Uncle Howie's Spaghetti Warehouse

[framingsilly]

I would have to say thats the case . What did you guys try to get the step down studs out ? Probably everything under the sun I would imagine .

[Howie]

Yes, we used a bolt Extractor, then heat & a hammer to try to get those last 2 flanges off. They were fused-on/rusted-on. Time for the Air Chisel. Chuck's gonna beat those Bad Boys off one way or another.

And yeah it was possible to maybe weld/seal the gaps in the pipes. However, Sean has his heart set on installing '74-ish Heater Boxes on this project. I never had heat in the bus in the last 7 years I owned it (Unless it was Summertime), so this will be a Novelty to me.

[chuckspence]

yup, gonna get the 2 other flanges off somehow this weekend, Howie's cylinder heads do not have step studs, they're 8mm on both ends, which I thought only came on early type 4 heads, (72 & earlier) his engine has the correct code letters (GE) and appears unmolested, but most likely sometime in the last 33 years someone had work done to the top end, Sean and I are hoping some Leakoiler will come thru with a good set of heat exchangers cheap for Howie, and we can get this thing back together in the next few weeks....

[vwrick69]

I had already PM'd, but he and Sean already have a plan.

[Howie]

Howie, we can get this thing back together in the next few weeks...

One step closer! Drove 18 miles to Chuck's with a wide-open exhaust, louder than the Hinges of Hades opening! (21 miles if you include the wrong turns, thanks to Google Maps! ) I put it in Neutral whenever I saw a cop car, and coasted by semi-quietly. I'm going back to Chuck's on Sunday morning while it is still up on the lift and replace my fuel lines & change the oil too. With all of Chuck and Sean's help, and the generously donated parts, I just might get this beast back on the road for some camping this season!!! Thank you one and all!

[Howie]

If all goes well, yer darn right I'll drive it to Dixie! I'm optimistic at this point, provided that Chuck can round up the correct exhaust studs that we sorta need. As much as I enjoyed doing the "Truck, Tent & Tarp" thing at the Bakerosa, I'd rather drive my own self-contained rig! After all, it IS called, "Dixie BUS". Are you rolling down, Bob?

[Six Volt]

Well, Howie is Howie. And if you don't understand that, just look at any of the 1,377 "Howie" posts on the old site or any of his 2,070 on this site.

A bus can only run for so long without quality maintenance, so when Howie's exhaust finally gave out, I really wanted to help. Frankly, Howie's "issues" were out of my league. I asked Josh and Chuck to help and they both stepped up. Josh spent an evening over there with me struggling with a "whole lot of rust". Chuck had the torches and the skill to slay the old "dragon" aka "the spaghetti" set up. To get this thing finished, Chuck offered to put it together if Howie could get it over to Chuck's place.

Now all of this is only possible through the good and very kind graces of a very special LEAKOILER who donated a complete, (in very good shape I might add), '72-74 exhaust set up for Howie's bus. I'm not sure he wants to publicize his good deed, but it was very generous and special in its own way. Leakoilers can be very kind and this particular LEAKOILER was EXTREMELY kind!

Obviously, Chuck deserves the most praise. A lot of the newer folks don't know him because he's not on the site 24/7, but he has done more than anyone to make this happen.

Were not out of the woods yet because we need to figure out the exhaust studs and we're going to need some earlier tin and brackets to make this right, but we're on our way.

Anyway, here's Howie's bus after being driven "exhaust free" to Chuck's.


Oh, and you didn't think there was a "Mrs. Howie"


Chuck got Howie's bus lined up despite my attempted interference!

[Howie]

I can't believe you drove that from Royalton Howie.

Yeah, it was crazy. The noise scared me so bad I backed into a phone pole leaving my house! (See the left side of my bumper in the top photo)
When I drove by our police station I coasted in neutral. On 71 some Harley guys plugged their ears and told me my bus was too loud.
I was SO happy when I pulled into Chuck's place at long last! That was the longest 30 minute cruise ever.
More pics to come after Sunday!

[Ron]

I can't believe Howie's wife wore white pants to work on his Bus. They must have gotten pretty dirty crawling under his Bus.

[vwrick69]

Howie, you can tackle those windshield wipers while Chuck is working on exhaust!