Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 13:01:17 -0600
Reply-To: Joel Walker <jwalker@BAMA.UA.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <jwalker@BAMA.UA.EDU>
Subject: Re: umbrella question about reliability
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> if the vanagon i have (1984) is rebuilt carefully and
> thoroughly, is there any need to worry about
> reliability? what i'd like to do is overhaul the
> engine and take it out on the road for various and
> sundry reasons. i'm not looking for an "around town"
> vehicle, and i wanna make sure that i'm not about to
> start throwing money into a bottomless pit.
regrettably, ANY 20-year old vehicle IS a bottomless money pit. :(
if you look at it from a simple economic point of view. or even a
reliability point of view.
it's a sad fact that economics of the auto industry does not encourage or
allow dealers and auto parts suppliers to stock parts for 20-year old
vehicles. some specialty folks do so, but unless you happen to break down in
their town, you're dealing with them by long distance. and since they
usually know that they have the only bi-folding whidjet valve for your 1984
VW Turbo Belchfire T25X, a lot of them aren't too sympathetic to the
conditions of your pocketbook. :(
notice that this is a condition found in all old cars, not just our vws.
just imagine what the folks with the 1950-1960's british or italian cars go
through. try finding a wheel for a 1960 MG-A 1600. especially if you have
the wire wheels.
even if you have rebuilt the engine and transmission and brakes and
suspension and the whole blasted bus to brand new condition, that doesn't
rule out some idiot backing out of a parking space and whacking you in the
front right corner, just hard enough to smash lights and maybe bend some
steering or suspension parts. now you're stuck ... can't drive it like that,
but nobody in Bhumphuhq, Amabala has any parts with which to repair the
damage. of course, that could still happen in a 1995 Chevy Astro, but it's a
lot more likely that you'd be able to find parts for the chevy AND some good
ol' bubba who could actually replace the parts for you. at a price,
naturally.
or it could be a pothole, or lapse of concentration that let you run off the
shoulder of the road. lots of things can happen to disable a perfect car.
what to do? buy a new car every time the warranty on the old one runs out.
and that still can't guarantee that you won't be spending time in the Motel
$5.25, waiting for the parts to arrive at Bubba's Auto Repair and Tanning
Salon and Video Rental. the farther afield you drive, the more likely your
stay in some small town, waiting on parts.
but the more you learn about your bus, the more YOU can fix yourself. and
the more you can double-check or advise Bubba when he tries to fix it. and
the more you fix it yourself, the less likely it is to break down ... cept
for the potholes and idiot drivers. but it's sorta like adopting a dog: it
can't take care of itself for food and water and health care, so guess who
gets to do it? yup, YOU. same with the bus. YOU become the mechanic. unless
you could convince some of the list vendors/mechanics to follow along behind
you in their bus, loaded with tools and spare parts. ;)
that's the downside. for the upside, how many miles are on the bus now? my
91 automatic has 163,000 miles on the original engine and transmission and
other parts. that's ten years worth of driving. not too bad, in my opinion.
were i to fix it up and put a rebuilt engine into it, and a rebuilt
transmission, should i not be able to expect another ten years of
trouble-free service out of it? i think so ... assuming the rebuilds were
done properly. and that's the key: a new engine/transmission comes out of
the factory with a certain probability of reliability ... you EXPECT a new
car to last at least 60,000 miles before you have to 'do something to it'. a
rebuild? depends on who rebuilt it,and what parts they used to replace the
worn ones. so the probability of reliability can vary widely, from garage to
garage, and region to region.
but done properly, yeah, a rebuild should give you at least as many miles as
you got before the rebuild.
but that also expects you to replace things that can't be rebuilt: rubber
parts like hoses, bushings, and electrical things that go frzzt in the
night: lights, relays, etc. things get old, things go bad, things break.
it's a law of nature. old age sucks. but nothing stays young forever.
so you pays your money and you takes your chances.
good luck!
unca joel