Roxy the '71 Panel - So That's What's Wrong With the Engine

[sparkywig]

So after a day of tinkering on Saturday she only went and bloody passed the retest today!

Roll on Bristol Volksfest! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Right then George, no more tinkering or fettling or anything please just fill it up with fuel. No room for Vauxhalls this weekend.

 

[gvee]

Been a while... again.

So what's happened since my last update?

Well, me and my better half are buying a garage! Well, she is buying a house with a garage, and I'm buying a garage with a house

We are still awaiting a move date, but that has curtailed my spending on the bus and bug... For now.

What else? Only the best show of the year... Bristol Volksfest!! 8) 8) 8)

Yes, that's a beetle hanging upside down from the roof!

I really didn't take that many photos, sorry

I had an amazing time (as usual): too much beer, sun[burn], partying and fun. Apologies to my fellow EB campers for not being around so much, but I picked up more shifts than other years to help line the coffers for the new home.

Roxy behaved perfectly there and back.



Well... This wouldn't be a true bus trip without me breaking down somewhere, right? :msn4:

I jinxed it by declaring that the only major mechanical bit left to be sorted was the rear brakes, right? Right?!

So yeah, about 100 miles home I pulled off the motorway to stretch my legs and found, as I approached the roundabout, that my brake pedal kept going until it hit the floor and I still didn't have full braking! Oops.

New backing plates, pistons, shoes and drums. Mmmm, shiny.

Oh, and a new handbrake cable on one side. Will do the other at some point but it wasn't necessary.

The bus is back on all fours and booked in for a wee look at by my local garage, to get the brakes balanced and fuel lines replaced. I just don't have enough time before we head up to Scotland for a wee trip next week.

 

[smokehouse]

i hate to tell you this but you put your ebrake lever on wrong and the spring. now you'll have to take them back apart again.

 

[gvee]

i hate to tell you this but you put your ebrake lever on wrong and the spring. now you'll have to take them back apart again.

Big thank you for this!

Stripped down and redone

 

[gvee]

So yeah, had lots of brake fun.

So after replacing all of the rears, we still had issues :evil:

Servo AND master cylinder fubared. Some more shiny bits to go on!

But hit a bit of a problem with the replacement servo... Instead of a square bolt pattern, it was rectangular! So out with the drill and after carefully marking out and slowly increasing the size of each hold until it fit nicely... And then the had to pad it away from the beam with a few washers.

Everything back together, brakes bled and back to the garage for a retest.




Pass 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

...and only just in time for our trip to Scotland !

 

[gvee]

2 days after getting a clean ticket, we packed the bus up and drove up north, past the border for 10 days.

First stop was Dunfermline for a wedding. No drama on the drive up and just tucked it under the balcony at the hotel for a few days.

Did a bit of exploring of the city whilst the Mrs was busy with the bride to be baking the wedding cake!

Sadly not many photos because I foolishly decided to do my tourism in the form of a jog. I ran 20 miles. Idiot :roll:

I had really earned this:

Possibly the best beer I have ever had! Can't find it anywhere now that I'm back in England, mind

So yeah ,the wedding ...

My better half might kill me for this, but hey, I reckon we scrub up well

Really was an amazing event. Truly fantastic!




After recovering from the wedding party we headed further north; Aberdeen! That's where the beauty from the last picture hails from

Scotland is amazing for free camping and we had an unbelievably sunny week. Seriously... 10 days in a row over 20 degrees. Unheard of!

So here's where we decided to pitch up on the first night

And the view in the morning

I'm feeling brave (or foolish)... Here's another one of us weirdos!

Ahem. Sorry.

So after a few days in Aberdeen, catching up with the inlaws we decided to head to the beautiful city of St Andrews!

And of course, the best ice cream in the world: Janettas!

Oh, and our tasting tour of Eden Mill Brewery. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Best to book well in advance though.

:msn4:

And a little free camp on the outskirts of town

I love that part of the world!

