Engine is done and ready for pickup

I got word today that the engine is complete!  Tomorrow we plan to pick it up and bring it to our mechanic to put in this week for us.  Also tomorrow we plan to drop the fuel tank and install our new fuel sender.  I  bought a rebuild kit for the shifter so if there is daylight tomorrow I can work on that.
Once the engine is in, we must "break it in." Below iare the complete instructions given to me by Bear~

"remember it must have oil put in it, and when you first start it, run it at 2000 / 2500 for at least 15 minutes, if at anytime you have to stop before the 15 minutes are up, you have to start over, once this is done, let the engine cool for a hour, then set the timing to 7.5, now it is time to break in the rings, do the speeds four times and let the engine back down slowly, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. Now you can drive the van up to 55 MPH, put 300 miles on it, driving around where ever you want, then change the oil and filter, now you are good to go for 1000 miles, not exceeding 60 MPH, once this is done be nice to the engine but you can go faster, Remember hills will burn up your engine, so take it easy climbing them. I would recommend a CHT and a OIL TEMP set up on it and use it Max head temp is 450F and max oil temp is 230F any oil temp over 250F you are doing damage to the engine. 450F is the max for the heads, any amount of time above this could damage the engine.  Remember, this engine has no oil in it, put in 3 QTs, run the engine it's 15 minutes, then top it up to the top line."

We are so excited to be on the road in less than one week from now!  Then only a few more weeks of saving and preparing and are off to the Western Wilderness once again. 

Storage lid re-do

Yesterday I painted the lids to what use to be our refrigerator; now a wonderful storage space. Here we keep our clothes because its easier to dig through than the closet. Today I will be sewing storage bags to hang over the sink area in a bare spot, because i threw out the shoe organizer that held the odds and ends previously. I feel like this will add a bit more space to the cab. I am also in the market for a waterproof storage bag to carry on our luggage rack. Last time we had issues with storage of less used items, and since we reinforced the brackets on the top we can safely carry important items up there. Before we had a 10 gal can of gas we took everywhere, and never used once. Now that we will have a working gas gauge I think a smaller gas can will be sufficient, if we decide to bring one at all. Our roadside assistance policy will send someone out with gas should we run out. I am planning on doing a new paint job. Since my last job was done with just a rattle can, some places are flaking off while others have become stained with all the mechanics hands touching it. At Fire on the Mountain I learned that tractor paint is a great paint to use to paint cars. I was planning on doing a fancy shmancy paint job, all custom and artistic, but since the engine took a month longer we have run out of time... So I may pick out a buttercup color paint after I sand it all down again and prime... Lenny the buttercup, has a nice ring to it. :)

This is what a new engine looks like

The engine is just about complete! Just a few odds and ends and it should be ready for pick up early next week. It looks great and I am sure it will run just as well.  I am also looking into having my mileage counter set back to "0". Apparently our alternator is the wrong size, but our mechanic did some adjustments and now it will work properly.  This explains all of the belt loosening, battery dying and push starting in the past.  Now we won't have that problem. :)

Sprout, a friend of Lenny's, is also having a new engine put in. Apparently to break in the engine for the 1st 600 miles you must drive something like 25mph to 55mph constantly increasing and decreasing between those two points. During this intense few hours of driving you change the oil at 100, 300, and finally at 600 miles to remove any sort of metal shavings that could have fallen in the engine. Sounds like fun!
 This upcoming week we plan to drop the fuel tank, clean it, put in the new sender and tighten the shifter/put in new bushings.   Once the engine is in we will replace the clutch cable and e-break.  Then we shall hit the road for many new adventures! 

Stickers to raise awareness for Myesthenia Gravis

You may remember my visit from Carole & Dexter, who are traveling across the US to bring awareness to an Auto-Immune disease called Myesthenia Gravis. I am doing what I can to help Carole raise gas money to fund her trip back to the East Coast, and to plan for some events she can attend in the fall.  Carole has supplied me with some stickers to sell to help raise funds.  If you are interested in purchasing stickers, please contact me and we can arrange payment via PayPal.  Please add an additional 50 Cents to price for shipping.  Thank you!

Black with White Print 1.5x1.5

2 for $1.00

White with Black Print 3x3 

2 for $3

Color (Oval cut) 4x3

1 for $3 OR 2 for $5 

Links: The Yes We Can journey
VWs working for causes

on a side note, Blogger has come out with a new platform for posting, which I really dislike at the moment.  I hope they can work out the bugs or else I may just need to get on with another blog site...