VW Sage

It’s one of those horror story situations…

In corner A we have Mike, who has two 79 Westy buses, one with a good 2.0 liter engine, but a so so body, the other; a mint condition Champagne edition, with a crappy 1.8 liter engine with no tin or compression.

The task seems straight forward: Swap the engines.

The Deal: Pull both engines, upgrade the heads, replace the cylinders, rings and pistons, replace the shocks, replace the accelerator cable.

Compensation: The other 79 Westy with a 1.8 liter engine in it, signed title and keys.

The Cast: Mike; The nice guy with a desire to get his bus on the road. Nameless X; The buddy who has been wanting a bus for a while now, and has “skills”. Sage; The idealistic jump before you look champion from 2005 - 2008 consecutively.

The stage: We have excellent working conditions, an old mechanic’s shop with tools lighting and a concrete floor.

Thursday May 7, 2009 10:30am X and I arrive to look at the tasks. Seems straight forward. I have the tremendously valuable Engine Removal in 20 Steps by Ratwell.com ready to go. We review the steps and start in on the OK bus. The 20 steps in engine removal mostly entails the wires, and fuel lines and FI systems. The three last steps include the 4 engine to transmission bolts, and the rear bracket.

We are slow to start; finding the right tools, developing a rhythm and breaking the rusty nuts and bolts takes time. The rear cradle and engine support bar take forever. This is the point that swearing begins.

2:00pm Engine one is free and on a dolly. It is fairly rough looking, but it is free from the body.

As we start on the second engine; the one in the really nice bus, we take care to make sure we are gentle and use plenty of towels so nothing gets scratched. We determine that we do not have enough clamps to close off the gas lines. X is tasked to acquire some from the local Menards. I go to work with steps 1 - 15 of the Ratwell guide. X returns as we approach the bolt removal steps. The only items left on the task sheet are the removal and clamping of the fuel lines, and the disconnect of the throttle linkage (which is vastly different from the manual version of the late bay bus).

I work on the driver side, since we are replacing all the fuel lines, I use the clamp and cut method of fuel line separation. My work is done, X is under the the bus taking forever to remove the fuel return line. More swearing, but to use such language in such a simple removal exercise is really unnecessary.

I am taking the moment in the entry to discuss safety. Since beginning this project, I have dented my car twice, had my trailer detach once, and had some minor bumps and bruises. No serious injuries have occurred. I wear safety glasses, face shield, work gloves and other things that keep me safe. Another safety tool I have is something that stops me mere moments before something really stupid happens. Call it one of the little voices in my head. I have never been to the ER thanks to a Volkswagen project.

At this moment, as I am napping, sorting tools and generally getting impatient with X’s inability to pull a rubber hose off a metal tube, when all of a sudden he dashes out from under the bus, starts swearing more violently, and rips off his safety glasses.

“Fuck” he summarizes “I have gas in my ear”

Immediately, he runs out of the building, and I quickly follow him. My first thought was man, he really knows how to yell. My second thought was to flush the gas out of his ear. We start with a series of flushes from my drink bottle, but this doesn’t seem to have too much effect; so much for Artesian Spring water. My third thought was that it was time to get him to the ER.

We get in his truck and race the 7 miles into Traverse City, all the while he is banging his leg up and down like the drummer in an eighties hair band. I can tell he has real pain, he has his head tilted sideways. Being thoughtful, I start yelling out landmarks along the way. If it doesn’t provide a sense of hope, it should provide a mild enough annoyance that he is distracted from his flaming ear.

Suddenly he picks up his phone and starts dialing. Now I know I enjoy a meager social life, if I wanted to call someone at 3 on a Wednesday, there isn’t anyone I would know to call. If I had gas in my ear making social calls wouldn’t be on the list of things to be doing.

“Doctor X please” pauses, while his foot keeps thumping the floor pan. “Hey, it’s X, I just got gas in my ear, and I am on the way to the ER” another pause “I’ll be there shortly”. This guy must visit the ER often. He has memorized the staff and phone numbers…

Traffic is heavy, but with a little weaving we arrive in an efficient manor. We get him checked in, I look like a complete freak, with grease and dirt just about everywhere. I help him with the little forms, and he is told to take a seat.

