A 1984 Vanagon had its quirks when it was new, nevermind now that it is 25 plus years later. They are vastly underpowered and have a significant amount of road noise ( I base this opinion on a comparison of my 94 Mercedes E420 and a 99 GMC Suburban, both well insulated vehicles). Also having a number of years behind the wheel of one (or two).
On the plus side, its a completely mobile campsite with versatility and fairly well off ergonomically. I am definately not the hippie type, and the pre-existing Dave Matthews Band and Grateful dead stickers that adorned the back glass were the first things to go. Not that I have any animosity towards those who follow that lifestyle, its just not me.
This Vanagon had been used, and used well. It was devoid of carpets, needed a real good cleaning and some TLC. It had been previously painted and was in somewhat acceptable condition as far as appearance goes. Having had some experience in the world of automotive body repair, I knew what to look for when it came to flaws. There were no discernable mistakes in judgement when it came to the prep and execution of the previously mentioned paint job. Nothing that made me think $500 special at the local MAACO.
It has some love bumps, had the rear bumper inside the van on the bed along with some other miscellany, and ran like it needed a tune-up ten years ago. All in all, its was to be a work in progress. Something to share with my family (read Son), and was to take a period of time to get it where I would be happy to take it anywhere. This is much of what we have to deal with here in the Northeast. Things rust. Things break from the cold, harsh winters. And stuff will need to be replaced. That said, the family has embraced this idea to a degree that I could not have hoped for in my wildest dreams, and so the pressure is on to deliver in my promises of offering the world up the way I saw it back in the 70's and 80's.
So what is the plan?
It has been a month since I have brought this beauty home. It was an ordeal getting it from Connecticut to Massachusetts. Not a long way, but the weather was not that cooperative. It had snowed a couple feet the day prior to me going to get it, so I postponed the pick up a couple days, and it snowed again. This time I was determined, rented a trailer from the local UHaul (a location that I will never do business with again) and scheduled a pick up on a Friday after I got out of work.
When I get there, the owner did not bother to shovel, and the roads around it are covered in a thin sheet of ice. The latter would be the real problem, as slippery surfaces and poor tires are not conducive to getting a 5000 pound vehicle up on a trailer. After an hour and a half of work, we had it on the trailer. I forked over the cash, got my paperwork and started the 200 miles home. The Suburban handled the weight like a champ, but it has always been my opinion having spent MANY miles on the roadways of New England (currently averaging 3500 miles a month) that Connecticut and New York drivers are the worst. This coupled with weather conditions and restrictions on what roads a trailer can travel upon, made for a stressful ride.
So since I have brought the van home, it has snowed more this year than I can remember. I think in January we received 5 feet or so. Just when you get it cleaned out, another storm blows through. And although I have a two car garage, it is filled with Harleys, lawn tractors and catering equipment. So there is no room currently for a tall VW Vanagon. This snow has cramped my work schedule as I had planned to have a dozen things completed by now. I have spent more time performing snow removal and thinking about what I wanted to do, rather than actually completing my list.
I have been purchasing the items I need to get things completed. Go Westy, Vanagon Cafe, Bus Depot have been a great resource for parts and information, and I have all the items ready to do the tune up. Hoses, plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, a new water pump, coolant for a flushing, and a new K&N air filter. I have also started amassing a collection of items for a complete brake service, and have ordered the new front carpets.
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