I started out with a '59 and was sold on the VW bus, several years (&
different buses) passed. One day I wanted roll down windows to hang
my arm out as went tooling down the road and bought a '71, it was
great. Sometime later I was driving a '79 and was looking for heater
boxes and ended up in a Vanagon, an '86 syncro with real heat!
It was still a VW bus, it had roll down windows and real heat.  Zip
forward another 10 or 15 years and my current VW bus has a Subaru 2.2
in it. Now my VW bus does all that and drives like a regular car,
even up hills.
I like driving the Vanagon.

Rob
becida@comcast.net

At  1/24/2010 10:37 AM,John Rodgers wrote:
>Tom,
>
>I noted your joining the gang here to learn in anticipation of getting a
>van. If the AFM is of such significance to you, why not begin from the
>outset with the idea of getting a van with a dead engine and  do a
>conversion to a Suburu 2.2L or better at the very outset. You would
>really have something then. I would never disparage the earlier vans,
>but they are from a different era - and they do not perform or ride
>anything like a Vanagon. I think the early vans are very cool,
>especially the splitties, but man - they don't ride or perform anything
>like a Vanagon, and for that difference, I would never harken back to
>The Good Old Days for the earlier machines.
>
>John Rodgers
>Clayartist and Moldmaker
>88'GL VW Bus Driver
>Chelsea, AL
>Http://www.moldhaus.com
>
>
>
>Tom Hargrave wrote:
>>Mark,
>>
>>Your troubleshooting seems you can rule out the mechanical fuel system
>>including water in the gas or diesel in the tank. What's left is electrical.
>>
>>
>>BTW, I don't own a Vanagon. I joined this group to learn with plans to buy
>>one, but I'm concerned about the airflow sensors wearing out with no new
>>replacements available. I may change my mind and buy a bay window bus with a
>>D-jet system. At least I know enough about D-Jet to understand what I need
>>to keep with me to stay on the road "regardless".