--- JordanVw@AOL.COM wrote:
> i think it would be a cool thread to see the average
> ages of people on the
> list...and why you like vw vans, or why you bought
> your van..and if you used it
> for your your family, or just yourself..

I guess i'll engage in this bit of collective
narcissism as well (even though i am not one of the
big-time posters).

I�m 27 and despite having grown up around VWs, have
only technically owned one car � the �84 westy my dad
bought in that same year.  My first ride was a �73
super beetle, chopped and lowered by my father, but
still underpowered (a good thing in those Alaskan
winters � I got into enough automotive trouble as it
was).  The real fun, however, was growing up and
taking long summer trips in the westy, and all the
memories I�ve had surrounding that thing (like when I
was 13, and took my mom�s jetta for a joy ride that
ended in the rear quarter panel of my dad�s van� not
good!).  Sparky has probably driven the Al-Can
somewhere around 25 times�

So, when my parents passed the van on to me about 3
years ago with the provision I could have it as long
as they could use it any time they wanted, I was
pretty stoked.  Since then, I have been trying to
restore it and make it a vehicle I�ll hang on to for a
loooong time.  Some things have been good (new brakes,
SA wheels, e-code headlights, sound system, etc.), and
some things haven�t gone as well (don�t have your
first engine rebuild be an unusual hot-rodding of an
unusual engine!).  Fortunately, my wife is (mostly)
supportive, and hopefully Boston Bob�s repair of my
engine will be the last thing it needs for quite a
while.

I�m not the hardest core VW nut (wouldn�t even call
myself one), but I do like my van, like the van
community, and like the freedom of taking the most
elegantly designed house on wheels wherever I feel
like going.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend,

-Damon

=====
'84 Westy (Sparky) w/2.3L WBX (well... it was worth a shot.  And now it is.)

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