Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 10:37:05 -0600
Reply-To: arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alan Bosch <arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM>
Subject: Vanagon Gods Smiling Down on Fools and Children
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Two weeks ago I posted to the list that I was putting my beloved bus,
Phred, up on the For Sale blocks. It was a tough decision, mostly
influenced by rust, circumstance, money, and a non-VW wife, but one I came
to accept - grudgingly. My four year old son has wanted to take rides in
Phred because "we won't be able to when he's gone".
So the last two weeks have been consumed with finding a replacement for
Phred. Not a very easy task as there's only one Vanagon and nothing comes
close. After consultations with W.I.F.E. (Woman In-charge of Financial
Expenditures), we narrowed down the search to three reasonable vehicles -
'88-'92 Jettas, '90-'92 Saab 900's, & '90-'94 Honda Accords. After looking
around, it's amazing what people call "excellent condition" - doors falling
off, ripped interiors, rusted wheel wells, really bad repaint jobs. After
looking at a good dozen cars, I started to get the feeling that there was
no way I was going to get a car that was even close to Phred in the
personality department, nor as sound mechanically - I know I can fix almost
anything on my bus, if he's not perfect to begin with.
Sunday I get a call from my sister on Cape Cod. She is buying a '97 Accord
from a friend and was wondering if I'd be interested in her '92 Accord.
It's a good car, she says, and wants it to go to a good home. 235k miles,
and just completed a 'round trip from The Cape to Key West and back with no
problems. Her mechanic has given the car good marks mechanically. Now for
the good news: She'll give me the car for nothing - zip, zero, nada. :o)
Here's the crux of this post... My wife has agreed to keep Phred if and
only if my sister gives me her Accord. Yippie!!!!! I'm one happy bus
driver! If everything goes according to plan, Phred's coming off the road
in mid-April for some much needed R & R. I'm going to tackle all the rust
- only one seam, but there's a bunch of surface rust on the nose and a few
other spots - do a complete repaint, and do some need mechanical upgrades
like the fuel lines, maybe redo the heads, change the struts, etc., etc.
With luck and a lot of hard work, the new and improved Phred will debut at
Buses by the Tunnel in mid-July.
Alan Bosch
& Phred ('88 Wolfsburg) - Still!
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