Date: Sun, 2 Feb 1997 23:19:18 -0500
From: Charlie Ford <cford@mindspring.com>
Subject: Taos Life Pt III end

On Friday, Brian arrived around 12:00 noon.  We sat and talked for a while
and settled into making the parts list and calling about the prices.  it
would be around 40 bucks for the tuneup stuff i needed.  I handed the guy
that looked like Charles Manson a $100.00 bill.  Many may ask why would I
do this foolish thing?  I believe any guy that would run that many sorties
in Nam was pretty trustworthy.  Besides if he didn't come back the
nieghbors would burn down his horsetrailor or something even worse.  they
don't like theives in these parts.

He brought back my parts, my change, the reciept, and a smile because he
had shopped around and saved me all the money he could on each part.  Brian
is a good man.  It was too late on Friday to do much, so we decided to wait
on Saturday.

Here they have a spanish word "Manana" which means "later".  So when
someone says "I will be there manana", that means the non-specific later.
It may be a day, it may be a week, but eventually they will be there.

On Saturday, Brian arrived at 8:30.  I had just gotten up and was inside
the Mothership eating a bowl of Cornflakes.  He lumbered up and asked if I
was ready to start getting down to fixing it.  I said I was more than
ready, and was actually looking forward to it.

We opened the bonnet and started changing things out.  No matter what we
tuned or changed the bus still wouldn't run right.  I couldn't get it to
idle correctly even by setting the timing.  All said and done, in the end
we were no better off than when we started except for the fact that I had
all new plug wires and plugs, aand distributor.

We finally tested the EGR valve, and finally assumed that this is what it
was.  All the while we worked we talked about life, nam, money, survival,
and the spiritual.  I found out that he has a degree in communications from
University of Wisconson, and that he had worked for several nationally
known radio stations around the country as program director.  Hmmm.  "Never
judge a book by it's cover" I think applies here very appropriately".

In the end I decided I would try and make it to Taos.  I said goodbye,
expressed my appreciation to brian for trying to fix my bus, said thanks to
Steve for letting me crash in his yard, and off I went with a rough
sounding bus and very little power to boot.  I had two large inclines to
cross before i would reach Taos that lay 15 miles from Pilar.

I tried the first incline but didn't have enough power to make it.  I
decided to get back down the hill to the store and use the payphone to call
a mechanic, that is if I could find one open on Saturday.  I called Napa
first and asked who they would recomend.  they told me to call a guy named
Lynn Sellers.  he ran a shop just down the street form them and he was a VW
expert.

I did and he told me it could be the catalytic converter which mine does
not have or the fuel filter which it does have.  I told him I would change
the filter and call him back.  he said that would be fine and that if it
didn't work to get it to Taos and he would help me figure it out.

While I was in the process of changing my filter I heard a car drive up.
Out steps my good friend Ted Allen.  The main person I came to Taos to see.
I was under the bus letting gas drip all over me and could only shake his
hand from under there.  Ted and I got to know each other a few years ago at
Summer of service 1993.  The national kickoff and training for the
AmeriCorps intiative.  We were both chosen by Washington to join 48 others
in being the National trainers for this government initiative that helps
build up the concept of serving one another.

I changed the filter, and nothing improved.  I called Lynn back and told
him I was on my way, I would try and get it to him although it may take a
while.  I could only get up to ten miles and hour on the hills so with Ted
behind me in his Jetta we struck out for Taos.  I stopped at the top of
each hill to let it cool down.

When we got it to the shop Lynn was busy working on a Subaru, and said that
he could look at it after he finished the repairs on it.  While standing
around Ted and I got to talking with Lynn about his experience with VW's.
he explained to us that he was from Southern California and had grown up
working on VW's.  I was growing more confident every minute.

Finally he got to my bus.  At first he couldn't figure it out.  He
explained what he was doing as he did it, and finally took a look and smell
of the oil.  It smelled more like gasoline than oil.  he did a compression
check and the two right hand cylinders had very little.  he said he knew
now what the problem was, the misture had been set to rich.  I needed to
drain my oil and that would restore my compression.  Although he wasn't
wuite sure if there was any longstanding damage as of yet.

I left it with him and now I am in Ted's house up in the mountains.  I love
the view, but I must say I hate to know what tomorrow may bring.  I hope it
will be good news, because if it is not, this trip is sunk 22 days into it.
besides that I am 2300 miles away from home.  Thank God I have a friend or
two here, so I at least have a place to stay.

Tomorrow I will post the latest on the Plight of the Mothership.  Pray if
you, hope for me if you don't.

Thanks for tolerating my ramblings,
Charlie Ford


"79" Transporter, dressed for the road
The Mothership

 The"Turning 40 Nostalgic VW Service Tour, and
Search for the Beginning of Wind".

www.armory.com/~y21cvb/charlie/charlie.html

"Wider still and wider.....shall thy bounds be set"