Date:         Mon, 23 Nov 1998 16:28:57 -0800
Reply-To:     YauMan Chan <YauMan@CCHEM.BERKELEY.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         YauMan Chan <YauMan@CCHEM.BERKELEY.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Prospective '84 Vanagon owner with a few questions
Comments: To: sperg@MINDSPRING.COM, vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

>>> Michael Sperger <sperg@MINDSPRING.COM> 11/22 12:19 PM >>>
<clipped>
>>1.  Is the Vanagon too complicated for learners?<<
No not really.. especially if you have some previous experince with VW cars.  It has all the idiocyncrazies of VW engineeering.  Pretty gutsy design like putting the a water cool engine in the back and running two very very long hose/pipe to the radiator located in the front.  Same goes for the power steering pump in the back and hydraulic valves in the front. .. and don't get me started on the world's longest shift linkage and air cond high pressure lines!!

>>2.  Where could we go to learn about maintenance and repair?<<
Buy the Bentley Manual - it's expensive but worth every dime.  Spend a weekend walking around the van with the Bentley and poke into all knooks and crannies to try to id all the major parts.. all rather unconventional layout compared to "normal" cars! (Guess where they hid the brake fluid reservoir? - you never find it without the Bentley - unless you have the original owners manual!!)
Next, you MUST master reading the electrical circuit diagram in the Bentley.  This is your key to being able to trace electrical gremlins in the Vanagon of which there will be a few.  It looks intimidating at first.. but once you figure out how to follow the lines by using the current trace numbers, things will fall in place.

>>3.  Are Vanagons as much fun as they appear to be?<<
Absolutely.. it is fun and fustrating at the same time.. Face it, this is not the most reliable vehicle that came out of Germany.. but it's cute - and from any angle.. And there are not too many copies sold in the US.. so they're are kinda rare.. It's always a good feeling to know you're the only kid in the block to have one!

Good Luck and stay on this list for the rest of the fun of owning a Vanagon.

Yau-Man Chan
87 GL