French river crossings

[nickk]

Happened to camp by this unique and the last in France,hand chain ferry,the timing was perfect with the Buick arriving making a scene like an old American movie. When I first walked on ,understanding it was free,I thought also self service so proceeded to turn the wheel,then a typically polite Frenchman appeared from the building asking me to stop.
Id spotted the transporter bridge last year from the distant motorway and thought a trip next year to rochefort was a must,I guess the carousel is similar to the ones here.

 

[bert]

Nice find amd nice splitty, I'd close the engine lid or the engine will be overheating

 

[nickk]

Nice find amd nice splitty, I'd close the engine lid or the engine will be overheating

I’d travelled most of the time with it up as I couldn’t solve the overheating.

 

[bert]

running with it open makes it worse as it stops all the air flow. Have you got it sorted now?

 

[8ob]

I’d travelled most of the time with it up as I couldn’t solve the overheating.

Running the shortest belt possible on the dynamo helps raise the fan speed, can be a bit of a fiddle with all those shims but worth doing. Rebuilt my brothers vw with one of those big bore yank kits and webers, had to pull a few tricks on that to make it run cool.

Bob

 

[nickk]

running with it open makes it worse as it stops all the air flow. Have you got it sorted now?

no,although it wasn’t a problem once in this country.
Initially I pushed the thermostat bracket up as high as it would travel in its mounting slot,then I saw the thermostat had become partially un soldered,so got that resoldered yet it still ran hot,I agree with your statement in principle however it did run cooler open.
I’ve never heard of this problem occurring before and had this split for 13 years and ran beetles for years before,I might pull the engineer to check the linkage rod actuation,as far as I can reach they’re moving an inch .
When I first built the engine it was opening at about 70 degrees.

 

[Misterg]

That's a long coque!



Reminds me of walking along one of the canals in France - there was a beautiful lock-keeper's cottage, covered with flowers and hanging baskets, etc. As we approached, a little old lady came out - all hunched over and doddery in a long black dress and lacy shawl. She teetered slowly along the path to the lock where a boat was approaching.

She shuffled up to the lock, steadied herself on the winder that opened the sluices then pushed the shawl back from her shoulder revealing a right arm that would have shamed popeye! (Which she then used to whirl the sluice open without any visible effort.)

 

[Mick Annick]

We were walking along the Nivernais canal towpath a few weeks ago, we passed a lock being operated by two young women, their language was a bit ripe when a couple of tourists ventured too close to the edge despite the girl's warnings



Not my photos, my mate took them, don't know why!

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Always the phone in hand!

 

[Other Daniel]

We were walking along the Nivernais canal towpath a few weeks ago, we passed a lock being operated by two young women, their language was a bit ripe when a couple of tourists ventured too close to the edge despite the girl's warnings

View attachment 415529 View attachment 415533

Not my photos, my mate took them, don't know why!

No, I can't imagine why he took those photos.

 

[Other Daniel]

@nickk , you must have passed right by us, if you were coming up from
the Dordogne. Let us know next time...

 

[Gareth J]

no,although it wasn’t a problem once in this country.
Initially I pushed the thermostat bracket up as high as it would travel in its mounting slot,then I saw the thermostat had become partially un soldered,so got that resoldered yet it still ran hot,I agree with your statement in principle however it did run cooler open.
I’ve never heard of this problem occurring before and had this split for 13 years and ran beetles for years before,I might pull the engineer to check the linkage rod actuation,as far as I can reach they’re moving an inch .
When I first built the engine it was opening at about 70 degrees.

Hmmm, check operation of the bellows in heated water. I forget the activation range (temp and distance) but it should be online somewhere. Or I'll see if I can dig it out. If some of the solder came out, maybe some of the magic inside fell out too. Can always wire it open as a temporary get you home fix.

Is all the tinwear in place, original, well fitting and with a good engine bay seal? Heater hoses connected? Boot seal good? Bulkhead /fan clear of obstructions? Recirculation of air is your enemy so if there's any airpath between hot and cold sides of the engine, they're a potential problem. Opening the hood can alleviate severe overheating but can also encourage it as hot expelled air from underneath can recirculate back into the inlet displacing fresh air from the side vents.

 

[gaz1]

you can fit air scoops to the side of the vehicle

these are silly little rear plastic air scoops

for your model

Google Image Result for https://bus-ok.nl/media/image/product/10173/md/type2-split-air-scoops-mild-steel-top.jpg

you also have another place for thin air scoops under your vehicle from the front to the rear of the vehicle

 

[Gareth J]

If everything is stock, there's no reason to modify anything. Fitting scoops on an otherwise stock van is unnecessary and will devalue it

 

[bert]

Standard set up is enough to keep everything within temps on these. My bet is the bellows are not opening the flaps properly or the tinware has something wrong.

 

[gaz1]

If everything is stock, there's no reason to modify anything. Fitting scoops on an otherwise stock van is unnecessary and will devalue it

its also warmer than when it was when these vehicles was made

fitting bolt on scoops isnt modifying the machine but the one under the vehicle is

 

[Gareth J]

its also warmer than when it was when these vehicles was made

fitting bolt on scoops isnt modifying the machine but the one under the vehicle is

No, France is not warmer than air cooled VW's were designed for. They were sent to desert posts specifically because they, unlike water cooled vehicles, reliably didn't overheat. Stock does not require modification. Simple.

 

[8ob]

Standard set up is enough to keep everything within temps on these. My bet is the bellows are not opening the flaps properly or the tinware has something wrong.

The mericuns have all sorts of fixes for these air cooled engines,most involve a larger crank pulley to increase fan speed. As I said earlier its important to make sure the belt is the shortest you can fit, that top pulley gets bigger as you take up the slack/retension the belt which in effect reduces the fan speed.

Bob