Featured The Never-Content

Thank you!

I recognized the vehicle from black and white photos but did not know the technical details. Those tires are so unusual when period tires look more like 'grown up' bicycle tires. I was especially impressed by the motors.

My first car was a 1966 VW MicroBus with a 1500 cc, four cylinder, air-cooled engine of approximately 65 hp. Approximately because the most frequent maintenance was to drive half on a curb, throw down a cardboard box pad, and adjust the valve backlash when the engine made a melodic 'pling' sound.

I still do self maintenance but now on my 2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus ... and love it. Like I did my microbus.

Bob Wilson

 

• Slammed the car on passenger side into a curb. The damaged tires held air and I drove home. I ordered two light weight wheels and narrower tires from Tire Rack. Then I ordered passenger side wheel bearings and repaired the car. Alignment was tricky as commercial alignment hardware would not work. So using a fishing line and hook, I got the alignment close enough and everything fixed.
• The front control arms have a latent defect that allows water runoff from the windshield to fall on the ball joint which has no water impingement shield. Over time, gravity pulls the grease from the ball joint and water comes in enough to make it squeak. Taking the tire off and disconnecting the ball stem, there was no evidence of a grease leak. So I rocked the ball joint and pressed the rubber boot to get the grease back on the ball. I've ordered a stronger and lighter control arm with a water cap:
• Glass cracks from road debris and the occasional punctured tire. The original tires lasted 30,000 miles and my replacements are narrower, lower drag, and longer wearing. The most recent glass crack is on the boundary of being repairable.
• The large amount of glass causes significant solar cabin heating. So I am testing this prototype:
• Tried recalibration of Battery Management System but saw no effect on indicated range. Measured 46.8 kWh capacity which is within expectations. My current efforts are aimed at tuning to reduce aerodynamic and rolling drag.

There are other repairs and enhancements in progress but this should be enough for now.

Bob Wilson

 

It must be a lot of fun having a VW minibus in the 1960s.

 

And it was in Guardian Gray nevertheless.

 

LOL, who would have thunk that would be a throwback color

 

I've always believed that the best method for solar heat shields to be most effective is from the outside of the car. Get those photons bounced off before they even enter to stir things up.

There was a guy with a Model Y who did a "glass roof delete" by wrapping his large glass roof with matching white vinyl which to the untrained eye made his car appear to have a painted steel roof. Said it was quite effective to keep the heat out of the car. Alas, the wrap didn't last more than a few months before self destructing from the elements.

 

Great work, Bob, but it sounds like you are driving like a teen!

 

Was it automotive/exterior vinyl, or the stuff for lining cupboard shelves?

 

I was curious as to why it didn't hold up. A wrap should last years. Does it not stick as well to glass as the other surfaces of the car?

 

Could be a combination of causes. Both glass and painted metal are micro-rough surfaces, but glass is somewhat smoother so the solvent used might not adhere properly. Heat build up on the glass more so than on wrapped painted surfaces? Higher wind forces on the roof? Might be bad prep work? Or prep work for wrapping glass is a different animal than wrapping other parts of a car?

I'll give him credit though, as the plan for cutting solar radiation into the interior was sound.

 

The perforated wrap used on windows can hold up better. Friend had one on the back window of a truck for years. That should be possible with a solid piece.

 

I noticed this part:

The body was constructed using a light alloy called partinium, a mixture of aluminium, tungsten, and magnesium.

Never heard of this blend. Wonder how well it works...

 

"A new metal alloy consisting of aluminum and tungsten is used of late in France in the construction of conveyances, especially carriages, bicycles, and motor vehicles. The French call it partinium; the composition of the new alloy varies according to the purposes for which it is used. It is considerably cheaper than aluminum, almost as light, and has a greater resistance. The strength is stated at 32 to 37 kilograms per square millimeter."
https://chestofbooks.com/reference/Henley-s-20th-Century-Formulas-Recipes-Processes-Vol1/Colored-Alloys-of-Aluminum.html

I'm assuming aluminum was no longer worth more than gold back then, but still not as cheap as today.