VeeDub Bus….Billie Bud now back on the driveway after a few weeks away being worked on. She’s looking grand.
MOT now Passed. Paul, the VeeDub Guru who does the essential renovate, repair and maintenance of mechanical needs on the Bus for me, has once again pulled out the magic result of a wonderful intervention. A bit of work was needed on the brakes, four new Scat piston rods, new brake calliper, window wiper blades, window winder system replaced, tune up, timing, valves tightened and generally an all over maintenance check, etc. Wax oiled underneath and some sills edges repainted with toughened paint. Just emptied her of everything, haven’t put a lot of items back as never used them and completely rearranged things for easier access.
This weather? A back of the house and parked in the hills next to a lakeside or cool running riverside seem like the type of places to aim for. A beach? Too intense. Tourists are necessary for local businesses. But a chosen quiet spot away from the bustle is my preferred Nirvana.
The possession now of having a little Solar Panel, Battery and Charge Controller/Converter (with an Inverter still to choose and buy) are all waiting to be set up and sorted. Intentions to link up the iPad and microphone so that enough power is present to last for the recording of a longish conversation. A well chosen App for video/voice editing needed too. Podcast/Video project very much still awaiting it’s maiden voyage.
Scenario? Familiarity. Visuals that state it is a Gray Summers’ upload. Thinking artistically now must begin. Hope I have the inspirations, tenacity and skills to carry the project off.
Looking for some old comfy vintage wooden folding chairs now with suitable vintage print seat pads and back pads to sit on / lean against for much required comfort. Old bones exist in this Summers’ skeletal frame, muscles lock with their own sinister alacrity and therefore the soft approach need deepens. The old cheapo folding seats of metal and thin stripy cloth are a bit rusty! Salty sea air and sand both got their claws in. And to be honest. The VeeDub itself and salty sea air/sand aren’t best buddies either. Rust always gets involved. The bottom of the VeeDub badly rotted out and had to be completely rebuilt.
Back on subject! Alongside the chairs? A decent strong table to sit at outside which holds enough on it to feel comfortable. Items linked to Podcast or Video discussion subjects like fountain pens, newly read books, journal writing, photography/camera, guitar playing, etc. have to sit with an ease in order to access them. I would like to fly some chosen subject matter solo at times.
Billie Bud the VeeDub Bus is a little treasure who is 50 years old this year. 16 years younger than myself. She is still a trooper and ready for action. My view is that she still deserves the considerations of a bit of TLC.
Please tap on individual photographs to enlarge.
Gray Summers 
50 Years -impressive. Actually the repairs are far less than one would expect with a vehicle this age, not to mention exposure to salt air. Do the seat fold down into a bed?
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Hi Danny. Yes. It’s called a Rock and Roll bed. Bit tight as a 3/4 width but very comfortable. Cupboards/Gas Ring Cooker along the back driver’s side take up that other 1/4 width. It has a pop top so you can stand up quite easily when cooking, etc. The whole bus underside and some panels got rotten after 6 years of beach visits. Everything has been replaced beam wise. I’ve thrown an awful lot of money at her over the 13 years ownership. She has been shot blasted back to bare metal after everything was taken off and just the shell existed. She looked like a lace doily. And then completely rebuilt. But they do need constant maintenance. Trouble is, just took an 18 mile run and noticed the oil pressure light flickering. There’s always something! Cheers.
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Very nice and yes there is always something to work on. As a young man I grew up with “street squirrels” slang for car enthusiasts. We were always either racing, rebuilding or repairing a vehicle. One of my friends had a VW Beetle (straight flat windshield). He had gotten it from a farmer. The car was abandoned and spent the prior decade rotting in a field. The floor board was gone, mice had eaten all the wiring. Refurbishing it was a blast.
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Sounds like you really understand the fascinations then. First met Paul from the community when he agreed to take on the VeeDub. Strip it down, Repair and Weld all the needed bits and then Renovate it to the best he could. I was the ‘hunter’. Finding everything either original parts as second hand or of decent after market choices. EBay, specialist suppliers, etc. Took 2 years of him dipping in and out of the work whilst he worked on other stuff too. Read everything I could, got my hands dirty a few times too and Paul shared all his knowledge with me. He did 90% of the work though. It was a blast. Love T2 Beetles too. But enough is needed with this one! Maybe you’ll get one. You may catch the Bug again! Excuse the pun. 😉
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My wife would take issue with that “bug”. When we would race always took a spare transmission. I was the transmission installer. I was small and fit under the car best. we used an VW engine jack to manage the transmission into place. Those were the days. Young people don’t know what they are missing.
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Memories hey? Priceless. Sounds spooky though. Please don’t tell me a simple VW Bilstein jack to lift the Dub itself too to get under. With the weight of it all over your head. I was changing the starter motor with a couple of heavy duty lorry jacks holding up the whole bus at the two rear jacking points. Thing is, it was at the time it was getting rustier underneath and all that deterioration was hidden behind the belly pans! Dread to think. Everything is simple on Dubs, but there are many challenges still. Like getting at that D bolt behind the fan housing holding the starter motor on! Your being small as a child? If you were a small child and existed in Victorian England…..you’d have been sent up the chimneys as a sweep. You under a Beetle Bug equivalent. 🙂 Cheers Danny. Great story. No wonder Fountain Pen interests are a gentler choice.
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