the Wheels on the Bus

Lately, I've noticed that the once wide-array of tire choices for the bay-window bus are disappearing. When I combine this with the need to handle a lower RPM output engine than the stock one, I am starting to think about larger rims. It all started with that drive up to Mt. Hood Meadows through the snow flurries. I got to thinking about what it would be like to drive up for a day of snowboarding in the bus.

First, I got all romantic-like. Thoughts of taking a break in the bus with a propane heater running, making hot chocolate, etc. Plus, the room for 4 of us to roll up there and popping the top for head-room to stand up. Sounds great. Add in a working stove to make hot beverages or food, and it sounds frickin' great.

Then, I started thinking about how well my tires would grip. I have Saturn 720's from Les Schwab that I bought about 4 years ago. Since then, I haven't put many miles on them, but they are not M+S tires, much less snow tires. I hit the web to see what my tire options were, and that's when I had my discovery: they don't make many tires that fit my need anymore. After reading and re-reading one of my favorite bus-related websites I started looking in earnest for another wheel / tire alternative. My current thinking now, is to upgrade to 16" rims. I know the tire wells and the steering mechanism can only handle so much of an upgrade, though. I'd like to find Mercedes 16" x 6" steelies rather than the seemingly abundant 16" x 7.5" chrome rims. Rims this size would support the standard tire for a Ford Ranger, and these would fit within the tire wells.

I know this is a total non sequitur from all the other work that I need to complete. Still, just thinking about what could be helps to motivate. It also serves as a reminder of all the things left to complete. The stove doesn't work because the under-belly propane tank was never installed (though I have it). The pop-top replacement is still waiting to be installed. Of course, the bus isn't running. Lots to do, but if I can figure out a way to continue to work when the bus is parked outside and its 40* (and windy), I can get it done. Maybe I should rent someone's garage....

More next time, and I'll post pictures of the trip to Mt. Hood Meadows from work this week. UPDATE: added picture from parking lot at Meadows.

Fanning the flames of progress

Sorry I haven't posted much in a while. Honestly, there hasn't been much to post about. I have a small update on the defrost efforts, and a new revelation about the inter cooler. Last, I took my son T up to Mt. Hood Meadows for a day of snowboarding - total Fall highlight.

Fan Fun
I have the rear heater unit in-place, the switch in-place and the wiring run. After spending a few hours trying to figure out which wire should be connected to which male plug on the heater unit, I found this thread on TheSamba (http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=435597). With the picture, and some logic, it totally makes sense. I made the wiring corrections, but... the resistor doesn't work anymore. Fun stuff. I got the highly-maligned symptom of the fan only blowing on the "middle" setting, which, it turns out, means the resistor is bad. So, now comes the question: do I replace the resistor with a stock replacement, or go new-style? "what's this new-style," you ask. You install a true-rheostat concept like this. For the stock-lovers out there, I've already pissed you off with this whole project, but bear with me for a sec. The true-rheostat solution is $60 where the stock solution is around $35, assuming you can find it. I haven't had any luck finding a stock resistor, but I'll be leaving the fan in this on-off configuration for now. I have a defroster, and that's all that matters at this point.

Inter not-cooling
I am unable to place the stock inter cooler within the space I have after the heater is in. I'm looking for a Saab Blackstone inter cooler instead. Why? They take up a little less space, but are reportedly more efficient. Also, the inlet and outlet are both on the same end, improving the placement choices. Assuming I find one, and have it in-hand relatively soon, I'll cover that install. I know I will need more silicone tubing, so the install will take 2 delivery cycles - one for the inter cooler, and one for the tubes. net-net, I won't be test-driving over Christmas.

Snow good to see ya
Last Sunday, my some T and I drove up to Mt Hood Meadows for some snowboarding. I've gone sliding a couple of times, but I haven't really had good conditions before. Mt. Hood had received fresh snow the night before, and we had some flurries while we were there. The result? Groomed powder runs, and some great sliding. Our first ride on the lift was just after 9:AM, and after 7-8 runs, we called it a day around 2:30. I'll upload pictures later.