It then occurs to me that he hadn’t taken the time, while the gas was sizzling in his ear, to actually clamp the gas line. I immediately leave the hospital and head back to the work space, fully expecting to see large clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky from the general direction. There isn’t, and when I get back a slow but steady stream of gas is creating a pool on the floor in the shop. In the center of the vapor lake is the shop light.

Step 1: Unplug

Step 2: Remove light from gas

Step 3: Move the bus

Step 4: Stop the leak

Step 5: Soak up the gas

When the immediacy of the situation comes to a close, I think to call Mrs. Sage to discuss the goings on. She of course already knows, and proceeds to lecture me about things I didn’t do.

X calls me about 4 O’clock. He wants to go back to work on the buses. I tell him that one visit to the ER per day is my limit, and that I will call back later. The doctor tells him to not smoke for a few days. Sage advice.

(More on the project later…)

This is the story about chasing a dream. Not some perfect dream, more like a short sighted dream. In June of 1993 I bought my first VW Bus. In January 2006 I bought my second. One year later, I have owned over 20 VW’s and I am wondering what went wrong.

This is a story dedicated to any fool who was willing to work hard for something that was so stupid, the people you tell about it don’t just laugh at you, they looked worried and stop sending their kids over to play with yours.

Welcome and enjoy,

The Sage

This winter has been a tough one. The snow flew early and that curtails the time I can spend working on VW’s.

We had more snow in December than ever before. January hasn’t been any better. My kids are enjoying the snow days. The picture here show only what hit by mid December, double the height today.

I have focused on other things; work and getting my plans together for next year. 2009 will be the year of the great reduction.

I expect to be cleaned out of most of my non project VW stuff by July. The rest will go to anyone who wants it. I have started listing several things, but in some cases, they won’t be able to be delivered because every thing is snowed in.I have listed a 1963 Squareback for sale at The Samba. This car is once again a mess, and once again pretty rare. I don’t know why we have so many first model year cars up here, but we do.

I need to list a bunch of small parts too. They begin next week.

I have decided that what I really want is to restore the 23 window. The double Cab, and the other splits are cool, but it is time to follow my heart on this one.

It has been interesting to watch the effects of the economic melt down on the VW hobby. I am getting my finances more organized, but in general, my financial strata is unchanged. If anything, my phone is ringing off the hook more than last year. This will mean less time to work on VW’s. It does mean more money for the budget. If I cut it down to just the 23, I might figure out a way to save on rent, but the barn is still a deal and a half.

All this stems from a new interest I have; I want to hike across Michigan. It will be a 235 mile hike in all, using nothing but trails and forest roads. With the loss of Polar, it might be set back a while. I still miss him.

Last year I was glued to the VW forums, this year, not so much. I find myself posting garbage in the “Off Topic” on the Samba, much of which gets deleted.

Maybe this is the end of the chaos portion of some mid life crisis. Now all I have left is the work to get things done. I look at guys like Lou and think how cool it would be to spend the rest of my life just cruising around in a bus with Mrs. Sage. She won’t go for that, but it never hurts to ask.

It was a few weeks after Polar passed that I got an email from Bruce Whiteside. Bruce runs the rescue where we adopted Oscar.

I know this is most likely very poor timing with Polar’s passing, But that is why I am writing this. Some people need to wait for the pain to heal and some heal the pain with by choosing to share their love with another needy soul.
You have probably read about Ripley the pup that was found about 3 or 4 months ago and has been staying with us. She has had a couple of homes she was going to go to, but of the 3, 2 were like you, they had a recent loss and just not ready yet, the other wants her but they never respond to us when we ask a question or return calls. We think the wife wants her, but the husband does not and deletes the messages. So we decided if that is even a possibility, we will not place her there.

Of course Mrs. Sage and I are suckers, so I agreed to take a look on the way back from a visit to my parents. She was very friendly, and came right toward me when she ran through the door from the back yard. Bruce has about 10 dogs at times, so his place is a little “Berner” ranch. All the dogs were checking us out.

We made an agreement to “Sleep on it” and although it was hard to leave after our two hour visit, we manged to escape. By this time we hit a Taco Bell for lunch, Lynda and Martha were starting to push hard to get her, but the conversation was tabled.

On New Year’s eve we had a family meeting and decided to move forward. Arrangements were made, and Lynda and Martha went down to get her January 3rd.

She is hands down the most well behaved pup I have been around. Friendly, but then she calms down and just hangs out. Oscar is adapting, but a little taken back. They do get along.

