Introducing 'Manfred'

[Dasdubber]

What's the red button inbetween the oil temp and 12v plug? A horn button? Or ejector seat, maybe....

But seriously, I thought the Red9 front end allowed for a conventional steering column horn, unlike the Creative rack n pinion?!?

Windscreen washer (electric pump).
Re. the horn button - despite the Red9 system having a hollow steering column unlike the Creative rack setup, the coupler at the bottom does not allow a wire to be run down through the column without getting excessively twisted. Sorry to plug our wares (this enables the horn button to work as per Manfred) but we've put together a remote horn kit to overcome the problem:
http://dasrestoparts.com.au/remote-horn-relay-kit.html

Cheers
Al

[baykruzer]

Hey kent, the bus looks awesome champ enjoy the trip to valla

[GottaSplit]

Sorry to plug our wares

Plug away I say....

[thebear]

After a hectic 7 month rebuild and an intense last 4 weeks before the due date, I was very pleased to be able to debut Manfred at the 2012 Valla event. As with most projects of this kind that are built to a deadline, every week, day and hour was critical to make it happen. The DAS Team finished the build with about a week to spare whilst Willem at Platinum Trimming was redoing the whole interior. A great job as evidenced by the photos and all done within 3 weeks.

The bus was delivered to Leons Motors on the Monday (before Valla) for some fine tuning and to have a look at a little oil leak. Again, prioritised by Leons to help meet the deadline.

Such was the rush before leaving for Valla early on Friday morning that the graphics were applied by my mate Nick about 7pm at Leons. He was kind enough to pick me up from the City in Brissy, then head out the south side in typical afternoon traffic. Thankfully Leon stayed open and we collected the bus and did the graphics under a street light. Phew...

Although Al (and Team DAS) and I would have liked to get a few miles down, as it turned out the road trip to Valla would be the shake down pass. Hence, why i was keen to go in the Friday convoy from the Sunshine Coast via DAS at Goldy.

So after leaving Leons about 7.30pm, with graphics freshly applied, i headed home to the Sunny Coast via the City in tandem with Jane in the Pathfinder (support vehicle). Had to go to my oldies house and grab a few items i was off loading at Valla then arrived home about 9.45pm to pack for a 4.30am leave time.

After some sleep, I met up with my good mate John in his trophy winning Gia on the Bruce H'way in the morning and we were away with a great sense of achievement, excitement and satisfaction.

[thebear]

It was the second Valla for Jane and i but the first time as an entrant in an air cooled VW so we were pretty stoked to be there. It was the the 2010 Valla event that motivated us to have a bus on the road for 2012. Not sure why we made the call 7 months out.........

The convoy down on the Friday was great fun. A huge crew met at DAS at the Goldy and we headed off with Steve's trusty DC leading the pack. Apparently we are only as fast the slowest vehicle....

The weather was perfect for a good cruise and VW's of all shapes and sizes lined the Bruce for a few k's. One thing I've noticed about the VW community is the how friendly people are. A refreshing attitude compared to some car communities and one i really enjoy.

Manfred went really well all things considered. It's been a while since we've travelled in anything but a modern vehicle so making comparisons is difficult. However, i can report that it runs smoothy, has no steering slack and soaks up bumps no problems. The exhaust is a little louder than i thought but some more sound proofing will be installed before i consider changing it. Gotta love that flat four air cooled sound...

[baykruzer]

i havnt seen it up close but mates of mine that made it to valla loved it.
congrats to all involved

[thebear]

We stayed at Nambucca for the 3 nights in a little place on the hill and there were about 5 VW's in the car park so we were not alone. Each morning I'd get up to give Manfred a quick clean and once over and 3 other guys were out doing the same thing to their pride and joy. Good stuff.

The Saturday cruise from the Park to the main street in Nambucca was a highlight for me (and not just because i was part of it). So many cars, so much to look at. As much as i tried to walk the street and have a yarn, there were so many people wanting chat. A great vibe.

The Sunday show and shine was just as good with a wide variety of daily drivers, rats and show cars. I was blown away by the quality of some the builds, most of which took out top 10 awards and rightfully so.

Manfred was displayed with an Ampol theme which has some sentimental meaning to it. My old man ran service stations back in the 80's and 90's and was an Ampol dealer before giving it away. My first job as a 13 year old was a driveway attendant at his Ampol servo (K&V motors) at Moffat Beach. Back when the word "service" in service station had real meaning. "How much", and "Can i check your oil and water" were the first lines to the customer. The site is still there and has recently changed to a BP. He has a stack of old Ampol stuff under the house so it was an easy choice. When i showed him on the Thursday night he was very proud. I know at least one dsker and Moffat's local would remember the old Ampol and probably filled up there once or twice???

I want to thank a heap of people so will take the time to do another post separately and do it properly.
Kent & Jane

[thebear]

Thanks mate. I'm heading down to DAS now where the bus will stay for a few weeks to iron out the rattles and squeaks and get a final adjustment. Pop in and say g'day. It's only fair that Al and the boys get to have a bit of road time and enjoy what they've help create. I will also be at the Wynnum event in Sept so might see you there.
Kent

[baykruzer]

Will catch up with you at wynnum mate.