Skip to main content
Gerry | Vanagon
Checking account...
← vanagon.com home · Continue the discussion in the forum
VanagonEuroVan
Subject:Aging owner, rust-free Westy
From:Gerald Masar
Date:Mon, 10 May 2004 10:58:59 -0700

Well, I was going to stay off this topic, because as I get older, I find more things
to do and it takes longer to do them.
I see several listees at 64. Do I hear 65? Yes, right here.
My rear-engine, air-cooled experience started NOT with a VW, but a brand new '63
Corvair Spyder (that was the turbo-charged model) convertible. Midnight blue with
white top. Lots of fun. Then I acquired an older Corvair van which I fixed up for
camping. Sold the Spyder and lived in the van around San Diego for about a year, 1969.
Later ended up in Australia, Brisbane, where I bought my first VW van, a '62, which I
also fixed up and used for camping.
Fast-forward to '73, LA, bought a '69 Kombi, later in San Diego, my biggest auto
mistake, a '82 GMC S15 PU, traded after a few months for a '82 Vanagon diesel. Put in
a Z-bed, curtains, etc., but too many oil leaks. traded up to a new '87 Vanagon GL
Weekender and finally, in 1990, my current and only ride, a '90 Westy.

Where to find a pristine, rust-free van? Hidden in a garage in Arizona, being prepped
for a long summer road trip. People still ask me if it is new and I have to explain
that they stopped making them in 1991.
Soon, off we go, just me and my Shadow, a big, beautiful black Labrador. No
cell-phone, MP3, DVD, CD, DVD, GPS, porta-potty, Propex, bike, kayak, roof-rack,
rug-rats, etc., etc.
Now starting a waiting list for future potential buyers.
Getting older, but not growing up.
Jerry

Have something to add on this topic today? Revive this thread in the forum »