Date:         Sun, 10 Jun 2007 11:04:25 +0000
Reply-To:     Jeff Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeff Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      My Birthday Adventure

Yesterday was my birthday. My birthday present to myself was going to look at a '91 Subaru Legacy. I've been searching for weeks for a suitable candidate for my '84 Westy. All were either way too high mileage, too high priced, or too far away until this one. It was in Keyser, W. VA. about 100 miles from my house. The PO has owned it since the mid 90's, and had maitained it beautifully. Oil changes every 3,500 miles, timing belt changes at 60k and again at 120K. It now has 144K on it. Luckily for me, but not for him, he parked it at work one day and forgot to set the parking brake. It rolled down and crashed into a caboose-yes, a caboose. The right rear was smashed in, the rear hatch totally caved in, the right rear tail light is gone, and the right rear window was smashed. The seller had the whole back end covered in heavy plastic sheeting held on with duct tape. None of this mattered to me of course, all I wanted to see was how well it ran. After starting up and hearing it run for
 about a minute I knew I'd found my car. The price was right, too, $450.00. Now for the big dilema-how do I get it home? Having a tow truck tow it 100 miles would cost over $300.00, cutting way into my Subaru conversion budget. Living in a somewhat rural area myself, I see cars all the time with "Farm Use" tags on them. I had stopped at Southern States yesterday morning and bought a "Farm Use" tag for $6.00. I duct taped the "Farm Use" tag to the rear bumper ,which was fine, I guess railroad cabooses don't have to conform to federal bumper height laws as all the damage was above the rear bumper. With my wife shaking her head, and mumbling about this being the craziest thing I've ever done, we set out for home, me in the Subaru and wife and daughter running blocker in my Honda Element. From Keyser W. VA to Winchester VA. is a fairly rural area, with Romney W. VA being the only sizable town we pass through. The road we took (Rte. 50) also has a couple of  7 & 9% grades. The Subaru ra
n fantastic. The only thing I noticed was a ratlle which sounds like an exhaust heat shield is loose. The steering, brakes, 5 speed trans. all performed flawlessly. And the power from this little sucker! Even with 144K on the clock, this thing flies! My wife called me twice on the cell phone to tell me to slow down! The thing runs very smooth, and even up the long steep grades it had power to spare. I realize it's just pushing a small station wagon and not a heavy Westy, but I can't wait to have this engine in my '84! The first 15 miles or so on Rte 50 are so rural I wasn't worried. Then in Romney I pass two cops. Now from the drivers side this car looks fine, so unless a cop looked in rear view mirror after we pass, he'd never suspect a thing. And W. VA. only requires one tag, on the rear of the car, and the windshield has a current W. VA. inspection sticker. We get through Romney without a problem. 50 gets rural again until Winchester, where I get nervous-a lot more traffic. At o
ne point I look behind me to see the unmistakable look of a Crown Vic with a light bar on top about 1/4 mile back. I quickly make the next right onto a side road, my wife and daughter follow, calling me on the cell to ask what's up-they thought the Subie had a problem. I tell them we had a cop coming up from behind. We wait about 5 minutes then get back on 50. As we get into Winchester, a group of young guys on sport bikes pass, driving like maniacs, weaving in and out of traffic. I mentally thank them, figuring they will attract more attention from the law than I will. At Winchester, I have to get on I-81 for about a mile to get down to Rte. 7 which takes me home. I-81 is very heavy with truck traffic. I settle in next to an 18 wheeler, figuring with him blocking me from the side and my wife/daughter blocking from behind, I'm safe (and I feel like I'm in a mini version of "Smokey and the Bandit") We get on rte. 7 and I try to blend in with all the heavy traffic. Not a cop in sight
, but I do get funny looks from other motorists. It's 21 miles from Winchester to my house, which we make without incident. I turn into my neighborhood and smile-I've made it! I pull the Subie into the back yard and park it where my '75 Westy once sat, 1 minute later I have the first of many cold Coronas in my hand to celebrate getting my new purchase home without paying a huge tow bill or getting a ticket. And the best part is that $300.00+ is still in my budget for Subie conversion parts! My wife comments about what a stressful trip it was- I laugh. I tell her I was the one driving the illegal car-what did she have to worry about?! Hell, I had a blast!
Jeff