Bartholomew, the 1960 VW Crewcab

7-December-2000
links at page bottom

This is my new ride.  A 1960 VW Crewcab with a '68 front end and disc brakes, an early (no reverse light switch) '67 transmission, and a 1600 dual-port later bug engine with a 34-PICT carb and stock exhaust and air-cleaner.

The current colour is PPG epoxy primer-sealer, and everything works!

At present, there's a lot of serious surface rust underneath, and a couple places (outriggers, front floor) needing some real repair, but Bartholomew's a pretty solid 40-year old!  There's not a stitch of insulation in the panels except maybe hidden by the cracked and warped ceiling panels, so for your comfort, Unholy Din Resistors are recommended.  The gates are mostly straight, and the few dents and rust holes are not threateningly nasty at all.  There's a lot of metal left on this one!

I had decided to take the scenic route home from Santa Barbara, and I had the digital camera with me, so I went a little crazy with it, but a got a couple decent shots....it's sorta difficult, when yer drivin', to be working on the camera angle thing....

Watch this space for a sound clip...there are no mufflers on the tubes from the heat exchangers...that, and the road/wind noise make for an Unholy Din!   It's not a full-fledged Racket, though...there are very few squeaks and rattles...

Performance is really good...the optimum speed is 50 mph, although he'll do 65 and up no problem whatsoever....I drove the first 80 miles or so topping out at 60, and I really had to watch it to make sure he didn't run away...but after several computational gas stops, I determined that the best mileage could be achieved by NOT going over 55.

I haven't floored the accelerator yet!

So my figures look like this: 

Highway:  19-21 mpg
Curvy Coastal Route with Hills and Rural with smattering of Small Town:  22-24 mpg
Average (Everything from off-road to city): 21.93 mpg over 490 miles with 5 4 to 7 gallon fill-ups

                                                            Interesting.

I haven't had any problems on hills, either, and the stability is really good, especially in the wind, except for in really tight curves, there is an oversteering feeling....not sure how to explain it yet, but it feels like something that needs fixin'.  The turning radius is noticeably wider than that of any VW in my remembery...hmm.  And I've got to fix that 90 degrees-off alignment of the steering wheel!

All in all, I am really very happy that I'm driving a Doublecab, and a special one at that.

Here's my favourite shots of the trip home...

At Ragged Point, on Highway 1, where the supreme is $2.99, I was approached by a couple young "groovy people" who asked if I could give them a ride to Big Sur.  Being somewhat "groovy" myself, and in the mood for adventure, I was glad to get some companions.  We missed the spot in Big Sur that they were looking for, so they extended their request to Santa Cruz, which I had expressed as my goal for the night's driving.  We ended up spending the night by a lighthouse/hostel north of Santa Cruz, and of course, I did not write down its name, but it was a bit more secure-feeling than the field (private property?  not posted...) through which we'd driven on an "insinuated" road that ended with a cliff o'er the sea.  Sleeping three unprepared people in a crewcab is not groovy in any way...space and temperature being the primary concerns....it was still great fun, though, and it was great driving in the early morning.  My erstwhile passengers disembarked at the plaza north of the Golden Gate Bridge....I wish Carey and David much luck with their trek to Eugene in the winter...

Here's some more pics (higher quality, may take longer to load, but worth it!) of Bartholomew under an oak tree in an impromptu digital (blecch!) photo shoot.  Glad I didn't get stuck...was sure fun bobbling through that field!   www.sonic.net/~mizamook/BartholomewTree.htm

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mizamook@sonic.net  (Gene)