Lemonhead - 1965 Single Cab

  Mon, Jun 12, 1995
  >> Richard:
>>
>> I have a '65 Single Cab that I may be interested in trading.
>> contact me voice @ 904.622.5802, or post a reply to; FeetsFirst@aol.com
>>
>Say, that sounds like a possibility. Where is it located? What sort of
>condition is the body? How is the drivetrain? The brakes?
>I must warn you  that the deluxe will require some effort to be
>pristine, but ALL the mechanical stuff is brand new. Let me know, we'll
>see what we can work out. thanks
>Richard

I'm in North Florida (Ocala, 20miles S of Gainesville)
The body is pretty solid.
        Nose dink just above bumper overriders
        Rust bubbles by both basement doors,slight
        Rust bubbles on both basement doors
        Small holes (dime size) cab back, by flatbed
        Rear bed has been removed (bought replacement panels
                from WCM, but they didn't fit well..supposedly
                TBS has better grade of panel)
        - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
        Cab is in excellent shape
        Original front bumper mostly nice, a dent or two
        no rear bumper, although I do have a nice one off a 67
        Headlights,fish bowls,turn signal & brake light lenses all nice!
        Weatherstriping/windsheild seals all good tho not new
        no rust in/on doors, sills,window frames,etc.,etc
        Dash is in nice shape, no holes or gouges...
        Glass is in good shape, no blooming or fogging, all orig.
        Pass door was replaced with new one (hinge was bad)
        Original mat in good shape (although in two pieces)
        Original wheelwell covers (rubber) in 9+ condition
        Gauges work, as well as all lights/turn signals,etc
        - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
        Steering damper replaced w/new German
        New German gas tank,throat and sender
        Wheels cleaned, bearings repacked, all within spec.
        New master cylinder, rear wheel cyls, shoes recent
        New brake hoses on rear, a few lines replaced.
        New Ebrake cables
        1300cc H5 motor rebuilt recently
                H5 case line bored w/case savers
                20 over crank
                new main/rod and cam bearings
                323B heads cleaned, mild port clean,
                valves resurfaced and seated
                New clutch plate, T.O. and pressure plate
                New fr & rr main seals
                Full german gasket kit/o-rings
                original cyls/pistons/rings (75lbs x4 +/- 5lbs)
                12v Bosch gen/v-reg added w/fan plate & fat fan
                12v heater element added for choke on PICT 30
                New (Kadron) muffler w/J pipes (have good heater boxes)
         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - -  - - - - - -

        This version has the stake side panels, not the sheet metal
        panels and on the drivers side, near the cab a short piece is
        pretty rotten. Will require a 2-3" section of 1" square stock
        to repair, else all the original equipment is there. Sides all
        fold down nicely (although come to think of it the rubber stops
        are gone) and forms a solid rail when locked down.

        Immediate needs would be:
                Wiper arms mounted, new blades and 12v motor installed.
                (I have all the above, just haven't gotten around to it!)
                Steering box adjusted (a bit of drift....)
                Decent tires (Hi profile radials, or Sumter Bias PLys)
                Bed area finished (unless Plywood suits you....)
                Speedo cable
                Hi/Lo beam foot switch needs to be replaced..

Probably more piddly stuff I can't think of right now, but without the
folder in front of me I couldn't have gotten this far.

Please post the synopsis for your Deluxe when you get a chance as I have
similiar questions to yours....

My reply- 

OK, here goes-
This bus was bought by  a fellow, who had begun restoring it. In my
opinion, he worked backwards, doing the mechanical stuff first, and then
getting tired of it before getting to the body work. Oh, it is in
Raleigh NC. From what he listed, he said he had about $3500 in the bus,
but had no records or anything.
 This is what I was told, and can reasonably confirm, although I have no
receipts or records.
- Walkthrough front seat 
- Rebuilt front beam/front end.  
   new drag link, bushings, tie rods, kingpin, and all, I assume. Iwas
told it was "completely rebuilt", and it looks all new, and everything
is really tight.
-  Rebuilt transmission - not sure exactly what he meant by this. He
actually didn't do the work, so he wasn't sure either. 
-  Complete new brake system - new Master Cylinder, rubber lines, shoes,
wheel cylinders, the whole deal.
-  Engine - new 1600, Dual-port, I believe, new carb, dist, coil,
everything. New clutch, throw-out bearing, all that stuff.

