On Tue, 23 Mar 2004, Eric Zeno spoke thusly:

>snip<

>>The only way, is if you are highly knowledgeable
and do your own work. After reading some of the
questions here, that's clearly not the average
individual.   Case in point, the "BIlly bones"
financial disaster.  After reading the first few
threads, it made me sick, to see the money this
poor guy wasted.<<

Stay a bit - stay a bit.  Before I pulled the
engine and tranny in Bill Bones, I had done
little more than changed oil and spark plugs,
and so I think I've done pretty well considering
that I've pulled and replaced the entire drive
train.  One pays, either in labor or cash, for
everything that gets done, so I've invested a lot
of labor and not all that much cash (most of the
parts were swapped out of my GL, which suffered
very little in this venture).  If you saw my parts
list and knew what I paid for the van, you would
probably be surprised at how little money I have
invested (I doubt you could buy a Kia for
what I have in Billy Bones)(and whose ever heard
of giving a Kia a name, anyway).

Now I know WAY more about my bus than before,
feel confident to tackle whatever may arise,
and am no longer quite so dependent on local
mechanics.  With the help of the fine people
on this list, I believe that most of us can do
about anything that needs to be done to keep
these Vanagons running smoothly for many years.

If any of you guys or gals out there are
contemplating a big do-it-yourself project, I
say go for it, be patient, have some fun, be
willing to laugh at yourself (required) and
get an education at the same time.

Finally, I think that for most of us these
vehicles are not merely transportation, but
hobbies as well.  We not only get to drive and
camp in them, but we get to know other great
people who share our enjoyment of Vanagons.

Regards,

Warren Lail
88 Westy "Billy Bones" (we've signed Articles)
87 GL "Long John" (in dry dock, temporarily)