Wow. This will convince the wife that I'm on the 'normal' end of the spectrum!

33.

First and, so far, only van:
1986 Weekender, all stock but the rear shocks, headlights and minor tune ups.  

Thinking hard about a repower but loving the ride!

Cheers,
Tyler

On Oct 7, 2011, at 4:48 PM, Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> I'm certainly not the oldest at the ripe young age of 58, but here goes....
> 
> 1.  1961 Beetle, bought new at Trans Ocean Motors, Pasadena, CA.
> traded in next year for....
> 2.  1962 Beetle, driven off the showroom floor at John Cutright
> Motors, Barstow, CA in June 1962.  70K miles on it when traded for...
> 3.  1967 Deluxe 21 Window/Sunroof Bus at Woolverton Motors, El Monte,
> CA in June 1967, $3360 + Tax/License.  307K miles, 4 engines, 2
> transaxles, 2 restorations in 30 years, then sold in 1997 for $6K,
> needing a 3rd restoration.  This was a daily driver all that time, had
> been cross country 5 times.  Officially took title of it in 1985, one
> year after my father's passing.
> 4.  1962 Kombi Bus - Had it for about 6 months.
> 5.  1969 Hardtop USA made Camper Conversion bought in 1979, sold 1987.
> 2 engines.  Camper conversion done in Moscow, ID
> 7.  1971 7 Pass Bus.  A real lemon inherited from the family - got rid
> of that one QUICK.
> 8.  1964 Notchback in 1987.  Bought from original owner who bought in
> Europe while in the military - 100% original.  Replaced engine with
> fresh one but kept original engine that went with the car 3 years
> later.
> 9.  1950 Beetle (Split Rear Window) - father bought in 1966 for the
> cost of plane fare and the gas to drive it from CT to CA.  Oct 66, it
> was so cold driving back to Calif that my father said his feet were
> numb until he got to Barstow :)  Restored in 1969 and 1976.  Dad & I
> made "sleeper" of this one in 1976 with a 2180cc engine, Dual 40IDF
> Webers, Joe Hunt Scintilla Magneto, Porsche "B" Brakes all around,
> tunnel transaxle with all the necessary beefing up, combination 6 Volt
> (for Wipers and Semaphores) and 12V (for everything else) using two 6V
> batteries wired in series - worked VERY well.  Rebuilt the engine into
> a 2110cc in 1983 by Wes DeCoppen.  This was a daily driver - my father
> drove it 80 miles a day in LA round trip to work from 1970 to 1982
> (myself on weekends, when allowed :) ) - this was never a "garage
> queen", old Bugs are made to be driven all the time.  Sold it in 1986
> for $6K and never looked back.
> 10.  1973 Panel Bus - bought in 1984 for literally pennies, had a
> blown engine.  Had Dan Lawson at Competition Engineering in Phoenix,
> AZ build a sweet 1.8, but never installed it (no time) - sold to Chuck
> Knight in Boise, ID in 1997 who finished it up and is still driving it
> around Boise today.
> 11.  1959 European Single Cab PU - bought in 1983, sold in 1989?  Had
> a nice 1600 single port.  European PU's had Sempahore Turn Signals -
> great "coolness factor".
> 12.  1960 Panel Bus with RARE Walk Thru option bought in 1988, sold in
> 1993 to Scott Pearson at WCM for a beautiful custom restoration he and
> his Dad did.
> 13.  1980 Vanagon 7 Passenger.  Bought in 1993, sold in 1996.  Rebuilt
> engine due to a dropped Valve and other overheating issues.  It was
> nice, but I wanted something better.
> 14.  1984 Westfalia w/Auto Trans and blown 1.9.  Bought in 1995 for
> the paltry sum of $1000 and was SO CLEAN, you could eat off the floor.
> Outside of the bad engine, it was very well cared for (meticulous
> records) by the original owner (bought new in Hemet, CA), 2nd owner
> mechanically abused it and well....y'know.  Upgraded the engine to a
> 2.1 with 1.9 injection & colling system in 1997, put a ton of miles on
> it since then with another engine rebuild and auto-trans replaced due
> to a failed trans cooler.  Still have it today, been living in it full
> time since March 1999 and another engine needed due to lifter issues,
> but still runs decently, but with poor mileage due to the poor
> lifters.  Currently having another 2.1 longblock readied up this
> Winter.  Will NEVER be sold....
> 15.  1984 Vanagon GL.  Bought in January 2008 from Justin @ Kombihaus
> in Sacram,ento, CA.  Beige/Turd Brown paint combo as typical of the
> era.  Fresh Heads and engine freshening by Justin has made it a VERY
> sweet ride since I've bought it.  The most expensive thing I've had to
> do on it is replace the converter the expensive "Cal Approved"
> converter.  Looks cool with the F*rd Aerost*r 5 spoke wheel covers on
> the stock steel rims.
> 
> And recently in the past few years, a 72 411 Station Wagon which is
> now in need of a rebuilt auto trans and my current weekend toy, a 75
> Porsche 914 1.8 w/L-Jet (99% all original), bought that in April 2010.
> 
> As one may suspect, I'm single (divorced for 35 years) ;)
> -- 
> Jim Thompson
> 84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
> 84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
> 72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
> 75 914 1.8 "Nancy"
> Full Timing Since March 1999
> oldvolkshome@gmail.com
> http://www.oldvolkshome.com
> ***********************************
> On Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 9:33 AM, John Jensen <bluesbug@verizon.net> wrote:
>> So if Craig is the youngest, who is the oldest?
>> And what is the average?  What was the most likely first VW van of the
>> average list member?   Splitty?
>> 
>> John Jensen
>> johnjensen@johnjensenartist.com
>> http://www.johnjensenartist.com
>> bluesbug@verizon.net