OK So I Didn't Call Them Yet

I still haven't called SewFine. Selecting a color has been harder than I thought it would be. Today I'm leaning towards just plain brown. Keep things nice and simple. Sure the van will be a little boring but there will be plenty of other places for color. Maybe I'll call them tomorrow.

I found a really nice Vanagon site today. Actually, I may have already found it but at the very least I rediscovered a fine site. To be completely accurate, the site isn't all that spectacular but the services offered are amazing. The site is http://www.vanaru.com/ and its a Vanagon only shop up in Pennsylvania that specializes in Vanagon to Subaru conversions. They will even track down the Subaru engine of your choice and do the complete conversion for a total cost of around $10k depending on the engine you pick. That sounds like a ton of money but we're talking about basically making your Vanagon run pretty much like a new car. In addition to the engine they convert the transmission and cooling system to be good as new. In the end your van ends up with WAY more power and torque than you had originally and yet your gas mileage actually goes up. I'm going to have to start saving up now so that when my engine finally kicks it I can get one of these. The thought of having real car power in a Vanagon gets me so excited that my head may explode.

There are a lot of other engine conversions available out there but I'm fairly sold on this Subaru conversion idea. I've always heard great things about their engines and they just happen to fit perfectly in the Vanagan. Even if you get a 3.3L 230hp 6 cylinder you'll won't have to modify the engine compartment and you'll actually get better gas millage than what I get now (which is pretty good at around 20mpg). That is spectacular! Now I just need to find $10k that I'm not already spending on my house, saving, or devoting to other hobbies. Sadly, I think that is going to take a while :)

In other news, I find myself considering a paint job for the van lately. If I'm honest, I've got to admit that I actually don't really like the color of my van and would far prefer the original stock cream color. The issue is that I'm not convinced I can get a decent paint job for what I would be willing to pay. It seems that the only way to get a nice one is if your fully strip down the van. That isn't something I would pay somebody to do and without owning a garage it isn't something that I can do either. So unless I can find some space to at least strip out the interior myself then I guess I'll just have to live with it.

I can live with it just fine but at some point I'm going to need to address some of the body issues. There is a fair amount of body damage here and there and the real issue is rust. I need to get that stuff taken care of since it will only get worse. When I start thinking about that I start thinking about how it might be smarter just to get a different van. When I start thinking about that my head starts to hurt thinking about how I could possibly sell that idea on the home front. Basically I've got what I've got - this leads me back to the start of my circle where I start thinking about paint jobs again. The cycle will never end.

By the way, if you'd like to see some really cool vans then you need to check out what they've got for sale at http://www.gowesty.com. Those guys do these sick restoration jobs. They basically replace every part in the van for you. Their work looks amazing but cost a fortune. Even though I can't imagine spending $80k for a vehicle, typically such overwhelming expressions of wealth repulse me, part of me is really happy to know that there are people out there who have $80k that they are willing to spend on transportation and choose to spend it on a Vanagon.