So I flew to Winnipeg last Wednesday from Toronto. My wife's aunt and uncle picked me up at the
airport and drove me to McGregor, Manitoba, about 2 hours west of Winnipeg. My father-in-law drove my new westy to McGregor
from Swan River the previous weekend.
I got there and began checkin' out my new bus in the dark at about midnight.
I was pretty pleased. The next day I was up at about 7 a.m. and out lookin' over my new westy. I left McGregor for Kingston
at about 10:00 a.m. I got to Winnipeg about noon and dallied there for a few hours. The Value Village stores in Winnipeg are
among the best around. Over the years I made some amazing finds there. Best find was an antique game board with all the pieces
for $9.00. It was handmade with handmade painted pieces. I imagine some ol’
Mennonite farmer made it one winter for his kids while sitting by the fire. I
also found two dressers there over the years - both with hand dovetail drawers and square nail construction. I also found
many hand stitched quilts there - which is what I found there last week. I forgot a sleeping bag so ... I needed a quilt.
I didn't leave Winnipeg until about 2:30 p.m.
So I headed out in a bus that was very strange to me but it
was running very well. Drove, drove - I noticed that the oil light was no longer working upon start up. Hmmm. So I pulled
into Crappy Tire in Kenora and grabbed a package of bulbs. I replaced the little devil but ... still didn't work. Damn. So
I figured I'd better check the sender dealy. I have never owned a type-4 motor before so ... I was kinda lost. I looked around
for the sender but couldn't find it. I figured I would change my oil and look closer for that sender down the road a ways.
So I bought some oil and one of those change pan dealies. Hmmm. So I went on my way.
For anyone who does not
know - that road is incredibly under populated. In the 1500 or so kms between Kenora and Sault Ste. Marie there probably aren't
100,000 people and almost all of those would be in Dryden or Thunder Bay or Wawa or whatever other micro towns are there.
As
I approached Dryden ... oh no ... troubles began. I would drive along and it would seem like I lost ...? I would have power
but the engine appeared to be power less. If I stepped on the gas nothing would happen. I was just beginning a 2,500 KM trip
with the worst 1,500 kms coming up. So as I drove at say ... 100 Km/hr I would lose power. It would last for a second or so.
Then it would get worse. I pulled into this hotel/motel thing about 100 km's from Dryden. A guy came out and looked at me
like he wanted to make me squeal like a pig. Unfortunately I somewhat resemble Ned Beatty physically so I thought it best
to attempt to keep moving.
The bus had cooled down for about 20 mins or so as I read the idiot
book. That cool down seemed to do the trick and the bus started up and ran well ... for about 20 kms.
Then
the symptoms arose again. I know nothing about fool injection so I was concerned. I also had to be back in Kingston by Tuesday
and if that meant leaving my bus somewhere and taking the Greyhound then that's what I would have to do. So I pulled into
this sort of gas station/convenience store/general store, as the symptoms got worse. The owner was nice guy and I asked him
if he knew of anyone around who knew about fuel injection. We talked for a while and he told me about the CAA tow truck guy
who would likely have lots of info. I thought that my problem was either bad gas or some sort of fuel injection problem. I
asked him if he had any of that stuff that takes water out of gas. This bus had sat with a full gas tank for 7
years or so. The PO's daughter (the Executor of his Estate) had a local mechanic drain the gas tank. I figured that they could
likely not drain it completely as they did not remove it from the bus. So the storeowner sold me a little bottle of this stuff
for fuel-injected engines that removes water. I pour it in and topped up the gas and ... symptoms gone completely. I drove
to Dryden symptom free. I had a printed copy of the Ontario AIRS list and I noticed that there were airs guys
in Thunder Bay. I considered trying to make it. Probably 600 or so kms. There is no cell phone service or even radio so if
I broke down I could be in trouble. What the hey - I hit the road.
