At 00:35 26/01/1997 -0600, you wrote:
>Maggie,
>
>Fred's Garage in Redwood City is unbeatable.  I know, the name might make=
=20
>one wonder, but they positively rule over any mechanic I have ever had=20
>for any car, period.  They are all German trained mechanics, work on=20
>nothing but VW's and Audi's and only charge about $30. per hour.  They=20
>treat you like a human being and are scruptiously honest.  Very few=20
>services that I have paid for inspire the loyalty I feel for Fred's.  I=20
>found them when I lived in SF and still go there living in SC.  Just the=20
>money one saves makes the drive worth it.  Tell them that Charles from=20
>Santa Cruz with the green Westy sent you if you go. =20
>Coincidentally, I had been planning on calling them to see if=20
>they would install a mechanical oil gauge for me, I don't know if they do=
=20
>aftermarket addons such as this or the other gauges you mentioned, but if=
=20
>you find out please post it.  I don't have one of their cards with me to=20
>give you the number, but I'm sure information would have it.  If you=20
>can't find it, e-mail me and I will send it to you.
>
>Good luck,
>
>Charles
>'83.5 GL Westy=20

I agree on this, when I lived in Menlo Park from 91 to 1993, it took me a
long time to get these very good and nice mechanics. At that time, I've
owned a '84 and a '85 Vanagon GL. I had misfiring on the '84, sometimes it
would die completely, I got 2 tuneup at =A7=A3$@* mechanics for nothing and=
 at
Fred's, they found the problem very quickly. The guy just changed the spark
plugs caps, not even the wires, and the van ran like a dream! I had these
misfires for weeks before that. The price was almost nothing. Even if you
live far from them, it's definitely worth the trip as Charles says.
Right now, I don't have these kind of problems since my Syncro is a TD
engine. No more misfires, shorts, etc, but still cooling problems anyway.
The head gasket needs to be replaced, oh  well....:(

Philippe Oudot=20
'89 GL Syncro TD Oettinger 16"
French Syncro Club