Wonderful weather
It was a bit of an eventful journey back from getting my new fire suppression kit and the electrical extras fitted at VW Aircooled Works. Firstly the weather decided to change for the worse and it started chucking it down with rain – welcome to late summer in the UK! However, on the positive side, I thought, at least it will give me a chance to test the recently upgraded 12v wiper motor armature and the new wiper blades. Initially, all was good, that was until I got on the motorway. The rain got heavier and one of the wiper arms randomly decided to stop working! Guess which one that was? Yep, you guessed it, the driver’s side!
Living the dream
Then of course I realised I had also left the overhead vent in the open position, and now it had decided to become stuck. This resulted in a fairly steady stream of rainwater coming through and emptying itself onto my lap!
Sometimes ‘living the dream’ of driving a vintage VW split screen camper really is not all it’s cracked up to be! Just glad my wife was not here to share this particular experience! This latest ‘experience’ certainly helped me focus on the next thing to do – fix the wiper motor linkage and the whole windscreen wiper washer system!
Be prepared
One of the things I remember from my time in the Scouts as a kid was their classic motto, ‘Be prepared’. Simple, yet profound. I guess it’s something that in later life I’ve taken to heart and learnt to appreciate more and more. I had been putting off for some time getting some washer jets and a washer bottle and pump fitted to the bus. Technically it would most probably be needed for the next MOT, so I got the various bit required and booked the bus in at Resto Classics to get the wiper motor linkage fixed, plus at the same time, get some windscreen wiper jets and a washer bottle fitted.
I bought a new pair of chrome washer jets which should look pretty stock ‘factory fitted’ when installed, plus I got a washer bottle kit, styled to look like the VW vacuum-operated original item, but with the added advantage of having a small 12v electric water pump fitted to the rear – a cool, yet practical little upgrade!
As good as new
When the new washer bottle was fitted, it looked the part! I ditched the supplied operating switch (looked a bit out of keeping aesthetically) and gave the guys at Resto Classics an original VW dash switch to use to help it blend in and look more original.
With the chrome, washer jets fitted, and the wiper motor linkage sorted, at last, I had a fully functional windscreen wiper system to deal with the UK weather! Happy days are here again, now to hope for a late Indian summer…