So on this road there is miles and miles
and miles of nothing but trees. Nothing. Nothing. I came down this hill and started to go over a bridge when I notice a guy
walking. It must have been at least 30 kms each way to the next town. It was pretty cold and it was raining hard. What could
that guy be doing? I passed him by and when I passed him there were two semis going the other way. I thought that if he was
hitchhiking he probably didn't hear me because of the semis. I passed the guy and kept going. I kept wondering what was that
guy doing. He only had a small jacket and it was pouring and cold. I got a few kms down the road and I was feeling
kinda guilty about that guy – damn - I had to go back. So I turned around and headed west again. I got the to bridge
and he was sitting on the guardrail in the rain. He had a small knap sack and he looked wet. I asked him if he was hitchhiking
and he said yes but that he was going the other way. I said I am too, then I did a U-turn, he jumped in my new 78, and off
we went. Turns out he had lived in Thunder Bay in the past and considered it home. He had been working on a farm/ranch in
Fort St. John, B.C. and was returning to Thunder Bay via some long hitchhiking trip through southern B.C., Oregon and Washington
and Idaho and Montana and other places. He was telling me that he had been doing lots of walking and once walked
40 kms or 60 or something. I believe him but I also think he has mental issues, serous mental issues.
Anyway,
I was happy to help him out and off we went. Around midnight I fell asleep while driving. Just sort of dazed for a split second
but it worried me. So I told my new friend that I was pulling over and going to sleep for a couple hours. I said that I can
let him out or he can sit in the passenger seat. As it was raining and cold and probably no stores or even houses for 100
km's in either direction he opted to sit in the passenger seat. I was a bit concerned about getting murdered in my sleep but
... what could I do. I found a place where the snow ploughs turn around and got in the back and slept for maybe 1 or 2
hours. I woke up and hit the road again.
As we approached Thunder Bay around 3 or 4 my friend started talking
about a cabin he built in the woods near the town. It seemed evident that he was hinting that I drive him to his cabin that
he described as being off the main road some distance on a gravel road. He said that he had lots of firewood and that the
cabin was very comfortable. We got into Thunder Bay I and told him that I was going to find a place to park and go to sleep.
I asked him where he wanted to go. He directed me through town and to a part of town that he said was accessible to a road
that lead to his cabin. He wanted me to drive down this area that looked dark and from which I could not see an exit so I
just stopped and said that this was as far as I am going. He jumped out and said good-bye.
I went
back to downtown Thunder Bay and went to a 7-11 store. I bought coffee and junk food and decided - keep going. I found the
access to the highway and off I went. About an hour or so later I saw another hitchhiker. I stopped and he jumped in and off
we went. Bus was running very well and I was cruzing at about 110 kms/hr. It turned out he was going to Ottawa and he asked
me where I was headed for. I thought - quick - do I want to spend the next 20 hours or so travelling with this guy. I told
him that I was heading for Kingston but that I was not committing myself to anything past Sioux Ste. Marie. Off we went.
There
is a park between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie that I can't wait to go back to. There are tons of beautiful rivers flowing into
Lake Superior that look like the fishing would be excellent. There is a very cool, very very cool waterfall that kinda looks
like Agua Azul or Pamakula (spelling unknown but the falls are very cool).
I still was very concerned about
my previous problems. I kept the gas tank as full as possible and I would put a bottle of that stuff into my gas tank every
couple of fill-ups. I figured that there was crud in the tank from the old gas. I thought that maybe it was at a level that
would not be used if the tank had lots of gas in it. I also thought that maybe that fuel injection cleaner stuff was cleaning
stuff out of my gas lines etc. Everything was running very well.
Finally, I got to Sault Ste. Marie and found
a VW Dealer. I figured I would get an oil change and ask them where the oil pressure sender thingy was. The owner of the dealer-ship,
a small VW Dealership, got into my bus and drove it into the stall as a mechanic got under it with a hammer to bang on my
starter. A bit embarrassing as that had never happened in the previous portion of my trip. The owner of the dealership was
kind of a cool guy. He got out of my bus and said: "wow, where did you get that, that bus is mint." I told him
my story, about the bus being garaged since 81 etc., and he said that he had a 78 as well. He said it was nice to see how
it steered and how tight everything was.
