Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 11:01:03 -0700
Reply-To: John Klun <jklun@GJ.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Klun <jklun@GJ.NET>
Subject: Re: Vanagon Gods Smiling Down on Fools and Children
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Congratulations, Alan! More 'power' to ya!
Alan Bosch wrote:
> 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!
|