personally, i wouldn't trust such a mechanic, who likely makes a good
 living fixing the extremely flawed water-cooled vw engine, which had so
many
 cooling problems that vw stopped making it. you'll soon see the many
laments
 of the owners of the wasserboxers on this list. further, the air-cooled vw
 engine, a classic since the mid-1930s, runs well in any climate -- the
 porsche, until very recent years, was also air cooled. there is one valid
 complaint -- the air-cooled engine is underpowered for the vanagon body it
 hauls around. but if you're an old vanagon/bus hand, this is not a problem.
 it's part of the karma. my '82 westy (air-cooled, of course) stays on speed
 limit with all of them...but you're going to be in the far-right lane when
 going uphill. but third gear will handle going up highway 50 to the lake
 just fine. the vanagon body, by the way, is remarkably more stable in the
 wind than the old bus configuration. i drove a '68 bus for many years. the
 vagon rides like a lexus on the freeway. cheers and good luck. art mcginn,
 san fran

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brian Dipert" <bdipert@PACBELL.NET>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Monday, August 11, 2003 6:00 PM
> Subject: Advice requested....'81 AdventureWagen
>
>
> > Hi, I've just joined the group for reasons which'll very soon be obvious
> ;-)
> > My wife and I are seriously considering the purchase of a neighbor's
1981
> > Vanagon L-based Adventurewagen, with just over 103,000 miles on it. It's
> > white, and cosmetically in what I'd call near-excellent condition. New
> > clutch 9,000 miles ago, engine rebuild 7,000 miles ago, brand new tires.
> The
> > gas gauge currently doesn't work, there's a hole in the windshield wiper
> > fluid reservoir, and the vent in the roof doesn't seem to want to open,
> but
> > everything else appears to be fully functional. Our neighbor is asking
> > $4,000; I'm wondering if this is a reasonable price, and if not what
you'd
> > recommend we offer.
> >
> > In searching for someone to inspect it, I got some disturbing feedback
> this
> > morning from Frank's Automotive, a local foreign vehicle repair shop.
The
> > manager pretty strongly warned me against purchasing an '81 model, due
to
> > its aircooled, underpowered nature. He said that driving it in the midst
> of
> > a hot California summer, and especially in the inclines leading up to
Lake
> > Tahoe, etc very quickly burns out the engines. He pointed me to '83
> models,
> > which he says were the first year that water cooling appeared, or better
> yet
> > an '86 or newer model, which has a more powerful engine. Thoughts? And
> while
> > I'm at it, one other thing I'm wondering about....due both to the
> vehicle's
> > height, its underpoweredness and its high center of gravity, how scary
is
> it
> > to drive in a crosswind? A friend with a Westfalia (popup top) had this
> > concern.
> >
> > Thanks in advance!
> > ==============================
> > Brian Dipert
> > Technical Editor: Mass Storage, Memory, Multimedia, PC Core Logic and
> > Peripherals, and Programmable Logic
> > EDN Magazine: http://www.edn.com
> > 5000 V Street
> > Sacramento, CA   95817
> > (916) 454-5242 (voice), (617) 558-4470 (fax)
> > mailto:bdipert@edn.com
> > Visit me at http://www.bdipert.com
>