A Volkswagen Westfalia Camper Van Blog - VW Bus

This has not been the Westy summer I was hoping for!
I bought a new battery, installed it, and… nada. The double piss off is that I dropped off the old battery at Canadian Tire for disposal, and it probably wasn't dead after all. I'm glad Lucy has a brand new battery, but I should have […]

[Read more →]

Well, that didn't last long: the battery is dead again. I suspect I need a new one. I thought I'd gotten one from the previous owner when I purchased the van, but it must have been second-hand.
This is definitely slowing me down! Now I need to get the battery and tire fixed before I […]

[Read more →]

Houston, we have juice!
I was sitting here doing some boring banking when I heard the beloved sound of my Lucy's engine fire up! Vroooom! Unmistakable.
My GF charged the battery this weekend. It was at 69%–enough juice to power the lights, but evidently not enough to fire the starter.
Unfortunately, she still has a flat tire, so […]

[Read more →]

This has never happened before: Lucy won't start!
I don't think it's the starter… those tend to go over time. When I turn the key, I can hear a bit of a hum near the engine but nothing mechanical is happening.
Dead battery? I only have one functional headlight and it appears to be out. I […]

[Read more →]

I purchased 6 months of insurance for Lucy today. Once the flat tire is repaired, we'll be back on the road spreading those good V-dub vibes!
Not so fast though: I do need to get her back into Glenn's Repair ASAP to deal with a number of pressing issues:

New ball joints
New engine seal
New heater box
New muffler
Inspect […]

[Read more →]

Bummer, I noticed a flat tire on Lucy the other day. I had a friend come by and pump it up, but we couldn't find the leak, and today it's flat again. I will need to remove the tire and take it in for repair.

[Read more →]

Reading my list of "priority" issues with the bus makes me feel a little naive since my appointment at Glenn's!

I took Lucy in yesterday and asked for a full review of the vehicle and an estimate to resolve my "priorities" and get her into good restored condition. The final report was 2 pages long […]

[Read more →]

Enjoying Lucy for the past couple of days gave me the opportunity to make a detailed list of repairs that need to get done. I have an appointment this Thursday at Glenn's Import & Domestic Parts & Repair in Courtenay, BC. Here are the major issues to be resolved:

Emergency brake
Leaky seals on back brakes
New muffler
Pass. […]

[Read more →]

What a weekend! I finally picked up Lucy from the shop where she had her spiffy new paint job done. The paint looks fabulous! I'm very pleased with the brightness of the "Torrid" red. There was some bleed on the white bumper so it looks pink, but that will either wash off or I can […]

[Read more →]

This has been a true exercise of patience! Lucy is still not back from her paint job. In fact, I just got off the phone with the person doing the job, and it hasn't been started yet! That's two ETA dates that have come and gone with no progress. Sigh. I'm bummed because I really […]

[Read more →]