vanagon.com - What's new? — historical view 2005-03-10 (preserved 2009-04-15)

What's new on vanagon.com?

May 20th, 2005	Camelback VW has a new URL.
May 12th, 2005	Added Northeast Campers to the camper rentals listings. Added Craig's VW Repair (in vermont) and Frey's Foreign Cars (in Colorado) to the list of recommended shops. Added Adria Import Car Service Ltd., British Columbia, to the list of recommended shops.
November 29th, 2004	Though I've made occasional changes since July 2001, I haven't been keeping this section up-to-date. I'll try to rectify that. Removed Bauer's Automotive of Berkeley, CA from the shop listing. According to an email from Chester King: Bauer's in the City of Berkeley, CA, is under new ownership and the new owner mostly works with Japanese cars. He does not specialize in nor does he have any special knowledge of Volkswagens.
July 7th, 2001	Added article on curing Syncro vibration problems.
February 16th, 2001	Added new tire options for 15" wheels to the tires and wheels article.
January 25th, 2001	Added information on the VW Spare Tire Carrier to the Accessories page.
January 23rd, 2001	Regretably posted info on a stolen syncro 16" from Duisburg, Germany onto the BusAlert page.
January 20th, 2001	Added an article on Suburu vs. Golf engine replacements.
January 18th, 2001	Added new wheel info courtesy of Mark Drillock to the Tire & Wheels page. Added more dispatches from South America.
January 13th, 2001	Added the 1987 Vanagon dealer video to the Vanagon Videos page.
January 8th, 2001	Added photos of the New Bus concept car to the Photos page.
January 3rd, 2001	Added a listing for Dennis Hanyes (who manufactures a hitch for the Vanagon) to the vendors page. Added two pictures of a Vanagon on safari to the Syncro Photos page. Thanks to Christo Steyn.
October 31st, 2000	Completed dispatches for the Caravana Pan Americana journey.
October 27th, 2000	Added more dispatches for the Caravana Pan Americana journey.
September 14th, 2000	Added more dispatches for the Caravana Pan Americana journey. Updated home page.
September 10th, 2000	Added dispatches to date for the Caravana Pan Americana journey.
August 10^th, 2000	Added an article on removing and cleaning the syncro gas tank to the syncro technica pages. Added a new ad from 1978 ('Home is where your bus is.') to the VW ad pages. Added a new ad from 1986 ('Buy this van, and get this camper, free.') to the VW ad pages.
July 30^th, 2000	Added an article on rotating syncro tires to the syncro technica pages.
May 30^th, 2000	Added several new articles on Dometic Refrigerators to the Info pages. Brent's first day on the "job" as webmaster.
May 26^th, 2000	Added a new VW Soundset for the Macintosh to the Software pages. Added a page describing changes I've made to Francis, my 1991 syncro westy.
May 2^nd, 2000	Added the People's VW Club of Del City, Oklahoma to the Links pages. Added image to review of AirLift shocks. Added a new ad ('It's the minivan that moonlights.') to the VW ad pages.
April 14^st, 2000	Added a new ad ('Want To See A Great Weekend Unfold?') to the VW ad pages. Thanks to Keith Adams!
April 11^th, 2000	Added a new Tires & Wheels page, listing tire and wheel combinations that work with the VW Vanagon. Added a page of photos and dispatches from the April 7th Syncro Gathering at Hollister Hills, California.
March 21^th, 2000	Added a new accessorizing tragedy: installing new speakers that interfere with your window cranks!
March 20^th, 2000	Added Volvo vs. Volkswagen crash photos. Much thanks to Dave for these! Added two new June gatherings near Springfield, MO to the Journeys page.
March 19^th, 2000	Added a bunch of new bus ads: Space Shuttle. Volkswagen introduces luxury widebodies. Sleeping there is half the fun. This peaceful coexistence made possible by Volkswagen.
February 27^th, 2000	Added what Jarkko Mäkiniemi (from Vasa, Finland) keeps in his bus.
February 23^rd, 2000	Added an article on 'Cleaning the Westfalia luggage rack' by Myron D. Hill.
January 23^rd, 2000	Added what Glenn Hines keeps in his bus. Added what Rupert Humphrey (from Latvia) keeps in his bus. Added what John Semple keeps in his bus. Added a very interesting theory from Adam Galaski on what causes head pitting. Added two new pictures (from Iceland) to the Syncro photos page.
January 13^th, 2000	Added The Baked Potato to the newly-created Vanagon Scrapbook.
January 12^th, 2000	Added a link to VW Bus Camp @ Burning Man to the Links page.
January 10^th, 2000	Updated the pages for the journey to Inuvik. They were looking a little dated, and were hard to read on some browsers.
January 5^th, 2000	Added an article on creating an inexpensive awning. (Thanks to Steve Hagensicker for this contribution.)
