Don,

I totally agree with you! Never before have I felt my ride was anything
more than a way to get from A to B. Until I bought a Westy. Just a few
weeks ago my girlfriend and I took a few days off to stay at Steep
Ravine which is an environmental campground/cabins run by the CA state
parks. The cabins are very spares and you have to haul everything you
need from the van to the cabin, about 100 yrds. Makes me appreciate
having all that stuff tucked away in the van when we are camping! We
moved 4 large wheel barrow loads down to the cabin and still didn't get
all of it. Bedding, upper bunk mattress, all the kitchen stuff,
clothing, food, icebox, portable LP stove, 2 duffels of firewood, etc.

Point is, staying at that cabin was nice, but I would rather stay in
the Westy and not have to haul all that stuff! Home is where the Westy
is!

Keith

PS The other day I was loading my kayak on the Westy when a nice
looking woman came by and commented on what a nice Vanagon I had and
would I like to sell it. I smiled and said "over my dead body"! She
looked at her girlfriend and said "you're a witness"! She wanted to
kill me for the van! Gotta love that woman!

On Jun 24, 2007, at 2:14 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> Date:    Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:36:03 -0700
> From:    Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
> Subject: What's really amazing about engine transplants?
>
> All the talk about various engines that work well in a Vanagon, and
> why =
> they do..which is best, etc etc.  But what nobody has said, perhaps =
> because we all know but never even find it remarkable any longer
> because =
> we've been around them so much...
>
>   The Vanagon is a great vehicle, one of a kind pretty much.  It will
> do =
> an amazing job no matter which motor you stuff into it, do the job
> with =
> little fuss, be easy to work on. easy to park.  easy to live with day
> to =
> day..
>
>   I think that is amazing.  I've been pleasantly surprised many times
> as =
> I dig into new (to me) areas of my van..Sure, there are faults, like =
> with any mass produced vehicle..but compared to most, it's a truly
> fine =
> piece of equipment..
>  =20
>   Subaru, Z-teck, Ford, Porsche, even a 49 Studebaker motor, you would
> =
> still have a great vehicle..
>   Don Hanson