Vantana

In winter,  these little loaves-of-bread look-alikes are part of a fleet of VW Westfalias in storage, rented out in summer by Dragonfly Vans based at the Missoula, Montana, Airport. We are so lucky to have come across this business, because...

Missou
...we are in the process of buying a fully restored 1990 Westy Vanagon from the mechanic/entrepreneur/owner of Dragonfly, Scott Quinnett.  Whoop! We've long wanted a VW pop-top camper van. We started looking in earnest when we moved to Montana. How else to explore this spectacular state than with a warm, off-the-ground, stand-up-inside, kitchenette-included, bear-proof(!) camper? We even traveled to Portland to look at uber expensive Roadtreks, complete with shower and toilet in their shiny new, small Sprinters with Mercedes engines. Too rich for our blood, not to mention too low to the ground for exploring Forest Service roads. So online, we saw that Scott was looking for folks who wanted a complete restoration of a classic van that he'd purchased. He wanted to fill his off season -- winter and early spring -- with a substantial project. We bit!

Right in our own backyard, metaphorically, was Scott (in van, above; he also has cameos in the Missoula-made documentary The Bus and is featured in several stories in The Missoulian about his and wife Rachelle's move of their 17 vehicles over wintry mountain passes from Coeur d’Alene to Missoula).

The original engine from our van -- a goner.

Shiny new (rebuilt) shrink-wrapped engine from the California company GoWesty; it specializes in parts for and restorations of these classic old vans.

Empty housing for our van's engine, and...

...new engine installed weeks later. Whoop!

The van is making its way to a body shop this week for buffing and partial painting.  Besides a new engine, Scott has installed amazing new brakes and shocks and is raising the chassis. In his shop, ready for further work, is a new, three-window pop-top, new curtains, new bumpers, a new high-tech refrigerator and a new,  crank-out 10-foot-long awning. We'll be ordering a hand-made futon from Missoula's Small Wonders Futons to supplement the fold-down bed.

Our last view of the van (last week) before final work. Scott estimates an ETA of May 15!!

We plan on tricking out the interior ourselves, with an old Oriental rug, paisley duvet and my Peter Max pillow among other hippyfied fabrics and items. Above a basic Westy floor plan: (1) swivel driver and passenger seats; (2) swing-out table; (3) rear seat; (4) sink; (5) two-burner propane stove with refrigerator underneath; (6) counter over storage; (7) wardrobe; (8) folds down bed over more storage (think rolled up futon during the day, fishing equipment, camp chairs, wine collection). Hey, we are pumped!!! "After" photos coming soon! Oh, and we'll name this thing. Scott suggests it. Vantana (get it? Van + Montana) was one of our early choices. We're now joking about RocketDog (this van's neither a rocket nor a dog). That one may stick. So excited!!!!

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P.S. Not all is perfect in Vanland. Yesterday, Tues. May 6, we learned that a first outing to Spokane got called off as a result of transmission problems. "Oh no," we said to each other. There were a few moments of gloom and doom. Then we quickly regrouped, contacted our new best friends at GoWesty and arranged to have a 5-speed transmission on its way to Dragonfly. Now EVERYTHING has been replaced, and nothing else can go wrong, right? At least our little RocketDog got out of the shop and to a gas station (see Scott's photo, below).