Friday, April 20, 2007

Van back*


van back
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.
My VW Type 2 has returned. I picked it up from the mechanic this afternoon. For quite a few quid the rear valance has been welded in, repair panels applied either side of the engine bay hatch and various other bits of metal put in the back to replace panels made of rust. And the engine is back in and connected up.

But there is still work to do. To save money, and allow me to “bond” with the van, I will be finishing off the job myself.

First jobs was getting it back. To start, or rather not to start with I had a flat battery. It seems the one I have isn’t holding a charge anymore so a borrowed got me out of the yard. This entailed a fiendish reversing manoeuvre around three right-angled corners with all sorts of stuff out of site but eminently hitable. Not having driven the vehicle for 4 months didn’t help !

Because of the long time spent standing the brakes made a hell of a noise. I think this quietened down after a mile fortunately so I guess (hope) that’s it’s just a bit of rust on the drums.

The lack of a vacuum hose made tickover non-existent (not an unfamiliar situation to old car owners) but there was worse to come. The accelerator didn’t seem to do very much. Sure it moved and we accelerated a bit but there wasn’t any real power. I know that a Type 2 isn’t a racing car but something was awry.

A nervy half mile later I had to pull up at a set of traffic lights. The engine died. I couldn’t restart as the accelerator didn’t seem to respond either.

Fortunately the hazard lights worked but I was still in the middle of the road.

I had a shrewd idea what was wrong. The accelerator pedal is attached to a cable that runs to the engine in the back. To remove this you have to disconnect the cable. Opening the door showed the cable was connected but slack. It had been tight enough for use around the yard after install but gradually slipped once on the road.

Old car owners carry tools. It’s what we do. I have a multi tool in the glovebox which includes pliers. A few seconds saw the cable clamp loosened, cable pulled tight and then re-clamped. I started the engine and had loads of power to make the few hundred feet back home.

Writing this now it all seems like fun – the sort of thing old car owners boast about. I’m proud that I knew what the problem was and fixed it. I just hope I don’t have to fix it again in a hurry as on my return I found I was shaking slightly through a combination of nerves and embarrassment at breaking down.

Lets just hope the bonding process goes well. I want to go camping in a few weeks and at the moment driving a modern car sounds a whole lot more appealing.

*A little joke for the Tram fans

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