I am still struggling with Polar, and she has a number of characteristics that he had that remind me of Polar, but beyond those moments, she is an excellent sassy little girl and we are welcoming into our house.

Daughter Sage mentioned “Cycle of Life” and it really is something to think about.

On December 8th I had to make the decision to have Polar put to sleep. He was our family’s six year old Bernese Mountain Dog, and my traveling companion.  I don’t normally talk about non VW stuff here, but he was a part of this world of mine.

I don’t get sad very often but I am now.  All I can do is tell you the details…

We started seeing a drop in energy with Polar two weeks before Thanksgiving, and he developed a hot spot. Xrays produced no evidence, and blood tests were normal. After the Thanksgiving weekend his appetite dropped, and we didn’t notice that Oscar (our other Berner) was stealing his food. By mid week last week, he stopped eating, lost 6 pounds, and by Saturday we were forcing fluids with a baster waiting for our Monday appointment in GR Vet with Randy Carpenter.

Monday was an exhausting day. 7:45 we went to our vet for a liter of fluid, Noon we were in Grand Rapids getting Xrays and Ultra sounds, 3:30 we were at a Cardiologist, and by 5:30 Polar and I were on our way to MSU.

When we arrived, he had developed spontaneous pneumothorax, and
couldn’t breath, then when they found bleeding, the decision became
clear. He went with that staunch dignified look that held back the
obvious pain. I sat there balling and comforting him.
Polar with with us almost exactly 6 years, he was my dog, going to work with me most days and traveling to 21 states and Canada. We were preparing to do the Shore to Shore trail next summer; Empire to Oscoda. We had worked up to 20 miles a day. We hiked in Colorado to the continental divide, and most of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. He was the best trail dog I have ever had, staying out 20 feet and coming back to “check in” every so often.

We also lost Mrs Sage’s 19 year old cat in August, it’s been a tough year. We are lucky to have our  rescue Oscar, but it’s sad to see him look out the window for Polar. Eventually we will start wanting the activity level in our house back to normal, but it will be a while for me to be ready.

MSU has not yet determined the cause, prelim results showed unusual activity in the lungs, but no conclusions. I will post here when I get results.

EDIT It was determined to be Carcinoma in the Lung and Adrenal Gland. Polar had a highly malignant epithelial neoplasm, first on the Adrenal Gland then into the Lungs.  There was no more specific diagnosis at this time, but they could pursue this if necessary.

He also suffered Pneomothorax when the staff punctured his lung while attempting to drain the chest of air build up.

Thank you for all the kind words, reality is settling in, every time I speak to him and he’s not there. It’s just a sad time for us, but all my VW friends have made it more comforting.

The clouds above the barn, and the brisk wind coming off the lake are telling us that winter is fiercely coming toward home.  In the last few weeks, I have been moving things around.  One day I had the a Ghia, and 4 of the split windows out in front of the barn as I cleaned out all the junk inside.

If the lessons of last year’s freeze in have taught me, it’s to be prepared.  This winter I am going to work on the 65 Camper interior and engine, the squareback engine, and I am going to clean out the 63 deluxe.  In order to do all of this, I needed things placed in the proper places.    I also decided that the best way to stay focused on my real projects, was to clear away everything else.  So last weekend, Matt and I moved 6 engines from upstairs to the cellar.  All the “extra” parts are also in the basement.   Now there will be nothing stopping me from the work I expect to get completed.

Sunday Night: Rain and snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 35. Breezy, with a west wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Monday: Rain and snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Breezy, with a west wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Monday Night: Rain and snow showers likely, becoming all snow after 2am. Cloudy, with a low around 32. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Tuesday: A chance of snow showers, mixing with rain after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Tuesday Night: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45.

I am getting a little frustrated, or depressed, or just plain hazy lately… It’s fall in my pinky of the world. October has been an amazing month. The weather has been quite cooperative for those of us who don’t want to see the summer be chased by the pending snows of winter. The temperatures have been holding and we had what many agree was the most perfect weekend of the year. Indian summer is a magic time. Unlike the Dog Days of August or the still crisp June days filled with mosquitoes, Indian Summer has an air of excitement with pending changes of weather and no bugs. The leaves are turning, grapes are in their crush and the autumn harvest is winding down. It’s a stealing moment, a final hurrah.