November 11^th, 1999	Added information on the importance of reinforced sidewall tires to the Tires & wheels article. (Thanks to Tony Peet for this contribution.)
November 10^th, 1999	Added Thomas Forhan's Syncro buying tips to the How to Buy a Vanagon article. Added Thomas Forhan's article 'Syncro Westfalias @ The Range Rover Test Area' to the Off-road trips section of the web site.
November 9^th, 1999	Added an article by Ken Lewis on using a headlight switch relay. Added Thomas Forhan's Syncro FAQ to the Syncros section of the web site.
November 8^th, 1999	Added a new song by Joel Walker... 'Clementine'. Added a new pome by Joel Walker... 'The Cruise Control'.
November 4^th, 1999	Added a the Inua Camper Company to the vendors page. The Inua Camper Company rents Westfalia Vanagons in the Hawaiian islands.
November 3^rd, 1999	Added information from Bill Davidson on installing a VDO oil pressure gauge. This was added to Karl Bloss' article on oil pressure problems. Added a listing for Steve's Lock Shop to the vendors page. Steve specializes in Volkswagens. Added the Houston VW Club to the Links page. Updated the phone numbers for EuroCampers on the vendors page.
October 31^st, 1999	Added two new ads ('What do you get when you cross the best of a van with the best of a station wagen?' & 'Introducing the new VW Vanagon.') to the VW ad pages.
October 22^nd, 1999	Added what Tom & Gabby Fogle keep in their bus.
October 2^nd, 1999	Added a new photo to the 'Miscellaneous Vanagon photos' portion of the web site. It's not a Vanagon, but rather a Fiat Amigo I saw in London. Sort of like a Vanagon puppy.
August 21^st, 1999	Started work on a new article "How to buy a Vanagon". It will probably never be done.
July 27^th, 1999	Added 2 photos of Derek Drew's van stuck in the mud. See the Syncro Photos page. Also added a great summary of what Derek Drew learned from interviewing a Viscous Coupling expert. You'll find this in the Syncro Technica section of the web site.
July 20^th, 1999	Added the Vanagon Twelve-Step Program to the Bus fun grabbag page.
July 7^th, 1999	Added 3 new California shops for Huntington Beach, Santa Barbara, & Santa Monica to the Recommended Shops page.
July 4^th, 1999	Added a new 'Engine replacements' category to the Vendors page. Added a new 'Junkyards' category to the Vendors page. Added a new bus to the Stolen Busses page. Sigh. Added 'You know you're a redneck Vanagon owner when...' to the Fun portion of the site.
June 18^th, 1999	Added Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning to the vendors listing. Added The Sea Monster from Hawaii to the Featured Vehicles pages.
May 27^th, 1999	Added the 1982 Model Year Dealer Brochure and 1990 Model Year Dealer Brochure.
April 4^th, 1999	Began adding illustrative photos to Jim Davis' model year summaries. The 1986 mode year is now partially illustrated.
April 1^st, 1999	Added Van-Again to the featured vendors list.
March 24^th, 1999	Updated the web page for Van-Again in the Vendors list. Updated the address & phone number for Euro-American RV Products in the Vendors list.
March 23^rd, 1999	Changed the address and phone number for Van-Again in the Vendors list. Added a couple of recommended repair shops from Illinois. Removed the 'Old Volks Home' from the Vendors list, as they appear to have disappeared. Updated the phone number for Volks-Motorsports in the Vendors list. Updated the phone number for the Parts Place in the Vendors list.
March 20^th, 1999	Added 'Lets Go Aero' to the Vendors list. They manufacture a lightweight covered trailer that can be pulled by a Vanagon or EuroVan.
February 22^nd, 1999	Happily moved a bus from the stolen bus list to the recovered bus list.
February 17^th, 1999	Added a new listing to the Recommended Repair Shops list. This is the first listing from New York state!
February 15^nd, 1999	Added what Ray Robinson keeps in his bus.
February 10^nd, 1999	Added two places to rent EuroVans in Europe to the Rental listings on the Vendors page.
February 2^nd, 1999	Added 2 stolen busses to the Stolen Bus Alerts page. This is the sort of update I really hate doing.
January 29^th, 1999	Changed information for Barnstormer Products, which manufactures replacement Westfalia stickers. They've lowered the prices for these stickers dramatically!
December 10^th, 1998	Added two new ads ('It comes in its own box.' & 'Somebody actually stole one.') to the VW ad pages.
October 13^th, 1998	New information from Carl Zipperle on getting VW of America to pay for head leak problems was added to the end of the Head Leaks page.
September 29^th, 1998	Added information on the dimensions of vanagons to the FAQ.
September 23^rd, 1998	Added an article by Jim Davis covering freqently-asked syncro questions.
September 14^th, 1998	Added a new ad ('Q. How many beans are in the box?') to the VW ad pages.
September 8^th, 1998	Added a neat 24-hour clock hack to the clock problems page.
