In the begining..... It seemed fitting to start this off with that phrase. For like that famous
book, this project started out with nothing (worth anything), and quickly turned
into a saga of "Biblical" proportions. What began as a simple form of
recreation for its owner, Colleen Cory, devolved into a nightmare scenario of
R&R (remove and replace). You see, Colleen bought the rail from a local
"VW Expert" (You know the type; There's one in EVERY town) and
as can be expected, his "expertise", or more accurately, "lack
thereof", quickly became apparent. Coming back from her first ride in her new toy was a chore in itself, as one
front spindle nut parted company from its proper location. "No big deal
Ma', We can just get some of those billet aluminum lock nuts. They aren't that
expensive." . And so it began....... Then the CV joints flat refused to stay tight. A thorough cleaning of the
threads and application of -RED- loc-tite to the bolts turned out to be a
temporary solution. The problem was traced to a slightly bent wheel. "Well,
those were kind of grody anyway". Once a new set were purchased, A new pair
of BFG All Terrains were acquired to match. "Well, the old tires were worn
anyway". On its 2'nd outing with the new rubber, Colleen quickly discovered
the limits of a BFG's toughness. It seemed that the big rubber drew the line at
8 inch Railroad spikes. "This is getting ridiculous". Then the 1835's
crankshaft parted ways with the flywheel. (don't ask me why someone builds a
performance VW engine without 8 doweling the crank, I had nothing to do with
it).
Next up on the list of broken parts, was a brake drum that took the bus stub
axle to the scrap pile with it. It was of course, nice enough to do so 17 miles
out in the desert. Then the Generator fried a few short trips later, and was
replaced with an alternator . Then the stock Solex carb wore beyond rebuilding,
and was replaced with a progressive Weber 2bbl. Then...then....then.... . All told, there existed one large repair / replacement bill within a year
(including a top end job w/ 2 new pistons). The final straw came at the 96
Barstow to Vegas Protest Ride, when I grenaded the motor at only 3500 RPM in 3rd
gear. At this point Colleen lost all semblance of control and ordered a new
engine from Bernie Bergmann. Then the fun began.....
What you see here is the result of 1.5 years work (overall), many nights of burning oil, many days of aggravation, and a not inconsiderable amount of cash. Overall, The journey was Definately NOT the best part of the trip. As you will see, the final destination is.
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