And me!  I live just east of the Canadian Rockies in Calgary, and between
here and there are lots of rolling hills.  3rd gear, 80 km/hour, most of the
way out into a head wind.  Still, the journey home at 110-120 km/hour is
fun.  Not the most aerodynamic beast for a 2 ton vehicle.

Michael
1981 Westy 'Daisy'

-----Original Message-----
From: Russell, William [mailto:william.russell@UW-INC.COM]
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2002 9:40 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Got a new 81 Westy

I can tell you that I frequently need to shift down to take a hill.  I
usually try to get a good running start at them.  :)

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of ed maikranz
Sent: May 30, 2002 18:38
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Got a new 81 Westy

Greetings. Just brought home my new 81 Westy
yesterday.  It is in great shape, lots of new stuff on
it.  I have been driving a 74 Westy for a couple of
years and am curious about the hi-way speed of the 81.
It really seems to struggle on the hills, even ones
that I considered to be very slight grades the van did
not take them well, quite often I had to down shift to
make it.  Is this a common Vanagon trait or should I
be looking into some things?

Thanks,
Ed Maikranz
Abilene, Texas
81 Westy
74 Westy
71 Superbeetle

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