A day at the track with our son.

[IdahoDoug]

Yesterday, the local track in Spokane, WA had a track day where you can drive your own car as fast as you want in 20 minute segments. They group you according to speed and experience and the 2.5 mile track had only 6-12 cars in each group to allow for lots of room.

We used our restored 1987 Vanagon as our support vehicle, which held a floor jack, awning, race wheels, tools and food. It was kind of fun seeing two period correct german vehicles together like that, perhaps in much the same way they might have fit well together for this purpose back in the day.

I was amazed at the speed and power of some of the vehicles, which ranged from our 145hp all original to a stock new Camaro and Mustang with over 500hp. There were a few Nissan Z cars, a week old Honda type R in the new blue for this year, and even a class for motorcycles as well.

Our son is 19 and we simply put the race wheels on the 944 and he lined up and went forth with near zero instruction on my part. Several vehicles overheated, including a couple year old BMW M3 which puked coolant and later blew a power steering line, but the 944 just zipped along and he reports he was at full throttle after a couple laps to get the lay of the track. He had never been on a track before but seemed to quickly grasp the rhythm of it.

When we arrived at the track, the fuel pump was complaining on a very hot day, so I pulled the tank side hose off and thumped it, hoping to dislodge anything inside the pump. Yesterday I managed to replace the filter as it had made noise recently and I thought the filter being original was causing it to labor. It still made noise but the hose trick got rid of the idle stumbling and the car ran flawlessly all evening. I'll order a new one as this one's 35 years old...

So, a good time had by all. I was planning to drive, mainly to show my son what I can do on a race track but the rules prevented passengers, so I felt it better to let him enjoy all the track time he could get in before darkness closed the facility.

He drove it home from the track, and had a perma-grin the whole way. My wife was amazed that he'd been at 110mph on a race track, and we all went to bed happy at enjoying one of life's remarkable opportunities.

[pfarah]

Great story and nice looking van!

[Gianni at Pelican Parts]

A day at the track is always a good day, returning home from the track with the car in one piece makes it a great day.
Awesome you allowed your son to experience what a car can do at the limit in a controlled environment, definitely makes you respect the power and limits of grip a little bit more.
Certainly a remarkable opportunity and hopefully you and your son share many more track day experiences in the future.

[Ernie944]

Glad you & your son had some fun.....Take care & stay safe

[Chalt]

Love the yellow van.

[BoxsterGT]

Yes, Great Story and Nice bus.

If you ever need to replace the rubber fuel tank grommets in the Vanagon, I have a permanent "Fix" for this issue.

Len.Cummings at verizon.net

[Mike80911]

Great story. Thanks for sharing

[universeman]

This story makes me wish these forums had a Like button! Great job

[pfarah]

Doug,
This post has me looking at VW vans. I've never been interested in them but now I'm thinking...

[jjeffries]

Excellent story. Assuming your lad is a responsible fella (I’m betting he is) this will make him a much better street driver too.

Patrick, I think the Vanagon is beautiful... always have. Be they stock or in Westphalia guise, I’d love to have one. Google the Syncro version, and a firm near you called Bostig which makes a neato Ford Zetec conversion.

John

[IdahoDoug]

I've had a Syncro version and this one is a 2WD automatic Wolfsburg Edition. I know a ton about them and if anyone has a serious interest feel free to PM me. They are simple to work on, parts are available, they are crazy slow at 92hp/4000lbs and swill fuel, but amazing form factor if you are a camper. Ours empties coffee shops with curious onlookers everywhere we go.

The engine conversions are frightfully expensive. The vehicles themselves have gone up in price - mine's worth more than the 944.

[jjeffries]

Doug, I follow Vanagon info and will stop and look at them; my wife now points them out. A guy in town has a very cool white Syncro that he clearly operates as intended ... it looks well-used; I honk when I go by in my SC (if I honked from my DD Pathfinder I might have him scratching his noggin).

When I was a kid we lived in Germany (late 1970’s) and when skiing we’d see these highly cool German/Austrian (?) snow groomers made by Kaessbohrer (sp?) which had rather similar styling to the Vanagon. I also knew a lovely girl in High School who got to drive her family’s dark blue over light blue example. Just 100% cool. John

[pfarah]

John: Where in Germany did you live?
I'm an Army Brat so I was born in the Air Force Hospital in Wiesbaden (spent a couple yrs there before my parents headed to N.J.). Been back a couple of times but not in quite a while...

As for these vans, it does appear that they're more expensive than our 944's after all... I think it would great to retrofit a proper engine/drivetrain to accommodate towing, along with a Porsche Transport paint scheme.

[jjeffries]

Patrick, we lived in Munich 76-80; I was 10-14 years old. My late Dad worked in the aviation industry and provided a life for us that was in no way extravagant but amazingly full. Munich must be one of the world’s Top 5 cities, especially with such easy access to the Alps, Italy, etc. Thanks Dad (and Mum!) for taking us there and showing us so much.
We lived near the McGraw Kaserne US Army base and, with a somewhat tenuous link of being the family in the defense contractor world (albeit Brits), we were generously afforded access to the movie theatre on base, which for me and my brother was like being in America, in Germany. Best of both worlds for us and a prelude to how warmly we’d be welcomed when we moved to the US some years later.

I think I’ve read of a Vanagon or two which have had a 3.2 Carrera motor, and maybe even a 930 Turbo engine/transaxle installed.

John

[IdahoDoug]

Yes, especially the Syncro models. Those go for 15k for a hard top and near twice that for a poptop and twice that again if it's fully updated and outfitted. See www.gowesty.com for some nearly $100k!

[mazdaverx7]

That sounds like it was an excellent experience for your entire family!! Your son has the itch now. He will definitely want to do this again!