Well, good news, the bus is running. Bad news, it's not running well. The bus spent 2 weeks at a VW shop near Freeburg, MO. They did a few things; got it running, replaced the clutch cable so it would shift while driving, replaced all gas lines and the gas tank (the old one was rusty and someone had drilled a hole through the top of it, which could explain some of the smell). So I drove it the 45 minutes, back to Rolla (with Diane in close behind in the Jeep), and it seemed to be running great.
Pulling out of B&C to jump on 63!
What an experience! That was my first time ever driving the bus and US 63 isn't exactly a straight slow road for your first time. Eventually, of course, I had a line of cars behind me so on a straightaway I put the pedal down and got to almost 70, then decided better of that and returned to a safe slow 55.
But bad news, when we got home and shut him down, he didn't want to restart (we think it's a he, stubborn bastard). So I checked the battery voltage and the voltage was pretty low, then I remembered that while I was driving the generator light would flicker on and off, so I am currently testing the voltage regulator and alternator, more to come.
Voltage Regulator
Diane has been hard at work cleaning the interior, scrubbing it all with a toothbrush, it is pretty grimy in some places. She put contact paper on the cabinet shelves and lining the drawers. She is planning on sewing a curtain to cover the spare tire storage area, and then I will put shelves in (we are mounting the spare on the nose). She has also been working on resurfacing the cabinet doors and drawer faces and other synthetic wood face areas that are damaged. She has peeled them all, we just need to find the right formica.
Recently contact papered cabinets shelves.
All in all we are excited, I charge the battery (unhooking it completely) then start it and let it run for a while, it's good to hear it run.
Pulling out of B&C to jump on 63!
Voltage Regulator
Recently contact papered cabinets shelves.
6 comments:
Oh Hells Yes, no, YES! So it's the generator/alternator now? Would it be any fun if the stubborn bastard didn't give us shit?
The interior is looking real good. What was it I needed to track down for the interior? I can start scavenging junk yards in my spare time.
Wish I could hear him run...
Good luck with your restoration! My dad restores old cars (not VW, mainly Pontiac Firebirds), but I've seen lots of projects in my lifetime. I think anyone who undertakes a restoration is courageous and I admire your ambition.
I love the color! I want to see it in person!
C'mon dudes, no bussly adventures from this last weekend?
We still don't have working brake lights, so we haven't gone on any adventures yet, sorry. We did drive around Rolla today and picked up Will.
hi. reading your story inspired me. i just got done with my first year of college and am now on summer break. i plan to work and make some money so i can restore a 1970 bus i bought last summer. its in pretty bad condition. im thinking that working on the wires behind the dash will be my first step. i already have the whole interior stripped down given the dash. i plan to have it painted either the blue that it is now or possibly yellow. if you have any tips for me please tell me. maybe i will put up something like this so you can see my progress. thanks again and good luck. us vw bus people gotta stick together and know what each goes through on a day to day basis.
Turner
Hi Turner,
Good to know we have readers out there. I would definitely recommend working on your wiring first. As you've probably read we've had some electrical problems that I think could have been easily remedied by working on the wiring first. Good luck! and let us know if you start a page.
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