Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 19:48:09 -0400
Reply-To: Jim Cain <jcain@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Cain <jcain@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject: Re: 1.6D to 1.6TD(Turkey stories)
In-Reply-To: <19990715214353.78597.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>I want to install a turbo to my 1.6 diesel westy , I was thinking to install
a 1.9 TD engine but here its about 4000$ (in Turkey) ...
Can't help you with the diesl engine problems, but noticed the Turkey comment.
I worked at the American School in Karamürsel, between Izmit and Yalova,
from 1972 to 1974 and drove my '71 Westy all over the country. Most
notable was breaking a valve on the way from Bodrum and having to put her
on a truck and haul it back home. Had it rebuild locally and drove another
year there and then shipped it home. When I got home I had the engine
rebuilt for other reasons and discovered that one of the wrist pins had
been installed upside down, wearing a groove in the piston. Amazing
machine to keep on truckin' with things wrong with it.
Another good time was climbing Nimrut Dag and bottoming out on a drainage
ditch. cracked the crank case and started leaking gear oil. The local
mechanic couldn't do anything so he made me a wrench for the filler hole by
welding a large bolt to a piece of steel, and sold me some gear oil. I
added some every night until I got to Adana where I found a mechanic who
could help. We drained the oil, cleaned the crank case, and used an epoxy
cement called "404". Sold the "Blue Bus" three years later and it never
leaked another drop!
My first time camping alone in Turkey was a few months after I got there
and my Turkish was not the best. I was driving along the South Coast and
spotted a small road leading to what looked like a beach. It was getting
dark, so I went down and set up, built a small bonfire from drift wood and
had supper and some wine. A short while later, I heard a noise of someone
coming through the dark. Needless to say, I was alarmed, when a young boy
about 10 or so came out of the dark with an arm load of tomatos and gave
them to me. He refused any money but through sign language and my little
Turkish, we determined he was in school and that I was a teacher. We
talked for a long time, I'm sure neither of us knows much of what the other
said, but we had a good time. He did finally accept a ball point pen as a
gift.
I always recieved this type of treatment from Turks everywhere I went for
the two and a half years I was there. I will remember Turkey as a place of
friendly people and wonderful camping experiences. Also did some sailing,
but that is another story.
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