I lived in Phoenix for 12 yrs, and drove many busses from 61 to 86.  "the
Dr." at AllBug hand-worked my '59's hood and rear fenders, he was a great
guy.  He did Uncle Jerry's Fridolin, too.  I dealt heavily with Tom Bowman,
and Dean Golden (& Darryl), Sam (SWIT), and all the guys at BAP.  Ron Thomas
bought Tom Bowman's stuff from his widow.  He'll be greatly missed.  Top
quality VW machinework for the best prices around.
  I converted my 84 to square-headlights, I like the updated styling, and
the relayed 4-bulb halogen lighting is definitely an improvement over the
original 2-bulb sealed-beams.  I am curious about the e-code lenses, but am
not about to sink alot more money into lights than I already have.
  I, too, have seen some strange buses all over the world, still driven
daily, so some things must be being done right.

 Mike B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Rouby" <mikerouby@yahoo.com>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, September 03, 2006 12:22 AM
Subject: Re: Debunking GoWesty!

>    Ironic then, that I live in Dallas, Texas and work across the street
> from Doug at Qualitat in Dallas (a business serving aircooled VWs since
> 1960s).  Apparently, he thinks your assessment that air cooled engines
> last 90k miles is quite, shall I say, remarkable.
>
>  Also, I took my wife to Egypt to see the pyramids last year and I could
> not believe how many VW buses are around bringing tourists to the sites.
> Am I supposed to believe that their engines last 90k miles too??  I wonder
> who does their rebuilds??
>
>  Maybe Phoenix is the bermuda triangle for aircooled engines, but
> apparently they do seem to last hot climates just fine.  Case in point -
> My Westy originated in Albq, New Mexico.  1982 and still on it's original
> engine.
>
>  Good to see you like the square-headlights (they are more modern), but
> many people seem to convert to round headlights than the other way around
> it seems.
>
>  The reality is the waterboxer is less reliable than the aircooled motor.
> Hence the decision of many to swap engines (eg Subaru, Tiilco, Nissan,
> Zetec, etc), than to rebuild that failed design.
>
>
>  I've been driving them around Phoenix for 30 years, starting with a '68,
> then a '78, now an '86 converted to a Tiico (195K on the 2.1L WBX). A
> good friend of mine was in the VW business here (All Bug) for decades,
> and I can't tell you how many air cooled bugs and buses he saw come here
> from NY or NJ, or the midwest, with 200K on them. 95% of them died the
> first summer here. 90K on an upright motor in a bus *here* is about all
> that can be expected (with case savers, sodium filled valves, external
> oil cooler, etc.). 90K on a 2.0L AC Westy, with the square exhaust port
> heads, is pretty remarkable here, though the same motor could go 200K
> in less harsh climates (e.g. like where GoWesty is located). Stop and
> go traffic in 115�F weather just kills the air cooled motors. And with
> A/C....
>
> As far as the diesels go, I'll never cease to be amazed that VW was too
> dumb to put in a 1.8L Gas motor in the Diesel configuration (or a TDI)
> instead of redesigning a bug motor with kludgy seals and jackets and
> hoses. Having pedaled a '68 with a 1641cc through the Colorado Rockies,
> Sloooooooowly, a diesel with roughly the same HP is not my dream either.
>
> And for headlights, IMO the square lights are much better looking, but
> much less illuminating. So, take your choice.
>
> Keith Hughes
> '86 Westy Tiico
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com.  Check it out.