Some of the Volks I've Known - 2013

Welcome to the 2013 edition of Some of the Volks I've Known, showcasing some of Portland's finest air-cooled Volkwagens.  It has been an honor getting to know you and working together.

Thank you all!

 Ryan replacing the cross-shaft on his 1964 Beetle transmission after dropping the engine.  

Due to lousy aftermarket parts that didn't fit right, it took us a lot longer than it should have, but we got her back on the road again.  If YOU ever have to replace your cross shaft, check fit first before assembling everything - trust me.

Steve's incredibly nice 1976 Westfalia, all original!  She's originally an Arkansas bus if you can believe it.

We worked together replacing the ignition switch, a bit more challenging on later Bay Buses.

Jeff's beautiful and meticulously restored 1965 21 Window Bus, one of the nicest I've ever seen...

Jeff did most of the work himself, including the paint!  (His shop is just as beautiful as the Bus, shaming me to no end.)  Jeff wanted to learn how to perform basic maintenance on his refurbished engine, as well as getting it started for the first time.

Rhonda's perky '71 camper - the Bus that refuses to die!
She was in for a full once-over, including new fuel lines, a complete tune-up and front end work.

Tony's very original (and daily driver!) 21 window Bus.  We worked on the brakes and getting her safe for camp season.

Don and I spent the better part of spring finding his first bus.  No, no this one, it needed too much work.

Don and his new bus, fresh off the wet streets of Tacoma.  It was a wild ride back to Portland...
It is a shame when previous owners put off basic maintenance, because in the long run the car really suffers.
We spent a day getting her running right, and she's in Don's capable hands now.

 My good friend John from Eugene, broken down in Portland with a bad transmission.

 Luckily the Portland guys are able to help!
  And thanks to Mike and his parts Bus, John is back on the road the next day.

Helping Deborah with her fleet - getting the Bug to run right, and teaching an oil change.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to help with a shifting issue on the Ghia.

Paige, getting her Bus ready for a long summer of road trips.

Spending a damp autumn day with Robbie, teaching him how to complete basic maintenance on his shiny Idaho girl.  Welcome to Portland!

And the moldy old wreck of a bus that was mine for 4 hours.
  And then the guy got a better offer and sold it to someone else.  That's the breaks.

I will continue to update as the year progresses, stay tuned!

Last year:

 http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com/2012/10/some-of-volks-ive-known-lately.html

Some of the Volks I've Known Lately

A great part of a blessed life is realizing that fact in itself.  Over the past handful of months, I have had the great fortune of wrenching with some pretty special people.  Some times I stand and gawk, other times up to my ears in Volkswagen unmentionables - but every time (most times) grateful for the experience.

Here are a few photos of some of the Volks I've had the pleasure to know in the past year or so.

If we have met, but you aren't represented, then please send me a photo!

Ruckman up to his own ears in Bertha Bus

Hal deep into the daunting task of re-topping his Cabriolet

Doug's perky '67 Beetle

With rebuilt engine (by yours truly)

Will's ageless Beetle, in for a tuneup

Stephan about to start his new engine

Sluggo bus, in for engine work

Randy and Stephan hamming it up

The Ruptured Duck AKA "Cloe"

(mothered by our dear Colin as he wanders the earth)

I had the great delight of helping pull the engine while Spring rain rolled down my neck

The real deal, formerly loved by my dear friend Mike AKA "Bookwus"

 before his passage from this Earth.  (check out that license plate...)

Randy again, CVs this time.

Yuck.  Dead on the table.

Gladys, who I completely rebuilt from a derelict wreck.  Sigh, the one that got away...

87,000 original miles!

before

oh you have no idea what I went through...

crazy Mark's "Clementine" shining in the Deschutes springtime

in for a tuneup, but I never got her name

the poor stray cat with leaky injectors, featured in a previous post

(I never got her name either, and I assume that she's now onto greener pastures)

Tony's lovely (and gettin' pretty rare) multi-purpose bus

Teri, Eva and me with our '72 Super Beetle

Bugly, who taught her owner repair and maintenance

"I have changed my distributor, timed, and tuned again, oil changed and now redoing my upholstery. Thanks to you for getting me started and the confidence to do so" -Jon

What?  What's this?  Eva in strawberry heaven
(and I'll tell ya, she'd eat the whole thing)

Harvest time (lookit those peaches!)

"Bella" basking in the late summer on Sauvie Island

Grant's very original '73 Transporter

And of course my beloved "Ma" doing what she does best, flanked by the autumn Cascades

Greg's very nice '73 convertible soaking in the autumn rain
"ITS ALIVE: The new battery did the job. Not even a full crank and it fired up perfectly!...thanks for the help Bob it was great hangin out with you and doing the repairs." -Greg

Kent's original '70 Riviera camper
"Glad you came today. It was a pleasure working with you." -Kent

Scott's lovingly restored '67 Ghia hardtop

"Thanks for your help, suggestions and peace of mind, it was exactly what I was looking for." -Scott 

A 1961 pound pup Beetle with difficult shifting and other issues.  She needed more than I could take on that rainy autumn day, but a lovely car onto greener pastures like so many others.

VW Camper & Bus Magazine - September 2012

I have had the great honor of having my photos and writing appear in England's prestigious VW Camper & Bus Magazine for September 2012!

Those that know me know that I live for wilderness and camping, and of course with my trusty '69 bus getting us back safely after many insane miles into the unknown.  It is only fitting I guess that she'd eventually get featured in her own article.

