Date:         Fri, 17 Nov 1995 09:56:18 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         jim@atcweb.atc.1dc.com (Rusty VanBondo)
Subject:      '67 Westy Resto from Hell Update (F/L)

Wednesday night I stopped by the Shop from Hell and picked up a Vanagon full
of misc Pearl painted"bits" to take them home and preserve their fresh
condition and to get them out of the painter's way.
Thursday (Last night) I pulled the front and rear suspension and spring
plates. We're getting close to laying down the Velvet Green on the lower
half of the bus. This is to include all under carriage and engine compartment. 
Saturday or Tuesday is the day on which the green is supposed to happen .
Monday is out because he has to go to a Bible study that is ironically named
"Promise Keepers."  The humor is too rich to comment on. No intention of
putting down Bible studies by any means, just the ironic name...
 The top half of the bus  is already in the Pearl color/colour. The bus is
actually looking pretty nice!  Color sanding  and minor touch ups will be
necessary all around.
The paint/bodyman was a bit put out when I mentioned (in a bit of reverse
psychology) that I was not in a screaming hurry to get the bus out due to my
wife and I being in the midst of buying a different house  and selling our
current property. I mentioned that we needed to make a move while the
interest rates in the USA are still doable and that we couldn't let the bus
screw up our entire life. I mentioned that getting the bus out of the shop
now would put a major burden on my real estate dealings. Political seasons
in the USA have funny ways of affecting the percentage rate, probably down
during the "season" then magically back up after the promises turn to more
lies. The busman interpreted this news as a potential wait for pay right
before the holiday season. He surprisingly seems more interested in getting
the bugger finished now for some funny reason known only to him. He is going
to "Promise Keepers" after all! ;)  We'll see how quickly it gets finished
now...
Still waiting for word from my other source that promised to get a wholesale
price on the rubber (last August). After several calls and proddings, the
source said that they are waiting for just the right time to slip it
through. I hate to imagine or guess what and where "it" will be slipped. 
The motor needs to be taken over to the place that will install the three
bolt flanges to the header and the heater boxes. I refuse to fight with the
satanic 10mm donut clamps on this bus.
So far the only player in this project was the lady who did the upholstery
on the front seats. She promised that they would be completed in a week and
she called in five days. Whoever might have said that  ladies don't know how
to conduct business never met Maxine of Chicks Auto Upholstery, Tempe, AZ.
She'd probably kick their butt without a problem or a second thought! If you
don't know her she comes across as a tough/take no "guff" person. Otherwise
she's a sweetheart, a craftman(person), and very reasonably priced for what
you get. Kudos to Max!
I will keep y'all posted
Rusty VanBondo