... ugh - possibly more sweat inducing than the mechanical wrestling match   ; }    ...

--- On Wed, 11/9/11, Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> From: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
> Subject: Re: It's back together and it runs.
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 5:24 PM
> Thanks.� The poor van has been
> parked since spring when the house roof work and then the
> motorcycle accident took me away from it.� First thing
> after inspection (and�the requisite�joy ride, of course)
> will be an extensive and well-deserved cleaning.
> �
> Stephen
> 
> --- On Wed, 11/9/11, Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: It's back together and it runs.
> To: "Stephen Grisanti" <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
> Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 4:33 PM
> 
> 
> Stephan,
> 
> Somewhere around 2006 I had to pull an overheated engine
> out of my 1972 baywindow, had to tear it down only to
> discover that it was un-rebuildable (turned piston sleeve
> bearing, probably wrong term, poor memory, but it amounted
> to an engine that could not be trusted), had to purchase a
> brand-new 1600dp engine from Mexico, had to install that
> engine into my bus. That was my first, and hopefully last
> (it was quite a mess, taking up much of my tiny garage's
> space) experience doing something that ambitious.
> 
> And it is beautiful thing when the engine starts and runs
> beautifully, and the vehicle is drivable again.
> 
> Good job, man.
> 
> -- Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> Bend, Ore.
> 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
> 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a
> defunct company in
> San Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.
> 
> Sent from my kitchen.
> 
> On 11/09/2011 08:19 AM, Stephen Grisanti wrote:
> > Well, that was a long month.� What began as an
> exhaust replacement
> > turned into something else with a broken head bolt
> that necessitated
> > a trip to the machine shop with the left head after
> the weldng-a-nut
> > trick failed to get out the broken part.� I
> reinstalled the head and
> > sundry ancillary parts on Saturday and put the exhaust
> on yesterday.
> > This morning filled with fluids and fired it up.
> > 
> > Looks like I may need to adjust the valves again since
> one lifter
> > won't shut up, and I'm a little concerned about the
> seal of the
> > various exhaust junctions; the metal donuts at either
> end of the
> > J-pipe seem to be letting fumes out, and the two pipes
> going into the
> > collector do not meet it parallel at the flanges so
> something might
> > be getting out there.� I'll retighten after things
> cool down and
> > check again.
> > 
> > I was very concerned about bleeding the cooling system
> after all the
> > horror stories I'd read, but with the rear of the van
> up on wooden
> > ramps in an already nose-down position in the sloping
> driveway, I
> > simply removed the bleeder bolt from the radiator and
> put four tea
> > kettles of water into the reservoir and that did it.�
> Topped off once
> > after it warmed up.� I'll drain again and refill with
> phosphate-free
> > and distilled after flushing this stuff through for a
> few miles.� I
> > did not want to leak new coolant if I messed up the
> reinstall of
> > anything.� If the only thing leaking is exhaust I'm
> way ahead of the
> > game.� First drive will have to be to the inspection
> station since
> > the expire date at the end of August is far behind us
> and I don't
> > want to tempt the constabulary.
> > 
> > After spending a lot more time getting intimate with
> this van's
> > innards than I ever anticipated, I must say my hat is
> off to those
> > who work on 'em regularly.� It was educational,
> frustrating,
> > enlightening, maddening, satisfying, occasionally
> painful, and I
> > would not want to do it every day. Now to get this
> thing inspected
> > and go camping.
> > 
> > Stephen
>