No. 164

New Trips In An Old Car (part 1): Here is the first big difference between a road trip in a new car and a road trip in an old car: Preparation. In a new car, maybe you have the oil changed a few days before you leave. You might even kick the tires and change the windshield wipers. In an old car, like the 1977 Volkswagen Westfalia camper we're driving from Florida to Oregon over the course of February and March, I first called a mechanic in Tampa two months before my departure date. I actually found him in the local newspaper archives, because this is the best way to find a reliable VW mechanic in an unfamiliar city. If there’s one nearby, he’s likely been working on them since he was a teenager and the local paper will have invariably written an article about him. An article with a title like “Love Bug” or “Life in the Volkswagen Lane” or “Eccentric Recluse Makes Living Raising Alpacas, Fixing Old VWs.” This is how I found a mechanic in Tampa. The article was called “Two Generations Welded to Classic VWs.”
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