Often overlooked is the fact that the Vanagon was designed by and for
a people with a penchant for maintaining things. The beetle was the
first - designed so that all could maintain their own machine. The
Vanagon is no different. It too is in reality a simple-to-repair and
simple-to-maintain vehicle. There are only two heavy duty areas to deal
with and that is tranny R&R and Engine R&R. Beyond that - not much. The
rest is easy.

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com

On 1/18/2011 1:02 PM, Mike South wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM, Matt Thyer<matt_thyer@hotmail.com>  wrote:
>
>>
>> In favor of the DIY path it's a lot of fun.  You may find yourself stuck on
>> the side of the road occasionally, but with the right attitude even that
>> can
>> be enjoyable.
>>
>>
> I agree!  I am doing an auto to manual transmission swap as well as putting
> in a Bostig Zetec conversion in my Westy (replacing the propane tank and
> doing a fridge refurbishment too, since, you know, the other stuff just
> wasn't filling my time enough).  One of my motivations for this was to have
> newer parts and more available parts, but the other was that I knew I would
> be a lot more confident taking it on the road if I had put those things in,
> knew where everything was supposed to be and what I might have done wrong to
> it :).  I have learned a tremendous amount and I'm not even started on
> dressing the new engine for the Bostig conversion (tantalizingly close
> though!).
>
> Previous to this I have changed the oil, tires, and held the timing light
> for my father in law. :)
>
> As an engineer I think you'll really enjoy the tinkerability of these
> things.  Lots of room to work, I have been doing the final bits of the
> engine removal with the van on the ground (don't remember if I had it up for
> the drive axle removal or not, but I think that's doable) because there is
> so much clearance.  I was sitting on the edge of the bay with my foot braced
> on the engine getting something to come off...it's just nice to be able to
> (literally!) get in there and reach things.
>
> mike
>
>