I got my oil change and my hitchhiker wandered off. The
mechanic that worked on my bus showed me where the sender unit was but he said that there must be a problem somewhere else
as he couldn't get the light to come on when the key was turned. Damn. He gave me a bunch of compliments about the condition
of my bus etc. I went to the local YMCA and had a shower and a sauna.
This was about 3 or so on Friday by
this point and I was considering sleep. Sudbury I figured would be an excellent place to sleep. As I left Sault Ste. Marie
my issues arose again. I had stopped putting that cleaner stuff in and I had even let the gas level go down to about 1/4 tank.
I was loosing power (not electric power electric stuff still worked fine.) I would step on the gas and nothing. I would sputter
and sputter and then I pulled over. I had spoken to the dealer in Sioux Ste. Marie about my problem and he said that I could
have gotten bad gas. He also said that my fuel injection system is the best in the world. He said not to let anyone
talk me out of doing anything stupid. He told me about a guy who has spent $2,000 on fuel injection parts recommended by another
garage. He said that his system still didn't work so he decided to go a carb system. He said that he brought his bus and carb
to him (the dealer) who suggested he just put the fuel injection system back on. That was done and now the bus runs great.
He said the moral of the story is to check all wires and connections, as that is what he figures was wrong with the bus initially
before $2000 was spent on parts.
I was completely out of power and I was able to coast into a
garage outside Sault Ste. Marie. I got out my idiot book and started to read. I started looking around for a bad connection
and St. Muir speaks of checking the coil. I did that and noticed that one of the wires from the coil goes to this little plastic
thing. It's about 1" long maybe 1/2" high and maybe 1/4" wide. This wire was incredible loose. I pinched it closed with a
pair of pliers and pushed it back on. My bus started right up and ... off I went to Sudbury.
I got to Sudbury
and then figured that I might be just as quick to head to Toronto and then east on the 401 as it would be to head to North
Bay. I started to drive south and again started falling asleep. Damn sleep for sure was necessary. I pulled into a restaurant/garage
at about midnight and slept till about 6 a.m. I woke up, went for breakfast, and then headed for Toronto.
Once I got to Toronto I headed for the Y, whipped out
my membership card, and went in for a sauna and shower. I went to garage that had a huge VW sign in front and asked about
what windshield's will work for my westy as mine had kind of a nasty crack. He told me 76 to 82. I also bought new plugs and
points and a condenser and headed to Kingston.
About 20 minutes from home problems again arose. This time
though it seemed different. This time I lost power but if I stepped on the gas the revs would increase. That's not at all
what happened before. Damn.
Anyway - I made it home, this morning I put my new points and condenser and plugs
in, and everything appears to be running fine. The points I removed were bad, bad, bad. I wanted to do a compression test
but .. one of my plugs fell into the engine tin and it took me about an hour to get it out. My engine was cold by then so
I skipped the compression test.
So the new west is not rust free. :) But what is rust free. There are maybe
20 chips out of the front that have been touched up with some sort of sage green type paint. There is a strip about 5" long
half way out the sliding door upon which the paint was scratched and surface rust is formed. The passenger side rocker has
a strip about 5" wide of surface rust. The bus has 113,000 kms on it now. The PO bought it in 1981 with 50,000 kms on it.
So since 1981 only 63,000 kms have been put on it.
It is very nice driving a bus that has no problem doing
the speed limit. I can cruise at 120 kms/hr no problem. Compared to my 60 this fat chick is very very quiet. I do prefer the
way the steering wheel is in my 60. Driving the 60 is like really driving a bus. Driving the 78 is like ... 1/2 way to driving
a van(agon).
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