I very much appreciate these kind words, Roger, and I don't think I did less
than I could. I do think we can all learn to do more than we thought, which
is one of the joys of being a Vanagon owner who never took auto shop class.
So I'm just looking for some pointers. You guys were a pleasure to have in
my driveway and I learned more about Vanagons and their innards in 5 days
than I have in 5 months of poking around mine. I wish more vans that weren't
mine were being fixed at my house all the time, though this does not
represent a household consensus. However, my kids would love a pop-top
playhouse even if it couldn't move.

Cheers,
Peter

On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 11:50 AM, Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear  Peter  and possible doubters of truth in any form
>
> i have not nor will i harbour any thoughts that peter did less than he
> could have
> the generosity you extended during my van purchase was amazing ... well
> founded ... and well recieved...
>
> i purchased a van based on my own understanding of what i was looking at
> ...
> peter you were simply a conduit of information ...
>
> it is my hope that no-one ... including myself ... would imply anything
> other than that
>
> although the fuel line broke in the driveway ...
> i had already planned for full replacement and had the parts right on hand
> to remedy and replace everything from tank to injector at block ...
>
> peter and family were wonderful during the entirety of saga ...
> yours
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 11:29 AM, Peter DiFalco <peter.difalco@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> For my own part in this saga, I did a visual inspection of the vehicle in
>> question, did a test drive with comparison to my own 89 in terms of engine
>> capability, and relied on conversation with the PO and the (not so
>> thorough
>> or attentive) mechanic in my assessment to several list members, including
>> Roger.
>>
>> I have limited experience with Vanagons, lots more with baywindow bus, but
>> I'd like to know from any other list members who regularly perform
>> "pre-purchase interest" checks on local Vanagons that may or may not be a
>> good deal for another listmember:
>>
>> What do you check? How thorough are you? For instance, if you know you're
>> not going to personally buy a vehicle, do you demand to actually read the
>> paperwork from the mechanic? Do you actually perform a compression check
>> on
>> the engine?
>>
>> I feel that I was about as thorough with my eyes, ears, nose and camera as
>> I
>> could be in an hour of investigation and a 10 minute test drive. Yet I was
>> unable to foresee this van's bad thermostat, cracked exhaust, minor
>> coolant
>> hose leak, imminent failure of connecting rods, and bad fuel line (Roger
>> forgot to mention that precious moment when a cloud of vaporized gasoline
>> erupted above the intake manifold as we warmed up the engine in the dark).
>>
>> Any input is appreciated, as I do intend to continue keeping my eyes
>> peeled
>> for Vanagons to pass along to another community members.
>>
>> And I must further commend Stephan's auto haus who have provided excellent
>> phone consultation to me in other Vanagon matters, and also Mike Tevis in
>> Chico who also was Johnny-on-the-spot with hard-to-get parts and advice.
>> I'd
>> trust my next engine conversion to either of them, but for now I'm going
>> to
>> keep my WBX running.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Peter
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 10:28 AM, Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@gmail.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>> > dear reputation checker
>> >
>> > i have had dealings with Stephen's Auto Haus
>> >
>> > i purchased my latest vanagon in chico california from an owner whose
>> only
>> > act of preservation was to park it under cover ... mostly ...
>> > all maintenance was performed by a mechanic ... same one for the life of
>> > the
>> > van .... but that was the only other consistency offered to the vehicle
>> ...
>> > so ... while doing many needed repairs to the vehicle before driving
>> north
>> > to canada ... i found i required the yellow O ring that goes on the pipe
>> > running from the starboard  head  aft to the thermostat housing port
>> side
>> > aft... there were none but aftermarket pieces available in chico ...
>> > aftermarket O rings are totally inadequate unless one is the most
>> skilled
>> > of
>> > mechanics ... A GROUP WHICH I DO NOT FIT INTO ...
