Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2004 23:00:42 -0400
Reply-To: Tim Demarest <tim.demarest@POBOX.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tim Demarest <tim.demarest@POBOX.COM>
Subject: Re: My little Road Trip (Letting sleeping Dogs Lie)
In-Reply-To: <IFEIJNJABPPGOMGBAIHJIEJOCMAA.sagmoore@zoominternet.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
It wanted to get out of Florida before July... sounds like your
new steed has good "horse sense", best of luck with it!
I know, I know, unnecessary post... but it'll be Friday in about
an hour.
At 06:11 PM 7/1/2004 -0400, MilosKitchen wrote:
>Hello List,
>
>As some of you know, last February, my old '87 Syncro committed the
>unpardonable sin and broke it's 3rd gear synchronizer at a time when I had
>other financial obligations. That coupled with a body starting to be
>consumed by rust, led me to drive it to the junkyard. It was quickly snapped
>up by someone else and gone the next day.
>
>I missed it, and started to look for a decent replacement, finally found
>another '87 in mid-June. Talked to the owner, got some pictures of what I
>wanted to see for sure, and decided to buy it sight unseen. Made
>arrangements to fly down from Pittsburgh PA to Pensacola FL with my son on
>the 25th, took a rudimentary canvas tool bag suitable for replacing cooling
>hoses and changing plugs, points, oil filter etc. Checking that bag of tools
>at the airlines was another wonderful story...
>
>I think that Syncro wanted the heck out of Florida. My son Pete and I got
>there last Friday afternoon. I did a quick look-over (after all, I had
>already paid for it), replaced the rotted breather hose between the breather
>tower and the intake elbow I had seen in the pictures, started her up and
>followed the seller to the courthouse to have the title signed over. On the
>way over I noticed that the idle had a mind of its own, but it settled down
>after a bit. I decided to leave sleeping dogs lay, and have a look at that
>throttle switch when I got home. We did the deed at the courthouse, said
>goodbye, and headed west, then north on I-65, making Birmingham Alabama at
>about 8:30 PM Friday night. Next morning we were up at 5:30 AM and on the
>road at about 6:15, up the length of Alabama, then Tennessee, Kentucky, and
>finally Ohio where we picked up I-71 outside Cincinnati and then on to
>Columbus and I-70 to I-79 in PA. We got back to Zelienople at about 9:15 PM,
>a long drive, never over 4000 rpm.
>
> I really hadn't expected an immaculate van, and I wasn't disappointed. The
>odometer was inop on the way home, but judging from the mile markers and a
>fudge factor, I'd say it was getting around 20-21 mpg. I'm still running
>around on the last fill-up from Columbus.
>
>Sunday afternoon, I decided to look around the engine compartment a bit.
>Wow, look at that, the throttle switch plug is disconnected, and look there,
>so is the O2 sensor. Of course I did have to remove the throttle valve to
>adjust the throttle switch (too much oily goo), but with all connected, gee
>it runs a whole lot better.
>
>I'm just amazed that it ran as well as it did for 1050 miles (more or less).
>I had been prepared to flat-bed it home if needed. Like I said, I think it
>wanted out of Florida!
>
>Dave
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