Hi Chris, I thought that the idea of the coming of age roadtrip is to get out in the world and experience life. What useful life lessons can you learn driving an appliance like a VW golf or Honda civic ?? BACKGROUND: Back in 1984 I bought my first car. it was a 1972 westy. Before that I had inherited a 1978 Fairmont wagon, but the westy was my own purchase. I did indeed drive it into the ground. But to be fair, it was 12 years old at the time and well on its way there before it go to me. I seized its engine after a year. The replacement engine cost 2/3 of what the bus cost, but was from a Porsche 914. THAT was a blast, while it lasted. After 6 months of "Hey you-all, watch THIS" I put a rod through the case. The next motor was not nearly so much fun, and my next VW bus would not come my way for another 12 years. Now that I am older and wiser I know that the vehicle will last a lot longer if driven within its limits. It's not like this kid's on a schedule. When it breaks, he learns about maintenance. (preventative or otherwise) As long as there's some $$$ available at the end of a phone line I can't think of anything that can't be resolved on a '71 baywindow. I would recommend a Bay over an aircooled vanagon because the baywindow is lighter (less load on the engine) and the more primitive suspension/steering keeps the driver more in tune with the road. It isn't as good a platform for covering long distances, but as long as the kid's got a strong young spine he'll be fine. I don't really expect to get a lot of sympathy for my opinion on *this* list, but I'm mature enough to know that you can't please everyone. Seriously... Which of the following two engines would you want this youngster to be responsible for? http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/332178.jpg http://mywebpages.comcast.net/bl.bachman/volks/WBX.JPG Happy Trails, Greg Potts 1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato www.pottsfamily.ca www.busesofthecorn.com
On 25-Feb-07, at 4:41 PM, JordanVw@AOL.COM wrote: > honestly i'd never reccomend a vanagon to anyone as a first > vehicle..especially a first vehicle daily driver for a teenager. > its just a nightmare waiting to happen.. |
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