Howdy,
We got into Montreal last night, after eight nights driving from Los
Angeles.
We did (almost) all two-lane roads,
except the I-15 (L.A. to Vegas)
and the I-80/90 (Chicago to Gary) (Cleveland to Penn border)

Total cost of accomodations: $35 ($10 for a spot at Hovensweep national
Monument, UT and a KOA at Grand Island, Nebraska)

Modesto, my 1982 AirCooled-to-subaru conversion did splendidly. Water temp
stayed at 185 degrees the whole time.  Even climbing Wolf Creek Pass in
Colorado!

My rebuilt trans with the 4.17 4th gear is great. Pretty much cruises at
70mph.

Interesting discovery - Our favorite sleeping position in the van is lower
bunk with heads at rear. Pop-top up, so we can stash all our our bags up
top - the van looks bigger that way - an illusionof three separate rooms.

Only issue was my recent brake job at JoMag in Los Angeles. The brake pedal
pumps and oscillates with varying pressure. There began a knocking sound
from the driver's side rear wheel drum - but only on acceleration. As I
wound the motor up through 1st, 2nd 3rd, I'd hear a CLOCK   CLOCK  CLOCK
CLOCKCLOCKCLOCKCLOCKCLOCK... When I got into 4th and cruised it seemed to
go away. Caused more stress and anxiety than anything else.

I think this must have been handbrake related. The handbrake has lost
almost all it's grip. There is pressure when I pull it up, but the van will
still roll.. Sucks. Was expensive job too. $620

I admit that I backed out of a space and drove half a block with the
handbrake on - but that shoudn't ruin the handbrake outright? Maybe it did.
The brake pedal was doing that pumping thing before. I even returned it to
mauricio at Jomags to fix it before we split L.A. And he said at the time
YOU DROVE WITH THE HANDBRAKE ON!  I SAW DEEP GOUGES IN THE DRUM. But that
time he was wrong. I didn not drive with the H.B. on the first week I had
it back from the garage.

This was the best vanagon experience I've ever had. Best roadtrip I've ever
had. We're making a slideshow of the travels, and I'll post a link to it
soon!