Date:         Thu, 20 Jul 1995 08:42:20 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         edfrank@maine.maine.edu (Ed Frank)
Subject:      '82 Diesel Vanagon GL for Sale

Please forgive the typos :)
I need to sell my old faithful, 'Lazarus' (bought him dead, and he came back 
to life; or, he brought us back from The Dead...). I realize this is _not_ 
the bus-mart, and that most of you want near-perfect examples of bus-ness: 
but, Lazarus may be a tough sell.

125K miles, give or take. 35K on factory longblock. Doesn't overheat, but 
coolant needs topping up on occasion, typically. New alternator, but the 
injectors & pump came from the original, blown engine, and are very suspect. 
Good mileage and moderate black smoke only on heavy pedal use (bad 
injectors). Body from Arizona, not used in Maine winters, hence very 
rust-free. The 2-tone orange-tan color appeals to some. Now for the down 
side- starter should be re-wired/replaced: it hangs sometimes. Fuel pump may 
be bad: Laz won't start hardly at all anymore, but will sometimes just 
spring into life as if all is OK (I've done the first & second passes of 
diagnostics, which is why I suspect pump & injectors). Tranny pops out of 
4th (bungie holds it in, and my experience shows it'll last for quite awhile 
that way, but...). Clutch has hydraulic problems. Needs shocks, tires, CVs. 
Broken grille slats, broken right side mirror, bashed rear bumper and 
slightly stove-in right rear corner. (When the original owner had the 
instrument panel fire, he not only tore the dash apart in hasty fear, but 
had Joe Buttwell push the bus home the hard way, out of hate-filled revenge, 
no doubt. He couldn't wait to sell it!) Some of the interior vinyl has 
peeled from the back door and rear sides, and the front seats have been 
heavily used.

The bus was on its way to being made whole, and served us well for 4 years, 
including a cross-country tour, but my spouse's medical problems forced us 
to look for AC, and you all know about AC & Diesel Vanagons. Hence our '84 
Westy (I actually prefer the Diesel: much closer to the old split-window 
experience.)

Sorry about the length of this. We'll probably sell Laz locally, but, being 
a 'specialty car', I thought you all might be interested. No reasonable 
offer refused, and I have no idea what a reasonable selling price would be. 
Any suggestions? (I've checked the 'book' & the FAQ).

Sadly losing a friend,                               -ed