Much thanks to IPC Media and the great people of VW Camper & Bus for this opportunity!  This is my first published work, and of course I'm quite proud.  

Also, a hearty thank you to the Portland Volks Folks cronies, who's colorful buses are also featured in the article.  Without all of you, I'd never have had such wonderful and trouble-free experiences.  I am eternally grateful for my air cooled family.

Please read on if you'd like.  Click on the pages and they will open in another window so you can read the darned things.

-Bob Koscik

The Case of the Leaky Fuel Injectors

Recently I had the great fortune of meeting a very nice woman with a gas-leaking VW Fastback.
"Help!", I think she said.

I was greeted with a beaming smile and a very original 1969 Fastback in a patina red.  "Turn the key and let's see".  Braided cloth fuel lines (that don't appear to be that old) are spraying gas through many fine pinpoints.  There is gas everywhere, and the fuel lines need to be replaced.  I get to work with a smile, enjoying this warm Portland afternoon.  And we try it again - but 2 of the D-jet fuel injectors are leaking.  Bummer, but what can you do?
She is eager to sell the car and get on with her life.  I of course try to talk her out of it, but who wants a white elephant anchor when life moves on?  I totally understand and have sold my share of Volkswagens when the time was right.
I offer to purchase and replace the injectors for her.  And then the fun begins.

file photo

Portland, Oregon, USA is quite the air cooled Volkswagen town.  With a multitude of shops and parts stores, surely finding 2 injectors won't be that difficult.  I quickly discover that they are rare as hen's teeth - no one in Portland has them.  Bosch D-jet fuel injection was only used for about 4 years, and then replaced with lesser (but emissions and cost-conscious) designs.  It is durable and lasts forever, and was in fact the first electronic fuel injection ever, quite a milestone in the late 1960's.

Getting back to work, I locate the part # and search on line.  They show up on many websites, great!  I find the cheapest ones at JC Whitney and order them, rebuilt by GB Manufacturing in the USA (apparently the only company rebuilding D-jet injectors at this time).  Expedited shipping will get them to me in 3 days.

Dear Mr./Ms. Koscik, 
We regret to inform you that we are "out of stock" on the product(s) you ordered. 

Ok then, thanks for nothing.  Why did you add the items to my cart and then charge me?  Why is the "out of stock" in quotes?  Are they really IN stock and you're toying with me?  And why are you so unsure of my gender?

  Oh JC Whitney, I should have known.  In my early days in Chicago I purchased a lot of junk from them, pretending to be new VW parts.  Door handles that would rust in a week.  Live and learn.

Option 2, Auto Parts Warehouse!  Wow I'm already impressed.  I cross my nervous fingers and place the order.  I have little experience ordering from these faceless online websites, but there is a time crunch here and I have to take a chance.

Dear Mr./Ms. Koscik, We regret to inform you that at the present time we are out of stock on:  Brand Sku Qty GB G5852-13101 2 GB G5852-13101 2

This is not going well.  And these guys aren't sure of my gender either, oh man what a letdown.  Of course all of this fiasco has taken the better part of a week.  

Word has it that Bus Depot has very good quality new injectors, but they cost more and shipping takes a long time from the East Coast to far flung Oregon.  A search on "The Samba" classifieds finds a guy selling 2 new injectors, still in their factory packaging.  He can get them here in two days, and reluctantly I take a chance on a new but nameless product.  My gut tells me to learn from past experience: aftermarket (and often Chinese) VW parts are frequently junk.

"Maybe fate is with me this time", I reason.  

2 days later as promised they arrive via Priority Mail.  I quickly discover a "RE" after the part number, these are re-manufactured parts.  So much for new, but maybe that's a good thing.

  

I notice that the yellow plastic top on the injectors are a bit wobbly and crudely cast.  They are glued to the injector body with a hot glue blob, that can't be good.  But they are sealed in plastic bags in their original boxes, "surely the factory knows what it's doing", I pout.

one hell of a still life (and too many projects)

would you trust this injector?

The lovely lady and I meet again, curbside and me with my suspect injectors.  I hope for the best and install them.

Turning the key, they flow gasoline like a happy fountain through their yellow tops.  My credibility is shot.  

What else to do?  She needs the car running, and it will take me another 2 weeks to get injectors. 

I recommend Always VeeDub just down Hawthorne.  Their service is pricey but is usually top notch, and owner Ashley seems to always have that rare part.  True to form, he is able to help her and I am off the hook, but feeling like I got hit by a pie in the face.

I think there are 2 lessons here. 

 First, a time crunch does not mean you take a chance with unknown parts (although often there is little recourse).  Sometimes ya just gotta wait and "pay up, bub". 

Second, the VW world is littered with useless aftermarket junk parts.  Look at these injectors, shiny and new, imperial in their accurately marked packaging.  But they just don't work, a fraud really.

I encourage all vintage VW owners to completely embargo Chinese aftermarket parts.  The failure rate is astronomical, why even take a chance?  They are fleecing us like suckers, taking our hard earned money and giving crap in return.  This has been my experience and the experience of many others in the VW world. 

 Don't take my word for it, find out for yourself the hard way if you must.  But at this point I can guarantee that your injectors will leak, your distributor won't advance properly, and your undersized windshield will leak.  Do your research and don't be somebody's sucker - money is too valuable these days.  I have wasted many hours of my time on this fiasco, and the pie doesn't wash off that easy either.