Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 10:09:09 -0700
Reply-To: John Lane <westy_cruisin@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Lane <westy_cruisin@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Debunking GoWesty!
In-Reply-To: <20060902164802.46428.qmail@web37402.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
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Wow...this is a serious, but I would have to agree with a well deserved indictment of GoWesty's bias.
I have an 83.5 with round headlights, of course. While our journey has been fraught with the occasional mechanical woes, none related to head leakage, I do not feel compelled to either upgrade to a 2.1 model or to think any less of mine. While oil burners have their advantages with regards to mileage, etc. Those who own them seem to be fanatical about their ownership. Simply a matter of personal preference.
Simply put, GoWesty seems to be making their case for easy identification for the uninformed. Basically, round headlights means no good, in their view. Sadly, many people will take this assesment as gospel without so much as giving it a second thought, such is human nature. I cite the Audi 5000 fiasco, the kid killer. As it turned out there was nothing wrong with the car, simply the fact that those people involved in those accidents were recent owners of GM cars and th pedal placement was slightly different. CBS made a major production out of this 'problem', claiming a murderous design flaw in the fuel injection, nearly killed Audi in the process. If anyone had looked at the video CBS used, it was obvious that there were no skid marks from the rear brakes present. So much for the claim by those driving that the foot was on the brake the whole time.
My point is, people can be led to believe anything given the proper environment. Places like this forum can help dispel 'myths' , 'exagerrations' or corporate bias.
Mike Rouby <mikerouby@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
Anyone who has read GoWesty's catalog or website, will get to the info in this link:
http://www.gowesty.com/campermodeloverview2.html
According to them:
1) Aircooled Westfalia's are the WORST models
2) Thank God they only sold the Diesel models for two years
3) Round headlight Westfalias are not recommended for sale.
1) Aircooled Westfalias - According to them they last 90k miles before requiring a rebuild. How many here can easily claim they are wrong here. Yes they are slow (67hp) but Wesfalias were never quick out of the factory. What the author fails to mention is that HP increases can be attained easily as many VW Type 4 engine owners will testify. James Raby had built a Type 4 in a Bug in the latest Hot VW mag that puts out over 170hp on the engine dyno.
He then mentions the shifter linkage. It's not nearly a problem as the author makes it out to be. Compared to his beloved 2.1 waterboxer, the aircooled are the most reliable of the engines offered - 30 years of VW bus know-how. But alas, VW knew the North American market would not be pleased with just 70HP (DIN) and so, they commited to unproven design (aka the waterleaker) rather than go inline.
2) Diesel models - Without question, Diesel models (like their aircooled cousins) are extremely reliable. No mention is made of this. As with the Type 4, yes it is very slow, but reliability is the key here. Not susceptable to the head seal and common coolant woes the "waterleakers" deal with and they command a very strong following. There are people who would not have bought a Westfalia at all, if a Diesel model were not available. Plus, there are many 'performance' upgrade paths with the Diesel (even gas conversion) and plenty of 'veggie oil' kits that makes this engine, the engine of choice for many. Those owners would NEVER trade for a 86-91 Westfalia (GoWesty's bread and butter).
3) Round headlight models - The authors claim infuriates me. There are many a late 1986-1991 owner who, out of sake of character or for better & cheaper lighting requirements (eg SA grill) revert back to round headlights. But thanks to GoWesty your round headlight cars are harder to sell.
I propose we go to GoWesty headquarters, and take all our round headlight cars, park them across the street and face the back of our cars towards the building. Do you think they'll get the message??? Nah, they'll be too busy selling their 86-91 Westys at $15,000 markup to listen.
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John Lane
83.5 Westy
Iron Butterfly
Perkiomenville, PA
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