Now for the bad part
-Sunroof - all bows and parts there, but old-old owner had covered it
with a sheet of plexiglass. Shouldn't be a problem to put in, I may do
it myself if i get a chance. 
- Needs both windshields. Other than that, all glass is there, and in
good shape. Skylight windows need new seals all around.
- No jailbars on rear hatch, but there on both sides.
- No interior, except front seats (not original)
- Bumpers are pretty bad.
- Ihave some trim pieces, but not all.
- 2 small rust holes where windshield goes, 2 by skylight windows. 
Some surface rust on roof, some on rockers.
The nose is probably the worst part, it had a tire mounted on it, and
it rolled into a wall. I have another perfect nose, also from a '66, but
you have to put it in. Honestly, there will be some body work needed to
have it show-quality. The nose skin will have to be patched, and several
of the holes filled. The front floor is going bad in the middle, and
probably should be replaced. It is definately a project, but on the good
side, at least you can drive it while you save the money for paint and
body. Like I said, it is a project if you want it to be really nice. On
the other hand, If you slapped a coat of paint on it yourself, it
wouldn't look horrible, and you could enjoy it without worrying if
someone was going to scratch it. IT totally depends on what you plan to
do with it, and how much you want to put in it.
    As far as a truck, that's what I', looking for. I have a rough '67
camper, and need a solid, and trusty truck to haul light loads in.
Anyway, let me know what you think...
Richard

Kevin's reply Tues. Jun 13, 1995
Sounds like we've got a potential "thing" here.
From what you posted, and what I posted it also
sounds like we're both in for alot of work on
our respective beasties..

Funny how everyone wants either a Singlecab or
a Deluxe and here we are swapping our "projects"
pretty much sight unseen.

I posted a trade query a coupla days ago and got
28 replies within 6 hours from people all over the
US (and 1 from Canada) expressing rutting interest
in the pickup, but either they didn't fit the criteria
or were to far away (Not that Raliegh is close!) for
me to consider seriously.

So, here's what I propose:

Option A: Drive the Deluxe down here (from Winston-Salem
its a solid 8hr drive in a Rabbit) and we'll put you up,
feed you and show you around Anthony, Florida (which will
take all of 5 minutes, leaving plenty of time for the
drive back)

Option B: Meet me half way (say Atlanta somewhere) and we'll
swap there.

Option C: I'll come up to Raliegh, Pick-up in tow and we'll
arrange the transfer there.


Obviously, I prefer option "B" as the most economical for
both of us, but am open to alternatives...

P.S. I can and could do this as soon as this weekend if you're
up for it (I remember you saying you needed to move by the
end of the month...)

let me know

Kevin Murray

My response, Tuesday
Sounds good to me. I would guess option B, meeting in Atlanta somewhere
would be the best thing. Unfortunately, this weekend I will be at a
friend's wedding out of town, and next weekend I will be in Washington. 
My work schedule is Monday-Friday 8-5. Depending on yours, and your
flexibility, we could do it sometime during the week if you want.
Although I would love to get it soon to have and begin using it, It will
be 3 weeks before I have a weekend free. However, If you can do it,
I guess I wouldn't mind missing a day of work. 
  So I guess let me know how your schedule is looking over the next few
weeks, and we shall see what we can work out. I am indeed pleased that
this will work out, as we will be pretty much swapping projects, and
probably be happier with the new ones.
Cool, let me know what your thoughts are.

Kevin's response, still Tuesday, 
 Being self employable has its merits as in the ability to take off
as much work as wanted/needed. You name the date, and I'll
be there in my bucket of bolts (ahem... SingleCab) and we'll
do the do in the wild woods of Georgia....

Actually, I make just hook up the hitch to the RV and take a few
days off while I'm up there and hit RedTop State park just north
of Atlanta.....Hmmmm

In any event, drop me your phone number, or call when you get
a free minute so's we can discuss particulars/details/last minute
questions.....

