,000 original miles, still painted
in original paint from the butcher shop that used it in 1963. I hope this one
gets restored. It lacked an original engine, but most everything else was
still original -- no camper conversion on this one.
I finally saw one of the wide-bed singlecabs. My wife thought it looked
homemade. There were several Dormobiles. Actually, most splitty models were
there, I'd guess. There were a few of the type3 Ghias, but I saw no 411/412s
or other "strange" types -- I must have missed the Kubelwagens and Hebmueller
sections.
I also missed getting a roof-rack. I was looking for a full-length rack but
all of these must have been sold before I got there. I saw some lucky soul
walking out with a set of what appeared to be raised-center pickup bumpers.
At least the rear one looked more square than I thought it should for a bus.
Jan Peters drove his "last Syncro Westie" (I didn't see him, he probably
also brought one of the museum-ready ones). I sure like the Vanagon jail bars
in that one. Coyote (manager of the vanagon list) was there. His white Westie
sports a nice crystal bud vase. I want one, too (but my wife is less certain).
I also passed on the locking rear latch. I'd like one for my doublecab, but I
did not take my latch with me, and don't know if they were the same as any
bus. I saw a used latch for $40. I also passed on the very nice VW toolkit
(the spare-tire ones) complete in original box. Only $1600 -- more than many
of the buses for sale.
Other list folks were there, but I missed many by arriving late. This was my
first time attending Kelley Park, and I did not know what to expect. I also
could not find any of my list t-shirts to wear )^:. Jeff Carver was wearing
*his*. But he drove in some non-VW -- lets find that damned 23-window-sunroof-
walkthrough he so desperately wants and get him there in a decent vehicle! I
did not see what he actually drove -- I was scared to look. Rex Eastman was
doing great business at his booth -- most of the vendors seemed to be busy. I
hope it was a good day for all of you. I got to meet Jim from the Old Volks
Home, and ran into the guys from Peninsula. I missed Kyle from Santa Cruz.
Their booth had a really pretty (outside) green Syncro with stunning wheels
on it -- Mercedes wheels, I was told. I don't know if I will ever pony up the
bucks for a set to Kyle, but they are very nice.
Coyote Ron did hold his promised picnic, and invited us despite the fact we
arrived sans food. We were fed Ron's peanut noodles (kind of Thai) and
scarfed his Bean-paste confections. Real fine fare, Ron.
So we bought a few t-shirts, and some trinkets, saw lots of VW's, but left
a little disappointed. Maybe next year I'll make a bigger effort to show
off my bus -- I did not suffer too much envy of other vehicles -- I think mine
was far more cool than most anything else there. (I drove my non-walkthrough
1986 Syncro Doublecab)
>From older mail:
> I'd guess my favorite was the doghouse beetle engines, but these
> never were in US buses, and as stock they have finicky smog stuff as well.
and the response:
>> The '71 bus came with a dual-port doghouse-shroud type 1 engine. The
>> only smog related headache that it has is the 34PICT-3 carburator.
I stand corrected. As with many things I say, I (and other posters to the
lists) am full of partially-good information. Don't take anything you read
on the list as gospel, although some folks seem more accurate than others.
Somehow I had thought the doghouse came out in 1973, missing the buses. Now
I find one more reason that so many express a love of the 1971 bus. My
bad experiences with this engine all are from later Beetles -- I guess they
work so well on 1971 buses that I've never actually seen or worked on one
(unlike 1972 buses -- retch!), or simply thought that the doghouse was added.
After all, my now-gone 1957 had a doghouse engine -- telling what *was* stock
is very hard. I just yesterday found out how the shift-lever boot on my
Kombi Syncro was *supposed* to fit. Looks real fine, now. I have never owned
a single brand-new Volkswagen, and every one I've seen was somehow altered in
its life. It makes it quite difficult to tell "original" from "existing", and
I was never a purist for unchanged original stuff anyhow.
This was all started as thoughts on the thread from the vanagon list about how
gawd-awful the waterboxer engine was. I was thinking as I drove my waterpumper
to Kelley Park yesterday that I never knew *what* material the case was made
from. The main waterboxer troubles stem from corrosion in the heads, eventually
rusting enough that the head-to-case seals give way. I realized that VW
probably used some magnesium alloy for this almost-a-typeI-case, rather than
the aluminum that was used in the typeIV cases. Dissimilar metals are the
causative agent in most corrosion problems -- adding aluminum head, cast iron
cylinders and magnesium cases and immersing this in hot water seems like it
might just cause a few troubles. Are the waterboxers engines magnesium?
I've never had one available to burn.
Aluminum *alloys* corrode badly all on their own. Airplanes use sheetmetal that
is called "alclad" -- it is an aluminum alloy covered on both sides with pure
aluminum. Otherwise, it corrodes badly, as the alloying metals keep the
impervious aluminum oxide layer from completely forming. I wonder if there
would be any benefit to having waterboxer heads anodized. The airpumpers
have all the advantage here -- not immersing their engines in some caustic
liquid. Even so, the new beetles attracted a lot of attention. I suspect
they won't be welcome at Kelly Park next year however...
Malcolm
