Ron,
Please change my status!  I'm no longer a wannabe but now the proud owner of an 89 Westy!

Talk about great leap of faith!!!  I'd never even sat in a Vanagon, driven a Westy, or laid eyes on this van until an hour ago!!  I bought it "sight-unseen" over the internet from the PO in Texas.  I had it shipped to Iowa and it arrived this morning.  Its everything the owner said it was.

Talk about a larger leap of faith.....the owner sent the van AND the signed-over registration WITHOUT RECEIVING dime one from me before hand!!

I will say that I spent nearly a year, off and on, as a lurker asking occassional questions and watching all the discussion about tires, coolant changes, leaking head gaskets, you name it.  When I located this via the internet, I called him immediately, was able to ask the right questions and better yet, he was able to give me the right answers!  We struck up an immediate kindredship over the phone (VWitis runs deep in the blood of those afflicted!) and both felt comfortable with the deal.  
Today I'll overnight the check to him.  I'm taking a little cruise with it on Wednesday, having it detailed on Thursday, might actually go camping this weekend!

What a country!

Jim in Iowa

jfritz@decorah.k12.ia.us
[text/html]