The Smell of Success

Well, she's an interesting drive, I'll give her that. Jezebel has now been on the road for a couple of weeks and I have been putting her through her paces. Actually, that might not be completely accurate. I think she has been putting me through my paces. After a few years of driving a new VW Golf around with no concerns about breaking down, not starting or things falling off, I guess I've become a bit lazy and I've been taking my vehicle for granted. So, what has this Jezebel got that the Golf hasn't you ask ? Well, it's more what is missing that makes the drive more interesting :-
1. Less forward gears. The Golf has five, the van has two and a half. No fifth gear, haven't yet found first despite a lot of stirring of the gear box and occasionally I can find second gear, but never at traffic lights.
2. A temperature gauge. This surprised me at first, I looked everywhere. Seems that air cooled vans don't bother with that sort of thing. Logical when you think about it.
3. Air conditioning. Well, it's got windows I guess. We always used to get by with windows.
4. No seats in the back. Not yet anyway, The bed/back seat is still currently a mangled pile of scrap metal and cheap board. I'm working on it though.
5. Wire. Not really evident on the neat and tidy Golf, however the wiring in the van seems to be a pile of spaghetti behind the drivers seat. The CD player (yes, it has a working CD player !!!) doesn't work because the speakers are on the dashboard, the wiring is behind the drivers seat and I'm guessing the two need to meet sometime.
6. Oil. Well, it does seem to have some, but alas it is currently all over the road outside our house and the car park at work. I think this is something we'll need to address before the start.
There are a number of other things that you may expect to find in a camper van, such as a sink, table, fridge and storage units. These are currently located in my garage and will be making their way on board at a later date.
What it does have though is a selection of unusual odours. Hay, from transporting bales from one stable to another. A man with a van is universally popular. Burning oil whenever we get above 45 miles an hour. Fresh paint, but alas this is fading rapidly.
The noises are interesting too, from the loud clunk of the doors as they slam shut to the grating noise of the bed sliding around in the back. It really does need some sound proofing before I fix the stereo.
Jim has now been up, has looked it over, we have disentangled the bed to some extent and he has given me a list of things to buy and things to do that will keep me busy for a few months. Insulating, water proofing, painting, flooring and re-covering the walls for a start. It's almost a relief that the weather isn't really up to camping yet.
On the Windy planning front, Romania is certainly looking interesting. The Transfagarasan Highway doesn't open officially until a week after we pass through due to snow, however it is often unofficially open a week or two before if weather permits. There is however an alternative route, the Transalpine. This was only recently paved all the way and is described by locals as more scenic and more of a challenge to drive. Sounds interesting. The possible civic reception in Brasov with the mayor also sounds like it could be an experience.