>From: John Holland <ZZHOLAND@UVVM.UVIC.CA>
>Changing From One Van to Another

>After driving a '63 VW Kombi for the last 23 years, this
>June I bought a '77 VW Westy. I've noticed a few
>differences.

Your list includes a lot of the *hands on* comparisons that
only 23 years can identify.  I missed the ability to reach
across and open the passenger windows when I bought my 73
and then even more when I bought my 84.  It can still be
done, but it just is no fun.

Maybe it is too early in the season, but your list said
nothing about the *take the chill off* systems.  Would
anyone use the word *heat* seriously?

Your mpg on the 63 was about what I get with my (stock 1500)
67.  Over a ten year span I got a little less than 18mpg on
my 84 wasserboxer and to hear that your 77 is lower than the
63 leads me to believe that it might have something to do
with the weight.  Even with all the plastic, they just keep
getting heavier and heavier.

The speedo reads 5mph faster?  You mean you can get the 77
up to 50? ;)

I assume the gas fume problem is one of those that requires
a $1.00 part and 100 hours of labor to find.  Emissions
control on a 77 are a blank to me, but my 84 needed a nylon
T-connector for the plastic hoses only a few years out of
the factory.

Oh, and lube for the sliding door?  Just leave it alone.  A
couple more years and the track will rust off, then the
noise should not be a problem when you open/close the door.

Sorry to see you have to sell the Kombi.  Does the custom
interior ice scraper accessory come with it?

Enjoy your 77.  Only seven more years and it will be
considered *Vintage*.

-Jim (Softhead Development) Bryant