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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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