Living and travelling in a van isn’t all about the best spots to camp, the thumbs up we get or driving the most scenic roads. It’s also about waiting for the engine to cool down, being anxious about a new sound she’s making and visiting garages while holding your breath that they know what they’re doing.
Up to now we have visited a couple of garages. One didn’t know much about an old engine, the other one was specialised in it and now in Georgia we found an old guy who at least worked on a T3 before.
But still, while they are working on the engine, loosening more and more screws, taking more and more things out but still not the one you need fixed. It kind of feels like a surgeon who is working on your heart but he’s specialised in brains. They are educated and know much but just not the right thing.
Fixing van problems in Georgia
We were thinking when we passed the European borders people would know a lot more about oldtimer engines because they probably drive older cars. But like in Georgia, during the USSR time no foreign cars were allowed, thus no old Volkswagen. Luckily there are fan clubs everywhere and not only Volkswagen.
In Georgia we just contacted the Porsche fanclub. Porsche has been a close friend to Volkswagen. Ferdinand in the end stole the beetle design of the Jewish creator Ganz, made some minor changes and tadaaa the Volkswagen Hitler desired was born.
So, finding this fanclub was great. We send a message and the kindest of people replied. Lasha, president of not only the Porsche fanclub of Georgia but also the founder of the classic car fanclub. Oh my oh my were we lucky! He called some friends, one of whom has a T3 himself and had started ‘Vanlife Georgia‘ and the other one a Beetle, amongst other classics. We met and checked out the van before going to a garage. They confirmed what our Dutch rescue hotline (Dominique, Sander and Jaap) already thought; bearings in the alternator.
We changed the alternator in Italy but as written before; they didn’t really know what they were doing. Instead of replacing a broken cable they replaced our alternator. Luckily we still have the old one and so we decided to change it back. Our new made friends Lasha and Giorgi knew exactly the place. It’s that kind of place you would never find yourself.
But then, still, despite the good feeling and translation people are fiddling inside the heart of our van. It’s not the thumbs up that gets us to China but the engine. We can’t sleep at the most idyllic places if the engine isn’t working. So it hurts, seeing other people taking everything out and sometimes they look fabled, not knowing exactly what they are doing, questioning each other. And while not understanding them due to a language barrier it makes it even worse.
But we have faith in human kind and of course in Volkswagen. The reason why we got this far in the first place is because the engine is so strong, these cars are built for driving. Not just in the city, but distances. I’m sure that Pon intended this van to be used like we are using it now. Transporting people, migrating from place to place and maybe also meeting people through the van. Cause to be honest, we wouldn’t have met all these people if it wasn’t for the van.
Bernardus Marinus “Ben” Pon, Sr. (April 27, 1904 – May 15, 1968) was a Dutch businessman. In 1947, Pon’s Automobielhandel (“Pon’s Car Dealership”), became the first dealer outside of Germany to sell vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen. A sketch made by Pon inspired the engineers at Volkswagen to develop the VW Type 2 Transporter.
Branko in Montenegro who installed a new homokineet, got her checked and gave us some valuable tips. Lasha and Giorgi in Georgia who helped us fix the alternator and had us taste the delicious Georgian food and many more people who love the van and give us a beer, cherries or a great location to sleep.
Anyway, whenever we get her fixed we hold our hearts and hope she’ll return as her old self, hope she’ll feel better afterwards not worse. We can never be sure but let’s hope she likes people playing with her engine as I, Milene, like hairdressers playing with my hair 😉
Love, Milene & Yuri