August 7^th, 1998	Added information on replacing lost water tank keys to the problems page.
July 27^th, 1998	Added a page of accessorizing tragedies.
July 24^th, 1998	Added what Sudhir Desai keeps in his van. Added a 1990 Vanagon ad to the VW ad pages.
June 3^rd, 1998	Chris Braymen supplied a description of a canvas luggage bag rack. Added a great new Kombi ad from Brazil to the VW ad pages.
April 16^th, 1998	Sorted the list of recommended repair shops by state & province.
April 2^nd, 1998	Added what Ricardo Hutchins keeps in his van.
March 31^st, 1998	Updated some links for the Vanagon mailing list web site. Added the film Field of Dreams to the Vanagons (& busses) in the media page.
March 28^th, 1998	Released the results of the vanagon.com creative writing contest.
March 13^th, 1998	Added what Karl & Kristina Bloss keep in their van. Added an article on how to reset your oxygen sensor light.
January 16^th, 1998	Added more news about VW & Audi 4WD vehicles. Removed Adventure Werks from the vendors list after confirming that they're no longer renting. Rest in peace, guys.
January 8^th, 1998	Added a page listing stolen bus alerts.
November 17^th, 1997	Added a description of Joe Gunyan's blumenvasen.
November 3^rd, 1997	After months of work, finally published the first half of Jim Davis' model year summaries.
September 19^th, 1997	Added an article by Karl Bloss on oil pressure problems.
September 11^th, 1997	Added information on a lightweight syncro 16�� expedition vehicle.
September 10^th, 1997	Added what Blake Heinlein keeps in his bus.
September 7^th, 1997	Added information on my new Westfalia tent. Continuing work on the Syncro pages.
September 2^nd, 1997	Added some new Vanagon safety photos from Tim Smith. Added the Syncro 16�� FAQ from Thomas Niksch.
September 1^st, 1997	Added a photo of Matt Drew's Weekender, Moku.
August 25^st, 1997	Added a mailing list entry for Mailing list des Wests D'laut Bord D'la Gate; a new list in French for air-cooled busses.
August 21^st, 1997	Updated the CCC page with the latest news and trip reports.
August 14^th, 1997	Added a new "What do you keep in your bus?" entry for José Rivero.
July 30^th, 1997	Updated the CCC page, and added the trip reports from the last outing.
July 17^th, 1997	Added a whole section on repairing digital clocks.
July 15^th, 1997	Added the vanagon.com chat system.
July 12^th, 1997	Added news about the new VW 4WD announcement. Removed Country Homes Campers from the vendors list after confirming that they've closed up shop. Rest in peace, guys.
July 11^th, 1997	Added Jennifer's newest song adaptations.
July 10^th, 1997	Updated the directions to the next CCC campout.
July 5^th, 1997	Added a count-down clock to the 55° South chronology page.
June 20^th, 1997	Restructured the links page.
June 3^rd, 1997	Added Jennifer's newest song adaptation. Added some songs by Joel Walker.
May 26^th, 1997	Added a request that folks join CAUCE, the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email. Support these folks any way you can, and keep the spam out of our mailbox!
May 25^th, 1997	Added a new photo page for cousins & other relatives.
May 23^rd, 1997	Added the Bus Art page.
May 18^th, 1997	Added Jennifer's newest song adaptation. Added some songs by Joel Walker.
May 7^th, 1997	Added an image of the Revell-Monogram Vanagon Camper model.
May 4^th, 1997	Added Jennifer's newest song adaptations.
April 27^th, 1997	Added the Circle-The-Great-Lakes tour to the Journeys page. Added a listing for the Peoples Press to the VW links list. Added the Appalacian Volkswagen Assn. to the VW clubs list. Added a wonderful collection of Volkswagen bus ads to the Photo pages.
April 26^th, 1997	Did some extensive modifications and reorganization on the Photo pages.
April 24^th, 1997	Added Jennifer Sarantites' Desktop Theme for Windows '95 Plus! users.
April 23^rd, 1997	Added screen shots from Need for Speed II, a video game with Vanagon Westie campers (!) to the Vanagons (& busses) in the media page.
April 22^nd, 1997	Restructured the VW Songs page. Added Jennifer's newest song adaptation Bussed.
April 19^th, 1997	Added a Connections page to the 55° South trip pages. Added a description of how the Vanagon vent controls work.
April 18^th, 1997	Added an article on Coolants & Corrosion. Added a photo of the Rialta to the Transporter dictionary.
April 17^th, 1997	Added a detailed walkthrough of wasserboxer head replacement written by Bob Donalds.
April 11^th, 1997	Added this What's new? page to help you keep track of the changes to vanagon.com. Added a page of Bus songs in the Fun section. Added a page of Bus literature in the Fun section. Added information on what Matthew Drew keeps in his bus.
April 10^th, 1997	Added a picture of Kit & Nancy Carter's Vanagon to the What do you keep in your bus? page.