Down in San Diego, my '71 loaf got attention. I sold that to the same
couple that bought our house. Took the Westy with me when we moved.

Here in Central Oregon, I must see anywhere between 8 to a dozen
Vanagons a day, and not the same ones. Some are beaters, some
immaculate. Westys are not uncommon. The local boneyard never has a van
in it, their parts are scavenged off before they hit the ground.

--
Rocky J Squirrel

On Sun, 2011-04-10 at 18:47 -0700, Robert Fisher wrote:

> I pulled in at the grocery store next to a woman that was trying to shoehorn
> two kids and a buttload of groceries into what looked like an old Honda or
> the like. I don't have the middle seat in at present, and the boosters/car
> seat are on the back bench; she stood up and looked into the side window and
> said "Ohmigod, look at all that space...!" Then she said "That's one of
> those classic vans... do they cost much?" (She may have been confusing it
> with a loaf, actually.) One of the kids was diggin' it but I didn't pick out
> what she was saying because I was listening to the mom. I'm sure to her it
> looked like a rolling freight container right then... room for days plus
> kids' seats.  : )
>
> I told her she could probably get one in decent shape for around four grand.
> That's the number that popped into my head for a passenger van, but I really
> haven't looked lately. I didn't go into the whole spiel of cost/difficulty
> of upkeep and so on, as I figured it highly unlikely she'd ever really get
> one, assuming she could find it. I did tell her I paid $300 for it but had
> to rebuild the engine and tranny in short order. (Even with that I don't
> think I have more than $1400 into the thing for getting it on the road and
> reliable-like.)
> I still think (and I know that this is preaching a well-worn sermon to the
> choir) that a modernized, mid-priced Vanagon layout would sell in bunches
> and droves. It might take some heavy PR to overcome the perceptions of
> front-end safety, but every body's afraid of something on a car. Too bad we
> won't see it.
>
> Like many of you I occasionally get ppl that walk up and ask about the van;
> the expression on their faces when they actually look through the windows is
> priceless. In the back of my mind I always think they're thinking "My god,
> it's full of stars!" hehe
> --
> Cya,
> Robert
>
> '87 & '86 Auto GLs