Date:         Mon, 17 Jan 2005 21:25:52 -0500
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      FS: '90 Westy, automatic, needs engine work, $4000 (PA)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I just traded this for a vintage Mini I had for sale. (I import 1970's
Mini's from England from time to time.)  If I don't sell it immediately
as-is for $4000, I will fix the engine and it will probably be a $10,000
Westy, given its overall condition.

This is a 1990 sillver full Westfalia camper. It is loaded with options,
including an automatic transmission, power windows, factory alloys, air
conditioning, and fog lights. It has almost no mileage on a freshly rebuilt
Boston Bob engine, which now needs work (see below). It is generally in very
nice condition, better than most I've seen. I know the local VW specialist
that maintained it for years, and he says the owner was rather a regular
customer of his, older and well-to-do, who did not hesitate to have any work
done that was needed during the years he owned it. So the van was well
maintained and no corners were cut.

The previous owner drove the van to Florida roughly a year or so ago (the
last time it was driven)  just after he had the new Boston Bob engine
professionally installed. Alas, during his vacation he let it overheat, and
it apparantly blew a head gasket as a result (no fault of the engine's). He
brought it to a mechanic in Florida (who did not specialize in Vanagons),
who apparantly put either a head or a head gasket on it (I don't know
which). This worked fine, at least for a while. The van made it through the
rest of the trip, but upon return to the Philly area it started running
poorly again.  So the owner brought it back to the local VW specialist who
had always worked on it.  He checked it over and found poor compression on
one cylinder. Oil pressure was good, as was the compression in the other 3
cylinders. Given that the engine was just rebuilt by Boston Bob, whereas the
head was redone by a place that doesn't know Vanagons, his guess was that it
needs a head.  That would be my guess too.  

The van has no rust (not even on the seams) and no dents, the interior in
good shape, and the canvas has no rips. All the appliances worked when the
previous owner drove it to Florida. The screens, curtains, etc. are all
there. The mechanic who maintained it says the trans shifted fine and had
been checked over by a transmission specialist just before its final trip.
Stuff like coolant hoses, exhaust, water pump, etc. had just been gone over
when the Boston Bob engine was put in, and replaced if needed, so there are
a ton of new parts . In other words, this was a well maintained van in great
condition until the unfortunate head gasket mishap. The body has 180,000
miles on it. Flaws that I noticed are all very minor: a rip in the screen
window in the sliding door, a broken mounting piece inside the passenger
door mirror assembly (the glass is intact but is taped to the housing), a
somewhat dirty rear carpet, a couple of minor dings in the cabinets (small),
and a couple of what appear to be cigarette burn marks on the drivers seat
(although I don't notice any smell of smoke inside).  Also I did not notice
a front table in the van, although I'll ask the previous owner if he has it
(often they get stored in the garage).  Now you know as much about the van
as I do.

Today I had the van towed to Lehmanns Auto, the local VW specialist that I
use personally and have recommended on this list several times before. He is
a Vanagon specialist, and the best VW mechanic I know - incredibly thorough
and completely honest. Unless I sell the van quickly as-is, I will have him
do the engine work on it. If I let him fix it, it will probably be worth
about $10,000 if I sell it in the spring. My other option is to sell it now
as-is for $4000 and settle for a quick turnaround instead of making some
money on it.  So if anyone wants it now at a bargain price, let me know
right away (before Lehmanns starts work on it) and it's $4000. This is about
what the Boston Bob engine alone cost including installation. Since it is
already at Lehmanns, if you were interested in it you could hire him to do a
battery of tests on the engine pre-purchase and give you his opinion on what
work it needs.  Then you could opt to have him do the work, or tow it away
and do it elsewhere (or if you decided not to take it, you'd only be out the
diagnosis fee).  

The van is located here in Pennsylvania, roughly between Allentown, Reading,
and Philadelphia.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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