On Thu, May 9, 2013 at 9:48 PM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>wrote:

>   What does the novice do when he realizes that he has no hope of getting
> it running again?
>

Turns to the Vanagon list for help!

Everyone has to start somewhere, and you must admit the interweb has been
an enormous help in spreading the needed information. The expertise of
people like Dennis and Mark has traveled well beyond their neighborhood. I
think it's an amazing time for DIY's. Access to people and parts like never
before. Just bring a well-developed sense for information sifting and
you're on the way.

I do agree that the waterboxer is not infinitely sustainable Stuart and
ultimately most of us will be looking for an alternative engine or vehicle
somewhere down the road, but in the meantime the budget-minded owner can
still extract a lot of life out the the original technology by being
creative. There are still 2.1 bottom ends out there with 100K miles of life
remaining, and the advent of so many conversions has had the benefit of
reducing the price of used waterboxer bits. Easy enough to piece together a
spare engine. Durable, powerful and cheap (choose any one or two).

Angus