My lovely wife had to travel to her childhood home to tend to a sick father, and I had a date with a campground. My children have an annual fall festival at school, and we were asked to join a elite group of people who camp out the day prior to the event. This was yet another perfect chance to show off the Westy. We loaded, chopped the firewood, and headed across town to the campground.

Since we are a Midwestern destination for recreation, going to a commercial campground no matter how nice, is a synthetic experience. But with it’s proximity to our prized Vasa trail, this one was acceptable.

We arrived, and opened up the bus. I escape for an hour on my bike, and return just in time for the first growlers opening. Handcrafted beer solves so many of life’s problems. I am sitting in my easy chair, with my beer; Heavenly.

As the evening progresses, the kids worn down from the endless games and tags, and rides, and runs… They head for bed. Quiet and calm (and more beer).

It is at this moment with it’s blend of euphoria and intoxication, that we are joined by the evening’s buzz kill. SHE (it’s always a she) and her happy go lucky hubby join us at our fireside. We continue on with conversation and my life’s work comes up in conversation. I begin rattling off my crop of OG metal when, as if subconsciously, SHE utters the words… “But how many run?”  Those words, so sweetly uttered, hit like a bullet through my heart. An uncomfortable silence sucks the air out of our little circle. Quickly (recognizing my complete moral devastation), one of the more socially skilled in the group makes a conversational right turn. The subject never resurfaces.

What is it? Why does my hobby scare them? I didn’t suspect her of being that way. SHE doesn’t drive an over inflated SUV. SHE has sweet kids, and a great husband. But in one moment, like bad news from a cop, my weekend is soiled. Fortunately, I was well oiled. I was able to let the comment slide down my back.

It’s not the first time, sadly; these people with the lack of insight, lack of imagination, lack of adventure. What is wrong with rust and dirt? Are we so septic a society these days that such beauty as a VW is worthy of mocking. This has me looking at the Hoodride movement in a whole new way, (but not for very long).

The Barn became a solution to a problem that was created in the fall of 2006. I have 23 POS cars parked in a back 40 of my buddy Tommy’s property. Then one day I get the call;

“You need to get the shit out of here”

I wasn’t surprised about the call, but it I still wasn’t ready for it. Now what?

I drove past this barn that was about a mile up the road nearly everyday. Then one day there is a “for sale” sign up. I thought to myself that might work.

I start trading phone calls with the guy who owns it, he also happened to be the selling agent for the house I live in when I bought it. My goal is to rent the barn, his goal is to sell it to me. After long rounds of waiting for him to call me back (this is a negotiation necessity) , I finally suggest that I would consider a “rent to own” concept. This is great for me, as I am more interested in the “rent” part, and he thinks the place is sold. The way the project is going, I might want to buy the thing…

The barn has three levels: Basement with a dirt floor and poured cement (not concrete) walls, the main floor, and a upper level, which is really just a few barn board that run across the beams.

The bottom floor is currently storing the engines and transmissions. It would be sweet to pour a concrete floor and put in a workshop. It would be easy to insulate the ceiling and keep this area heated. The main floor could fit 8 vw’s if I really crammed it full, but right now I have 5 buses, and the squareback inside. The third level could be reinforced to become a perfect parts storage area.

There are two flaws with the space. The first is the barn wood floors; uneven, with holes and large cracks. This makes it a challenge to roll around on a creeper or move my tool chests. I could put in a plywood floor with shims to level out a “working area” and I probably will this summer.

The second flaw is a bigger problem. The roof is tin and delivers a load of snow precisely in front of the doors after each heavy snow. Sometimes this just means that I need to shovel for half an hour to get in, but if we get pounded with snow like we have in February and March of this year, then a solid ice block is created. Add a few days of rain like we had, and forget about it . It has been 5 weeks since I secured entrance to it. Saturday was a nice day. Even though it was 22 degrees. I decided to try to get it open.

Loaded with 3 shovels, a hoe, an axe and a hammer, I dragged my kids out to work on this. Now living in a mining town for 5 years taught me a few things; A) Anything can be removed with pressure and force. B) Rocks are harder than ice C) Most chain gangs are successful because they use free labor and the work is simple enough for anyone, even kids. I decided the first step would be to remove snow… this took the 5 foot mound down to about 3 feet. Next, create a trough behind the block of ice in front of the door. Then, start chipping the ice between the door and the solid block… This needed to be gentle work, because we could easily damage the thin steel walls of the barn.

