I read this subject and laugh. Just how long is a machine expected to last? I remeber in the 40's, 50's 60's , a vehicle in dealer lot was thought to have many miles on it at 40 to 50 k. Now for some reason the question is asked why is a machine had rebuild at 90 k ?? Just how long do people think vehicle is to last. Forever without having to do repairs? Problem is people expect much out of old design, old vehicle, with trying to do not too much. This will not happen. Big miles. Big bills. Big repairs. Vanagon / Bus people expect too much out of old worn out things. I laugh. I want to buy a Renault Dauphine, and run it every day, all day, and expect no repairs, no bills to run it, and compare it to a Japanese car. Not now. Big Joke. Good Morning Fred.
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When I went looking for a newer Westfalia to replace my 1973 Type II Safari (Safare?) I found that all the air cooled vans had their motors rebuilt at about 90k miles. Why is that? I ultimately went with the 1.9l wbx because it had heat (or so I thought!) and more power. I'm up to 100k miles and going strong on this engine. Relatively speaking of course. I love the hum of an aircooled engine and they just seem so straightforward compared to the wbx. If I could find a nice clean 80-82 around here I'd probably go back. And that idle! My wbx never idled as smoothly as my old Safari. What is the solution to the 90k rebuild problem? Or is that as predicable as the head gasket failure? Until then I guess I'll have to be happy driving my 69 notchback around the block. Jeff 85 westfalia 69 type III notchback winnipeg |
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