HO22 Showtime After seeing all the fantastic vehicles in the camping areas and then the amazing Grundmann Collection, it was probably a good time to actually go and check out the main show event of Hessisch Oldendorf HO22 now! Waking to another glorious hot sunny morning, I arranged to meet Caroline and Adam for the … Read more
Did you hear that? Everything was going pretty well with the engine refresh until the guys heard a ‘pop’ sound from the engine bay… doh!!!! I guess they have developed an experienced mechanical noise hearing ability. To them, it sounded as if another Helicoil insert might have given way. Although they had checked all the … Read more
Prevention is better than cure After our amazing road trip to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, it felt right to give the camper a bit of love and some mechanical TLC. It had been really reliable for the 1,800-mile road trip, and I wanted it to remain that way for the next one. So … Read more
Dubs on your doorstep It’s always fun road tripping to vintage VW shows in Europe. It turns a show into a mini adventure. But when there’s a new ‘Dubs at DLWP’ event just up the road at De La Warr Pavilion (DLWP) in Bexhill, it does make things a lot quicker and simpler to get … Read more
Van variety Although it was called a ‘Barndoor gathering’, there was no shortage of other air-cooled classic VW’s at Ben Pon 2018. It was fun looking around not just the area dedicated to the world record collection of barndoor buses, but also the rest of the Wagenwerkplaats site to see the plethora of amazing air-cooled … Read more
Worth an early start up early and grabbing a prime parking spot in Ninove for the day certainly pays off when you can bask in the afternoon sunshine and watch the air-cooled world pass you by over a spot of lunch… when I say lunch, I mean a delicious Belgian waffle covered in white and … Read more
Well after a good nights sleep, it was an early-ish start as we had to push on and get back home in the next couple of days. Fortunately our route home would take us near the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, so not the worst scenery ahead for the first part of the … Read more
Getting road-ready again It’s great to have phase one of the 1641cc air-cooled engine refurbish complete and have it back in the bus again! The heads and head studs have now all been sorted by the guys at Resto Classics. To complete the work, the stock 34 pict 3 carb and manifold were both refreshed and set-up … Read more
Finding out the heads were loose on the engine and that it needed some attention, was not the best news, but sometimes, unexpected ‘bad news’ can be seen as an opportunity and turned to your advantage. There were some things I was already thinking about doing in the back of my mind with the engine … Read more
Speedo refurb With the refurbished speedo back from Thorsten at VW-Museum, it’s time to start getting things back together again! At the moment, it’s a bit disconcerting driving around with a big hole in the dash of my VW bus, so it will be good to get that aspect resolved! Throttle Kit Instead of the … Read more
Whilst in their capable hands, another of the things I’ve asked the guys at Resto Classics to do, is check over the buses electrics front to back. The buses actual ‘structure’ is in great, rust free condition, so for my peace of mind/confidence, I wanted the other main components checking; electrics, brakes and the engine. … Read more
Cable cutting One of the first things I wanted to get sorted on the bus was the dodgy accelerator cable/linkage! Not currently having anywhere to safely work on the bus, I’ve booked the bus in at Resto Classics to get this, plus a few other issues beyond my ability sorted. It’s also good to get an … Read more