First fix from The Mark

So far, we've had to do a couple of fixes that the previous owner hadn't had time to do.  They haven't been serious.  One of the roof seals had been cut short, so J sealed it with silicon.  The indicator stalk was loose, (as in you had to hold it still to put the indicator on!) and so it was unscrewed, insulation tape applied to thicken out the steering column, and then re-assembled onto the correct place under the steering wheel.  Job done.

Until.

Friday, it was misty, and J went off to work.  Used to a modern car that buzzes when you get out and leave the lights on, he forgot to turn the lights off.  Easy mistake, and looking at the forums, it's one that happens a lot in the first few weeks of T2 ownership!  He's intending to fit a light buzzer as soon as possible to prevent this happening again.....

Obviously, if the lights are left on all day, they draw power all day.  Well, all day until the battery has no more power to give, and then the vehicle won't start.  This happened to Brian, and he had his first bump start with us.  First, and last, because the engine went from starting first time every time, to being a bugger to start and when it had it wouldn't idle.  However, we know the alternator works fine! There is a bright side to everything.....

This meant that we had to effect some repairs.  We dragged out the Haynes manual, located the idle screw, took it out and cleaned it up.  We took out the mixture screw, took it out and cleaned it up.  After putting both back in, and having a bit of a fiddle with them, Brian was once more running reliably.

Reliably, but not right.  He was requiring a hefty dose of foot to pull away, rather than his normal amount, and felt sluggish.  However, years and years and years and years and years of VW's have provided J with a secret weapon when it comes to engines.  We have a Mark.

Mark is to engines what Jamie Oliver is to food, what  Monet is to art, what Vivaldi is to music, what Jess Ennis is to heptathlon.  Quite simply, he's the best.  A phone call to him on our way up country, and he was off to get parts.  The common consensus was that a new dizzy cap, HT leads, rotor arm and plugs wouldn't hurt, and then we'd know that they'd been done.

What we found when the engine was looked at by The Mark though, was that there was a pinhole leak in a fuel pipe, and that the HT leads for two of the cylinders were the wrong way around, and the plastic cap was missing from the cold start part of the carb, meaning that it was loose and not enabling the engine to start properly.

The Mark and J effect repairs, whilst the child acts as foreman.

Once the leads, plugs, cap, rotor arm, fuel pipe and inline filter had been replaced, Brian was a much happier engine, and back to his normal sewing machine sounding self.  The Mark checked the rpm to set the idling level, and all was well.

The next morning it became clear that the cold start thing is potentially an issue.  Again, Brian was reluctant to start and wouldn't idle until he had warmed up.  We're trying to track down the part now to repair the carb, and we think it was already loose, and the jolt from the bump start just knocked it out of position.

Once Brian was happily warm, he did the 3 hour journey home again with no problems at all (aside from some numbness in the posterior area that means the seat refurb is heading up the list!) 

The bright sides to all of this would be that we know more about this engine and carb than we did before!  We've also ordered new seatbelts for the front from vwheritage, and pictures of their installation should be the next post on this blog.

First show!

Brian went to his first show at the weekend, and accidentally got shown!

It was a small local show, run by the King's Lynn Kruisers and it's a playing field of cars, hot rods, and fabulous paint jobs.  Unfortunately, bad planning meant that all I had on me was my phone, and it doesn't take great pictures.  However I managed to grab a couple of Brian at the show.

We'd picked up a bottle of Maguire's Ultimate Wash and Wax Anywhere at Halfords on the way, and a quick spray and wipe around the bus had that red paint shining in the sun.  We were impressed with how quickly and easily the product took off a light layer of dust and road grime, including flies and replaced it with a shine that one of the smaller people there could "really see my face in it!"

It was a nice day out, peer selected prizes, live band, peculiar car boot and good bacon butties.  What more could Brian ask for for his first show? As far as we know, it's his first show ever!

Who is Brian?

We first saw Brian on carandclassic.co.uk.  He was described as a Volkswagen Early Bay Dormobile and when we saw his picture we both felt he was the van for us.

I mean, who wouldn't love him?  At the time of his advertising, he had no name, and so it was left to us to name him in the way that so many campers are named.  Our youngest son suggested Frank initially, but it soon became clear that Brian was the way forward - and yes, he is named after the Life of Brian, because we always look on the bright side of life.

This blog will chart his life with us, the things that are done to him and for him, and the places he takes us.  We've only had him since Wednesday (today is Saturday!) so the sky is the limit!