Date:         Tue, 9 Mar 2004 22:38:29 -0500
Reply-To:     John Runberg <jrunberg@MAC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Runberg <jrunberg@MAC.COM>
Subject:      Re: Junkyards are to blame
Comments: cc: Robert Keezer <warmerwagen@HOTMAIL.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

> Nothing can be done to save these cars except that you bid on them at
> auctions, or buy them anywhere, to save them one at a time.
Very true - and once they're in the yard it can be difficult (impossible) to get it out again in one piece.

The simple truth is that for passenger vans there isn't much in the way of a market, compared to bay window busses. Many of the vans I've seen in the yards blew their engines and the owners did not want to spend over the resale price to get a new engine installed. Beautiful chassis and paint, clean, complete and some bubba drives a forklift through the side!

Westy's are a different story, especially late models. I've seen very few in the yards over the years. Any westy IMHO is sellable.

BTW- someone mentioned buying and restoring? I just sold a 83.5 w/ rocker rust and a frozen engine up to a guy in Canada. He basically said that if it's not completely dead he restores them and they sell for very high prices. We were going to cut the top off but felt better seeing it go back on the road.

john