Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:23:45 -0800
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Exhaust Design
In-Reply-To: <20100215150423.CQIHG.619271.imail@eastrmwml35>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I am kinda with Dave here. But I have owned VW vans back in my hippy
days. When I began looking for an economical dependable 'augmentator' for
my diesel pickup with camper I again looked to the VW van. I
thought..."Hey, maybe a Vanagon...they seem to be able to keep up with
traffic and are about the proper size and ground clearance for the camping I
do. Maybe they work more dependably than the old aircooled vans"...but
I researched them (extensively) and I see (saw) that they didn't get very
good mileage and people were often having trouble with the motor blowing
headgaskets or just blowing up. "Hmmm" I thought, "Kinda like my old
splitwindow..the undependable motor that blows up more frequently than other
makes of vans. And the gas mileage I see people claiming...I can get mpgs
like that from a Ford or a Chevy, almost"...So I was a bit put off on
Vanagons and looking elsewhere when I spied my current inline VW powered
vanagon for pretty cheap. I decided I could make a 'mistake' for what this
guy was asking and I went ahead and got mine, thinking if the thing blows,
I'll just junk it.
It's not perfect. But it seems to get better mileage than a WBX and it
seems more dependable than what I read about the stock WBX motors do. So I
have a Vanagon and I am happy with it, it does the job. If I went with a
WBX powered vanagon and it blew up...I'd be kicking myself for disregarding
what I read and for buying another VW bus that didn't quite do the job for
me.
Some people are "purists" and are all in love with certain
machines...thinking "Nobody could improve on *this* vehicle, It's perfect
just like it is..totally stock" Others are tinkerers. They immediately
think "I can do better" and start in. Me, when I bought my Vanagon I was
just looking to find a utilitarian van. Since then, I have fallen for the
Vanagon and I enjoy making improvements on mine. But most I enjoy going
outside and turning the key and taking off without a thought about it's
reliability..I enjoy not seeing drippy coolant and getting 325miles on a
tank before I look for a filling station. And when it finally breaks down,
I'll head to a nearby junkyard and get another Rabbit, Jetta, Golf,
Cabriolet, inline motor for a few hundred bucks and 'plug that in' and keep
right on going..
Don Hanson
On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 12:04 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
> Well, Jeff, I own the thing because it is the only camper of its type there
> is, and because I had romantic notions about one back in my hippy days when
> I couldn't afford it. Eurovan doesn't count, not enough clearance to safely
> drive off of pavement, and seems more like a minivan than anything else.
>
> Despise it? No, but I am bemused at folks who seem to have love affairs
> with a particular type of vehicle. After all, it is an object, not a being.
> A difficult object at that.
>
> But maybe some folks fail to see the humor in my observations. After all,
> it is subtle.
>
> BTW, I have already received a number of private emails agreeing with my
> observation, and suggesting that the observation will either be ignored or
> that I will get negative criticism for making it. We'll see.
>
> David Mc
>
> ---- Jeff Lincoln <magikvw@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > Dave,
> >
> > I mean no offense here - but I cannot think of a better way to word this:
> >
> > I think that the experience you describe had a lot to do with the wording
> > you chose when you were criticizing.
> >
> > I think that a lot of people had a hard time telling from some of your
> posts
> > why you owned a Vanagon at all - and I only say that because your wording
> > really made it look like you despised the thing.
> >
> > Just my .02
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 1:43 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Interesting. Seems there is an in crowd that can criticize the
> > > dependability of Vanagons. Others of us, not a part of the in crowd,
> get
> > > jumped whenever we point out the beasts difficulties. We usually are
> > > accused of not practicing proper maintenance, which in my case at least
> is
> > > definitely not true. Some can even criticize the dependability due to
> > > inherent design flaws, and yet whenever one of the "out bunch"
> questions
> > > reliability, those same ones will lay into that person and his or her
> > > maintenance practices. Just sayin ............ .
> > >
> > > David Mc
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Jeff
> > '90 Carat (Grover)
> > '86 (We call this one Parts)
> > '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus
>
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