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