Breaking New Speedster in on the way home...

I will be picking up a new speedster from Vintage Speedster next week and will be breaking it in on the way home to Seattle. This is 1200 Miles so most of the break in will hapen on the way home presenting oil change and logictical problems.

Engine is 1915cc with external oil filter

Who do folks think is the best approach:

1. Drive the 1200 miles with breakin oil as provided by Kirk and change once in seattle

2. Buy own oil and get jiffy lube to drain on the way, and fill with my own oil) Can/will Jiffy lube or equivalent do this with out creating issues? Not sure how the 1915 cc engine comes w equipt (plain drain plug or screes and multiple bolts)

3. Find good VW shop in Santa Cruz or San Francisco to do the 500 mile change/work (recomendations)

Interested in opinions...

Matt

Welcome to the Madness! Whatever you decide, I would ask Kirk how much oil to use. Dont overfill or you will have an oily mess when things heat up. Bring an extra quart of Brad Penn too.

I wouldn't let Jifffy Lube touch my car! Unless you've added a drain plug, you need to remove the sump plate to drain. When you reinstall, you have to be REALLY careful not to overtorque and strip out due to it being made put of aluminum or magnesium (I don't remember which). Halfway between full and low on the Dipstick is a good target. There are probably some of us on your route home. Great opportunity to make a new friend and change your oil safely. Brad Penn Racing Oil (green) (or whatever Kirk recommends). In addition to that, your valves probably should be adjusted at the same time. With that being said, you could probably just drive it home and then deal with everything. Your warranty is with Kirk, that's who I would go by.

You are the man Matt..... The proof is in the driving and you are getting your proof first time out..... Good luck, and as Marty said Welcome to the Maddness........

I would ask Kirk what he recommends, but under no circumstance go to a Jiffy Lub or equivelent....there are a lot of VW in the Santa Cruz area, and some SOC members in No. Cal, who can recommend a shop if that is what Kirk recommends...

I'm jealous! I would ask Kirk 100% and follow his thoughts. He will appreciate you asking and the fact that you asked, might help you if something went wrong later on down the road. Post pics when you get that car!

Please ask Kirk what oil he recommends and post it on this list. Thanks and LARGE CONGRATS !

kirk always say 10-30. no brand, just not synthetic. Thats what he told me when i got mine in july.

Real important to get zinc in the oil.

You can also use Shell Rotella it still has zinc in it.

Matt,

We're in Medford. If things go astray, call me. I'll send my phone #.

Remember, if you are prepared, nothing will break down. If you are unprepared and have no backup plan...then it will.

*edit* pm'd you phone # and a quite decent local air cooled VW shop.

angela

Angela, what was your phone number again?

youll be going up I5. im in sacramento 530 642 9598

Thanks to everyone for their inputs and offers of help. I will definatly ask Kirk what he suggests and have alredy gotten the Brad Penn (though cant take it on the plane so will source it on the road) based on Kirks inputs.

I will post pictures as soon as I have them!

Cheers,

Matt

If you are taking the 1 to 101 route I'm 5 miles from 101, and you may use my garage and oil can. I'm too far from 5 to make that worthwhile. I'm in San Jose, about ~350 miles from Vintage.

BTW I'm 31 miles from Santa Cruz, inland. If you want to go coastal you could cut inland at Santa Cruz to my house, then go 280 north and back over 92 (great windy road) to Half Moon Bay and back up 1.

Vince,haven't met you ,but like your style!

He's even funner in real life!

angela

Do they sell those disposable "oil change boxes" in California? If they do,then buy one of those and do it yourself. You can also try the oil I use in my Vintage BMW motorcycles (one worth 25K)this oil is Valvoline VR-1 racing oil with ZDDP added and is formulated for solid lifter motors. I would use the 30 or 40wt. I have used this oil for years,it is good stuff. DO NOT let Jiffy lube touch your car,they do not employ mechanics,just "oil change guys"..a good mechanic would not be working at Jiffy Lube.

Vince - I think Angela's number is 867-five three oh nye-e-yine!!

Matthew---you are going to have a great adventure--please keep us updated as your trip progresses. Good luck---you will be fine!

Thank's Jimbo, but I already found it on the wall of the men's room in the hotel we stayed at in Pismo beach...
It said "if you want a good time, or your oil changed, call this number"
It has to be her's...

Thanks to everyone for there ideas and thoughts. Got home today, 1300 Miles in 4 days. What a great ride! Just changed the oil (Penn #1 10W-30) and will do the valves tommorow when cool.

I have posted a few pic's here.

1. Picking her up
2. The "Official Photo"
3. Cool shado photo driving on Route 1

Cheers, Matt

Nice looking car. I like the color!

I wondered if you ever picked It up?

Matt---congrats--you done good! Pretty car and I like the combo of that particular green and the light tan interior---veddy nice.

Glad your trip was uneventful.

How about some particulars like what MPG did you get? Amount of oil used? How fast you drove? How the car handled? What you ended up doing about an oil change?

Livin' the dream!

Glad to hear it wound up being a fun trip..... The Shadow Knows....

This is a tribute to the work that Kirk does at Vintage....
Buyer picks up car and drives literally hundreds of miles right from the factory to his front door, with little or no issues.....
way to go Kirk....

Kirk suggested I just drive it home and change it when I got to seattle, so did not have to do an on the road oil change. I added 1 Pint at approx 400 miles to bring it up to "between the 2 lines" on the dip stick.

Milage improved with 25mph for the first 3 tanks (mid grade 89ish) and up to 31mpg on the flater last 500 miles. Noticed a little pre ignition (mostly at idle) in the last 300 miles so likly need the timing adjusted.

Shifting was "hard" for the first 300 miles but improved as the bushing wore in, and I plan on putting some lube on the mechnisn fo rgears slid in more easily

Oil was mostly clean, not burned or gassy smelling so temperatures were under control. The hotest it got was 3/4 on the VS gauge in northern CA going up the big grades at 80 degs air temp. I plan in cuting the oil filter open to see what if anything was picked up, and will update folks when I do.

The only issues I had were some gauge weirdness that should be easy to sort out and a minor 90wt oil drip from the rear left bearing.

Matt--keep a watch on that oil leak at the rear wheel. That's transmission fluid so don't let it get low. I had to replace my rear axle seals at 28,000 miles.

Congrats on your trek home. Uneventful is nice.

Matt..... Address that leaking axel seal immediately..... The oil will ruin the brake shoes if not repaired quickley..... If the shoes are already soaked, replace both sides.... Befor replacing the axle seal, inspect the spacer that the seal's inner surface rides on. It should slide off easily, once the seal housing is removed. I usually replace it after installing the seal housing with the new seal.... The spacer surface is critical. The smallest ding, nick, or scratch allows oil to leak on every revolution of the axle... You may have had the misfortune of getting a "bad" seal.... Stuff Happens.

Matt - what a GREAT way to start your zen experience with your Speedy, on a cruise along Hwy 1. Glad you had a good time and got home safely!

Peace - Out!

Congrats, awesome color.

Tim

What a cool trek!
Great car, great color combo, awesome journey ... Welcome to the Madness!

Welcome to the Madness!!!

Cool color!
We drove ours home to Texas from Vintage with NO problems.
Kirk builds a great car!!

Jay

Great car, and great way to break in. But I'm not jealous.

Ok, yes I am.

Yea!! Im glad you had a good adventure..

Hope you have many more Congratulations!

Man in Speedster on the PCH. Life is good.

Just like he said... "Living the Dream"