Good Morning!!!! 55F @ 5:45 AM. 100% Precip. / 0.83 in. Rain. High 53F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
No measurable rain here yet, but the radar map says everything should be wet and it's not. Fingers crossed for pitter-patter on the porch cover most of the day.
Managed to get the cracks, splits, and holes on three quarters of the office trailer caulked yesterday before I ran out of caulk. I didn't exactly run out, but when I went to pierce the seal on the third tube of caulk, the awl didn't want to go in and it took three holes before I realized that the caulk in there was as hard as a rock. Fortunately I started on the south side where most of the sun damage had occurred, then the east and north. The west wall faces the house, and sits in shade almost all day, and the paint was holding up well there. Most of the 1x4 battens on that south side are so badly dry rotted that the only thing keeping the water out is a thin shell of paint. So when I go to Home Depot to return that caulk, I'll end up coming home with lots of new lumber to replace all of it, and a gallon of primer, too.
Had a chance to look into that Sacramento engine conversion outfit for the Vanagon, and what I learned wasn't good. He uses a 1.8T Volkswagon gasoline engine, not a Diesel, and it's turbocharged. All that plumbing makes it sit an inch and a half above the cargo deck in the rear, requiring five hundred bux of accessory framing and an aftermarket mattress pad. That wouldn't be a show stopper, but some of the reviews I read indicate that some of the installs didn't go so well and the owner hasn't made good on the problems. One of them was owned by the fella I rode shotgun with on the obstacle course at the spring Syncro-Fest, so I called him up and we spoke about his troubles. Oil leaks, squeaky suspension bushings, and worst of all, he's only getting eight to ten miles to the gallon. Most others are reporting close to twenty. He's had it back to the shop three times, each visit lasts six weeks, and when he gets it back nothing's fixed and he finds new things wrong. Apparently what used to be a two or three person shop with the owner out on the floor spinning wrenches and interacting with customers has morphed into an absentee owner outfit manned by untrained and unqualified mechanics whose only goal in life is to punch a timeclock and collect a paycheck. The engine management system on the 1.8T also seems to employ additional sensors and electromechanical components, more stuff to wear out and break, and while some people are getting two hundred and even three hundred thousand miles out of an engine, the journey isn't without significant tinkering and I read it's a good idea to carry certain spare parts with you.:confused2: So from that standpoint, the Subaru conversion is still appealing, but a more productive approach may involve getting out from under this particular mechanic by selling my engine, getting a replacement from a reputable builder, and doing the installation myself. As long as I stick with components in a certain CARB pre-qualified kit, SMOG shouldn't be a problem and I could be on the road before the end of the year. I'd just have to cut out a few inches of garage door framing to make the opening high enough so I'd have an inside place to work.:confused2:
TGIF gang!:drink:
