Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2003 00:32:54 -0500
Reply-To: Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Subject: Re: Frugal to the nth... but still spending
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Chuck Hill wrote:
> By the way, my rabbit diesel is so rusty I just can't drive it
> anymore--the door falls off, and I can't find another body for it, but
> the engine still runs OK,
I completely agree with his entire post.
We are car starting to car shop for the wife... her Saturn SL2 just turned
100K and is beginning to rattle like no VW I've ever seen... well, except
maybe my old diesel Rabbit (210K) at start up on a cold morning.
Re: the '81 Rabbit...
Yesterday in between a gazillion things and meetings on my 'day off' I
managed to stop at the repair shop to pick up the newly rebuilt transmission
out of my '87 Westy. The AT, final drive, and torque converter fit nicely
into the back hatch of my Rabbit and I didn't worry about any effluent from
the AT. I putted away, happy in knowing that I can take this car on a 150
mile RT, with 4 people and still spend only $6 on fuel. It LOOKS like it
won't go another ten miles. Rust is nicely dispersed throughout the body and
hood; an occasional flake of paint or rust flies back and hits the
windshield... ah, the ambiance it issues. It goes off-road in the snow to
my cabin just as well as my brothers' 4x4 PUs. However, I will soon divest
myself of it to drive the Westy as a temporary daily driver. I plan on
finding a 'newer' Golf... 4Door, diesel and no rust; as much to appease the
wife as to step up a notch in the safety area. I'm sure this Rabbit will
buckle if it's hit even a moderate blow in an MVA. Momma doesn't like her 16
month old riding in that "rust bucket".
Re: the '87 AT...
I decided to bite the bullet and spend bucks on having it rebuilt rather
than risk a self repair or temporarily cannibalizing the AT from the '91.
This is only the second time in ownership of 4 vans over a period of
eighteen years that I have had any mechanical work done by anyone but me.
The first was on the gasoline heater on my '81... safety again. I think
this money is well spent while still allowing my frugal nature to stay
intact. As I have stated before, I chuckle inside at the faux SUV's owners
and the marketing bill of goods that they have bought, when I know that we
have the most economical form of real sport and utility in any vehicle on
the road.
The cost of this repair will add up to about three 'normal' car payments
that most of my friends and/or co-workers pay. With a few exceptions most of
them couldn't/wouldn't know where to begin on anything but the most basic
checks on their vehicles.
I cannot wait to get the Westy back on the road to further camping
adventures and to what lies around the next bend!
On the loss of the Columbia today...
We learned of it as we attended a HS wrestling tourney. A moment of silence
and prayer was held between rounds. On the way to the tourney, early this
morning, NPR had reported a near flawless flight with only a slight humidity
problem causing problems for some onboard lab experiments.
Later in the day the wife heard a NASA statistic that 1 in 175 flights will
have a major system failure... not sure how true this is. But I imagine
that the ones lost today were and are now in their glory.
Sorry for the ramblings and WOB.
--
Stephen Steele*
Chillicothe OH
'91 Caravelle "Hans"
'87 Westy "Franz"
'84 Westfalia "Fritz" on loan to my nephew
'81 Diesel Rabbit "Ol' Yeller" by PO
'82 Caddy VW Diesel P.U.
'90 Jetta GL 17 yo Sons' "together" car
'74 MGB My first car...yep, I've kept it since '74
'93 Chevy S-10
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written permission
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