After 4,000 miles of freedom from mechanical difficulties we firmly believed we'd been released from Jerry's injection-pump-purgatory to wreak adventure-based havoc upon the world. We were wrong. Jerry's talons of injection-incompetence had only temporarily released us to give us false hope.
Read MoreRoad Life = Having Roommates
Sometimes a big red house and an eclectic group of housemates is the ticket to living on the road!
So in the great journey that is us staying on the road, we're staying put for a bit. It was finally time for us to take a lesson from so many Canadians we met south of the border: work hard somewhere you love while the weather is good, and get out of there as soon as it gets cold.
Read MoreDescend On Bend - Dos
Staying on the road full-time seems to be a true test of creativity. What skills do you have? How can you monetize those skills in a way to allow you to spend more of your life living and less of it working? When Jacqui and I figure out the answer, I'm sad to say, it probably won't help you. But if you figure it out, it probably wouldn't work for us either.
Read MorePeople
After two rather traumatic runaway-breakdowns, Jacqui and I were struggling to find any enthusiasm when word came we could pick up our van again. Even with Marcello putting 150 trouble free miles on Penny, we were simply suffering Vanagon PTSD. Another rental car, another hour drive out to Marcello's and another farewell wave later we we're cruising down the highway with churning stomachs.
Read MoreThe Curse (Aircooled Vanagon to m-TDI swap Part 3)
With seven grease-covered days behind us, Jacqui and I finally paused to proudly observe our completed motor installation. It was late in the day and we were exhausted, which added to our decision to wait until morning to start up the engine. After all, with a conversion of this magnitude, there were bound to be hiccups and I didn’t want discovering them to pollute my night’s sleep.
Little did I know, any start up issues we were about to encounter would pale in comparison to what was lurking in our near future.
Aircooled Vanagon to M-TDI swap Part 2: The Install
This was an enormous, exhausting, exhilarating, adventurous and at times painful project. More than anything it was an absolute blast, and Jacqui and I know the tight deadline we set for ourselves added to the chaos. We arrived at the DIY auto shop with a van full of parts and spent eight days, nine Uber (cab) rides, a dozen runs to part stores, two last minute internet orders and countless task repetitions to complete our swap
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