Date:         Sat, 26 Mar 2011 22:43:44 +0000
Reply-To:     J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Automatic vs 4 Speed
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

I meant to weigh in on this the other day, but forgot. I've had 3 Vanagons (many more Bays and one Splittie) and of the Vanagons two were automatics, one 4 speed. The 4 speed was an '84 that I bought with a seized motor and put a 2.1 in it with the so called Hi-Po European ECU. That van would fly! But just west of my house is a pretty good sized mountain (Mount Weather, for those familiar with N. Virginia) and I could easily climb Mt Weather in both directions n that van in 3rd gear and maintain 50 mph. My current Westy is an automatic, and I wanted an automatic this time because for the first time, my Vanagon is my only personal vehicle, and I wanted my wife and daughter to be able to drive it. The first time I drove this Vanagon over the mountain and back I was prepared for the worst. But to my surprise, as it started to lose speed and I dropped down down to around 40 mph, I floored it and the trans kicked down and it climbed back up to just over 50 mph! I was impressed, especially for a 25 yr old 1.9 with one leaky head! I've been back and forth over the mountain many times since then, and I can always maintain 50+. Now, I should also mention that this one is an '85 Weekender, while the '84 was a full Westfalia, so this one is carrying less weight. Even so, I am impressed with its performance, and like everyone else mentioned, in heavy traffic it sure is nice not to have to shift. Jeff 



Jeff Stewart