Sadly we had to head back home... So we took the scenic, coastal route

First rain of our holiday was on the journey home, so we skipped our last night's stop and went straight home.

850+ miles, no drama

 

[admwllms]

Fantastic pics man, looks like a great trip.

 

[gninnam]

Agree, nice pics and sounds like a great trip - pleased the trip went without a hitch :mrgreen:

 

[ozziedog]

Brilliant George, glad you guys had a good run. Say hello to your lovely lady for me George !! Bus fest next for me then OKT fest, what are you lot up to then ?

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Didn`t break down,, it`ll never catch on bud :mrgreen:

 

[georgeyv]

Bus did you proud on your trip! Looks belting.

 

[gvee]

Long time between updates again; no good!

At least this time I've had an excuse: my better half and I bought our first home 8) 8) 8)

...or more specifically; we bought a garage with a dwelling near by


The bus was put to great use, moving the majority of our stuff (except a few bits that didn't fit), and used as a bit of a builders van while we were doing various bits and pieces on what turned out to be a bit more of a project home than anticipated!

Sadly Roxy has been sat outside my house, not in her new dwelling, for the last 3 weeks or so as the garage is still half full of the stuff we've not been able to bring inside yet. I'll see if I can get things shuffled around so that she's not getting snowed on again :msn4: The bug is also being a bit neglected as I now walk to work most days; but I did get it all scrubbed up and put back together in time for my brothers wedding!

No photos this time (sorry) - will endeavour to get a few snaps from my old phone and get them up here soon.

 

[gninnam]

Kept on meaning to text you to see if you needed any help
If you need help don't hesitate to give me a nudge

 

[gvee]

So this happened:

 

[ozziedog]

Blimey George, That looks next to impossible. Any ideas where you managed to pick that up ??

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,, Unlucky as heck

 

[gvee]

Gosh - well it really has been a while, eh...

I think that's mostly because I've done very little to the bus other than just use it!

Tinkered a little with the electrics before taking it down to Bristol Volksfest last week, and it sailed the MOT on Wednesday with no drama

 

[gninnam]

Result

 

[gvee]

I've been jinxing it for far too long by stating

...pretty much the only thing I haven't replaced [mechanically] is the clutch cable...

So guess what happened last week?

Was only about a mile from the house as well! Annoyingly there was nobody available to give me a tow so I had to call out the big truck... turns out the guy knew me from my beetle breakdown earlier in the year :lol: Home in no time.

Had hernia surgery the day after, so Roxy is just sat out back teasing me for attention.
Won't be able to get undereath it for a good few weeks, so am without a motor for the forseeable... might have to try persuade my father to replace the cable for me in exchange for baked goods. That's not a bad shout actually

 

[gninnam]

Could only happen to you!!!
If you have the cable already I could come and do it for you at the weekend?

 

[gvee]

Andy - you're a true gent. Thank you for the offer, but I think we have this, this time (plus the part only arrived today )

I'm still not fully mobile and definitely not allowed to lift, but my Pa nipped over this evening and had a quick shufty underneath... turns out it's not the cable, but the retaining-pin-thingamyjig!

Wish I had ordered that as well. D'oh!

My old man is picking up the bit from GSF tomorrow, so should be back rolling tomorrow night 8)

 

[gvee]

Can't believe I haven't updated this thread in nearly 3 years!

Well, to be fair, that's because not much has changed with Roxy.
She's currently tucked up in the garage awaiting some TLC.

House buying, engagement and upcoming wedding (COVID pending) have been the leading time-stealers.

Here's a quick list of jobs to make my future self feel guilty for not completing:

- Oil change
- Fix sticky accelerator pedal
- I should probably tackle the rear corners as this might be the last year they're passable :S
- Front, drivers side arch needs a patch
- Get underneath it and give it a good scrub and underseal
- Install the matching drivers seat
- Rip out the interior and check being the panels for any signs of hidden problems
- Rear quarter panel hole
- Cruise!!

P.S. I sold the beetle :msn4: quite relieving in the end. Was too demoralising having that rotting away