My reply, Wed. June 14

Ah yes, the advantages of being your own boss...
Well, like I said, I am at a rather turbulent point right now, as far as
I will be out of town for the next 2 weekends, and on top of that, I
have to move 3 years of accumulated junk from my big house to a small
apartment. I also have a derelict '78, my first baby, that I have to get
running again as well. Whew.
 My phone number is 919-821-9089, which will not change, as it is in my
name, so I am moving it along with me.
 I am thinking perhaps next week at the earliest, or the week after.
I am trying to convince my mechanic friend to accompany me, as if I
don't something will surely break and leave me stranded. It also depends
on how much stuff Ihave moved by whan, and if I feel like I can breathe
again.
Oh, one question, I had thought about putting in the sunroof, do you
want me to do that, or leave it plexiglassed for you? 
Anyway
back to work, let me know what you think.

Still Wednesday, Kevin Wrote:
				> Ah yes, the advantages of being your own boss...

The fate of the self-motivated unemployable!

>I also have a derelict '78, my first baby, that I have to get
>running again as well. Whew.

Derilict doesn't sound good...I've got a 72' that recently bought the
farm (so to speak) and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps
we could combine the two?..... ;  )

> My phone number is 919-821-9089, which will not change,

I'll try to call tomorrow (thurs eve) as I've been hectic myself and
with the weather as nice as it is I'm staying outside as much as possible!

> I am thinking perhaps next week at the earliest, or the week after.
>I am trying to convince my mechanic friend to accompany me, as if I
>don't something will surely break and leave me stranded. 

Y'know, the more I think about this, the more I think about this....
Perhaps what I should do (read, take another coupla days off Kevin) is
hitch up the pickup to the RV and toodle on up to Raliegh. Although
I don't doubt Lemonhead (the SingleCab) would enjoy the excercise I
realize now that the chances of a "adventure" are a bit greater in him,
than in a newer automobile. Besides, I-95 is not a pleasant drive even
with airconditioning, much less battling wind currents and side-drafts
from haughty truckers....

>Oh, one question, I had thought about putting in the sunroof, do you
>want me to do that, or leave it plexiglassed for you? 


Oh, gee, lemme see....what are my options? Either I keep a kinda 3M'd
plexi panel silacone welded to the roof, clogging the skylight from all
its valuable oxygen,  -OR- I can have a classic canvas sunroof pre-installed
for me.... Damn, hard decision....lemme think about it!


Talk to you tomorrow eve (around 6:30 7:00ish) unless you post me
otherwise....

After some phone conversations, Kevin wrote:
 Received-Date: Tue, 20 Jun 1995 10:15:49 -0400

Just a post to let you know the intricacies of our life in Florida!

Finished the motor I'm gonna plop into the beetle. Fired it up on the
bench yesterday afternoon, set the minor stuff and will probably stuff
it into the 66 sometime today if possible. Hope to get it on the road by
the weekend (still have the brakes and 12v conversions to do)

Once this is done and I can drive it instead of lemonhead (the singlecab)
I will pull the motor our of him and replace it with your 1300. I went
ahead and ordered a set of rings for you, but dont' think I will have time
to install them (another weekend project for you!) as I have to do a top-
end job on the motorhome before I can feel comfortable driving it up to
you with lemonhead in tow.

Was hoping I'd get away Friday (there's a vw show in Marietta Ga.) but it
looks like early to mid-next week before I'll be ready....

On July 17, Kevin wrote:

I replaced all 4 wheel cylinders on the pickup and put in new brake
shoes over the weekend...Nice German ones...The cylinder wall on
one of them started to flake and was sticking, causing it to pull to the
right when I braked...not good. I think I may have been duped into the
other ones as they look a little different than the new one I just put on.
I plan to replace the rear in another day or so when the rest of the stuff
comes in from Atlanta.  I also replaced the headlight switch as it had
started to flicker and had begun to require a bit of jiggling to get the  old
boy to function...When it rains it pours...I took the switch out of my 67
and donated it to the cause. Now the foot dimmer is on the blink!!?!!

Took a test run in Lemonhead (The pick up) yesterday down to look at
a 67 deluxe and a 72 Karmann Ghia. Put about 250 hiway miles on him
and even came back up on the interstate tho I tell you you'll need a set
of tires and a few hundred more pounds in the bed before he feels good doin
75 in the passing lane.... Counted 14 peace signs, 18 thumbs up &
a couple of dozen rubber neckers....Gawd, I' gonna miss the attention!

