Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 06:52:22 EDT
Reply-To: TStone8359@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tom Stone <TStone8359@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Only on fridays in Alabama
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 9/30/2005 8:22:46 PM Central Standard Time,
fjazzbass@GMAIL.COM writes:
Sort of like the story of my most recent acquisition...
I have a story like that too, only better!
There was a lady on the list 4-5 years ago who bought a diesel Westy off
e-Bay. On her way home to Illinois with it, it began over heating. She posted
a note and I, along with a few others, responded with some advice. I believe
she ended up taking it to Karl M. who was near where she broke down and he
installed a new head. She finished the trip home. Since I live in Illinois
too, she and I corresponded over e-mail for a while.
She was an interesting lady, European, and did translation work for CAT and
various other companies in the area. She wanted to use the Westy as a mobile
office. Her work didn't require that she be in a certain location so she
planned to travel and work in the Westy. She did a number of things to upgrade
the van and bought a number of special tools and gadgets suggested by the
list at the time and stored them in the van.
One day, she sent me a note that she was moving to the Northwest and storing
the Westy in Peoria until she could get someone to help her take it to her
new location. I offered to help the following summer and she said she would
contact me.
A year ago, she finally contacted me. She had decided to give up on the
mobile office dream and said I could have the Westy if I would take over the
storage bill. She wanted to be rid of it and sent me the title and keys. I
went over to look at it. It didn't look too bad for having sat outside for
several years but the battery was dead so I couldn't get it started. I left it
there and made arrangements to take over the storage bill. I paid the storage
on it for a year, $22 a month, and this spring, took a tow dolly over to
Peoria and brought it home. I hooked a fresh battery up to it and it started
right up. I drove it around the block and it seemed to run well, but had no
brakes. Later, I filled it up with fresh fuel and drove it 40 miles over back
roads. While underpowered and a bit smokey, it held together and is in the
driveway waiting repair of the brakes.
The van was full of goodies; extra bumpers, a Yakima bike rack, German wind
deflectors for the door windows, tools, a portapotty, a yellow Optimus
battery, etc.
Not bad, huh?
Tom
Illinois
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