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