Date:         Wed, 1 Feb 1995 11:21:49 +0001 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Doug Shapter <dps@kafka.atinc.com>
Subject:      Ack, what a night (long).


Well, /dev/bus ran into fuel problems last night. I was on a major road 
heading out of DC (rt. 50 if anyone cares, just past Kenilworth) when 
she started choking and gasping. Pulled over to the shoulder. She would 
run and start, but not idle, and whenever I put her in gear she would 
sputter, gasp and stall. I figured that it was probably a clogged fuel 
pump or filter, maybe a problem in the carb, but something I could 
probably deal with if I was off the highway and away from traffic.

I managed to limp off the road on to an exit ramp by feathering the 
clutch and getting a couple of mphs out of her. Gave up when I saw the 
construction zone (no merge area ahead) signs. Said to myself, "owee, 
I'll piss a few people off if I block a merge" I was about to get out 
when some guy pulled over, said he was a mechanic (yeah, right). We 
looked at the engine and he concluded, rather strongly, that the problem 
was the fuel pump and hey, there's a trak auto right up the road and he 
can fix it.

He offered to push me to a parking lot and i said okay, since I was in a 
bad spot. He pushed me about 1/2 mile and we pulled into a parking lot 
in front of a liquor store. Ouch, bad, bad neighborhood, lots of young 
punks hanging out.

He was insistent that he could fix the problem with a new fuel pump. By 
now I saw the setup, but didn't want to make trouble because of the 
environment. If words were exchanged at this point, I'm sure I would 
have been in big trouble. Anyway I knew there wasn't a chance in hell 
that trak auto would have a fuel pump for a 70 bus and figured I could 
pass him some money for his trouble and beg out, call a tow and get my 
baby home. That's what happened, in any case. 

Now I'm stuck in this mean nasty ugly parking lot full of father rapists 
and mother stabbers (obligatory A. Guthrie reference). There's no way Im 
going to start tearing down a fuel pump or a carb with these guys 
hanging out. So I swallowed my pride, locked the doors, pulled the 
curtains shut and called for a tow (I'd recommend that everyone get a cell 
phone, especially if you do any long driving. They are cheaper than 
regular phones now and the basic no frills service is about $25.00 a 
month. Whatever the cost, it was certainly worth it). 

It took about 1/2 hour for the tow to arrive and it cost me $85.00 
(ouch), but hey, /dev/bus is safe and so I am. 

Anyway, I thought the folks on the list could appreciate my plight. I 
wish I could say that I pulled the carb down  and fixed it a la Muir, 
but the circumstances really didn't allow it. oh well.

Doug Shapter                
dps@kafka.atinc.com         
finger dps@kryten.atinc.com for PGP public key
"Nothing in this world beats a 52 Vincent and a red-headed girl"