Ta da!  I'm no longer a wannabus, volks.  On Saturday I picked up my
"new" car, a 78 bay with 180K miles on it.  I'm in Princeton, NJ, and
it was in Baltimore, MD, and it made its 150 mile maiden voyage with
no problems (and no heat :-).  She got at least 20 mpg, but lost a
quart of oil on the way (dripping, not burning).  Many, MANY thanks to
fellow list-member Paul Weis, who saw the original ad, checked it out
for me initially, was with me when I went to look at it, and helped me
install a new engine compartment seal in the blistering cold on
Saturday!

Unfortunately, after such a successful homeward trek, it wouldn't
start on Sunday.  MAJOR bummer!  So I sat down to get acquainted with
the "Stops or Won't Start" chapter in Muir.  The problem is something
electrical; I'll describe in a separate post, and I'm sure I'll have
lots of questions about it if the procedures in Muir don't solve the
problem.

The bus is two-tone brown/brick red, apparently what was called a
"Champagne Edition".  It has relatively little rust, and lots of minor
dents.  The interior is thrashed or missing, depending which part you
look at/for.  But, it has been well maintained mechanically, and has
lots of new/replaced parts, such as a remanufactured starter, a new
air flow meter, and a new filler neck (???) to name a few.

So, the adventure begins... first I have to name it, I guess.  Paul
and I were calling it Champ, a name I don't really like.  After
getting frostbite driving home (seriously), I'm considering naming her
Winter!

-Rodney

78 Winter? Champ? Suggestions?
77 Bones