http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy Life with a house on wheels en-us Copyright 2012 Keith Tanner. All Rights Reserved. keith@miata.net (Keith Tanner) keith@miata.net (Keith Tanner) Fri, 18 May 2012 22:02:15 -0600 Fri, 18 May 2012 22:02:15 -0600 Keith's RSS generator http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/images_sml/RSS.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy 88 88 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=36 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=36 Janel predicts s'mores in her future.]]> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:59:01 -0600 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=35 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=35 Thanks to various other things going on, our planned trip to Moab this weekend was looking questionable. But we decided to just do it anyway and hit the road. This was the big shakedown - what works, what doesn't, what do we need to remember to bring.
(more)]]> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:56:55 -0600 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=34 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=34 Westy's Subaru engine is heavier than the original VW one, probably because it's all full of horsepower and reliability. So Westy had a bit of a droopy butt. The homebrew cure for that is to buy a big 1/2" thick plastic cutting board and make some spring spacers. There's a nice place to put it above the rear springs. But when I looked at the price of cutting boards and the size I'd need, I figured there might be a better way. I called my local plastics supply store and got a quote for two discs of Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) material. It was almost exactly the same as a cutting board at the local hardware store - except that these would be made to my exact dimensions and UHMW is stronger than the High Density Poly Urethane usually used in cutting boards.
(more)]]> Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:58:46 -0600 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=33 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=33 I support this kind of thing for a living, and it was obvious that this product needed a bit of extra work. The most obvious was the new brackets for the sway bar bushings. There were two types in the package - variations depending on the model year of the Vanagon, I assume. No mention of that in the instructions. Anyhow, I chose the correct one and discovered it wasn't the right shape. Note the stock part on top - the mounting points are splayed. Attaching the flat bracket to those would mean a lot of stress on those little bolts. A bit of quality time with a vise and a big pair of pliers and the problem was solved. This was just lazy on Addco's part.
(more)]]> Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:16:56 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=32 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=32 I don't think Westfalia changed the sway bars on the stock Vanagon, and that's a lot of extra tall weight. Westy just feels a bit twitchy with a lot of weight transfer, so I decided a set of sways would make it a bit more stable on the highway. I got a set of them - one front and one rear.
(more)]]> Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:02:29 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=31 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=31 The VW must have spent some time in a very sunny environment, as there are a number of pieces on the car that show the signs. The winner by far is the rear view mirror, which crumbles to the touch.
(more)]]> Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:02:43 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=30 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=30 We took it on an official shakedown cruise to Ouray a month ago. The heater is very effective, I'm pleased to report. Our plans of making hot chocolate after soaking in the hot springs didn't come to fruition simply because we were full of hot chocolate from Mouse's Chocolates. The Vanagon happily cruised at 70 mph and the upgraded headlights lit up the night perfectly.
(more)]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:41:49 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=29 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=29 ]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:33:12 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=28 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=28 It's so simple - a piece of pipe to extend the mount. The forums are full of different ways to do it, but mine involved a welder. It's a nice improvement to how the table works. Well worth the effort. ]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:31:57 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=27 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=27 The rug and throw pillows really tie the room together and make me laugh. There's a bigger, thicker rug hidden away for when we're sitting on the open door sill putting on ski boots, for example.
(more)]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:26:44 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=26 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=26 The most obvious and fun is the disco ball in the windshield. No explanation is needed. More mundane is the grab handle on the driver's side. It lets me get into the driver's seat without looking like a doofus. I've also added convex bubbles to the mirrors so I can see around me when I drive. The center mirror isn't a lot of use really. ]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:23:29 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=25 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=25 ]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:15:54 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=24 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=24 In a Vanagon, you have to worry about door clearance!]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:36:28 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=23 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=23 New feet. The tires are Nokian WR C snow tires in a 205/70-15. They're D load rated, something the tall and heavy van needs for stability. Since we're planning on using Westy as a ski trip vehicle, I figured the snow tires were the best choice.
(more)]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:35:14 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=22 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=22 They've got an odd bolt pattern (5x112) and offset (+30) combination. When you do find a set, they're probably off another car. In this case, the shape of the seat of the lug nuts is different. The wheel is also thicker by about 16mm. So this means new hardware. I ordered new studs and nuts from T3 Technique.
(more)]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:09:07 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=21 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=21 Westy came with decent tires, but they were on 14" steel wheels. When I came across a set of Ronal R9 wheels on eBay, I couldn't resist. These look like a classic AMG wheel and come in a bunch of sizes - but there's one size that's just right for the Vanagon and it's pretty scarce. They're freshly powdercoated and I'd prefer silver, but still. So Westy has some new wheels. ]]> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:49:13 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=20 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=20 The top pops up and there are little details that delight throughout. And yes, one of the brackets for the roof rack got moved out of place. It's fun to drive this around the table. Now, as soon as the weather warms up, we'll be ready to drive the full-size version!]]> Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:35:04 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=19 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=19 It's a substantial piece, about a foot long and solid. Those with long memories will recall that my journey into the Seven started with me building a model of a Lotus Seven. That was over 8 years ago. Janel came on the scene in time to help paint the frame of that car. How far we've sunk since.]]> Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:33:51 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=18 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=18 Very cool. There's a little lava lamp in an alcove in the back and a plant on the other side. The rear seat really folds down into a bed and the table folds away. You can put the glass in the cupboard under the sink when you do that.
(more)]]> Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:31:43 -0700 Westy http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=17 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Westy/diary.php?UID=17 This was early on (step 10, as can be seen in the picture) so the fever had not yet taken hold and Janel was still coming up to speed. Later, I was too busy scrabbling for parts to take any pictures!]]> Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:29:35 -0700 Westy