I'm Back!

I haven't posted in a while but its because I've been out camping in my Vanagon. Since I last posted I've taken three trips in the van. Sadly, many things have gone wrong in that time and I'm parking the van for now until I get them all sorted out. Here are the latest issues:

1) I've developed a leak under my dash. In addition to my feet getting wet while driving in the rain, I'm really pushing my luck as I drive along watching water trickle all around the back side of my fuse panel. The luggage rack seal on the roof went out around the time that the leak started but I can't quite figure out how that could possibly result in water dumping out from under the dash. I'm going to replace that seal but I think there is a bigger problem here. I'm afraid I'm going to have to pull the dash to get to the bottom of this one. That is going to suck.

2) My rust is certainly getting worse in spite of the rust inhibitor that I sprayed on it. This winter I think I'm going to have to strip the whole van down and sand blast it all out. I'm also going to need to do that panel replacement. That could actually be fun. My plan is to keep things cheap by doing all the body work and paint prep myself. I'm really leaning towards letting MAACO or somebody else do the actual spraying unless I can find a place to rent time and equipment in a paint booth. I would then do the color sand myself and then take it back to them to shoot clear on it. I think I could do all that for under a grand including the cost of the paint (which I would supply them). I'm still researching though.

3) I've got two spots on my frame that I am concerned about. The first is in the front where somebody obviously hit something. This isn't that big of a deal but I want to make sure it doesn't end up rusting the frame. The other spot is more troublesome and it makes me wonder if I shouldn't get another van. Its a hole near the transmission that I just can't figure out. It isn't a rust hole but it is clearly a hole. It doesn't look like it was due to an accident but it is hard to tell. It looks like it was almost intentional but certainly not from the factory. I'll have to take some pictures and let you guys see.

4) This is the latest emergency issue. My exhaust system is basically rusted through. I knew the tail pipe had a growing hole but this past weekend I discovered that the exhaust had cracked all the way around right next to the engine block. So I drove on the edge of my seat just hoping the hot gas I was dumping into the engine compartment wouldn't burn through the fuel lines and burn up the entire van. I took a HUGE risk driving it home but in the end I'm glad I did and even more glad that I made it here safely still the proud owner of a Vanagon. I'm not driving it again until I get that exhaust fixed. The problem though is deciding how to fix it. I'm tempted to just get a complete exhaust system since everything under there looks about a billion years old. I think if I went under there with a good sharp pencil I'd be able to poke a hole in just about every pipe I encounter. The only thing that is holding me back is that I'm not sure when/if I'm going to do an engine conversion. I'd really like some more power. Then again, now is probably not the best time to go switching engines. Plus, I could most likely reuse the muffler, cat, and tail pipe with whatever conversion I might consider. I guess I should just get that full kit.