2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherhood

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Mark Pribanic
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2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherhood

#1 Post by Mark Pribanic »

This summer was the 25th reunion of my High School in Ithaca, NY. I've only been back to Ithaca once in 25 years and that was when I drove my 1958 Porsche 356 to my 10th High School Reunion and then 4300 miles around the country. We moved to Ithaca in 1982 from The Hague, Netherlands and lived there until I graduated high school in 1990. I was planning to drive the 356 again this time but I have been having issues with 2nd gear and had not taken the time to open up the gearbox to investigate the issue. More gearbox talk to come, lol. So I decided if I can't take the 1958 356 I'll take the 1958 VW bus. My VW bus is my daily driver covering about 300 miles every week. So 2500 miles should be a piece of cake.

Here's a foto I took of the two '58s.
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Stay tuned, this will be a multiple post write up over the next couple of days. Lotsa great scenery, VW bus coverage & Porsche 356 coverage. It was quite a journey and I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I did driving it!
Last edited by Mark Pribanic on Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mark Pribanic
Registry# 13617
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Neptune Beach, Florida USA
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#2 Post by Mark Pribanic »

A couple of weeks before I left I bought new rear tires. The old rears were 5 years old & were in need of being replaced. This is always fun because my bus is lowered about 3.5" and most tire shops have no experience with vintage cars let alone a lowered one. I had to help them get the old tires off and out from under the wheel well as well as getting them back on and under the rear wheel well lip.
The old ones were 195 15's
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New ones were 205 65 15 Continental ContiPro's. Dopping my RPM's and increasing top end speed
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The bus has a little more rake than I'd like, and will address this a a future date by adjusting the spring plates
Mark Pribanic
Registry# 13617
Florida Owners Group Trustee - 2008-2010
Neptune Beach, Florida USA
Instagram: Mark.Pribanic

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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#3 Post by Mark Pribanic »

So five days before I leave I went surfing with another vw bus and 1963 Super 90 owner David Pechumer. While out in the water I was mentioning to him the #3 valve kept getting tight. Every couple of days I'd check it and then adjust it, check then adjust and repeat until there was no adjustment left. He told me to pull the head and see what was up.

Davids 1961 15window bus
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Small wave summer gear!
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So after surfing up on Jack Stands the bus went
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Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#4 Post by Mark Pribanic »

Engine Drop #1

And now on ramps... lol not sure how we went from one to the other...Time to pull the engine and see whats going on.
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Pulled the head, & hello! cracked!
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sooty pistons...
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Grabbed a used head from the parts stash. Dirty!
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Cleaning it up to see if its cracked...
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Looked good
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Let's put it on and see what happens
Mark Pribanic
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Florida Owners Group Trustee - 2008-2010
Neptune Beach, Florida USA
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#5 Post by Mark Pribanic »

So why was the head cracked? Stay tuned...
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#6 Post by Mark Pribanic »

Mark Pribanic wrote:So why was the head cracked? Stay tuned...
Best guess was that the loose intake manifold caused #3 & #4 to run lean & cracked the head.
Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#7 Post by Mark Pribanic »

This was a Sunday afternoon and no parts stores were open. Put the engine back in and boom, leaky push rod tube seals.
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Engine Drop #2

and off to find some new seals tucked away.
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Leaving in 2 days...lol
Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#8 Post by Mark Pribanic »

And off we go!
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First Georgia!
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Then South Carolina
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Spotted rolling on I26 outside Columbia South Carolina by Hunter McCandless
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Just about this time the fun started!
Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#9 Post by Mark Pribanic »

So just as I pass through rush hour traffic in Columbia South Carolina & I hit the first rest stop to relax, check the oil and plan where I'm going to stay tonight. A few minutes after leaving the rest stop my 4th gear jumps out, a few more miles down the road and it does it again.... and then again. I was quite surprised at this and it seemed to be progressing at a fast pace. Remember, I drive this bus at least 300 miles per week back in Florida. I pull into Greenville SC about an hour before dark and was hoping for a miracle, like a broke shift coupler. 30 minutes on my back troubleshooting the linkage and a couple of phone calls to some bus friends in Florida and one in Greenville and the decision was made to continue on to Asheville, NC where there is a VW parts & machine shop. I made it into town late and the engine was running strong, but the gearbox really had me worried.
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Slept in the front seat of my bus in the parking lot of Fast German Automotive. And was it comfy! 64F!
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Sun rose and the owner Whitey showed up around 8:05 am
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He drove up in a nice orig baywindow double cab which was promising!
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Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#10 Post by Mark Pribanic »

Some cool memorabilia in his shop:
Attachments
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Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#11 Post by Mark Pribanic »

duplicate post
Last edited by Mark Pribanic on Fri Jul 31, 2015 2:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#12 Post by Mark Pribanic »

duplicate post
Last edited by Mark Pribanic on Fri Jul 31, 2015 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mark Pribanic
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Mark Pribanic
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#13 Post by Mark Pribanic »

Bought a new shift coupler, accelerator cable, and a gasket set for spares. I changed out the coupler and no change in the statues of 4th gear. It would occasionally pop out on its own or I could hold it in with my hand or a bungee cord. Before deciding to push forward I receive a call from an Atlantic Beach Florida friend. He tells me he lost 4th gear in his 1965 VW camper on the way to Cali 4 years ago! 10,000 miles later he still has it bungeed in! This really gives me the confidence that I can make this trip no problem!
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I pull out of the VW shop parking lot with my next stop being Blue Ridge Parkway HQ...About 5-10miles up the road
Mark Pribanic
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Bob Forman
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#14 Post by Bob Forman »

Years ago I had a 67 camper. Toward the end of my association with it the trans began popping out of 4th anytime I put a load on it. To remedy this I tied a rope to the shift lever and just sat on it until I needed to down-shift. Neither my mechanic nor proctologist were impressed with my solution.
Bob Forman

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Steve Harrison
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Re: 2666 miles, a 1958 VW bus and the 356 Registry Brotherho

#15 Post by Steve Harrison »

Those hills in Asheville are a far cry from the flatlands of Florida eh?
Lots of coasting downhill in fourth,...I'll bet it's jumping out both going and coming, haha.
I hope your workaround works,...to get you around. Sounds like a good road trip adventure so far.

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