Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 19:43:38 -0400
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "The Bus Depot" <list@busdepot.com>
Subject: Joel, change the stats! (Flood vehicle resurfaces :)
Well, my father is now the proud owner of my '85 Westy (his first
Volkswagen). He got the grand tour of the amenities some time ago, and
asked me to let him know when I decided to upgrade. So I did, and he will
now be the van's third owner.
My new Westy is one that appeared on the list some time ago. It's a blue
'89 which I bought in relatively poor condition and parked until I could
afford repairs. It still ain't right, but at least it's on the road. This
was a flood vehicle from Florida. It was submerged up to about two inches
above the floor, then totalled by the insurance company and sold to a place
here in Pa. that specializes in salvage vehicles. The owner of that
business traded it to a local construction worker in exchange for some work
on his house. The new owner put in a brand new Volkswagen trans, replaced
all of the brake/wheel components (water damaged), and generally put a
fortune into it. Then someone sideswiped it in a parking lot, putting a
crease all the way down the drivers side and busting off both bumper ends.
So he had the damage repaired, only to have the head gaskets go shortly
afterward. At which time he threw up his hands.
The Westy looks nicer than you might think. The body work was done
reasonably well (and wasn't major anyway). The interior is in decent (but
not perfect) shape, the canvas is good, and it's got the Carat wheels.
Plus it only has 85,000 miles on it (verified by the original owner in
Florida). The rough spots: The rear bumper is still trashed. (I have put
an older chrome one on until I find a good used fiberglass one. Anyone
know of one?) Also there are a couple of stains (haven't attacked them
yet), a leaky rear heater core and cracked skylight vent (surprise!), and
neither the fridge nor sink work yet. Frankly it's not in as nice shape as
my '85 was, but it has roughly half the mileage, and, I think, the
potential to be very nice if I work on it gradually over time as finances
allow. I'd love to have kept that '89 I drove back from Missouri instead,
but this one was realistically more in my price range. I'm into it for
around $6000 after the head gasket job etc., which is a price I can afford,
and is pretty good for an '89 if it proves to be reliable. Only time will
tell if there are any long term artifacts of the flood damage, and whether
my "upgrade" from the '85 really was an upgrade.
So the first plan of action is to replace a bad 02 sensor, get the
appliances working, and take it camping in a few weeks. It's beautiful out
- I can't wait!!
-Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
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