Matt Brickell said: [snip] >It is now sitting in my lot waiting for the insurance adjustor >tomorrow, front susp mangled, waterlogged with a torn up rear from >getting it out of the muck with a chain etc. The damage probably will >exceed the value of the poor thing. I have rarely ever seen a Westy in >as pristine condition as this, and to replace it I would think would be >at least 5-6K $...I looked up the NADA book value which is retail low >$2600 average $3800 flawless $4800. I wonder which of these values they >will try to stick me with ha ha. So, my 3 week ownership of my beloved >Van is over it seems and I am just sick about it. I'm really sorry to hear of what happened - that's truly terrible. However ... Don't give up yet!! I concur with the other list member who say it's salvageable. Hire a powerwasher for a weekend & blast the van with fresh, clean water with mild detergent added. This will clear out the muck & ensure that damp smells won't appear. Pull out the upholstery, wash it down & leave it out to dry. The engine should have survived without getting too much water in. Pull the intake box, clean it out & stick in a filter. I'm guessing water won't have got past the AFM or into the exhaust past the muffler/cat. Powerwash the entire engine bay & allow it to dry. Pop the dist. cap & dry it out. Reckon it'll be OK! A friend of mine backed his Citroen BX into a river once (long story!). We tried this treatment on it & it survived, good as new. From BlueBook: http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.ur?kbb;762383&;r&40&16;VT;B5 1984 VW Vanagon Campmobile Engine: 4 Cylinder Gas Trans: Automatic Trans. Drive: Rear Wheel Drive Mileage: 150,000 Equipment AM/FM Stereo Cassette Retail Value $5295 (Kansas) Don't give up hope yet! Best wishes, Pete C -- Pete Cassidy, pcassidy@apple.com Sacramento, CA, USA http://www.iol.ie/~pcassidy '88 Wolfsburg "Muriel" *not speaking for Apple* |
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