Date:         Mon, 1 Apr 2002 10:08:12 -0600
Reply-To:     Andrew.Yarnell@KIMLEY-HORN.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andy Yarnell <Andrew.Yarnell@KIMLEY-HORN.COM>
Subject:      My new (to me) 1987 Wolfsburg!
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Well I finally found a Vanagon, and bought it last weekend. Thanks to
all the people on list who have helped me through my 3 month search, I
have learned a lot about buying a Van, and a great lesson in patience. 
 
It is a '87 Wolfy, 4 speed, A/C, 40k on a rebuilt 2.1L WBX (strong with
great compression), no sign of any head gasket leaking, quiet running,
lots of material left on the front brake pads. It needs a new muffler,
and header, and the rear heater is leaking a little (smells when turned
on). I had to clean the heck out of the interior, but is very nice under
all that dirt. The paint is original, so it has it's share of battle
wounds, but nothing significant, a little seam rust here and there, but
I will fix that up this summer. It has the steel wheels with the plastic
hub caps, and 205/75r14 Big O tires. The tires are passenger tires (M+S)
but the tread is decent, so I will replace them in the not to distant
future. I want to go up to 15" wheels, maybe the Audi 5000 alloys, what
is involved with making these work on my Vanagon? I saw the wheel page
on Vanagon.com, and it says you have to clearance the center hole to get
it around the dust cap, how do you accomplish this?
 
Is the Fast German Auto header system worth the money? Anyone got one on
their Vanagon? Anyone have any other ideas for an exhaust system? 
 
Thanks in advance to my questions, I am still a "greenhorn" with
Vanagon's.
 
Andy