Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:38:24 +1200
Reply-To: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: Simpler is better? Some nonVW content... & diesel
In-Reply-To: <483425.16691.qm@web43136.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
WARNING WARNING
If you don't like unpaid promotion of Toyotas, read no further!
>The moment I begin to believe that I
>need power-steering,
PS is useful, if it's reliable. Especially if you live where you have
to do a U-turn or 5-point turn every time you leave home. Maybe VW
racks are leak-prone; it certainly seems so from the list. I
converted my 89 Corolla diesel to PS and haven't looked back... and
have never heard of a Toyota rack giving trouble. I'll be converting
my 84 T3 and hoping it doesn't end-up leaking.
>power-windows, power-mirrors,
Those are good things to have (need to roll the passenger window down
to talk to someone on the sidewalk? Someone bump the passenger-side
mirror? These vans are too wide for me to easily do so from the
driver's seat, and I have a 2m armspan)... so long as they're
reliable. I will be installing both on my 84, but they will not be VW
(or even German) items. I'll also be installing both in my
bottom-of-the-line Corolla.
>AC,
Great stuff in hot sticky weather, but from what I hear VW AC is
about as reliable as the VW wasserboxer... or a Type 928. And
apparently they can cause brain-damage.*
>electric butt warmers, power-seats,
Now, THOSE are unnecessary. A heated wheel, on the other hand, would
be good for cold climates where the heater takes a long time to start
blowing warm air. Or for aircooled vehicles with near-useless heaters
(like my 57 Panel, 66 & 75 Kombis were... talk about numb knuckles!).
>all kind of
>warning beeps and blares that go off because - gasp -
>the key is in the lock and I dared to open the door,
Such LCD alarms can be disabled, in some cases in seconds, if the
buzzer is easily accessible. 89 Coronas didn't have these on the NZ
market; instead the driver's door would unlock itself if you locked
it with the key in the ignition, a very good feature which
unfortunately Japanese-market imports don't have. Of course a spare
key in the wallet can save a lot of hassle for those lacking such
features.
>automatic transmission
Auto transmissions are crap for lazy people. Poor performance, poor
economy... and expensive if needing repairs (and they're more likely
to so need). Plus most won't change gear when they should & do change
when they shouldn't. Try a mid90s Nissan Primera 2.0 as a good
example of this (sold only in North America with
Infiniti-something-or-other badges; most Nissans there are
badge-engineered).
"Simpler is better" isn't necessarily the case. With German cars it
would be better to say "more simple is less bad". Toyotas can be
incredibly complex (EG Toyota Celsior/Lexus LS) and still give
decades of trouble-free service. Our 89 Corona diesel has done
650,000km (plus whatever was taken off the clock on secondhand
importation from Japan) and the electric windows have never given
switch or winder problems (though, while it was a taxi, the driver's
window broke its rear mounting tab 3 times... but changing the window
for one out of a wreck is a 10-minute job).
Speaking of Toyotas, I have just installed a 2C-T turbodiesel 2.0
from a 94 Camry in my FWD 89 CE96 Corolla wagon, in place of the
stock 1C 1.8. Added in an intercooler from a mid90s Isuzu Bighorn
(Trooper). The power output of a 94 2C-T is supposed to be a whole
65kW (83hp) @4000rpm... it must be the 176Nm@2200prm torque, because
it's now a real hoot to drive on the twisties & hills, despite its
commercial (450kg load rating) leaf rear springs. Who needs
direct-injection, DOHC, 16 valves or common-rail? I'm still looking
for a 2.2-liter EFI 3C-T (94kW@4000/206Nm@2200), though... like the
2C, it'll bolt straight in, and develops about 20kW more than a
nonEFI 3C-T (74kW@4200/216Nm@2600). Now I need to figure-out the
instrument wiring so that I can pop out the short original
instrument-cluster (2 small blank dials, speedo, fuel & temp only,
not even a clock) & AM-only radio & replace it with a long 7-gauge 87
Sprinter Ceilo (liftback) cluster, which will screw straight in and
covers the stock radio-clock area. I have replaced the gray lower
dash sections, console and the vents with maroon items, which looks
quite nice. The Ceilo cluster has a flat-black surround panel with
black dials, which I think is removable. I'm thinking of repainting
it... but can't decide on a color. The wheel will be a sky-blue
leatherbound 87 AE80 Corolla GT item, so a blue face wouldn't be
good. White? Emerald? Orange? With a broad contrasting cloudy
(airbrushed) band up the middle?
*When it falls on your head.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
