Dharma Van's Blog (4)

I don't know what came over me but we decided to sell our DharmaVan - We listed it on Ebay and it went very quickly. It did have some nice modification such as solar power, LED lighting and Diesel Heater with thermostat. The winning bid came from Germany so I was immediately concerned but the funds showed up 24 hrs in our back account and the buyer was very engaged and…

So living in California means you need to smog your 74+ vehicle upon purchase and because the Dharma van was a non-op, it was my responsibility. I took it to the nearest smog place in Berkeley directly from picking the van up with the new gas tank (see previous post). It is a gas station and the technician was sleeping in his car when I showed up at 8am on a sat morning, he had a rough night apparently. He got all of his books and special tools and after about 1.5 hours, the van barely…

So I had the van towed to a local VW bus "expert", their rates are about 30% higher than a standard mechanic, I wanted them to replace all the fuel lines as they looked shabby and do a full safety inspection. The whole thing costed me about 3 bills. They got it to run smoothly, tuned and timed it and I was super excited about picking it up. It starter right up but was idling a bit low at first - I figured it was cold. drove 4 block to fill with gas and then drove about 7 miles to the house…

I spent the first couple of years of my life close to Brazil and remember the distinct sounds and smells of the Kombi vans used as school buses and other service vehicles. I have always been around cars, since my dad is a mechanic. Mostly Afla Romeos, Japanese made cars and the such. I currently own a restored 63 Austin Sprite and my daily driver is a 2010 Audi S4 which I adore. So why in the hell would I be interested in adding a VW Camper to the fold? Well, my wife and I have two beautiful…