[GORDON HUMMEL]

Richard,
I think the decision boils down to 3 elements; Pride, Time & Money.
I have had many motorhomes over the last 30 years, but always felt the Newell was the finest built.
In 2003 when I started to plan for retirement & fulltiming, I studied my options.
Pride - The bus conversion wins hands down as you did it yourself your way.
Time - I had 4+ years to complete the project and all the planning was done down to 1/8"
Money - At the time Model 2000 Newells were going for $300-$400K. Late '70 & early '80's had questionable mechanicals & I prefered the look of the Eagle.
My estimate for the conversion was $65K, including the bus.

I purchased a 1989 Model 20 (96"), 6v92 allison MT748R 1100 hrs on both for $9800.

Since then I removed all the bus equipment 3-4 months, raised the roof, added 20" to the rear, new caps & new siding. I also repaired all the rust that was under the SS siding.

As the years went on, people would ask if I was going to finish it before I died. I just laughted. I did notice that I was spending more time & accomplishing less as the years went on. In Jan of 2008, I purchased by Newell for the same ammount I had planned on spending on the bus & never looked back.

Given todays economy, the matrix has changed. My Newell is probably worth <$50K & I can't give my bus project away.

Buying an older Newell is definately the best of both worlds. You get the pride of all your modifications while still having a Newell.

I had designed & built cars & homes in the past and definately had the pride of ownership, but at 63 I'm more into the reliability of the NEWELL and can do these projects at my leisure for my enjoyment and satisfaction.

Hope this comes close to answering your question.