I'm putting together the "pieces" box for you...It includes mostly 6v
stuff like radio,generator,pedestal,fan,plate,coil,etc.etc. and a few body
panels...the basement compartment covers, and a spare horn button &
a few wiper arms, you know...basic stuff.

I'm still shooting for the end of the week, or possibly the weekend to
come up, but I hope for the sake of comfort I get some checks in cause
cash is getting tight.....

Then on the  19th, Kevin wrote:
 Today I finished the brakes...bled the front again and checked the rear
for signs of life.  Shoes are ok, but I think you may be in need of a new
left rear wheel cylinder soon. It looks fine now, but had a build-up of
old fluid/road grime.  Stops on a dime tho...and no pull!

Flushed transaxle/reduction boxes and refilled with 80/90w....smoooth

Greased and repacked tierod ends, kingpins, and cleavis...Adjusted the
steering box....looks like there isn't much adjustment left here? I will
try to find a new drag link before I go, but ....

I need to get the linkage adjustment worked out in the shifter area as
since I put the new coupler on it pops out of 4th gear.... I also need to
replace the shifter plate which is worn pretty bad...will do this tomorrow!

for now it looks like I'm "nettable" again, but if I dissapear you can always
reach me at the old standby address feetsfirst@aol.com




On Saturday,  July 22, Kevin made the following post to the list:
It starts tomorrow...the trek of the summer (for me anyway!) on a merry
treasure hunt for V-Dubs and Dub goodies.
Some of you net floaters may have followed a thread started by fellow
Vanagon member Richard Palmer and I over in Vintage regarding our "projects"
and the desire to undertake each others burden.... Well, starting tomorrow!

I will be leaving here in central Florida (bright-n-early) and trekking my
65 Single Cab up the backroads of the warmish Southern U.S. to Richard's
nesting place in Raliegh N.Carolina.... Not too terribly far (675+/- miles)
for a new car, but I've been spending countless hours tweaking steering and
drivetrain preparing for this day.

Once I get to Richards we intend to oogle each others VW, swap titles, pat
each other on the back and whisper good byes to our ex-projects as we look
forward to starting over again on similiar tasks, but on neater vehicles...

On my return trip I will be side tracking to Winston Salem (home of IVWA)
to pick-up a sweet partially restored 1959 sedan ragtop from a fella and
to poke at a local junk yard I used to visit years ago.

The road back hopefully will be uneventfull mechanically as I will be looking
more in the back yards and junk yards along the side of the road for lurking
treasures waiting to be discovered.

Anyone living alongside Highway 301 (of Tom Petty fame) keep your eye out
for a funny little yellow pick up truck with lots of parts in the back..

Thursday, July 27, Kevin posted to the list:
In way of intro let me preface by saying "Volkswagons have a way of growing
on you!"... Volkswagon -IS- a state of mind.......

To back up a bit for newcomers to this thread; A fellow list member and I
decided to exchange "projects"....His, a 66' 21 window beluxe for my 65'
SingleCab....To complicate matters we had 30 year old semi-restored
vehicles that were 500 miles apart on a good day and not much time or money
to spare!

I decided to brave the wilderness and drive "LemonHead" up from N.Florida to
Richard in Raliegh, North Carolina.

The trek up was rather uneventful and other than numerous thumbs up & Peace
signs from fellow travelers and the occasional tongue from some back seat
sibling I fared well until I hit the outskirts of Raliegh.

Upon entering Raleigh proper I noticed my mid-range "umpffff" as I call it
decline...Y'know, the mid range of my "power curve" on the 1600 dual port.
General accelleration suffered and upon spying a shade tree in a parking lot
of downtown I quickly cut across traffic and snuggled "lemonHead" under the
cool spot for a r & r...

The day had been hot (100f +/-) since I left South Georgia that morning and
I knew I was running the engine pretty warm. Not much to do but monitor and
hope for the best! I had given up clean ignition in favor of a slightly
cooler plug
before I left knowing I would run into a temperate climate, but that didn't
prepare me for what I found upon examination of the motor. I had (in my
cheap
way of doing things) installed the "no-name" points from places unheard of
when doing the last tune-up and now would pay dearly for that mistake. It
seems that
the "bushing" that rides on the cam of the distributer was made out of a cheap
plastic and under the heat melted to the point where the points would not
even open enough to put my 006" feeler gauge through!  After cursing my
cheap genes
I installed a "spare" Bosch set and reset the timing hopeing I hadn't ruined
anything running it hot...

