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Date:         Sun, 4 Jun 1995 22:18:55 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         tfab@netcom.com (thom fitzpatrick)
Subject:      '56 kombi update

Ok, Well a lot's happened since I sent the last update.

I got canned from transamerica over the whole e-mail flap. Not for bus/vw email, but for catching my boss reading my e-mail. If anyone wants that story, I'd be happy to post it. I am now working as a Sys Admin/Programmer Analyst for the Raley's/BelAir Supermarket Chain and got a 6k/year raise in the bargain!

Anyway, I now had time on my hands, so I spent 8-16 hours a day from May 3 to May 2x finishing the paintwork on the bus. The body, front bumper, and assorted trim are done. All's left is the roof rack and the wheels, and a rear bumper if I can ever find one :(

Amy and I also put in some carpet; not factory stuff but nice anyway. We're going to fab the interior panels ourselves.

The only mechanical nigglies are the brakes (see brake post) and miscellaneous electrical, such as idiot lights and turn signals, which worked _before_ I painted the bus...

I also need to do some more rust repair on the driver's floor, and finish detailing the underbelly. Once the underbelly is done, I'm going to weld in some belly pans. I noticed that the bus _does_ flex some with the sunroof.

Weekend before last, I took it to its first big event, the Sac SOTO meet, where it got rave reviews. It was one of the better looking busses there, actually. Then I took it to Bug-O-Rama, where I think most people ignored it. The _fun_ thing was that I got to show it the the guy who orginally sold it to me and his buddy, who couldn't believe it was the same bus!

The big shakedown cruise was the Bodega trip, whereupon the brake problem manifested itself. I knew there was a problem, but I wanted to go bad enough that I went anyway, and didn't let it get my spirits down. (it did make the trip a bit hairy a few times, and I think the final brake episode sent Steve Johnson to the Cardiac Ward!)

Until next time... Thom -- Thom Fitzpatrick tfab@netcom.com


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