Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:34:19 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Beyond Vanagon
In-Reply-To: <20130323013948.HPDUQ.700041.imail@eastrmwml206>
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HI Dave..
I believe in a whole other philosophy.
I also just *love* preserving things, treating and preventing rust
....fixing things ..
like 'working a vanagon, or 'one's vanagon' is not a bad thing .
or something to be avoided to do 'when you have to ' ..it's a fun
rewarding thing to do. .
You may also know a little about aircraft and how they are cared for .
Done legally ..which is probably the vast majority of reistered and
insured private and commerical aircraft...
they get a serious anual inspection ..
nothing is allowed to be corroded, or loose, or falling off etc.
It's a mandatory anunal inspection .....
As a result of that ..
asay 60 year old aircraft can be kept in great health ...basially
indefenitely.
*as long as the frame/chassis is solid that is'.
And ...
it's such a shame to see badly rusted vanagons as it's not hard, very
often anyway ...to treat, and prevent rust.
Granted, if someone is going to drive one in salty conditions a lot in
the winter..
severe corrosion is pretty hard to prevent in that case..
but for vans that are half cared for ..
if you keep the body in good shape, you can do repairs on the components
just forever.
actually , a well-maintained and cared for vanagon that's say ..15 or 20
years old ...if done right ..
it can be almost as good as a new one.
And there are a few rare ones with less than 10,000 miles on them..
you could buy one of those for big bucks..
BUT ......a car that old with that few miles will suffer from lack of
use also.
just take care of them.
I suppose not many members have raced cars or motorcycles..
I mention that because with a vehicle that is raced regularilyduring a
season..
good ones get worked on constantly ..
everything is laid out to be very easy to work on ....upgrades are tried
constantly ..
sometimes it's taken all apart and put back together before the next race ..
doing that ..doing it right..
keeps things healthy, easy to work on ..etc.
So it is GOOD to work on a vehicle you really care about.
Every last vanagon I see .......they ALL need 200 things done to them by
now..
even when they are sold as 'ready to go Westy's with new rebuilt engines
' ..typically I find dozens of things ..
either things done wrong that need straightening out, or long term
neglected issues.
I've also noticed this in decades of car work ..if a used car LOOKS
really sharp..
it is often neglected mechancially.
And .I see this too ..
a car can fine fine tuned and serviced from one end to the other..it
perfect working order..
but it has a small dent.
I have seen people, littearlly, see one dent and think the whole thing
is a piece ofcrap ..
because they are too dumb to tell when a car is really working right.
Just saw this ...very nice 86 Syncro Westy ....only 158K miles on it.
The jiffy lube type place that changed the oil..
or 'somebody' did not catch that the alternator was practically falling
off, a known weakness on waterbexer engines..
so the belt flipped over ..they say it overheated ....and the oil buzzer
went off. ..and it's puking oil out strangely.
so ..they have some engine issue it sure appears.
And then I take it for a good drive today .
the brakes are working about 50 % of how they should ...
and there is some serious vibration going on at 50 mph ..
the people driving it have no idea it's considerably down from where it
should be. .
Anyway ....
back to the point ..
taking care of them is not that hard..
now finding someone to Do Good Work ..now that is a realissue a lot !
last line.
my saying on that is ...The Van is just whatever it is..what is worn out
is just what it is ...it's the People involved that are The Tricky Part ..
the people that designed and built the thing, ...the people that own and
operate them and do or not take care of them ..
and the people who work on them ..that's the tricky part. The Vans are
fine ..
as cars go ...Vangons have their quirts and demands for sure ..
but none of it is really that hard to deal with. But getting someone to
do really good work at a fair price.
that's the hard part, and that is true for all cars.
Perhaps you are the type of person who should buy a brand new car, then
turn it in for another brand new car every year or two.
I wouldn't or couldn't and don't figure to buy one brand new car in my
entire life..
and if I had a million dollars tomorrow ..I sure don't think I'd be in
some new crazy too complex car. Just take good care of 'em .it's fun !
Scott turbovansJJK Just t dondon't t I sure
On 3/22/2013 6:39 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> Scott, find me a Vanagon that is one year old, and I'll buy it. There is the rub. Things wear out. mcneely
>
> -
>
