Hi everyone.  I've been asking a bunch of questions, and I have to say you all have been great.  I've been on many mail lists/message boards for other brands of vehicles, but none have been as quick to respond as you have been.  

I think that a Vanagon will be the right size for me to haul my racing kart and gear to races.  (I even made a .jpg picture with the van and kart to scale to see how it fits inside.)  The longest drive for a race will probably be 6 hours, 350+ miles.  I plan to use the bus for the 9 kart races I have this year, as well as every Tuesday for mountain biking during the summer (can't beat it for hauling the bike around).  If the van is fun to drive, I'll use it for some around-town use as well.  Should things really pan out, the bus might see winter duty if I decide to get a sports car to replace my current daily driver.

I've grown up driving Hondas, some with as much as 187,000 miles on the clock.  They have generally been dead reliable, though obviously over that span of time I did plenty of maintenance (timing belts, head gaskets, suspension work, exhaust, etc.).  And now my question:

How much maintenance should I expect on a bus with 145,000 miles or so, with a rebuilt-a-year-ago engine?  I'm not afraid of a little maintenance, but with the kart (very maintenance-intensive) I won't have a lot of time to be fixing the bus.  Am I wrong to think that the bus will serve me well in this intended use?  Thanks again for any info - I tend to research things in massive detail before I jump in.  : )

Chris

[text/html]