Well, I bought a 73 bus new with the promise from the salesman in Livermore, CA that it could pull the Altamont Pass at 65mph. He drove and it damned near did from the west side. I tried to drive it like the 390CID Ford wagon I traded in on it. It made it to the Sierras, UT, OR just fine but running from Bend,OR up to Mt Batchelor everyday for a week and trying to keep up with the American iron resulted in a sucked valve on I505 near Woodland at 9:00PM on the way home - damn near as lonely as US50 in NV at night - 3 kids and me - no CB, no cell (a cellphone in 1975?). We finally got towed (after dawn) to a shop and a friend came to get us - skis and all - great neighbor. It was the well known red body and white top - the Red Box. I wasn't that pleased with VW but the SO, boss, wife, Gayle fell in love with an 80 Westy in Durango, CO on a trip where we were delivering another van to my son. That vehicle has become a labor of love as most of these do for all of us on this list. We haven't tried to restore it but just keep up with maintenance, seals, seats, brakes, rebuilt engine, etc. It's the standard Yellow (Cream) from that era and she calls it the Westy which works because we don't have a stable of vanagons - I, on the other hand, due to its blazing speed, refer to it as the Banana Slug. Pete Murphys, CA |
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