In the interim, before Richard arrived, a fellow pulled up in a imposing Ford
F150 and in a subtle Red Neckian kinda way said "Hey, is that a Golf Cart?" to
which I in my heat induced recklessness replied, "Yea, kinda like....!" "But
nuthin like that big *^%$ `em up truck you got!"

I heard his engine shut off as I peered into the engine compartment of lemon-
head, and at that instant I thought "Damn Kevin, You haven't learned ANYTHING
in your 37 years of dealing with the world if you haven't learned NOT to piss
off a Redneck in a town not your own......

I hear his truck door open and braced myself for a cacaphony of monosylabic
utterances before being pummeled to death in front of the Raleigh Civic Center
sign proclaiming "July 28-30  Pharmacutical Convention" & was prepared to meet
my maker when all of a sudden I heard..."Dang...there's a motor back there!!?!"
and then "Is this here a real -old- volkswagon?"

I realized at this point there truly IS a higher power responsible for looking
out for fools like me and swore a quick oath not to EVER tip cows again.....

Bubba, (well, maybe not his name, but he'll never read this and I don't think
we actually ever exchanged names) took me into the Civic center where he worked
as a security guard and let me use the phone to call Richard and give him the
location where I was thankfully still alive... Ahhh, friends in high places!!!!

After Bubba and I exchanged our male bonding vows and I made my way back over to
the truck I was shortly surprised by a rainbow painted split window van
madly honking its horn at me as it pulled into the parking lot across the
street...

Richard had arrived...
Then Sunday, July 30, Kevin posted:
Where'd we leave off last night?  Oh yeah... After waving off my new custodial
friend, and waving over Richard, we ( Richard and I ) formally introduced our-
selves Volkswagon to Volkswagon, fella to fella.

Now over the last few years I've had the opportunity to meet and speak/type
at length to some pretty interesting folks but rarely have I had the pleasure
of matching a face to the lines of text that scroll off the `puter screen each
day.

Richard came off as he did in his messages to me almost daily since May...
Bright, articulate, "colorful" and enthusiastic (to almost underweigh the value
of the word... ; )) while I am sure I painted a less than "chipper" visage as
I had spent a rough night prior in some forgotten hotel somewhere in Lumberton
North Carolina trying to ascertain why cable TV in this part of the world did
NOT include The Weather Channel (tm) but did offer 12 stations of The Shoppers
Network?  BTW, I now have 8 pairs of FM radio socks if anyone is interested!!

Nonetheless Richard took me under wing and led the way (in his Rainbow 67 bus)
to the resting place of my soon to be Samba, and the home of a volks guru who
spent the next 18 hours patiently dealing with Richard and I as we swapped this
and fixed that and borrowed this tool and ......etc.,etc.

Interject ON   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Let me interject at this point to those who may be curious (Joel!) that neither
my SingleCab, nor the 21 window are anywhere near what I would call "showable"
vehicles... Granted I drove both well over 500 miles within a period of 48hrs
and they both got me where I needed to go basically within the timeframe I had
allotted, but other than the structural security of these beasts...well, the
phrase "A face only a mother could love..." kinda pops up ;)

These are both definative "Project" vehicles and require lots of TLC which we
thought we could supply better to the other persons VW than we did our own!
Actually, the inception of the trade idea came as my own bus died and I found
myself faced with having to haul gear around in the truck..Do-able, but zippo
as far as security goes and inconvienant trying to shift stuff into a small cab
every time it started to rain.  Richard on the other hand already had three
busses (21 window, his Rainbow 67, and a later model breadloaf) and felt
the need for a pick-up truck to do some light hauling in....there you go!
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Interject OFF

We worked at Sean's house (who I would highly reccomend to anyone visiting
the Raleigh area in need of some master mechanics) until the wee hours swapping
motors, unloading spare parts and shifting stuff from one vehicle to another as
I prepared to leave for Florida in the morning...

LESSON #1 Never rush anything that requires carefull torque/ft lbs
LESSON #2 Do NOT trust your judgement/memory at 12:30am
LESSON #3 What can go wrong will....

