

| Subject: | Re: 10 Year Anniversary; A Vanagon Love Affair |
| From: | Stuart MacMillan |
| Date: | Tue, 13 Mar 2001 10:38:13 -0800 |
This reminds me that May will be my 15th anniversary with the '84 Westy. 195,000 miles with two head replacements, one tranny rebuild, and now a new engine really isn't bad. It will also mark my 26th year as a Westy owner! I bought it from a VW dealer in 1986 for $12,500 with 30k on it. Not a particularly good deal, but fair. The van had never been camped in and was pristine. It was a VW warranty buy back, which the dealer had to divulge to me when I asked. Fuel injection problem that cause bucking at moderate speed cruising. Would you believe that the closed throttle position switch was about five turns out of adjustment right out of the factory? (This vintage van had the two micro switches on top of the throttle body.) Even worse, neither the dealer in California who sold the van originally nor the dealer I bought if from could fix it! The owner made VW buy it back under the lemon law! I took it back in twice, and then bought a copy of the Bentley and immediately found that the way you test this switch is to hold it closed and open the throttle, where upon the engine should stumble. Five turns of the screw later I was back on the road and committed as usual to doing my own maintenance and repair (except for heads). I know it was delivered this way because the screw was marked with paint, which had not been broken. As someone recently said on the list "it's the best utility vehicle out there, period!" So, we willingly put up with all its problems. Stuart
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