VW Bus Camp Shower's Blog

Step 27

campshower — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:11:43 +0000

Let’s try this again with different heads. Hmmm, seems like I was installing the engine about this time last year too.

Step 26

campshower — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:36:31 +0000

Last year, I had problems with the engine I built, so I decided to do an autopsy down to the place I started building and discovered a major defect. Hair line cracks in the cylinder heads emanating from the exhaust valve ports. Apparently, the steel exhaust valve and its seat got so hot that it expanded cracking the alloy head hosting it. Hmmm, maybe towing a 19 foot trailer with a 35 year old air cooled engine over western mountain ranges was not such a good idea after all

Step 25

campshower — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:46:19 +0000

After sitting all winter, time to pull the shower trailer out of the weeds for repairs and prep.

Step 24

campshower — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:56:14 +0000

The 09 Burningman event. Overall, a great success. But, there were problems with my shower apparatus, the tractor bus and my solar setup. Improvements to follow…

Step 23

campshower — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:41:22 +0000

DMV day. I passed inspection, got registration and my license plate. Many thanks to the tear drop peeps for getting me through this http://td.roughwheelers.com/DMV/index.html

Step 22

campshower — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:29:03 +0000

Finally, drive train installation. Wow, only two weeks left – I got to get my ass in gear!

Step 21

campshower — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:24:17 +0000

Like Brandon’s 1974 Riviera, the factory shock mount on my 1974 Westy also broke. Hey, I am starting to notice a pattern here. I do not have enough time to weld in a proper fix. So, I drilled a hole through the frame to mount a shorter shock (from an old dead bug). I used a valve spring to hold the bolt in place while I weld the nut to the frame on the other side.

Step 20

campshower — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:53:23 +0000

Standalone testing and tuning. I have got a nasty backfire situation coming up the carburetor on the 1,2 head. I think it’s an intake valve not seating or closing all the way.

Step 19

campshower — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:37:01 +0000

I built 90% of the motor in a vertical position. A real back saver. Much easier to position and align the engine tins and exhaust system. It really balances well on the bell housing.

Step 18

campshower — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:29:44 +0000

I modified the engine tins by closing off the heater blower ports and eliminating the oel tube. Tricky welding stamped sheet metal, I used a small oxyacetylene gas torch.