Well, it was a whirlwind trip.
We saw rain in the desert, snow in the mountains and had the wind at our ba=
ck.
My son, Tyler, and I flew into Phoenix on Halloween and were met by the sel=
ler/PO, Dave. A quick trip to Dave's, followed by a buzz around Chandler, AZ=
revealed the Westy to be exactly the vehicle as advertised and wanted (see:=
http://www.geocities.com/d13nadeau/vanagon.html). The interior was near per=
fect and the exterior was prototypically Arizona rust free (well, almost). T=
he engine exhibited a significant valve lifter clatter for the first several=
miles....I could see Dave's heart in his throat..."It's never done thi=
s before"..."Don't worry, it'll stop. Mine does it once in a while=
. It'll stop."...It stopped after about three miles. Perhaps the clatte=
r was because Dave had changed the oil to 20-50W trying to correct a drop in=
oil pressure.
We set out on the freeway (I-10). The van ran great, the lifter noise was g=
one, it shifted smoothly,... until a desert rock hauler blew by us at a gazi=
llion miles an hour, bouncing a fist sized red rock right at the van. The hi=
t was stupifying. Luckily, the rock hit the metal above the driver's side ra=
diator grill and not the windshield. I turned to Dave and asked him why he h=
adn't told me about the big dent in the front of the van...his heart p=
oked through his shirt collar again. Later inspection revealed only a =
smallish (5mmx5mm) chip in the paint...tough metal in these VWs. We closed t=
he deal after a great lunch at a Chinese strip mall place (rated by Tyler as=
very low on the Schmatlz scale ((no Christmas light strings and semi-=
precious art in lighted, semi-tasteful display cases)) but the food was grea=
t). Dave was apologetic about the previously unmentioned cracks in the winds=
hield and I thought he was about to suggest I pay less than the agreed upon =
figure because of them; but, I couldn't in good conscientiousness allow him =
to do that, so I cut him off saying "a deal is a deal" and I dutif=
ully paid him under half of what the van would be worth back in Ohio.
That evening we met with listee Karl Woltz and his wife, Stephanie, for a m=
eal at a great Mexican restaurant. Karl was instrumental in my trip to AZ in=
that without his initial inspection I would never have had the courage to m=
ake the trip based on just some internet pictures. The meal was great but th=
e company was better. We continued the evening with inspections of our Westi=
es (his '85 is amazing at +375Kmiles...no engine conversions for us!). =
;Thanks again, Karl.
The trip through Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and on to Albequerque,=
Santa Fe, Taos and Pueblo, CO was a South West vista for our minds an=
d eyes. The 26 hour trip home from Pueblo followed Rte. 50 to Kansas C=
ity, KS and on to St Louis via I-70 and then I-64 to Cincy and home on I-71 =
and Rte 35. Total miles = 2,333.3 .
SIGHTINGS: We saw eight Westies in Sedona (most were later models), one in =
Oak Creek Canyon, one enroute to Grand Canyon,two Westy EVs in Santa Fe,one =
loaf Westy in Rio Grand Gorge; at the top of the gorge we saw an 88-89 red S=
yncro and in Taos a "panel" Syncro painted desert cream/ochre with=
ladder and rack on the back and two butter colored Westies...one +/- '87 an=
d one early loaf.
The '84 performed flawlessly on the entire trip. I didn't have to touch the=
tool box. And the dehydrated bananas were eaten, not used. We averag=
ed 18 mpg, used no oil and cruised at 65- 70 mph on the flat highways. The'8=
4 is not the hill climber that the '91 is; but, given its age and camper wei=
ght, I was very pleased with its performance. We camped two of the four nigh=
ts...but found the high desert a little colder than anticipated. Never-the-l=
ess, we enjoyed the trip and the thought that many of you had offered potent=
ial help was comforting.
Because of this list I am now the proud owner of the ultimate get aw=
ay vehicle.
--
Stephen Steele
'91 Caravelle
'84 Westy
Chillicothe, OH