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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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