The Buslady wrote:

>hey a girl Vanagon fan!! YAY!!! 

Likewise!  I have seen some of your posts and love your signature line.  
Nice to know
there are some of us girls out there in Vanagons.

>Im the owner of a 89 Vanagon GL namd Bessie. She's me & my son's best 
>friend, takes us where ever with no probs. 
>She wasn't mint likey ours but in excellent shape bodywise; 
>mechanically was another story. about $3000 later(heads,alt.,
>waterpump, clutch master and labor!) she's fine now. Just keep an eye 
>on the rear end on the ground!! If yours starts to drip, take 'er in. 

Does it drip coolant or water? I think mine drips water from the air 
conditioner
compressor but it is not the blue coolant color. 
>My heads blew with the water pump about a year & 1/2 ago. Granpa was 
>nice enough to bail me out and pay it. She had over 100,000 miles 
>when that happened. I got her with 96,000+ (hard to find a low miler 
>since they're not made anymore) and right now she's at 127,+++ miles.
>
> To keep the engine from overheating, just keep the water levels 
>right & oil in and she should be ok. If that  doesnt work, have the 
>thermostat looked at or could be a blockage in the cooling system. 
>You can't really keep anything from happening. The head gaskets were 
>designed bad, entropy takes over and wears them out, coolant will 
>leak some day. (S***t like this happens with ANY car, remember NO car 
>is perfect)

Sigh. I know you are right and I am preparing for it, but I am so nuts
about it I want to protect it. 

>$3000 for a muffler system!?!?? yeah right! Never heard that one 
>before. It's true Vanagons are NOT cheap like the air cooled buses, 
>but not THAT much for exhaust! I saw it in the Bus Boys online 
>catalog(www.busboys.com) for $300. Stainless steel? I doubt it's 
>stainless, mine's all yukky lookin. And the muffler tailpipe rusts 
>out eventually.

Thanks, you back up what others have said. This is a big relief. I did
 replace the very end tailpipe already, for about $28 from a local 
foreign auto parts store. The muffler looks orange to me, but the 
mechanic who checked it out did not think it looked like it would go
soon.

>TO keep it in excellent shape, just create a maintanence 
>schedule(mine sucks, Bessie's due for her yearly tune up, but im 
>broke right now!) and wash her yourself!! Vacuum, detail, everything. 
>Bessie still looks respectable after 2 1/2 yrs, she doesn't look much 
>different from when I got her.

>SHe's be great as your doggie show van!! You can strap the portable 
>cages on the little roof section the top has. (what breed?) Plenty of 
>roomfor the doggies to be comfy, plus you can put their food in the 
>fridge& keep it nice. (I wanna camper!!)

I have two Lhasa Apsos (they are the small ones with long hair that
 look a lot like Shih Tzus or miniature English Sheep Dogs.) They are
 seasoned travelers and love camping in the Vanagon. I have gone 
camping with them twice already at dog shows and they seem to 
like it a lot. 

>>>I fell in love at first sight.
>thats what happened to me when I saw Bessie all alone at the dealer 
>with 'manager's special $7999' scribbled on her windshield. They 
>havent had a vanagon since! VERY VERY popular vehicle in SoCal!!!!!

You have the right climate for Bessie. I worry about subjecting Johann - 
I am sure he is male - to New England winters when he grew up in Georgia.
I am even thinking of getting a cover for him for the worst of winter. 
I do not have a garage or carport. 

Great to hear from you. If you are ever up in New England let me know!

_
>The Buslady & "Bessie"
>1989 Vanagon GL
>
>"What's the point of being grown up if you can't act childish?!"   --
>DrWHO #4
>
>

Maureen Stretch
91 Vanagon GL Westfalia