What's New?

April 2, 2004

Spring is finding its way back into Toronto, and I have been busy getting the westfakia ready for our fourth EveryBus.

I've added 110V power to the westfakia, rigged with a changeover switch to alternate between the onboard inverter and the new shore power inlet. The westrailer has also been updated with an electrical outlet and a 36" fluorescent fixture.

After some carb tuning and throttle cable replacement the bus is running much better, but I still plan to convert it to FI once we get back from EveryBus.

The Bug Pack got so sick of waiting for winter to end that we went out and camped in it. February 28th was the True Canadian Winter Bus Campout, a great success and a lot of fun. My trip report is here and my pics are here.

November 24th, 2003

Ouch. We did this twice this summer.

We had a great summer in the westfakia. I was way too busy to keep this page up-to-date, esp. after we bought another bus (a 1977 Sunroof Automatic) and the westfakia decided that I needed to pull its motor to fix a busted valve. Twice. Cylinder #2 kept eating valves on the 1.8L engine so after the second go-round I had some heads rebuilt and installed a 2L, re-using the solex carbs with larger jets. The power isn't much to write home about, so I'm going to switch over to Fuel Injection some time this winter. Check out the broken exhaust valve on the right.

We logged over 10,000 miles in the westfakia this year, travelling everywhere from North Carolina, to Parry Sound, Kingston, London and lots of other cool places. More pics and event write-ups coming soon.

December 28, 2002
I've had a lot of interest lately in the westfakia process, so I've decided to expand my gallery to include all the pictures I took while creating my camper. I've included brief comments with each picture. The creation gallery can be seen here.

What else is new? I found a 1W x 0.08A Solar battery charger in my Christmas stocking, it'll be a nice addition to go along with the dashmoard moose.

November 9th, 2002
Since the last update Bob the Tomato has been a very busy camper. We've been to the European Interest Car Club's Poker Run and Campout, where we took 2nd place in the "Late- Model Truck and Van" class. We also hosted "Buses Of The Corn" which saw 40 buses attending and was a MAJOR blast. Then we went on vacation and tripped up to Killbear Provincial Park and the Warsaw Caves. But the fun didn't stop then... In October we attended The_Bug_Pack's Fall Tour and travelled 560 miles south the very next weekend for Jamie Auch's "John Brown's Buses" campout in Harpers Ferry West Virginia. Since August our Westfakia has travelled well over 3000 miles.

What else is new? Updates to the Westfakia include a very nice new Empi dual exhaust, which sounds low and throaty and looks very cool. I've heard they don't wear well but for the price I paid it doesn't really matter if I only get one season out of it. The Empi muffler was added when the original muffler cracked; after removing the original I discovered a problem with the p/s heater box and wound up replacing it as well. If I hadn't had a trailer hitch on to hold things in place I think the whole exhaust would have let go mid-summer!! I also installed a nifty dollar-store clock with a custom VDO-inspired face , and put in a very nice new laminated floor. Last weekend I picked up a BN-4 gasoline furnace to get things warmed up, I hope to get it installed this winter.

Here are some thumbnails to take you to featured items or events:

One more thing: Be sure to have a look at this site: Mike Visket and James Hayden are having a great time in San Francisco!

July 6th, 2002
OK, it was such a great day for tinkering in the driveway I couldn't resist. But I stayed out of the engine compartment so I wouldn't compromise my chances for a trip to the K/W Bug out tomorrow.

Instead, I built a way-cool set of plywood and pine parcel trays for under the dash. Click on a thumbnail below for a look at the high-res.

Do you have a 68-79 VW Bus? Be sure to check out Save The Bays!

June 29, 2002
Buses By the Falls was last weekend, and Boy, did we ever have a great time. You can check out the pictures here.The Westfakia did a great job of hauling us to and from the event, and it got lots of attention at the Jitterbug.

Next trip will be to The 21st Annual Canadian Bug Outin Heidleberg next weekend, and after that to the European Interest Car Show the weekend after. Beyond that I will be working hard on "Buses Of the Corn" which is the weekend of August 16th - 18th, to coincide with The Great Canadian Bug Show.

June 8th, 2002
Wow... I've been really busy lately and have been neglecting the Westfakia site. Insert profuse apologies here.
The first two bus outings for 2002 are already complete: EveryBus and BusFusion were each a lot of fun., and there's now over 2000 holiday miles on the clock for this season. Now I'm getting ready to attend Buses By The Falls and busily planning my own event: Buses of The Corn.

Recent work on the Westfakia has included installing a 2nd battery and a 400-Watt power inverter. This allows me to run 115-volt appliances in the bus, including my laptop, TV, power tools, etc. And in a pinch I can use it to boost the main battery.

My other recent improvement is the Westrailer, a custom box trailer for hauling the extra stuff you can't leave home without.

March 24th 2002
Spring is now officially here so it's no surprise that the temperature has fallen and the weather is nastier than ever. March in Toronto is such a bitch.

With spring bending peoples attention to camping once more I'm seeing a lot more interest in Westfakias and expect to get some more pictures online soon. For this update I have two new pics courtesy of Mike Benthin. These pictures show an optional flat bed that was offered on European Westy's, and it's a design that will be of interest to to those building a Westfakia. It certainly looks a lot more comfortable than the original steel cot that was fitted upstairs in 68-73 Westys. See it here and here.

February 24th:
Trends April Issue has my letter in their Mailbox section on page 14, thanking them for running the picture of the Westfakia at the KW Bug-Out in their February issue. They also included the URL for this page, which has probably brought quite a few more viewers to this page. Excellent!!!

The Westfakia came out of storage this week; I was able to find a bargain on a set of NATO-surplus tires imported from Germany. Continental RT735 series, rated for mud and snow and good for 1710 lbs per wheel. Getting proper tires for a bus seems to getting more difficult in these parts, so this was a great score. How could I keep it penned up in the garage after that?

I've also updated my "Buses Of the Corn" Site with more information on the Campout this August for those who might be interested in coming out to join us.

Woohoo!!! My bus is pictured on page 60 of the February 2002 VW Trends Magazine. See pages 60 and 61.

The Westfakia went into storage for the winter and won't be back out on the road until April. I've sold the passenger tires it was riding on... it wouldn't fit into the garage unless I put it onto bare rims and I really need a set of Class C or D load rated tires anyway.

In October I installed a centre console between the seats with CD and map storage, a pair of cup-holders and a 12V electrical outlet. It also serves as a handy mounting point for the vintage 23-channel CB radio. Also new is the modified rear valance housing a pair of 4" x 9" speakers, tastefully upholstered with fabric to match the curtains. Click on a thumbnail below to load a higher-res image.

Westfakia @ PottsFamily.ca is a celebration of the home-brewed VW camper. My Westfakia ("Bob the Tomato") is a 1973/74/79 composite featuring the best components of three generations of bay-window westy technology. I'll also be featuring other westfakias, and share how-to knowledge and know-how with other VW owners. This site respects the "true" factory Westfalia, I don't want anyone to get the impression I don't like the original factory Westy campers.

If you wish to swap pics or links, please drop me a line at Westfakia@PottsFamily.ca.

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