ChiliPepper Clinic

Me Like!

Guess I just gotta get the van running first

Just storing some idea links for future work on the Syncro.

just started working on Chipotle this week with the warm weather. When I pulled it out of storage last fall - it was running oddly and i was afraid it was overheating. So i had it towed to Syracuse. SO, this week, after a new thermostat, thermostat housing, fuel injection temp sensor and a gauge temp sensor, I still am not getting a reading on the dashboard. So i **think* I can rule out overheating. So i went ahead and swapped out the gauge cluster with another one that has a tachometer. That seems to be working fine now as well. So after a little more testing , it is on to the tune up and the mandatory fuel line changes. Also learned that if you soak your mechanics gloves in coolant, the leather dye transfers to your hands rather well.

My sister's van and mine both need the pop top canvas replaced. So we are planning a weekend workshop sometime in May to work on them together. i found this youtube vid of the procedure that i hoped will be helpful. OF course - watching it to the end - it turns into a disaster for the owner who warns people not to try the procedure.





I am adding extra links for reference too

westfalia_canvas_camper_replacement

I first picked up the car bug in Junior High School. I think it was the only thing that made feel like i was a normal boy. I would spend hours reading VW trends magazine and dream about a VW beetle. - My first car love. Sonehow I made the transistion to water cooling [ after I bought my rabbit?] and fell in love with the VW scirocco. I REALLY wanted one. SO summer after my sophmore year - I spotted a rusty, headed-to-the-scrap-heap 1978 Scirocco and bought it for $300 [?] Burned out engine and rusty. [ My father was conviniently out of town that weekend. ]






Tom's first folly. AND IT WAS A FOLLY. After a year in storage with cheap dry gas in the tank [ not good] I spent a whole summer saving money and replacing the engine. My brother in law Joe helped me weld and repaint the entire body and multiple trips to Gary's U pull it provided new[er] seats and interior bits. I was psyched. The car was beautiful. The only problem was it did not run very often. Some strange problem with the fuel system continuously gave me problems and the car ended up being towed alot. The car just hated me. I ended up giving it to a friend after I bought my GTI. [ a wonderful car....btw..]

Someone on the VW BusCamp list forwarded this Youtube clip from BurningMan this past summer. I guess the guy was just filming different parts of BurningMan. So lo-and-behold - there's ChiliPepper! - right next to the CuddleDome.

This video was produced by VW when they premiered the VW microbus concept. [2001?] It was a great idea and i, along with some friends eagerly awaited the debut of the real thing. A friend even tried to put down an advance deposit. But it was not to be. VW figured out that they could not produce the car for lass than $40 grand [ that was BEFORE the euro rise....] and gave the whole idea up. [ which still highlights an big structural flaw in VW ] You figure if you are going to arrive in the minivan scene ...errr.. 15 years + late .. you better bring something cool to the table. But no. Vw is having Chysler make their mini van for them. Which - given recent VW build quality - may not actually be a bad thing. Too bad. VW lost big time.