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Date:         Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:51:07 -0800
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: '84 value?
Comments: To: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <c4e7c5f90711271816m3d7f8933qb95146f28beee43f@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

That's a smart policy. They can kill ya if you're careless. I undo the top ball joint, and that takes a lot of pressure off the front spring. Get the caliper and brake hose out of there of course. Sometimes I can pop out the front spring that way ( 2WD, not syncro ) And sometimes I might have to undo the inner bolt on the lower arm. They're not bad as springs go, but you should have really good working conditions and equipment, hard flat floor, good floor jack, really good largish heavy duty jack stands, etc. Just be real careful.

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of neil N Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 6:16 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: '84 value?

I'm a little hesitant to remove the springs though I imagine there's lots in the archives about that. I'll look into it.

Thanks!

Neil.

On 11/27/07, Mark Drillock <drillock@earthlink.net> wrote: > > Yes, the 85 front brakes and suspension will bolt up to the 81. If the > 85 stuff is in decent shape I would swap it as a whole unit even, > assuming the 85 has the later solid lower arms. The early 85 parts are > the same ones as the 81 so in that case only swap if the 85 has better > condition stuff, fairly likely. > > The 85 has the same brakes as the 81 in any case. Remember that the > outer front wheel bearing is different beginning some time in 84, so > swapping rotors or ordering replacement wheel bearings would require > knowing which spindle it was to be used on and matching it up. > > I would swap the front springs too, for sure, along with the rears, even > if you swap nothing else. > > > Mark > > > > neil N wrote: > > > This is an interesting thread. > > I still have my 85 parts van in the drive way. > > > > Is it worth pulling the front brakes and suspension for future spare > parts? > > > > i.e. will the brake and suspension parts bolt up to my 81 Westy? > > > > I was going to just pull the steering rack as it looked the same as my > 81 > > rack > > > > Thanks! > > > > > > > > Neil (who clearly doesn't need to add work to his engine conversion > > project!) > > > > > > > > On Nov 27, 2007 4:10 PM, Mike Collum <collum@verizon.net> wrote: > > > > > >>You would have to get the steering knuckles off an '86 or newer model in > >>order to use the newer brake rotors and calipers, David. > >> > >>Mike > >> > >> > >>David Kao wrote: > >> > >>>Can it be done to put 86+ brake calipers and rotators on an earlier > >>>1.9 Vanagons? Are the spindles compatible between the two? > >>> > >>>The front brake of my 84 and 83.5 have been a constant issue to me. I > >>>found that I have to use only OEM pads for the front brake to work. > >> > >>Tried > >> > >>>many aftermaket pads with no luck. They are not even close to be usable > >>>in my several attempts to use them. VW must have realized the brake > >> > >>issue > >> > >>>so they upgraded it for the 86+ models among other reasons. > >>> > >>>I am concerned that once VW dealers no longer carry them I would be > >>>out of luck for good brake pads. > >>> > >>>David > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>--- Mark Drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET> wrote: > >>> > >>> > >>>>The main thing is to find one that has been loved enough to be worth > >>>>committing yourself to and don't worry too much about the year. > >>>> > >>>>As Scott says, the later sliding door is a huge improvement that all > 85 > >>>>and newer models have. The better parking brake was phased in during > >> > >>the > >> > >>>>85 model year and many 85s don't have it. Ditto for the plastic > coolant > >>>>pipes and cast front lower arms. At least the newer and much better > >>>>parking brake can be easily added to earlier models. > >>>> > >>>>The 86+ has more powerful front brakes to go with the more powerful > >>>>engine. Better caliper design, more pad area, larger effective > diameter > >>>>rotor and of greater thickness. > >>>> > >>>>The upgraded wiring found in 86+ is a more robust and versatile system > >>>>though I'm not sure too many owners would notice the difference. > >>>> > >>>>Lots of small changes were made after 86 as well and the vehicle just > >>>>got a little bit better year by year. I prefer 87 and later but 85 is > a > >>>>sweet spot in the value curve and 86 is only slightly different than > >> > >>87. > >> > >> > > > > >

-- Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco" (Bustorius) http://web.mac.com/tubaneil

Engine swap beginings: http://musomuso.googlepages.com/home


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