I'm about to drive my 1976 camper from Melbourne up to Splendour In The Grass (via Brisbane) in late July and wanted to know a couple of things......like

1) What sort of things should I get the mechanic to double check when I take it for a service in a few weeks?

2) My friend is coming too and will be sharing the driving, is it ok to drive it constantly for 19-24 hours (except for fuel/food/wee stops) or should we give the kombi a rest in between?

Probably stupid questions, but it's our first big roadtrip.

Cheers...

fresh oil
new oil filter
probably new sparkers too.
new fan belt ?
get the timing done, get the mixtures set right

take tools and some spares and a manual, and if you in the nrma or what ever dont forget to take your card.

id give it a bit of a break every 6 hours, just a while to let it cool a little, like while you eat some food or what ever.


im hitting splendor as well, but were camping at broken head

hope that helps. luke.

hey,
just drove my bus from syd to cresent head which is 6hrs ish only stopping for grub, fuel and dunny breaks. If your not doing the work yourself i would ask for

Oil change including filter

set dwell angle (points gap), on fresh points or atleast carry a spare set

Adjust timing

adjust mixtures

a couple of things you should do yourself is make sure you got spare clutch and throttle cables, brake fluid, engine oil, points, condensor, distributor cap, rotor. Even if you dont have the tools, skill or know how to do these repairs having the parts will save you upto a week in getting your car back on the road. In most cases if you have the parts you will be back on the road in hours

You should try and run premium unleaded for highway use (bit more power, and lower temps). Increase your tyre pressure, i duno what you run now or what is a good psi for your tyre combination but i just increased psi acording to tyre profile (some1 else may be able to help with tyre pressures??).

In general just take it easy, i sat on 90/95 which is around 3000rpm... a type 4 in good nick should be able to run at those rpm for a long period of time, dont push it too hard, its and old car... give yourself plenty of time so the temptation to 'gun it' isnt there to make it in time. And most importantly make sure you got some good tunes to listen to along the way ;-).

if you do these few simple things its most likely you will make it without a prob. 9 times out of 10 you wont need those parts but if something does happen and you dont have the spares it could end up being a long and expensive road trip and i dont wana tell you i told you so lol...

have fun,

Edward

make sure your tappets are checked and adjusted. the biggest no1 problem with kombies are heads. they should be adjusted to .008" both inlet and exhaust.

also check your fuel lines for cracks and leaks and make sure your fuel filter is in good nick.

probably should replace your clutch cable and make sure your accelerator cable is not frayed especially where it comes through the firewall/tinware.

should be a great trip, I drive from the vic border to byron a couple of times a year in a 76 kombi, its always an interesting trip, take it easy, don't be in a hurry after all kombies are for cruisin.

Drive for as long as you and your passenger feel comfortable doing. The engine will reach full operating temp in under 15min. Take breaks as YOU require them, the kombi won't fall asleep and drive off the road.

We drove back from the last Valla with a receeding valve seat. Kept to 80km/h and made it all the way from Coffs Harbour to Melbourne.

Join the RACV, NRMA or whatever. If you plan to do a lot of long distance driving, the $165 for the top level of cover is money well spent.

Learn to check and set your valves. It is really easy. As has already been mentioned, the heads are the weak spot on a Type IV motor and checking valve clearances gives you a good indication as to the health of the heads.

someone told me vw sent out an update many many years ago to set both inlet and exhaust at .008" for all t4 motors. the exhaust should always be .008"

if your heads are brand new then .006" would be ok for inlet valves but old heads better to have a bit more gap incase the valves are starting to close up
I sat in on a kombi workshop where the vw mechanic of 40years standing was demonstrating tappet adjustment he had one big long .008" feeler guage did the motor in about 10min. they were new heads cause the mechanic had installed them a couple of weeks prior to the workshop.

i see, does any1 else set their valves at .008 on their T4?

yes i have a 76 2lt camper i allways set the valves at 008