Date:         Thu, 8 Aug 2024 07:34:18 -0700
Reply-To:     mark@MARKMCCULLEY.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark McCulley <mark@MARKMCCULLEY.COM>
Subject:      Re: Restoration completed on my '91 Vanagon.
In-Reply-To:  <63297195.367567.1723041255933@connect.xfinity.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

That is a great story Ken, thanks for sharing it.

-Mark

> On Aug 7, 2024, at 7:34 AM, KEN WILFORD <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET> wrote:
> 
> Congratulations to John!  I am so happy that he got his van back and they did an excellent job (I got pictures from James).
> 
> I am not sure if I have told the story of this Vanagon on here before but there it goes again.
> My shop is in a very out of the way place in Southern New Jersey.  I always tell people that it isn't the end of the world but you can see it from here.  We are pretty much in the South Western Corner of NJ right near the Delaware bay.  So you wouldn't think there would be very many Vanagons in the area and you would be right.  However the ones that are in the area seem to always find their way to me.  
> 
> I noticed a red GL Vanagon in the area driving back and forth to Wawa.  It was parked in the garage of the worst mechanic in our town.  A guy that would have trouble screwing in a light bulb.  His shop existed for most of its life by selling NJ inspection stickers to people since they had an inspection machine and were willing to do a closed eye inspection as long as you had some ready cash.
> 
> When I saw that Vanagon in their shop, I was like "Oh, no!"  A few days later the shop owner called me.  My Mom did his taxes and he knew my reputation.  He had done some "work" on the van and actually made it worse and wanted my advice.  I came over, saw what he was doing, tried to advise him, but it was like telling a monkey how to program a computer.  Finally he gave up and told the couple that owned the van to contact me.  I can't remember what the job was, I think it was just a water pump, and I found out why that couple took the van to him in the first place.  They lived right across the street and saw him all of the time.  Wanted him to sell them a piece of land that he owned right next to their yard so I guess they thought letting him work on their van was a way to get in good with him.
> 
> So for the next few years I worked on the van.  I did a brake job and a few other small jobs, but for the most part the van ran well and it had around 150k miles on it, and was in decent condition.  Finally the couple came to me.  The brakes were squeaking, they thought it needed another brake job and they felt that it was worn out and they needed to move on.  They were the original owners and had owned it for 150k miles and felt like they had gotten their money's worth out of it so they sold it to me for very little money.
> 
> I put it up online for low money also since it was just a GL passenger van, and I didn't want to sit on it for long.  A got a call right away from a Russian guy that was interested.  He came down in a brand new Mercedes minivan, bought the Vanagon, and left the Mercedes sitting there for a couple of weeks (I have no idea).  He told me he had a painting business and needed the Vanagon for his work.
> 
> Occasionally I would get calls from him.  "This van gets terrible fuel mileage" he would complain with his thick accent.  I had a thought, "How fast do you drive it?"  I asked.  "80-85 miles an hour."  He replied like it was normal.  "Don't drive so fast."  Was my advice.
> Apparently he lived in New York City but would drive down to Florida to do work.  So he was commuting back and forth in the Vanagon and working in both places.  
> 
> After about two years he called me.  Did I want to buy the van back?  In two years he had driven it over 100k miles!  The van that the couple had thought was worn out, went another 100k miles with pretty much zero maintenance and only minor problems!
> I bought the van back.  Now I have owned this thing twice!
> It was pretty much worn out at this point.  The engine was having problems, the transmission was having problems, and the body was looking worn.  I posted it up for sale again for a low price.  A guy in Chicago contacted me.  He said he wanted to do a Subaru conversion and already had an engine, etc.  We agreed to a price and he sent me the money.  I mailed him the title and for some reason which I never figured out, a priority mail envelope took two weeks to get from NJ to Chicago.  The guy was freaking out, but what could I do?  He finally got it and nothing was wrong on the label and no smeared letters, etc.  Some mail carrier in Chicago just didn't feel like delivering it for a couple of weeks?
> 
> He sends a car carrier to come and get it.  Where my shop is, it is in a small suburb and my street is too small for car carriers to get down.  I got a call from another Russian, the car carrier driver, asking me where he can park.  I told him at the local mini mart which is about a mile down the street.  I told him the van wasn't really driveable because the engine was leaking and the transmission was hard to shift.  He just "I walk..." and hangs up.  About 20 minutes later he shows up walking to my shop.  He jumps in, I get it started for him just barely and he drives it back to the car carrier and loads it and takes it away.  That is the last time I thought I would hear about the van, until John bought it a few years back.  This van has some history.  I am hoping John will have many more years to enjoy it now that it is back to being nice again.
> 
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
> 
>> On 08/06/2024 4:39 PM CST John Lauterbach <john@jhl.mgacoxmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> This afternoon, I drove my '91 Vanagon from James Dimmer's (Vanagonman) shop in
>> Bradenton to my second FL home near Poinciana.  James and his crew totally restored
>> the exterior, interior as well as some parts of the frame and steering that were not
>> part of the restoration I had done in Macon, GA, when I lived there.  I purchased
>> this van few years back from a gentleman in Chicago and had it shipped to Macon in a
>> closed carrier that was also carrying some very pricey vehicles.
>> 
>> I have some chemistry-oriented websites that I have forgotten how to modify otherwise
>> I would post pictures.  Mr. Dimmer took numerous photos during the restoration
>> process, including what was let of the frame and doors once the carpeting and
>> interior panels were removed.
>> 
>> A big thank you to James and his crew for a super job.
>> 
>> John