Air-Cooled and Itinerant, part II

After Colin headed south from Missoula, I kept asking Mitch if the visit was worth the money. I don't know much about keeping Ludwig healthy (although I'm learning), so I was pretty unsure of how much we actually gained from the few hours he and Colin talked and worked as E and I observed from the sidelines. Seeing Colin in action in Maupin completely assuaged all my concerns.
Colin was busy the entire weekend helping buses and their owners. But finally Sunday afternoon rolled around and when everyone but the stragglers left, Colin was ready for Ludwig. Mitch and Colin dove right in. The warm weather clearly was invigorating for him, because even though he had been working on other buses all morning (actually, all weekend) he showed no signs of fatigue.

The first order of business was adjusting the brakes. Then Colin looked over the chassis with Mitch, explaining what we're going to need to do to protect Ludwig's belly from rust.
Here Colin is explaining to Mitch how he should go about fixing the steering when the time comes. I'm pretty sure he also told him how to replace the brake booster too. My favorite part Colin's diagnoses wasn't just what needed repairs, but what part of the work might present challenges.

Like here, when they were removing and adjusting the shifter, Colin told Mitch that a particular spring was in good shape (which was good), but it meant it was going to be a real pain to get everything back together again.

We also learned that Ludwig's engine is several inches further back than it ought to be, although I don't remember why that is. At any rate, it isn't problematic.

One aspect of Colin's teaching that I really liked was how he was always (at least) one step ahead. He instructed Mitch on what to do, frequently offering demos, answering questions and working along side him. And while Mitch dutifully worked away as instructed, Colin would slide under the bus and diagnose the next adjustment. Then when one repair/adjustment was complete Colin would quickly and clearly explain the next needed adjustment and provide the appropriate tutelage. The entire process seemed very efficient and it was informative even from a bystander's point-of-view.

Although I didn't get any pictures of it, my FAVORITE accomplishment was the fuel line repairs. One section of line was replaced and some new line was rigged up to dump smelly fumes directly in to the top of the air filter. Now we can finally ride fume-free in the cabin without having to crank all the windows wide open. Oh, and Colin told us how to replace the windshield wiper motor (with one provided by PJ; thanks Peter!) through the top of the dash. Thank goodness, because we thought we'd have to remove the parcel tray and access the motor from underneath.
Then Ludwig was taken for the obligatory end-of-visit test drive. You can see him happily barreling down the highway (up and to the right of Colin's (no-named (he's not even sure of the gender) bus) in this photo. I just hope we can get everything that he advised done before his next visit.

(Did I remember to mention that Colin whistles as well as any Disney character while he works? But not in the snow/rain.)