Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Sun, 15 Jul 2007 11:25:53 -0700
Reply-To:     Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Inside a Subi engine EJ22
Comments: To: Robert Fisher <refisher@mchsi.com>
In-Reply-To:  <006001c7c70a$53653310$667ba8c0@main>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Nicely put Robert.

No other van meets my needs either. My '84 was purchased for $8200 from Campbell/Nelson in '92 as one owner creampuff at 82,000 miles. My wife took the kids to school etc and we went camping all over with it. As the kids grew my wife didn't need to drive the big box so we got a Golf and I downsized from my thirsty Chevy Pickup.

Now at 214,000 miles it is my work van. The only repairs have been plugs & wires, clutch (once), brakes, starter, upper control arm bushings, one coolant tube rust-through, and tires, tires & more tires.

It still gets almost 30 miles to the Imperial Gallon and will put up with an extra 1200 lbs of sheetrock if I don't want to wait for delivery. It does have some dents (one from a forklift!) but it still shines when I wash it and it still passes emission testing like a champ.

Will I put another motor in it when(if) this one finally goes? I can't afford not to! The van is only "worth" maybe $1800, but it is my primary work tool. I'll consider doing like Rob and self-installing a 2.2 Subaru for $2500.

As Robert said, the cost of another motor versus the cost of another van is the real question that needs to be answered.

On 7/15/07, Robert Fisher <refisher@mchsi.com> wrote: > > > and the van itself is not already so low in value that it would be > > totally irrational to spend that much on it. > > This seems to be a common concern, and for my part I find it useful to > divorce myself from that line of thinking, or at least look at it in two > parts. > > To my mind it isn't the market value or potential resale value of the van > that factors into its candidicy for a transplant; if that was the case > then > my '87 GL and probably many of the passenger vans wouldn't make the cut. I > think the basic issues, after deciding that the conversion is suitable or > necessary for your driving needs are 1). How long do intend to keep the > van, > and 2). Does the mechanical condition of the van support the investment > (in > terms of effort as well as money)? > > I for one wouldn't attempt to convert an air-cooled to a water-cooled, for > instance. It'd be an interesting challange but I don't need one of those > at > the moment and if I did I'd pick something else. : ) > > I paid $300 for my van, it took about another $850 including insurance and > the first full tank of gas to get it on the road. Off the top of my head > I'd > say the cost of a conversion itself would be more than what I could expect > to get for the van if I ever sold it and the conversion wouldn't add a > great > deal of value except to somebody that was into Vanagons and wanted that > particular conversion, assuming I did it well enough for them to find it > acceptable. That pretty much rules out any locals. > > On the other hand, it would cost me more to buy another vehicle that was > worth having, considering my current needs and circumstances, than it > would > cost me to convert the Vanagon, probably by at least a factor of two, if > not > three (this is with me doing the labor). So from a market value standpoint > the conversion makes no sense, but from a bottom-line cash outlay vs. > return > standpoint, it makes a lot of sense. I can't really buy a drivetrain with > a > vehicle wrapped around it that will serve our needs as the Vanagon will, > however I can wrap my Vanagon around a drivetrain, or at least an engine > (since I have an automatic) that will make the whole package serve our > needs. > > Even at 350K miles, the vehicle itself is in good enough shape (thanks to > the original PO) that I can justify the conversion on those terms and keep > up with the mechanical condition of the van at no greater cost, really, > than > any other used vehicle. > > I think if it came down to paying 7-9 $K for a turn-key or to have > somebody > else do the install (or both) I'd probably have to consider a modern > vehicle, probably some kind of mini-van, but go around and look and look > at > any of those that are around ten years old, and see what even the decently > maintained ones are like and consider how many useful years are left in > 'em. > In ten years my Vanagon will probably be much the same as it is now, for > much less money, so given that maybe even the pro install might be 'worth > it'. > > Cya, > Robert >

-- Jake 1984 Vanagon GL 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie" www.crescentbeachguitar.com


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