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Subject:Re: daily driver Vanagons
From:T Collins <tonycollin@GMAIL.COM>
Date:Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:11:26 -0400

I had been working in making some stickers....If I get it together would
anyone else be interested in getting something along the lines of
We defy aerodynamics, daily driven!

el tr

On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 6:18 PM, Dake Collins <wuwe423@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Wu-Wei, my '84 Westy, has been my daily driver, constant companion and
> home-on-the road for 4 or 5 month a year for the past 8 years. When I'm not
> on the road I live on a poorly maintained dirt road in Maine; we've
> familiar with salt, frost heaves and the other assorted pleasures of living
> in paradise.
> I'm the third person to be entrusted with the care and feeding of Wu-Wei.
> The guy I got her from took reasonable care of her but didn't use her much.
> Lat summer I had the unexpected pleasure of a chance meeting the original
> owner. He bought her in Germany in 1984, toured Europe, brought her back to
> Rochester, NY and used her as a daily driver for a few years.
> So, for most of the last 29 years she's been a daily driver on the salt
> encrusted roads of the northeast.  She's had good care and regular
> maintenance. The good care, at least during my tenure with her, has been
> due, in large part, to the kindness and knowledge of the community of
> kindred spirits who have also been entrusted with the awesome
> responsibility of a Westy. The financial burden of maintaining Wu-Wei has
> been less than a car payment. I love my Westy!
> Dake
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>  From: Bill Monk <billmonk@GMAIL.COM>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Sent: Friday, April 26, 2013 3:33 PM
> Subject: Re: daily driver Vanagons
>
>
> Look here for a stainless collector:
>
>
> http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=23772&category_id=366&category_parent_id=
>
> Lifetime warranty...
>
> Bill
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Apr 26, 2013, at 3:09 PM, John Meeks <vanagon@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > Been driving my 91 in northern MI winters since '91 and it shows. Exhaust
> > system could be wrangled to last 4 years max. Got smart and installed one
> > of Frank Condellis' systems about 8 years ago. Now the only maintenance
> is
> > the occasional gasket and that iron collector piece that has no stainless
> > version. Got the SS coolant tower and that thermostat to water pump pipe
> > that likes to hold a drip of salty water on it till it rusts a hole.
> >
> > POR 15, Undercoating and Stainless Steel. Rubber Steering hoses and
> nickel
> > alloy brake lines. Keeping it alive!
> >
> > John Meeks
> > '91 Vanagon MV Phoenix
> > Stock 2.1 250K miles
> > Northern Michigan
> >
> > Vanagon Rescue Squad <
> http://www.vanagonauts.com/Vanagon-Rescue-Squad74.htm>
> > Android and iOS apps
> >
> > www.vanagonauts.com
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 11:47 AM, Craig Cowan <phishman068@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> i too am daily driving an east coast bus. I have a winter bus and a
> summer
> >> bus, and as Chris stated, the crap they put on the roads out here is
> just
> >> epicly bad!
> >> I had an exhaust last ONE YEAR on that bus!
> >>
> >> But as also stated, they make great daily drivers!
> >>
> >> -Craig
> >>
> >>
> >> On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 11:42 AM, <JordanVw@aol.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> In a message dated 4/26/2013 11:23:45 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> >>> mdrillock@COX.NET writes:
> >>>
> >>> I have  been using one as a DD for about 20 years. First an 86, then
> and
> >>> 88, now an  87. The versatility is beyond compare. With the middle seat
> >>> out I can load  the floor area with tons of tools and still have plenty
> >>> of room for  drywall, plywood, etc. I also have a few campers that I
> use
> >>> for trips. The  type and length of trip determines which one I  take.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> a daily driver vanagon on the west coast is doable.   unfortunately not
> >>> here on the east coast.   the salt used on the  roads and the greater
> >>> temperature extremes and humidity makes parts  deteriorate faster than
> in
> >>> a dry arid
> >>> west coast climate.  they are  expensive enough to maintain, i cant
> >>> financially justify body panel and exhaust  replacement every few years
> >>> due to
> >>> corrosion..
> >>
>

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