Perry,
 
Pass on this one! First, it's too old = to "test drive" from Conneticut to Dallas. However you could get it trucked to = you. Second even if it did have AC on it it would take a lot of HP to run it = and then your trying to cool a big box! The VW turbo diesel has 68 hp and that's = not much for our Vanagons. As I recall my 1.9L 84's wasser is 95 hp and is = enough. Also have you ever looked at a auto from the snow belt? I too like the = simplicity of vw diesels, including my 99.5 "new" jetta tdi! If we could get the euro = van with a TDI VR6 over here that would be great but we can't. With a laptop = computer and a VAG-COM they can be worked on also. I've been searching on e-bay for a = EV to replace my wife's 90 jetta and my 84 vanagon and have seen several ev's = in the dallas area go for under $4k.
 
Just my thoughts.
Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: Perry Pillard
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, = 2001 3:19 PM
Subject: New to the vanagon world...

Hey Gang,
    Not long back I purchased an '83 Rabbit, with a stock 1.6L turbo = diesel.  Man, am I impressed with it!  Economy, performance, reliability = all wrapped up in a neat little bundle.  The more I work on the = engine, the more I like it, and this started me to thinkin' that maybe I should = convert all our family vehicles to diesels.  I like the idea that I can = work on them and keep the auto mechanics greedy fingers out of my = pocket.  I also like the idea of 'bio-diesel', and will likely start expirimenting = with that. 
    Well, now I'm in the market to buy a vanagon for my wife to double as = both her daily driver and the family camping rig.  I want it to have a = 1.9L turbo diesel (I know they're rare!).  And I want to customize the = interior to be able to tote our two children around town and still have the = creature comforts of a Westy.  Is this do-able?  I found an '82 = Vanagon with the engine I want for $3500.  The engine is only 10K miles old, = and the van is in great shape.  I'm still talking to the owner to get all = the details about it.  He seems to be quite a decent fellow, and I = have a good feeling about buying from him.   A big drawback is that = I'm Dallas and he's in Conneticut, which means I would have to fly out = there and drive it back, without even the courtesy of a test = drive!
    Here's a link with all the info he's given me so far: http://www= .geocities.com/keyframer/vanagon/index.html,  I'd really appreciate if you would look it over and tell me what you think.
    What's the likelyhood of the air conditioning still working in this = van?  I'm in Dallas, and a/c is a requirement for a soccer mom!  If it = doesn't work, how hard is it to work on?  What about installing some = aftermarket a/c system?  Any thoughts on that?
    I've been doin' quite a bit of researchin' and have learned a lot = about Vanagon's, Westy's and Syncro's.  But I would really appreciate = any tips you could give me about what to look for, buying expiriences you've = had, and anything else you think I ought to know.  Thanks in advance!

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Pillard
Keeper of the Code
Macromedia, FreeHand
"What the web can be"
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