Tomorrow: The trek back...kinda

Then finished up with this post:
I finally got away from Raleigh mid-morning on Wednesday with the feeling
that I was forgetting something...

A little backstory on the 21 Window... The fella Richard bought it from
evidently had the best intentions of doing a thorough rennovation starting
with the underpinnings and working his way up along the way... True, the
bus is ugly...some rot around the portals, a solid smashed in nose, and
the obligatory rusted out floorboard, but otherwise the body was/is mostly
sound.  The entire front beam has been dropped and as far as I can see has
been completely rebuilt. New tie rods, drag link, steering damper etc.,etc.
The rear end of the bus looked like it got the treatment too with new Cofab
shocks (?imitation Boge ?) swingarm boots and a nice flat black treatment to
the entire rear area...
We were unable to get anything that resembles brakes. Bled the thing yesterday
but master cylinder seems to leak pressure..Have to madly pump brake pedal to
get any reaction in the stopping department...will mentally adjust my driving
habits to accomadate.  Shifting linkage is also in bad shape. Was able to get
3&4th fairly smooth, but binds bad in 1&2 and reverse. The coupling in the
back (tranny/linkage) is rotted to the point of breaking and none of the round
type couplings were to be found in the local shops. Will brave the drive, hope
for the best, and have a pair of vicegrips on the seat just in case...
So, aside from not being able to stop or start easily and in a rush to get
back home before all hell broke loose at work I said my goodbyes, made a
last dash around the perimeter of Sean's Bug Haven looking for errant parts
I may have forgotten, then hopped in the Bus and headed South.


** mile 01
Gassed up...gauge doesn't work..but odometer and speedo does...will do the
100mile refill on the way home!

** mile 10
Hit I-40, got up to speed (65) for the first time and felt the bus kinda
lock down into a groove...Steering is very stiff and has a tendancy to stick
just after the neutral position in either direction. At the next stop I will
try to adjust the steering gear box and see if this helps..

** mile 50
Steering has gotten sooo stiff I pull over cautiously and try to adjust the
gearbox. Am able to loosen it to a point where it doesn't bind, but lots of
slop now... I compromise and resume the trek.

** mile 55
Lose power, motor dies, pull over again and lift engine lid. quick R&R reveals
a nice mud mixture clogging my fuel filter. disassemble filter, spray well
with brake cleaner and re-install.. I suspect the tank sat partially filled and
has developed a sediment beach. I find myself having to pull over to clean the
clogged filter dozens of times on the way home...Thankfull for the NOPI filter!

** mile 110
Started hearing a whineing rear-end type noise in 4th that is growing louder
by the mile. I pull off the interstate and drive around until I spy a FLAPS.
Pull over (no trees here & it is noon!!!) crawl under the bus and notice the
transaxle is steaming (drove over a mud puddle in the parking lot) and v.e.r.y.
warm to the touch... Jack up the bus and look for the transaxle filler bolt
which I find to be missing. Crawl back out, remove the rear drivers wheel and
take out the reduction gearbox oil level bolt for a thread match and then spend
the next two hours in FLAPS trying to find a replacement bolt. A friend of one
of the employees has a junk yard that eventually disgorges a spare tranny bolt
and two pints of 90 weight. Much later I am on my way again...

** mile 210
Bus pops out of 4th gear while cruising down the hiway and almost causes me a
coronary.. It gets progressivly worse till by the time I get home it (like the
SingleCab) has to be bungee tied to the fenderwell to keep it in gear.. I guess
I am cursed with not ever having a VW that can keep fourth in its pants..jee!

** mile 250
As I do my 50mile fuel filter inspection I notice a few of the sheet metal tin
screws seem to be loose. This in turn prompts an overall check for loose nuts &
bolts. Things in general seem to be vibrating loose at an alarming rate. Carb
mount nuts are loose, the fan shroud is itsself loose and as I shake it back-N-
forth I note the backing plate on the generator is very loose. Jeez...My luck!
I tighten what I can and hope the fan itsself isn't coming loose. Will watch
oil pressure light and gen light for signal the belt breaks, or I lose
compression quickly...

