In a message dated 1/29/03 6:26:51 AM Pacific Standard Time,
gull@cyberspace.org writes:

<< Yeah...personally, I have a Vanagon as my "go on vacation" and "tinker
 with" vehicle, and a Honda as my reliable "go to work without having to
 worry about anything" vehicle.  A friend of mine has over 200,000 miles on
 an Accord, and the engine has never been apart.  You won't find many
 Vanagons like that. ;)  I figured if I was going to own a vehicle with
 known reliability issues, I ought to have another one that has a
 reputation for only needing oil changes. >>

David,

My 87 GL has 376,000 miles on the original headgasket. It finally sprung an
exterior leak after a 1200 spirited drive at speeds exceeding the safe zone
for WBX's. I was going 90mph in some instances. Not a good thing in any
engine with that kind of mileage. She still starts today. I just have to top
off the coolant every week. My factory equipped 1.6td in the Syncro 16" is
not likely to need the frequent headgasket thing either. If only it were just
a little bigger. Answer? Yanking the 1.9td out of my 85 Doka.

BenT