Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 16:29:22 -0500
Reply-To: arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alan Bosch <arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM>
Subject: <F> Found on Car Talk (bus content)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Found the following while surfing thru the Car Talk (Click & Clack) web site.
Have a nice weekend, every body.
Alan Bosch
Phred ('88 Wolfsburg)
Rick Payne sent the following letter (response sent from mail@cartalk.com).
I would like to respond to your derogatory comments about the
VW
microbus. While your comments that "it was a dog of the first
order,
and unsafe to boot" may be accurate, I think you've
underestimated the
romantic and nostalgic value of the vehicle (I'm using a very
broad
definition of "vehicle").
Twelve years ago, my newlywed and I drove our '76 VW
campervan
from Oklahoma to Anchorage, AK. We took the Great Circle
route
through Key West, Boston, Chicago, Yellowstone, etc. We drove
more than 6,000 miles in six weeks. And the amazing part is
we only
broke down about seven times! Here's the list...
(1) points
(2) distributor (The guy who fixed the points installed the
distributor
wrong and it took about 100 miles to break.)
(3) fuel pump
(4) piston, cylinder and head (A valve guide broke off and
locked up
one cylinder--WOW, you ought to see the smoke cloud a VW
gives
off when it's lost a valve guide and is turning a corner!)
(5) CV joint boot
(6) another head (The guy who fixed [4] put an 1800 cc head
on my
1700 cc engine.)
(7) CV joint ball bearing (About 1,000 miles after the CV
boot was
repaired, the CV joint came loose while traveling down a hill
going 60
[that's the only way I could get to 60!]. Somehow, we found
all of the
parts except for one ball bearing (about 3/4" in diameter). I
still think
the dog ate it. However, although we were in the middle of
the Yukon
Territory, we did find a gear supply store that had a bearing
that was
close ($1.47 Canadian).
Anybody can travel the U.S. in a Ford, Dodge or Chevy.
However,
what are left with when you're done? Where are the memories?
What's
the challenge? Driving to Alaska in that VW gave my wife and
me an
experience that probably matches that of those who traveled
the
Oregon or Sante Fe Trail. Besides, driving through Florida in
a VW
with Oklahoma tags and an "Alaska or Bust" sign sign on the
back
generates a lot of roadside conversation (like, "Do you know
where
you're going?")
Rick & Leslie Payne