Date: Mon, 18 Aug 97 17:39:00 -0500
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Maureen Stretch <mstretch@sprintmail.com>
Subject: Re: Newbie
The Buslady wrote:
>hey a girl Vanagon fan!! YAY!!!
Likewise! I have seen some of your posts and love your signature line.
Nice to know
there are some of us girls out there in Vanagons.
>Im the owner of a 89 Vanagon GL namd Bessie. She's me & my son's best
>friend, takes us where ever with no probs.
>She wasn't mint likey ours but in excellent shape bodywise;
>mechanically was another story. about $3000 later(heads,alt.,
>waterpump, clutch master and labor!) she's fine now. Just keep an eye
>on the rear end on the ground!! If yours starts to drip, take 'er in.
Does it drip coolant or water? I think mine drips water from the air
conditioner
compressor but it is not the blue coolant color.
>My heads blew with the water pump about a year & 1/2 ago. Granpa was
>nice enough to bail me out and pay it. She had over 100,000 miles
>when that happened. I got her with 96,000+ (hard to find a low miler
>since they're not made anymore) and right now she's at 127,+++ miles.
>
> To keep the engine from overheating, just keep the water levels
>right & oil in and she should be ok. If that doesnt work, have the
>thermostat looked at or could be a blockage in the cooling system.
>You can't really keep anything from happening. The head gaskets were
>designed bad, entropy takes over and wears them out, coolant will
>leak some day. (S***t like this happens with ANY car, remember NO car
>is perfect)
Sigh. I know you are right and I am preparing for it, but I am so nuts
about it I want to protect it.
>$3000 for a muffler system!?!?? yeah right! Never heard that one
>before. It's true Vanagons are NOT cheap like the air cooled buses,
>but not THAT much for exhaust! I saw it in the Bus Boys online
>catalog(www.busboys.com) for $300. Stainless steel? I doubt it's
>stainless, mine's all yukky lookin. And the muffler tailpipe rusts
>out eventually.
Thanks, you back up what others have said. This is a big relief. I did
replace the very end tailpipe already, for about $28 from a local
foreign auto parts store. The muffler looks orange to me, but the
mechanic who checked it out did not think it looked like it would go
soon.
>TO keep it in excellent shape, just create a maintanence
>schedule(mine sucks, Bessie's due for her yearly tune up, but im
>broke right now!) and wash her yourself!! Vacuum, detail, everything.
>Bessie still looks respectable after 2 1/2 yrs, she doesn't look much
>different from when I got her.
>SHe's be great as your doggie show van!! You can strap the portable
>cages on the little roof section the top has. (what breed?) Plenty of
>roomfor the doggies to be comfy, plus you can put their food in the
>fridge& keep it nice. (I wanna camper!!)
I have two Lhasa Apsos (they are the small ones with long hair that
look a lot like Shih Tzus or miniature English Sheep Dogs.) They are
seasoned travelers and love camping in the Vanagon. I have gone
camping with them twice already at dog shows and they seem to
like it a lot.
>>>I fell in love at first sight.
>thats what happened to me when I saw Bessie all alone at the dealer
>with 'manager's special $7999' scribbled on her windshield. They
>havent had a vanagon since! VERY VERY popular vehicle in SoCal!!!!!
You have the right climate for Bessie. I worry about subjecting Johann -
I am sure he is male - to New England winters when he grew up in Georgia.
I am even thinking of getting a cover for him for the worst of winter.
I do not have a garage or carport.
Great to hear from you. If you are ever up in New England let me know!
_
>The Buslady & "Bessie"
>1989 Vanagon GL
>
>"What's the point of being grown up if you can't act childish?!" --
>DrWHO #4
>
>
Maureen Stretch
91 Vanagon GL Westfalia
