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Date:         Thu, 1 Jul 2004 18:11:14 -0400
Reply-To:     MilosKitchen <sagmoore@ZOOMINTERNET.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         MilosKitchen <sagmoore@ZOOMINTERNET.NET>
Subject:      My little Road Trip (Letting sleeping Dogs Lie)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

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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