Robert,

So sorry to hear of your loss! As I read it, I felt,
as I'm sure many others here did, the sense of
disaster and catastrophe of standing by and watching
as you lost your beloved Vanagon.

I am struck that this devastating fire occurred, as
you say, "ten minutes" after leaving your mechanic's
shop.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, and am typically the first
to take the blame for my own disasters in life. But
over the years, I've seen many so-called "mechanics"
leave dangerous loose ends under the hood of my cars
and those of others. In fact, I've come to feel that
the first few miles immediately following a repair,
whether by myself or a paid mechanic, are often the
most dicey, considering that someone was just messin'
around down there and might have left any manner of
unfinished business.

To be sure, our vans are all getting on in years, and
rubber fuel lines are the first to succumb to the
ravages of time, so replacement may have prevented
this horrible event. But mechanic negligence is just
one more point to consider if you decide to perform a
post-mortem on your recently departed Vanagon.

With sympathies, and wishing you well in any future
Vanagon relationships.

Jeffrey Earl
1983 diesel Westfalia "Vanasazi"

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