RESCUE OF A ‘73 VW RIVIERA CAMPER - Pictured Above....Visit Shelby Bell's site to read about "before and after"
www.geocities.com/vwcampin

WONDERFUL MEMORIES OF A 1974 CROSS COUNTRY TREK
Some of the ingredients for this story include newly-weds, a couple of chaperones, a blind horse, breakdowns with heartwarming assistance, unsuccessful attempts to cross the Rockies, an army cook who married the General’s daughter, the General’s retreat, antelopes roaming, an adventure into Canada, with a joyous return to Cape Cod after 2 months on the road.

Jeff Clark wrote in to tell about a great 1974 cross country trek he made right after finishing college with newly wed brother Jon and bride, Paddy. Jon owned a 1968 Type 2 which he had converted to a camper - just the thing for an all-summer cross country ramble! So the 3 of them, plus Joanie (Paddy's friend) left Cape Cod in early July on the first leg of their trip.

First stop was in Connecticut to attend a college friend's wedding, and Jeff remembers a great ceremony, lots of friends, and the camping in a nearby field accompanied by Stoney II and his 1966 Westfalia, Balthazar. All was mellow until the middle of the night when everyone was frightened awake by the stumblings of a blind horse. It was his pasture!

On to Virginia to visit a sister near Charlottesville, where the visiting, careening through the Blue Ridge mountains in brother-in-law Danny's blue Bronco, swimming in pristine mountain streams and sampling the local brew out of clear jugs still makes Jeff comment, “Did life get any better, oh yes, grasshopper, this was just the beginning.”

Soon it was time to leave the safety of friends and family and begin the real journey, and to see as much of America as possible by staying off major highways and traveling secondary roads - time was no object, no one was employed (anymore) and each had saved a bunch of cash to make this trip possible. One rule applied: every day they would stop at a neighborhood bar for a sandwich and a beer to absorb local culture.

Traveling west through West Virginia, down through Kentucky and into Tennessee, average speed was about 45 mph with lots of beautiful countryside enhancing the gypsy road life feelings. Several camping and sightseeing days later, they arrived at a campground outside of St. Louis. By now, however, the VW bus laden with four travelers and enough camping gear for a couple of months, had been working so hard that the head studs began pulling out of the engine case on one side. A quick compression check and a visual confirmed the worst, low compression, low power and a very loud exhaust. Repairs were needed.

Limping to a VW dealer and telling their story, the surprise was that they as long-haired, bandana-ed, hippy kids from way back east were treated so grandly. So what did those VW folks do? They let Jeff and his group use (free of charge) a brand new '74 Dasher and gave directions to a campground about ten miles down the road saying, “the bus will need head stud inserts, should be ready tomorrow.” Even after all these years, Jeff remembers that he was blown away by the friendly help and service. True to form, the bus was ready the next day.

The plains of Kansas and beyond were next on the journey, and it was decided to drive all night and get the bulk of the flatlands out of the way. Loading up on coffee and smokes, they headed off into the night. Jeff’s turn at the wheel was ending just as the sun was coming up over the plains and they pulled off the road just to watch the symphony of light, playing out before them - what a way to start the day!

On the way to Colorado where they were to meet Stoney I (older brother of Stoney II, who owned Balthazar the ‘66 VW camper), they stopped in Kit Carson, and had the obligatory local lunch in a colorful yet rustic roadhouse. The Rocky Mountains were visible as they neared Colorado Springs, but roughly ten miles out, almost within spitting distance of their destination, the bus swallowed #3 exhaust valve and, with a loud clattering death rattle, lurched to a stop. Luckily, they were close to the only house in that area, and a phone call to Stoney, soon got them a tow.

Now, Stoney had been in the army as a cook and had landed the cushy detail of cooking for a general while in Vietnam. He befriended the general and, more importantly, the general's daughter, whom he married soon after his tour. So as the bus was being towed to the local VW fixit shop, Stoney was driving his friends to the general's estate, where they were served ice-cold Coors (back when it was good!), and then relaxed, ate, and played billiards with the general, while the antelope played on his front lawn in the shadow of the Rockies. Were they bummed about the bus?? A little - but the road Gods were watching out for this bunch. While the bus was getting a new valve, they explored Garden of the Gods with Stoney and enjoyed the general's hospitality. After some discussion, it was clear that this Volkswagen just wouldn't make it over the Rockies so they opted to drive north up into Wyoming and South Dakota.

Heading north, the bus was running well and the weather was good. They stayed a couple nights at the Diamond Guest Ranch in Chugwater, WY, riding horses and avoiding rattlesnakes. Diamond Guest Ranch has a 16 mile access road that winds into a box canyon and camping is still available for about $20 a night. Lots of friendly wild rabbits, too! Leaving Chugwater, they drove into the Black Hills of South Dakota. Getting close to Rapid City, the ominous sound of head studs pulling out of a crankcase was heard - the studs on the opposite side. Struggling into town, fate was once again on their side.

By now Jeff writes, they had grown tired (and poorer) of shelling out money to VW dealers, no matter how friendly they were, so brother Jon decided to rebuild the engine, with Jeff’s help. Jeff, at that time was not very mechanically inclined, but it was exciting he remembers, because there's nothing like total immersion as a learning tool. They found a small VW repair shop which not only let them do their own work on the bus, but also offered assistance.

The shop gave them a big tarp and a spot to work at one end of their place which had green plastic corrugated stuff for a roof - sort of like a shed with only a back wall. The shop men pulled the engine and dropped it right on the tarp. The brothers were ready to work and had a good set of tools to use for the repairs . In the meantime, they got a ride to a campground a few miles away and set up tents and camping stuff from the bus. They hitch-hiked into "work" in the morning and got a ride "home" from the helpful VW shop owner at night!

They tore the engine down, had the case align-bored, case savers installed, replaced main and rod bearings, cleaned everything and put it back together again, all outside under the green corrugated roof. After three days of rebuilding, the engine was put back in the bus - it fired to life almost instantly and that VW ran like a dream for the whole rest of the trip, not one speck of trouble!

Leaving the Black Hills, they headed east across South Dakota and up through Minnesota and on into Michigan's upper peninsula. Spending one night in a local watering hole watching Nixon's presidency self-destruct, Jeff thinks it may have been the beer but it seemed as if that was a jubilant night. He remembers an unfamiliar place which was somehow home and strangers who were somehow close friends. The next day, after driving in a forty mile circle (still a touchy subject between brothers) they crossed into Canada. They drove above Lake Superior and then towards Toronto. Joanie's family owned a small island in the Muskoka Lakes, about a hundred miles north of Toronto. They went there and spent several days lying in the sun, water-skiing, snorkeling, swimming, etc. - heaven!! They took Joanie on to Toronto where she lived and spent a few days in the big city before saying goodbye. Over the next two days, Jeff, Jon and Paddy wound their way back into the States, through New York State and into Massachusetts where, a few days shy of two months, the great trek ended.

Jeff says he’s owned several VW's since then; a '58 panel van, a '67 camper, a bug and two Ghias, and has gone on several other shorter trips .But he especially remembers that idyllic summer when the road called, and he answered. Thank him for sharing at JyPCy@peoplepc.com

E-mail your VW story to naclark2005@earthlink.net