With the heater troubles and the ridiculous darkness this time of year, my motivation has slipped. Its been a couple months since I heard the engine run, and that doesn't help. I'm trying to re-motivate, and get the inter cooler resolved. Once that's in, I can test-start the engine again, focus on finishing out the little bits, and take a test drive. I won't feel close to finished again until I hear that engine run again. Sigh.

Switcheroo

Today, I got a couple of hours, so, with a steady rain and 35* work conditions, I decided to focus on something inside the bus rather than underneath it. I had a choice, either the fan control or the coolant flow valve control. I decided on the fans. I'll go into that today.

Wire Bundle
I had already bought the wire, so I figured I had all the parts for doing the fan controls. Using 14-gauge wire, I created a 3-wire cable bundle. I chose yellow-white-blue rather than the usual red/green/black combination, simply to be different. Like the wire bundle I ran for the ignition controls (link), I ran the cable through the large rear cabinet, along the outside of the low cabinet and stove/sink unit to the spare tire hole. I had drilled a small hole in the partition wall for the ignition cable, but I needed a new one for this new bundle. The wires then followed the same path along the edge of the door opening under the carpet to the A-pillar (next to the clutch pedal). The wires routed behind the fusebox and over the steering wheel support to the series of switches to the right of the ignition.

Switch a switch
My old 1972 dash controls were extremely simply by modern standards. To the right are 3 switches: dome light, wipers and hazard (left to right). The dome light switch doesn't actually do anything anymore. My dome is wired directly to the accessory battery fuse-block now, so this switch was useless. I chose to remove this switch and re-use the dash-hole for the fan control. After looking through both the Bentley and the Idiot's book, I was unable to find printed instructions for removing a switch. I went digging through my old parts and found a few old switches. By examining their construction, you can tell that the hand-knob just twists off (lefty-loosey). This leaves the stem and a round threaded silver collar sticking out of the switch body. The round silver collar also hand-twists off (lefty-loosey again), leaving a gray female collar attached to the switch body. By applying this learning, I was able to remove the dome light switch. If you have a switch that is correct for your model year, the install is the reverse of that removal. My fan switch, though, is from a Vanagon, so I had some more work to do.

Retrofitting a Switch
The Vanagon switch is much more modern. The switch housing clicks into the outer skin and the outer skin clicks into the dash. The outer skin of the fan housing does not integrate with an old bus, so I set it aside, leaving me with the switch body and the hand-knob. Unlike the older knobs, this one just slides into place and remains in place through friction. This may be useful later if I can figure out a way of re-using some of the outer skin. Anyway, to get the switch housing to hold in place like an old-style switch, you need to re-use the threaded silver collar. Since the new-style switch doesn't have anything to thread into, things get interesting. I went through my spare switches and found one that didn't work (tested with multi-meter) consistently. I cut the gray female collar off of the bad switch, filed off the rough edges and crazy-glued it to the Vanagon fan switch. I love how one sentence can summarize 30 minutes of effort and who-knows-how-much problem-solving time. With the gray collar firmly in place, I was able to wire up the switch and install it.

Wire Color Notes
As I mentioned above, I chose to use yellow / white / blue as my wire color choices for the fan controls. I'm sure a time will come when I'll have to diagnose a problem, so, for future reference, the yellow is for "low", the white is for "middle" and the blue is for "high". I striped and wired up connectors for the bundle. I tied them into the fan switch following the pattern I just mentioned. The switch still needed a power source, though so I located the B+ source for the original blower fan signal.

Once wired, the switch settled into the old dome light hole, and hand-tightened in. From the picture, it doesn't look straight-stock, but it does look pretty good. If I get all trailer-queen anal about it, I could probably find a hand-knob with a fan icon on it and figure out a way to get it to interface with the switch body. I just want it running and not have things looking half-assed or half-finished. This meets that bill. That's all I have for today. Over Thanksgiving, I'll get the heat box in, and I'll post on some changes / modifications I needed to do to get it run-ready.

Pictures:
top - view from the ground when I slide out from under the bus.
middle left - Vanagon switch modified with gray and silver collars.
middle right- 2 dome light switches, one after the gray collar was removed.
bottom - the fan switch installed next to the stock wiper control knob.