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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