If A/C and/or PS are important to you, don't buy the diesel Westy as they have neither. Also the 86 and newer have better front brakes, better suspension, cooling system improvements, etc. You can rebuild and upgrade a diesel Westy to the later stuff if you have a lot of time and money. If you really want to go through with this just look for a diesel model with a blown engine. That would be most of the ones I have ever seen for sale. One sold on Ebay a few days ago for under $300, an ugly body passenger model but the conversion parts were all there. Buying one of the conversion kits is an option but there are more special parts needed than are almost ever included in the 'kit'. Mark Sam Payne wrote: > > Ladies and Gentlemen of The List, > > Here I am, stuck on the horns of another dilemma which is rapidly > becoming as much a marital issue as a mechanical one.... > You see, 2 months ago SWMBO and I took the plunge. No, not a million > dollar wedding but our very first Westy, an '86 2WD manual in a deep color > of earthy brown most reminiscent of a cow flop. Did I mention 150,000 > miles young?? Buying our first Westy has felt like I imagine base jumping: > leap off the cliff with a scream, chuck your tiny guide-parachute of > mechanical know-how into the ether, and pray that the big chute pops > before you're prematurely folded into the bosom of sweet mother earth. You > knowlegeable ladies and gentlemen of The List, well, you're our big chute, > all that's left between us and the rocks... > Now I knew when we leaped that we'd be rebuilding the engine (and > almost everything else) but I didn't know about the WBX propensity for > throwing rods and terminally corroding inner head gasket seals, etc. Burn > me at the stake as av unbeliever but after lots of research and > conversations I'm unwilling to rebuild my 2.1. Call me fickle, but I'm > dead set on an I4 conversion. > After more archive searching and conversations, I decided on a 50 > degree installation on diesel mounts using a diesel bellhousing and > flywheel AND preferably a diesel transmission (either ratio). I found > Frank Grunethaner's drive train ratio discussions very persuasive. Do I > have any of the diesel parts? Of course not! > So here's the dilemma: Since the guts of the converted camper will be > diesel/I4, and diesel Westies are rare but a lot less expensive than > post '86 Westies, why don't I just sell the '86 and buy and then convert a > diesel? > Well, I don't know enough about differences between the models. I've > looked through Bentley and looked online, but I would really appreciate > knowledge and opinions on differences betweel post '86 models and diesels > and problems peculiar to the diesel models. For example I've heard that > Diesels burn starters, that early watercooled engines had radiator/fan > shroud problems, that diesels don't have power steering, that 3rd and 4th > syncromesh rings on some earlier transmissions cracked, that diesels have > better shift linkages than later models, that diesel clutches wear out > faster because they are smaller, that the diesel front suspension was > flawed and upgraded later. On the camper side, does the diesel pop top > canvas attach differently and if so is it reliable, does the fridge have a > diode to show when the flame is lit, did pre '86 propane tanks typically > have the auto-stop fill valve feature and etc etc etc. > Sorry about the length, but I'm trying to to avoid the rocks... > Thanks, Sam |
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