Date:         Thu, 21 Sep 1995 12:54:53 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         repark@srv.PacBell.COM (Bob Park)
Subject:      Got Gas?

Was reading the gas prices by San Diegans.  It's almost Friday, so thought
I'd share a true story.  Afew years ago, I lived in San Diego (actually
Chula Vista), about 10 miles from Tiajuana.  The Saturday morning routine
was to hop in the 72 basic Westie and head for gas in Mexico.  TJ prices
then were $ .43 per gallon, compared to $1.50 in States due to the gas
shortage (?!!)  Sorta like the Vietnam domino theory.  If you got across
early, and returned early, you could beat the long lines crossing the
border.  The bus loved TJ gas.  But deisels were known to be eaten alive by
the crud in their fuel.  One day I was crossing the border back to the US,
with a grocery sack of fresh brick oven baked bread loaves (less than 1
buck) and a mouthful for breakfast.  Stopped at the border guard who
routinely asked what I bought in TJ.  Showed him the bread and told him I
just got gas.  He said, "take two alka-seltzer and lay off the burritos".
You know, don'tcha that that's not characteristic.  He must have won the
lottery, or got otherwise lucky the night before.

So, I always directed my friends down there for gas.  One guy at work took
his Dodge camper down there for a tank, and said they managed to pump near
50 gal. in his 40 gal. tank, so suspect calibration was on the high side,as
a rule.  Another friend drove his GMC bus there and filled up.  The Jimmy
couldn't make it up the Grapevine and had to be pumped out.  Sorry, my
Westie loved it.

Anyway, miss the SD weather.  Still waiting for engine #8 in my 75K mile
'81 West(fail)ia.