Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 12:49:27 PDT
Reply-To: "Cort, Joel" <Joel.Cort@USA.XEROX.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Cort, Joel" <Joel.Cort@USA.XEROX.COM>
Subject: Is that really a 4wd? and Maiden voyage
Content-type: text/plain
Well the maiden voyage was officially last weekend with our new 89 Westy
Syncro. I spent most of the week cleaning it and making sure that
everything was in order to the weekend camping. On Wednesday night as we
were packing, a loud pop and hiss with lots of fluid coming out. After
close inspection it was the main hose for the A/C. I felt real bad about
depleting the ozone a little more but really ticked off that it even
occurred. I guess that it can occur at any time. Oh well that will be next
week's project. Luckily it was not too hot last weekend.
My wife was amazed at how many nooks and cranny and storage compartments
there were. I just smiled remembering one of our first date when we drove
from Salt Lake City to Lake Tahoe for the weekend in my brand new 83.5
Wolfburg Westy in 1984..... but that's another chapter. So we tanked up in
Rochester and drove on the NY thruway towards the Adirondack Mts. and to
Durant Lake. The van performed flawlessly even reaching speeds of 80 Mph -
but that was scary ;-) The cruise control works great. It was slightly
windy and needed some wind correction but hey! its a VW van its suppose to
sway in the wind. We got lots of looks while on the road and a few smiles.
We decided to take the southern Route 8 to Blue Mt. Lake rather than the
popular drive of Route 28 past Old Forge and Raquette lake touron traps.
We stopped at a gas station in Poland NY. to get our bearings and tank up
since I didn't know where the next civilized town was. When we came out, an
old crusty guy crawled out on all 4s from under the van. He was in his late
60s with a long gray beard and long gray hair and terrible teeth. He ask me
if it was really a 4wd OR were those just stickers on the side. I said that
no, it was REALLY a 4wd (even said an "automatic" 4WD). I had to point out
the drive shaft and then he believed me. Then he wanted to know if I
imported it specially from Germany, I said NA! Then he said whoa! what will
those folks at Volkswagen think of next. Obviously reminiscence of
Woodstock.
Camping was great. We love the Westfalia features and so do the kids. So
we racked up 500 miles this weekend and the van performed optimally, even on
the few long hills. I'm quite happy and continuing to fix things to my
liking. Definitely needs more lights inside.
Thanks to everyone for their warm support and who responded with great tips
and ideas. Hopefully I can also contribute to the list with comments,
feedback and experiences. More reports back on the future trips. Going
blueberry pickin this weekend on the shores of Lake Ontario. Hey New York
is a wonderful state to enjoy.
Joel
89 Westy Syncro
previously owned: 83.5 Wolfburg Westy GL
78 VW Westy
71 VW Westy
66 23 window van
