BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: GUEST,saulgoldie
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 08:27 AM

Don't know if I could keep my VW story and thoughts to less than about maybe couple thousand words. But...drafting?

Have you ever drafted behind a (commercial) bus or BIG truck as it pulled away from a light and accelerated to ~50MPH...on a BICYCLE??!!! Wound out my #52 chainring with the #13 cog! Wooowee! That was *some fun*!!! (Mom woulda *kilt me*, if she knew!)

Saul

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: gnu
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 02:17 PM

I was about to write a story about Bro's Bugs and something struck me! I said "...Germans on the Audubon flagging him down to ask how it could hit 115mph..."

Nope. The one with the Porche 914 engine would do 135mph on the flat. The one with the sahve flywheel could hit 115mph and it accelerated like a birch partridge (ruffed grouse).

So... today I saw a VW Bus (Westfalia) and a pimped out bug with a great paint job, exposed engine with all the perks, flared fenders... drooool!

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: Bobert
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 04:12 PM

The top speed for a steel bodied VW was set a couple years back at the Salt Flats... 153 mph... Of course the engine wasn't stock and the tranny was built with a huge Overdrive 5th gear and the ring and pinion gear was around a 3.30... I got the Hot VW magazine with the article in it about the run...

BTW, it was a Karmann Ghia and about as ugly as my old Geeero...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 06:32 PM

If you want to be brave, try that in a Renault Floride (or Caravelle). I was behind a very pretty restored one the other day for a few miles and oh boy the tap-dance the swing axle rear suspension wsa doing was alarming.

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: voyager
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 07:09 PM

John Muir - How To Keep Your Volkswagon Alive

Was the 'VW Repair Guide for Dummies' back in the day (1960s-70s).
So when my VW engine was leaking oil (circa 1969) we followed these instructions -

1. Drop the engine
2. Remove the flywheel (using flywheel lock and breaker bar)
3. Replace the flywheel seal <-- Almost!

As it turned out -

1. We removed the crankcase seal (2" below the flywheel seal)
2. We had to 'split the case' and reseal the engine block
3. Costly lesson learned!

This was the 1st of many VW misadventures and a love of the original
VW cars (bug and van). Some destroyed, many well-traveled.

voyager

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: Bobert
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 07:14 PM

Grew up on John Muir... Heck of a cool ol' guy...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 08:01 PM

I have a copy of John Muir's book... or I used to. Wonder where I put it?

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: Bobert
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 08:07 PM

Don't know where mine is either, Bill... I do recall the cover... Picture of John with a parrot on his shoulder...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Your Best Old Volkswagen Story...
From: gnu
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 08:09 PM

He stopped designing killing machines for Blockhead and started workin on VWs? Yeah... cool guy.