Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 11:41:06 -0700
From: Matthew Zipeto <zipeto@earthlink.net>
Subject: buses

Greetings from the occasionally damp Northwest.

Do I have a tale.  Comical.  Quite.

        Charlie Ford made it over to my place on the island yesterday.  I'm
glad he got here before he left (which should be today) because it is a
fantastic and beautiful place that gives one a feel for what Washington
was like a few years back.  Not quite a step back in time but, as
Charlie so aptly discribed it, "Kinda like country without all the work
it used to be."  Nice place to live.
        Anyhow, he came over on a mission for a transmission.  Michael Lewis
has picked up another bus (has his own weeds to keep down!;) and this
one is a 1978 transporter.  Top shape it sounds like.  A new trannie and
it should be on the road.  So, talking with these guys, I had mentioned
that I knew about a rusting '78 bus not too far from my house that still
had the engine, trannie, and the rest.  The interior is pretty well
shot- no dash or wheel, no seats (the front seats are already in my
Huey), lots of wet garbage and broken marine engine bits rusting due to
a missing sunroof and no glass except two wing windows.  The FI stuff,
door handles, lock mechanisms and a few other choice bits already reside
in two boxes behind my house.  If Michael needed a trannie, lets go and
yank the one from this bus!
        So I met Charlie in town and we were both rearin' to go on this
project.  First project was to take out the blackberry bushes and grass
that obscured all but the roof from sight.  a 4' 2x4 did the trick
rather nicely.  We got in and got situated. Cracking old rusty,
well-weathered lug nuts is not a job for the weak of back or easily
discouraged.  Have you ever bent a tire iron?  Stress marks and all?
time for Charlie to get another one.  Hmm...  Stuck mine on there and,
with the help of a six foot piece of pipe and copious amounts of Liquid
Wrench, broke them bastids.  Bang!  Victory #1 for the day.
        With dunnage in place, we jacked that beast up.  CCRREAAAAAAKK...  A
couple years in the ooze and mist and up it goes.  With the rear wheels
off we were looking at brake drums and a helluva job getting the
corroded cotterpin out of the end of the axle.  Bend, bend, pull, tap
tap tap.  Now for the castle nut.  I picked up this thing that has a
1/2" drive square and a hex opening that fits perfectly over that nut.
Unfortunately neither of us had a breaker bar.  But, a hammer and
sufficient force can bring even the most stubborn to see reason.
        Y'know...  I could go on to describe this job in detail but that isn't
why I am writing this post.  The foibles are the interesting bits,
right?  Like whaling the adjusting star unit off the plate with a
hammer.  Why?  To remove the plate.  Not necessary.  But we learned.
Like CV joint bolts muddy, grassy and rusty are a bitch to remove.  So
much so that they are still there!  New-looking boots by the way.  Like
even if you put wood down, the weight of a bus on a jack will squash wet
earth down farther that you might think.  The same goes for jack
stands.
        And, the most important thing- keep tool boxes far away from jacked up
busses that feel the need to return to the ground, regardless of the
efforts of some who may wish to keep it up on jackstands.  "crick...
crick...  Oh sh*t, Charlie, the bus is moving!  (Shoulders quickly
placed to arrest said movement)  You got it?  Let me go around to see
what happened."  It seemed that, not only will the weight of a bus
depress wet earth when placed on a jack stand, it will also bite and rip
through the 2x4 base.  So, no longer on a stable base, lean tilt and,
despite heroic efforts, Thudcrunch.  "Are you okay?  Yeah, but your tool
box got squashed.  Damn."  (in my head !#@*?!!!)  The bumper landed
square on it.  With a bit of muscle we lifted the rear corner and pulled
the poor thing out.  Amazingly enough, nothing was damaged!  Even the
can of Liquid Wrench that was in there wasn't dented!  The box is shot
but...
        Quittin' time.  Time for a beer at my place.  So, we washed up and sat
drinking, while my girls told us jokes and we laughed in the late
afternoon sun.  The birds swooped and chattered.  The puppy scurried
around being adorable and fun.  We talked until Charlie needed to go and
catch his ferry.  Good man, he is.  (the corny theme song from one
adventure of Linus, Lucy and the rest of the gang is rolling through my
head...)  I wish him fair winds and smooth roads on his journey to the
begining of wind.       Quiet and peace.  That is where the wind is born.
>From deep within us.  The road can be a great teacher if we know how to
listen.  Right on, Charlie.  See you soon.

Matthew
1977 van- Huey!