With all this talk about what the "best" VW van is, I thought I'd  
post something about my first roadtrip in The Whale, my white '76 Bus  
FI.

3 of us went from Washington DC to Charlotte, NC, about 425 miles for  
memorial day weekend.  We all had a weekend's worth of luggage plus  
some stuff for my brother (wedding cake, etc).  Everything fit easily  
in the bus, including all my spare parts and tools.

The 2000cc FI engine ran extremely well all the way there and back.   
I averaged about 72mph all the way there, and that includes going  
over the mountains in central VA.  I stopped halfway there to fill up  
the tank and rig the heater vents open with a coat hanger (haven't  
gotten around to fixing the cables yet).  The built-in cooler held a  
12-pack of beer and food for the trip which came in real handy.

In Charlotte we used the bus as a utility vehicle, hauling blinds,  
lumber, mulch, and that sort of thing.  No problem with accelerating  
with 150 lbs of mulch, a van full of garden tools and 3 adults.  It  
was over 80F in Charlotte and we definitely didn't need an A/C with  
all of the vents and side windows open (plenty of fresh air).

My average MPH was about 20.2 which I think is excellent.  At a rest  
stop about 3/4 of the way back the starter decided not to work, which  
was easily remedied with a push-start but I need to look at it.

Overall I can definitely recommend the later-model (i.e. post-'71)  
buses, and in particular anything with a 2000cc FI engine!

Randy