We chip and muck (a mining technique) and slowly, over a period of two hours, we get to within 8 inches of the ground, and hit solid ice. It is time for Calcium Carbonate. I purchased a large bag for this occasion. We put a generous heap across the edge of the block of ice and call it a day. Wine makes a wonderful muscle relaxant. My kids each took hot baths that night.

On Sunday, we return to find that the Cal Carb did it’s job, and the block of ice is now filled with holes. A little chipping with a hammer,we get the track clean enough that with a little pulling, the door opens. Then we can attack the ice with heavy tools… 70,000 BTU’s of heat can really finish a job off well. Once it gets fired up, the track, the block of ice, the channel all start to turn to water and wash away.

Hopefully this will stay like this for a while, and I can start to work on the right door, which is still in the same condition that I found the first one in on Saturday… just a little pressure and force and it will be open. The best part: I now can start on the Squareback engine.

January hasn’t been extraordinary this year, but it has really placed a crimp on my project. The barn was constructed in such a way that the snow slides off the roof and right into the path of the slider door. This requires much shoveling before I can get the door open, so I don’t open the door very often.

We did have a bizarre thaw in the second week of the Month. This was nice as the temps were in the 50’s and all the snow disappeared. I was able to unload the 65 bus of its booty. I have vocalized to a number of people that I am resembling a horder more each month that I continue to collect VW stuff without liquidating as scheduled.

To combat this concern, I completely cleaned out the T3 Squareback. I also purchased garbage bags, an act that refreshingly inspired me to clean the place. The garbage can hadn’t been emptied since taking occupancy. Old Ken Senior had a lot of crap shoved in these cars. I keep dreaming that I will find a roll of $100’s here or there, as did his son who thoughtfully checked ever nook and cranny of the cars he sent to the crusher.

I have also outlined the parts liquidation on a spreadsheet. I have to enter this as inventory before filing taxes this year. I run simple cash accounting.

Other than emptying out the Squareback, I have been mostly surfing The Samba and other places without a sense of purpose. The cold is too cold for me, and despite the heater that can heat the entire place, I have no desire to turn wrenches on 3 degree metal.

I did get the 69 Westy out during the thaw. It will be getting a new throw out bearing and main seal when I can get it into Tommy’s shop. Let’s see if it warms up.

So I have purchased all these VW’s and I have to move them. Enter one legged Art. He is a passive agressive fellow who lives in a commercial forest district in a rural county in Michigan. He has a trailer for sale on E-bay. Not just any trailer. This thing is a double axel steel plate tank that was built for the post apocolapse. I think it weights more than my truck.Having never bought anything of this girth from E-bay, I drove out to look at it.

Art is a former tow truck driver from Detroit who is about my age. He is missing a leg from a (likely drunken) snowmobile accident. He is also quite racist if you allow the conversation to head in that direction. He claims that he has driven over African Americans with his tow truck. He tells me this assuming A) I would approve B) It is what any good racist should do. I doubt his story.

My trailer is purchased via a winning bid, and I return to aquire it. It has no lights, and the brakes are shot. $433 later the friendly fellas at the brake shop have the wiring and brakes completed. I also install a electonic brake controller in my truck.

Once this is completed, I need the second most important tool of the project…A winch.

WARN History Founded in 1948 by Arthur Warn, Warn Industries began producing locking hubs for surplus World War II Jeeps, converting thousands into useful, on-road vehicles. Originally based in Seattle, Washington, Warn Industries’ innovation revolutionized the hub industry. The WARN® winch, developed in 1959, was the first recreational winch. With pioneering features such as a rugged drive train, the WARN winch quickly became the leading brand for off-road racers, avid four wheelers, weekend adventurers and hard working ranchers.

Warn Industries added to its product family throughout the 1970s with manual and automatic hubs for all 4WD vehicles, new electric and hydraulic winches, severe duty winches and new winch mounting systems. By the end of the decade, the company began its long-standing relationship with Ford Motor Company, established worldwide product distribution capabilities and opened manufacturing operations near Portland, Oregon. The WARN severe duty winches have since become the “winch of choice” for manufacturers such as AM General, manufacturer of the Hummer.

With creditentials like these, is there any reason to buy something else? $390 spent at the Farm supply store. Now I have Trailer, Brakes, Winch and a credit card bill. I am ready for battle…(continued)