oh you had a Duafine - I'm sorry !
lol.
Caravelle- I even have a real Renault factory parts book for a Carravelle,
the sproty coupe version that generation of Renaults.
( I owned about 8 Renualt 16's .........a 'real car' that.  And some Le Cars
too. )

I don't think washer fluid would hurt the coolant even slightly.  Be good
for it almost.  A tiny bit of detergent/cleaner is fine I think.
Daufine's can't actually sustain running at 70 mph on a hot day with any
kind of load without overheating.
Very underbuilt for Western US conditions.
Had a freind in Colorado with one - it really couldn't do the freeway for
long periods on a hot day.
what are those, like 45 hp ?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Felder" <jim.felder@gmail.com>
To: "Scott Daniel - Turbovans" <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
Cc: <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: Are Today's Young People Mechanical Nitwits?

> Back when almost all gas stations were full serve, I had an attendant
> attempt to fill up the radiator of my Renault Dauphine with gas. I had
> another guy at an oil change place put washer fluid in the coolant
> overflow behind the license plate door on my vanagon. Good thing I was
> watching. Can you imagine the head corrosion?
>
> Jim
>
> On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 1:05 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans
> <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>> you might also appreciate that when vanagons first came out,
>> a few gas station attendants flipped open the license plate door at the
>> back.........
>> ( since many cars of the era had their gas cap back there )
>> And when they saw a cap and filler neck, they  put gasoline into engine .
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "John Rodgers" <inua@CHARTER.NET>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:07 AM
>> Subject: Re: Are Today's Young People Mechanical Nitwits?
>>
>>
>>> Congrats on your daughter's derring-do in the mechanical world!
>>>
>>> I can't tell you how many times the guys at the various auto
>>> quick-service places have asked me where the engine was in my van.
>>>
>>> I never ceased to be amazed.
>>>
>>> John Rodgers
>>> 88 GL Driver
>>>
>>> Jim Arnott wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Warning!!! Proud papa alert.... and NVC
>>>>
>>>> My eldest dau, 27, came home from visiting friends the other night.
>>>> Walks
>>>> into the house and asks me, "Do you ALWAYS get hurt when you're
>>>> working on
>>>> cars?" I respond that mechanical things frequently demand blood
>>>> sacrifice.
>>>> She goes on to comment that when she was putting the front suspension
>>>> back
>>>> together on her friend's Mitsu, she pinched her hand. Did papa proud!
>>>>
>>>> Want to give your kids a clue?  Make their first car a Beetle. Give
>>>> them a
>>>> Muir Bible. Help them maintain it but don't do it FOR them. Worked for
>>>> me.
>>>>
>>>> So no, they're not all clueless. But the vast majority are. Of the
>>>> 20-30
>>>> kids that float through my home, there are about three that could show
>>>> me
>>>> where to check the oil on their rig.  Those three could also change
>>>> said
>>>> oil. The rest? I'd have to show them not just how, but THAT the hood
>>>> opened.
>>>> Id10ts.
>>>>
>>>> Jim
>>>>
>>>>
>>