We'd come full circle. We had left Buenos Aires months ago, gone to Brasil for many months, and now here we were back in Buenos Aires; albeit with a different motor and transmission. Claudia headed for the airport, so Curt did what was by now second nature and took me to a mechanic. Despite the new motor, already the vacuum pump was misbehaving. There was also the issue of the loose wheel bearings, and loose axle bolts.
While the work was suspect, the intention was probably good, so that is good enough for me and we headed out on a westward path to conquer the Andes. The Dakar was just starting and we needed to make up time fast if the world was going to have to chance to see the Zebra up close in technicolor.