>> > so ..i believe it was Peter DiFalco (whose driveway i was working in)
>> who
>> > mentioned stepans to me ... it might have been mike the subby conversion
>> > installer in chico ... (both vanagon gerry list members) anyway i called
>> > asking if they had this O ring ..and then i drove down on the thursday
>> > morning to pick it up ... it cost about 1$ and change ...
>> > then mike came over to peters house and helped me install the pipe
>> without
>> > further incident ...
>> > friday afternoon i left chico ...
>> > Sunday morning got north to stmarys oregon and the motor died ... in a
>> puff
>> > of steam ... sigh ... towed to portland
>> > (Ya BCAA  Premium) ...
>> > monday morning as i was heading back from halseys auto with the new hose
>> > that i thought would repair my engine issue my phone rang ...
>> > it was stephan .. he simply wanted to know how i was getting along ...
>> did
>> > the O ring work correctly as designed and was i on my way ... I was
>> stunned
>> > ... i had purchased a part worth less than 3$ and he was using his
>> valuable
>> > time to do follow-up ...
>> > when i questioned him about why he would take the time to make this call
>> he
>> > responded with an even more stunning revelation about his self ...
>> > he said ... Vanagon owners ... well we are a community and we have to
>> look
>> > out for one another and be concerned with one another ... (small
>> paraphrase
>> > on my part )
>> > wow i was amazed indeed ...
>> > but wait .. there's more ...
>> > the news on my vanagon was not good ... the reportedly new engine had
>> not
>> > blown a hose but had bent a few rods and etc etc etc ... halseys said it
>> > was
>> > up to me how i wanted to proceed but i would certainly require a new
>> engine
>> > of some sort ...
>> > i asked halseys if i got an engine would he put it in and how long would
>> > that take ... he told me and i called stephans .. knowing they do
>> > conversions and may-well have an engine sitting to the side ...
>> > he said he had two ... one still in the van he wanted to drive the donor
>> > van
>> > a little then he would decide which to sell me based on his opinion as
>> to
>> > which was best ...
>> > i rented a truck in portland and drove down to sacremento ...
>> > stephan had the motor at the door waiting for me when i got there ...
>> > his shop is clean and well appointed his work seems to be well
>> thought-out
>> > ...
>> > he is still offering personal touch service ... (same thing at halseys
>> in
>> > portland)
>> > stephan has  knowledgeable person running his front service counter ...
>> she
>> > can look up parts with dexterity ... and skill ... and fill your order
>> by
>> > seeking answers from you using her own experianced sense of vanagon
>> > knowledge
>> >
>> > while there getting the motor i saw a van with tags from hawaii ... i
>> asked
>> > if that van was sent all the way from there and stephan leaned in close
>> and
>> > whispered ... "we're that good" ... then he smiled ... we both laughed
>> ...
>> > he then revealed the van was now in the main 48 with owner having moved
>> to
>> > mainland ...
>> >
>> > bottom line ... stephans ...  reasonable and knowledgeable people who
>> have
>> > a
>> > genuine concern about the part they play in your enjoyable vanagon owner
>> > experience ... all bundled with an easy going sense of good humoured
>> > niceness ...
>> > what more could a girl ask ... :)
>> >
>> > yours
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 4:08 AM, Peter T. Owsianowski <
>> > pnoceanwesty@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > > Good article - although the writer needs some deeper research of the
>> > > Vanagon
>> > > facts:
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>> http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/24743/VW_Vanagon_Engine_Conversions_Specialty_For_Popular_Local_Auto_Shop
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > Pete
>> > > '79 Westy "Aardvark"
>> > > '87 Westy "JoesVan"
>> > > WWW.Busesbythebeach.com
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > roger w
>> > From Proverbs:
>> > Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a
>> > servant who becomes king ...
>> > ----------------------------------------------------------
>> > Explore printed work at: http://www.prliving.ca/
>> > View the growing list of video work at:
>> > http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners
>> >
>>
>
>
>
> --
> roger w
> From Proverbs:
> Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a
> servant who becomes king ...
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Explore printed work at: http://www.prliving.ca/
> View the growing list of video work at:
> http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners
>