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cheap beat/auto transport...


This is interesting-(kill 2 birds w/one stone...)  I got our '73 Squareback
from the in-laws for FREE!!  However, at the time (about four years ago...)
 I was living in L.A. and they are in Salt Lake city.  My best friend and I
flew one-way to SLC.  The car had been sitting in the backyard for maybe
eight years.  It needed a tune-up and a battery, and just for kicks, as we
were leaving town, I got the oil changed.

We made it to Provo, Utah when I said, "We're going DOWN.....MAYDAY!
MAYDAY!!"  We had the stereo cranked (My bro-in-law had installed a Kenwood
system  for me before I flew up...)  Anyway, my buddy says," Yeah
right....stop kidding around..." 

I wasn't kidding.

We ended up in some #@!*&%^  little garage with little/no VW experience and
ended spending over eight hours and many hundreds of dollars on a new (or
maybe it was rebuilt, ) fuel pump.  At least that's what the mechanic said
it was...

The rest of the trip was scary...a real white-knuckler as we went through 2
different snow storms and much rain.  When we saw the lights of Las Vegas I
thought we were going to heaven.

The true horror came when we got home, however.  I tore it apart and found:
There was NO clutch and only one brake was working.  Also, it was only
running on three cylinders and had three bald tires.  But you know what? 
No other car in the world could have made that trip in such poor, neglected
condition.  We essentially LIMPED the twelve hours from SLC to L.A., but
"The Yellow Submarine" delivered us safe, sound, and a lot more wise.

Moral:  Definitely find mechanics on your route, and maybe have a decent
mechanic check out the car beforehand. (We did this, but he obviously
wasn't qualified.)

Mark Garcia
Santa Barbara, CA, USA	
'73 Squareback
78 BMW R80/7
78 Vespa p200e
81 Vespa p200e


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