Attaboy Joe, give 'em hell!

On 4/12/06, joe trussell <vanagongl@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
>
> Sorry about the rant last night.  After another long evening of work, I
> was
> mentally exhausted and, instead of beating my Vanagon to death with a
> hammer, decided to vent to the list.
>
> Thanks for all of your suggestions.  I wanted to make one more thing
> clear:
>
> This is an awesome conversion.  From what I've seen and heard, I am the
> exception and not the rule as far as its success rate.  If I had to do it
> all over again, you bet your a$$ I'd want a Subaru motor.
>
> So, for anybody on the fence about taking the plunge, don't let me
> discourage you.  I still believe in the conversion; I just think I've got
> a
> bad something somewhere (a bit vague...) but at some point, come hell or
> high water, I'll be driving it again.
>
> Thanks again,
> joe T.
>
>
> >From: joe trussell <vanagongl@HOTMAIL.COM>
> >Reply-To: joe trussell <vanagongl@HOTMAIL.COM>
> >To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >Subject: Was Passat Steel Wheels FS, now a big long b**ch session
> >Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 03:33:32 +0000
> >
> >Not contagious, but physically more nauseating than three day-old sushi.
> >Left on a Vanagon's dash.  In the summertime.
> >
> >Part of it is here: www.josephtrussell.com/Vanagon.html.
> >
> >What's not there is that I've had the Subie engine mount/timing
> >cover/engine
> >dropped in and out/ three times now.  I've had three different sets of
> cam
> >and crank sensors.  Three starters, two of them high-torque (to their
> >credit, the latest high-torque starter turns the motor really
> well.)  I've
> >had four ECM's, four sets of plugs, two coil packs, and two mass airflow
> >meters.
> >
> >Now I'm up to three months (four weeks of NO START,) 200 hours of labor,
> >and
> >about four hours of sleep per night.
> >
> >I've tested voltage as I was instructed to do.  I've taken off every
> single
> >connector, cleaned it, and plugged it back up.  I've taken out the
> >injectors
> >and tested them.
> >
> >I've got spark, I've got fuel, I've got air, I've got timing, but I've
> got
> >no running engine.
> >
> >I've had friends look at it.  My neighbor, a real-life professional
> >mechanic
> >(on Freightlineres, but still...,) is stumped.  My brother, who's been
> >racing VW's for twenty-five years, can't figure it out.
> >
> >I've had the SubaruVanagon list on their ear trying to figure it out, and
> >God bless them and all of the suggestions and encouragement and support
> and
> >general good vibes.  Warren, Brent, Jake, Tom, and Leon, and everybody
> else
> >that I am probably forgetting, I wasn't kidding when I said I owe you
> Jack
> >Daniels Single Barrel.  The SubaruVanagon list is amazing.
> >
> >I know what most of you will say, it's my own damned fault for going
> >against
> >VW and my weak, anemic, P.O.S. 1.9l wasserboxer, but I want to prove to
> >everybody I know that time has NOT passed this vehicle by.  There is
> >nothing
> >better than a Vanagon.  Especially one with 140 horsepower.
> >
> >Thing is, I drove a Subie conversion and was so taken with it that I had
> to
> >do it.  I bit off more than I could chew.  The conversion looks
> absolutely
> >beautiful; I didn't skimp on anything.  Wiring harness professionally
> done
> >to perfection.  Top-of-the-line conversion parts from Kennedy, Smallcar,
> >and
> >H&R start to finish.  Only OEM Subaru parts.
> >
> >But it won't fire.
> >
> >I hate to lay this out there, but tonight I thought I had it dead to
> >rights.
> >  I was sure I'd found the key, in the form of another ECU and the
> correct
> >air flow meter, but still nothing.
> >
> >Tomorrow I'll have it towed to a shop, if I can find a shop that will
> look
> >at it, and take it on the chin monetarily and in the pride department.
> >
> >Taking it too seriously you say?  I do admit that I had an absolute blast
> >putting everything together.  Accumulating parts, the installation, the
> >education, the friendships I've developed cannot be understated.  But,
> it's
> >been a lot of work without the ultimate payoff, so I'm a little pissed.
> >
> >The whole time I was working towards finishing, I couldn't stop having
> that
> >creeping feeling in the back of my head, that nightmare thought, what if
> it
> >doesn't start?  The whole time I was spending money, getting parts,
> >cleaning, prepping, assembling, it was always in the back of my head.
> >
> >In any case, hopefully a professional can complete the job for me.  I'm
> out
> >of time and almost out of money.
> >
> >I'm thinking maybe I can put a towtruck on retainer and have it pull me
> up
> >to beautiful campsites around Colorado this summer.  Maybe I'll see some
> of
> >you in the mountains!
> >
> >Look for the '85 Wolfsburg Westfalia.  It'll be on a flatbed, top popped
> >and
> >awning precariously swinging from the side.
> >
> >Sorry to waste time bellyaching, but AHHH damn I feel better already.  If
> >you're still reading, I apologize for the waste of time.
> >
> >Oh--I bought a set of Vanagon alloys.  That's why the Passat wheels are
> for
> >sale :).  Of course, right after I hit the Paypal button, I said to
> myself,
> >
> >"what the hell are you doing???  The damned thing doesn't even START!!!"
> >
> >I've always wanted Vanagon alloys, though.  (This is a disease, folks.)
> >
> >Joe T.
> >Denver, CO
> >'85 Wolfsburg Westfalia with a starter-powered Subaru EJ22 paperweight
> >
> >
> >>From: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
> >>Reply-To: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
> >>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >>Subject: Re: Passat Steel Wheels ET37 FS in Denver
> >>Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:31:48 -0700
> >>
> >>Joe has "freshly installed Subaru motor that won't fire" itis.  Very
> >>intense
> >>at first, then gradually disappears. Not contagious.
> >>
> >>On 4/11/06, Roger Sisler <rogersisler2000@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Hey man, whats wrong with the gon? Those wheels sound nice and the
> >>price
> >> > is
> >> > more than right.Lets get a smile back on your face and maybe keep
> those
> >> > wheels(ear to ear then).What symptoms do you have?
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>--
> >>Jake
> >>1984 Vanagon GL
> >>1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
> >>www.crescentbeachguitar.com
> >
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--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
www.crescentbeachguitar.com