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saritastar
Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2006
Posts: 47
Location: Spokane, WA
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 Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 9:56 pm Post subject: Took a huge risk.... |
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...and flew from Washington to Colorado to buy a van I hadn't even seen IRL and drove it all the way back. 1100 miles. Alone.
I found a '90 Multivan in Durango, CO about 2 weeks ago and asked about it on here. It had some body damage but for the price, I was okay with the damage. But then the buyer's check compression test came back with cylinder 3 at 60 psi. I got a second test and cylinder 3 came back at 110 psi. The engine has 134K and I was worried about what that would mean for my ride home.
But for some reason, I just knew this was my van and, possibly against my better judgment, I decided what the heck. I'm going to go get her and bring her home with (hopefully) no issues along the way. What's the worst that could happen?  (don't answer that)
And seriously, she's amazing. Not even so much as a hiccup the whole dang drive. She didn't even burn any oil! We just cruised at 70 mph pretty much the whole way. I was still feeling a little worried about the test results though so I took it in to my vw mechanic who did another compression test for me... cylinder 3: 125 psi And, there are no major repairs needed to boot! I can't even believe I got so lucky.
So I've been zipping around town with my kids and their friends, my kids love the pop top, and we're already planning for a weekend camp trip. The vanagon life is good. 
So here is a pic from our very first dirt road together (in Utah):
The rest of the pictures I took were just from the drivers seat... snapped quickly with my iphone.
Sunset in south Idaho:
The Colombia River in Oregon (I think I was still in Oregon then?)
And the rest of my trip looked pretty much like this, lol:
Thanks for letting me share! 
_________________
'90 Westy Multivan
Forever missing my '71 bay...
wish I could get her back.
Sarita
Last edited by saritastar on Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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kamzcab86
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 8438
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:02 pm Post subject: |
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I was wondering what was ultimately decided... Now, let the fun begin!
_________________
~Kamz 
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
 1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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laterPeter
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2008
Posts: 136
Location: Central Oregon
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| Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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nice ride.
I flew (from Oregon) to California to pick up my Westfalia... I had no history with VWs... the first part of the ride was white knuckled (it was windy & hard for me to keep in the lane lines) & going over the mountain was a learning experience... but
I like it.
_________________
"anyone have a screen for the window in the sliding door for an '85 Westfalia?"
1985 Westfalia 1.9 Automatic |
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dhaavers
Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010
Posts: 8378
Location: NE MN (tinyurl.com/dhaaverslocation)
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| Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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Sweet ride - welcome aboard!
(...fuel lines...???)
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS> |
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saritastar
Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2006
Posts: 47
Location: Spokane, WA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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| kamzcab86 wrote: |
I was wondering what was ultimately decided... Now, let the fun begin! |
I was kinda waiting until things turned out okay before posting. 
Luckily I've had experience owning/driving a '71 bus before so, no white knuckles, lol.
Fuel lines are good to go. Previous owner put the right thickness on and my mechanic double checked for me.
_________________
'90 Westy Multivan
Forever missing my '71 bay...
wish I could get her back.
Sarita |
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Volksaholic
Samba Member
Joined: December 26, 2005
Posts: 1771
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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Beautiful van... congrats. I've got a Wolfsburg, which is great for a daily driver but I'd love a Multivan for my RV.
pd
_________________
1988 Wolfsburg Edition, 2001 Subaru EJ251 |
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DAIZEE
Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2010
Posts: 7552
Location: Greater Toronto Area Ontario West Side
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 12:26 am Post subject: |
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| Congrats. Welcome to Vanagonitis! |
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FNGRUVN
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2007
Posts: 2237
Location: Fort Collins, CO
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:07 am Post subject: |
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Nice score and I'm sure an adventure you won't soon forget. Hope you and the family share many good times in it.
I know you took more than one picture of it, so post them up. We like pictures.
Happy Trails!
_________________
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin |
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Syncronicity
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2009
Posts: 840
Location: Glenwood Springs, CO
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 2:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Enjoy...Hope you and your family enjoy yours as much as we do. OK post edit post was just nasty. |
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otiswesty
Samba Member
Joined: November 21, 2006
Posts: 1768
Location: Portland
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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Sweet van! Maybe it was not a daily driver and just had a stuck ring. That could normalize with the driving that you did prior to having it retested. Hopefully, it helped to get the price down.
Lots of more road trips in the future no doubt. 
_________________
1978 Sage Green P22 Westfalia
1988 T3 Syncro Single cab
Just a regular guy |
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syncrodoka
Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005
Posts: 12295
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Sounds like you got the motor fixed with just driving it. Nice score. |
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saritastar
Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2006
Posts: 47
Location: Spokane, WA
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| FNGRUVN wrote: |
I know you took more than one picture of it, so post them up. We like pictures.
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I added more to my OP. I really only took the one from outside the vehicle. Lame, I know.
_________________
'90 Westy Multivan
Forever missing my '71 bay...
wish I could get her back.
Sarita |
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saritastar
Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2006
Posts: 47
Location: Spokane, WA
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| Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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| otiswesty wrote: |
Sweet van! Maybe it was not a daily driver and just had a stuck ring. That could normalize with the driving that you did prior to having it retested. Hopefully, it helped to get the price down.
Lots of more road trips in the future no doubt. |
It was definitely not a daily driver. And it hadn't been driven in a few weeks before that first test.
And yes, many road trips to come! I want to go back to all the places I had to pass without stopping while on my way home,
_________________
'90 Westy Multivan
Forever missing my '71 bay...
wish I could get her back.
Sarita |
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graystephen
Samba Member
Joined: January 19, 2010
Posts: 58
Location: Springfield, MO
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| Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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Ha, I did almost the same thing as you did, except that I did it while on a road trip in my jetta. Got 2000 miles away from home and drove the vanagon that far back.
Fun stuff! |
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Classicvibe
Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2009
Posts: 743
Location: Salt Lake City
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| Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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Congratulations on your new passport to fun! I think your family will never be the same!
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.
Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!
1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter |
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