Congratulations, Alan!  More 'power' to ya!

Alan Bosch wrote:

> Two weeks ago I posted to the list that I was putting my beloved bus,
> Phred, up on the For Sale blocks.  It was a tough decision, mostly
> influenced by rust, circumstance, money, and a non-VW wife, but one I came
> to accept - grudgingly.  My four year old son has wanted to take rides in
> Phred because "we won't be able to when he's gone".
>
> So the last two weeks have been consumed with finding a replacement for
> Phred.  Not a very easy task as there's only one Vanagon and nothing comes
> close.  After consultations with W.I.F.E. (Woman In-charge of Financial
> Expenditures), we narrowed down the search to three reasonable vehicles -
> '88-'92 Jettas, '90-'92 Saab 900's, & '90-'94 Honda Accords.  After looking
> around, it's amazing what people call "excellent condition" - doors falling
> off, ripped interiors, rusted wheel wells, really bad repaint jobs.  After
> looking at a good dozen cars, I started to get the feeling that there was
> no way I was going to get a car that was even close to Phred in the
> personality department, nor as sound mechanically - I know I can fix almost
> anything on my bus, if he's not perfect to begin with.
>
> Sunday I get a call from my sister on Cape Cod.  She is buying a '97 Accord
> from a friend and was wondering if I'd be interested in her '92 Accord.
> It's a good car, she says, and wants it to go to a good home.  235k miles,
> and just completed a 'round trip from The Cape to Key West and back with no
> problems.  Her mechanic has given the car good marks mechanically.  Now for
> the good news:  She'll give me the car for nothing - zip, zero, nada.  :o)
>
> Here's the crux of this post...  My wife has agreed to keep Phred if and
> only if my sister gives me her Accord.  Yippie!!!!!  I'm one happy bus
> driver!  If everything goes according to plan, Phred's coming off the road
> in mid-April for some much needed R & R.  I'm going to tackle all the rust
> - only one seam, but there's a bunch of surface rust on the nose and a few
> other spots - do a complete repaint, and do some need mechanical upgrades
> like the fuel lines, maybe redo the heads, change the struts, etc., etc.
> With luck and a lot of hard work, the new and improved Phred will debut at
> Buses by the Tunnel in mid-July.
>
> Alan Bosch
> & Phred ('88 Wolfsburg) - Still!