** mile 285
A noise like two old Buicks rutting is emanating from the engine compartment
and I fear the fan is scraping on the loose backing plate. I decide to check
and pull off I-95 into a semi-shadey spot between 2 cheap hotels (just in case)
and a Truck stop.  The generator has turned a belt and I decide to try to
pull the generator/plate/fan off the motor in the bus and replace it whole with
the generator/plate/fan off the motor Richard gave me. I can't tighten the fan
plate nuts as they are behind the fan and it doesn't seem to have loosened any
as I reach around behind the motor and twist the fan by hand.  After an hour of
removing the carb, wiggling the gen stand, unscrewing the sheet metal on the
back of the doghouse and gently prying the fan through the opening on the fan
cage I am able to replace the very loose stuff with a much tighter replacement!
It is kinda like an hour glass, but instead of sand trickling down the encase-
ment I see parts dwindling from the spare motor which came with the bus...
I hope I can get home before I reach the case halves...

** mile 285 pt II..
Start up the bus and while the low db noise is gone I now notice the whine when
I decelerate...This scares me as I think back to last night and all the wee hour
stuff I did trapseing around the motor with a disfunctional air impact wrench. I
pull out my trusty stethoscope (hose and 10mm bolt) and start listening to the
bell housing...Need go no further.. I hear the unforgiving sounds of a flywheel
beating against an egged dowel pin or three and hope the shade holds up a few
more hours.  I suceed in pulling the motor and check the condition on the fly-
wheel and sure enough the  dowel pins holes are nice and egged out. Luckily I
had a spare flywheel from the 1300 motor I left Richard and so swap the thing
for a good one. The problem now is how to torque the gland nut down to 210 ft
pounds with a 3/4" drive ratchet and a cheeter bar? I found a section of 2x4 &
placed it on top of the cheater bar which lay at a 4:00 position. This gave me
a springboard on which to back the front end of the bus over.  While I weigh in
at 190 +/- lbs I assume the front end of the bus combined with me jumping up &
down on it produced more than 210 ft.lbs.. If it didn't... It was a valiant try!

Reinstall motor, fire it up...no bad noises...BUT...front flat tire! Turns out
later the valve stem was bad, but at the time I just quickly changed it out with
one of the two spare tires I had brought from home... Whipped out my bucket of
hand cleaner, wiped down as much as possible, shucked out of my work overalls
that I take everywhere with me for just such occasions and covertly ambled over
to the swimmin pool of hotel "A" and did a quick lap...

** mile 325
Hit the Georgia state line and decided to stop at the welcome station to check
on the condition of the fuel filter..cleaned it, went to relieve myself and get
a drink and when I came back... another flat tire...This one I could hear
hissing out slowly as a guy and his coddled dog stood watching with a
sheepish
grin... No problem, I have a second spare....whip out the floor jack which seems
to run the guy and dog off at an alarming rate, change the tire and within a few
minutes I'm back on my way...

** mile 415
Did I mention no windshield wipers? Or the cracked windshields I had to install
with silicone and twigs?  Hit a granddaddy of a rainstorm as I passed the
Florida State line still some 100+ miles from home. I pull over under the
cover
of a gas station awning and dry the windshield as best I can and then liberally
apply RAIN-X to the entire thing. I buff out three times as I am hoping to
instill a bit of fear into the onslaught of rain drops pounding away just
left
of my position...It is getting dark too and I find myself for the first time
trying my headlights (which work!) and hoping it lets up soon as the combo of
no brakes, shitty lights, bad shifting, no wipers AND a five foot gap in the
roof of my vehicle are kinda adding up to an overall bad hair day!!!

** mile 525
It drys out (outside that is, it is still plenty wet in here ; )) and leaves
me with a breathtaking fire red sunset on my West, and a cool blue-grey pack
of storm clouds slowly moving away from me on my Left. I am within 50 miles
of home and I am feeling exhalted. The new "project" has bucked and kicked
and tested the waters of my tolerances. It has dealt with my boneheaded over-
sights with little more than a wimper, and while it broke down numerous times
it -never- left me in no mans land.  Somewhere between home and North Carolina
we developed an understanding... well perhaps that is a bit esoteric, but I'd
like to think that there is a simpatico between man (sic..person) and machine.
In any event I've learned a bit about my new project, and can now start on the
slow process of restoration...after I recuperate from the last few days...; )