To anyone interested:
I looked at an '85 Dolphin today for $3950, in Pomona, CA. The
price is extremely good for that year. The 22re engine was
excellent, only 46K miles, just as they advertised. I listened for
the timing chain noise on start-up and didn't hear anything that
sounded too unusual. (But then I haven't listened to any engines
besides the 20R that I own in my '78 Musketeer.) I printed out
the post about what to listen for, and really appreciated having
the information. This engine said EFI (fuel injected) right on the
top, and was really clean looking. As for the axle, it DID have the
six lug nuts on the rear wheels -- a good sign that it has the 1-ton
floating axle rear-end.
The sellers had the fridge and A/C turned on for us when we
arrived, and both were quite cold. But the problem with the
coach was in the roof -- severe leaks around all three vents, so
much so that the wood was quite rotten around them. And at the
front top corner, someone had "repaired" the juncture of the roof
and siding by stuffing it with a now-faded pink washcloth!
The main reason we didn't get it, however, was that it did not
have any dinette in the rear, and therefore no front-facing seats
for children to ride in. What it had was 2 captain's chairs that
face sideways with a 16" round mini table -- meaning no large
family dining table either. While we might have been able to get
the vents and roof repaired, there's no easy way to change the
floorplan, so we passed it up.
It's a good buy for the right person, and will probably go fast.
Oh, well, I'll keep on looking.
Tika
