My Westy was parked outdoors for most of 2020. The engine hasn't been started in months. This is L.A., so not the worst place to leave a van parked outdoors for a year, but, y'know, sun. The curtains were closed the whole time. Its registration came up for renewal, and this year California requires a smog test. (The last time was 2017.) So today I opened up the engine compartment, checked the belts and fluids, and shone the shop light on the fuel lines. I've been keeping the batteries charged, so it started right up. I didn't see any leaks. I let the engine warm until the fan cycled on and off. Then I drove it over to the smog test shop, where it passed with no trouble. The brakes sound like they had some rust, but not bad. I didn't notice any flat spots in the tires. I credit the Westy's relative reliability to the work Bus Depot did 1.4K miles back in October, 2019. And before that, the new fuel tank and pressure regulator by Peninsula Automotive 4K miles back in August, 2018, after we limped back from the east coast. https://sbw.org/sbwsty/ After the smog test, I drove to East L.A. to get the vaccine. https://n.sbw.org/s/mmyLFLqMPi42Kt7 Over an hour in stop and go traffic. The van did fine. I drove the speed limit on the way back. My next job is to take it to the car wash, and then finally break out the buffer I bought a couple of years ago to try to make it shine, more or less. There are a few spots of broken paint, and the rear hatch has a big spot of rust at the bottom center of the window, but otherwise I think I can make it look OK. |
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