Date: Tue, 11 May 2010 11:46:07 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: any words of wisdom for a virgin to the world of westy's?
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Some thoughts to get you headed in the right direction ..
one, decide gasoline or diesel. ( I recommend gasoline power ),
That drops you right into 'air-cooled' or 'waterboxer' ....
Let's just say I recommend ( for a stock engine ) the waterboxer, which
means 1983 and later.
there are two broad types of Waterboxer Vanagon ..
83 to 85 with a 1.9,
and 86 and up with the 2.1 waterboxer engine ...and they have the
rectangular headlights usually.
both versions have their advantages.
The 83 to 85's ....just a sweet long lasting engine, maybe a bit tricky to
get running perfectly sometimes ...though that can be true of the later ones
too.
1985 has an advantage in that it's the first year of the much improved
sliding door.
I even would rate 85 as almost 'the best year' .....given that it's the last
year of round headlights, which ARE an advantage for sure.
( it's easy to retrofit them to later vanagons if you want though . What's
'wrong' with rectangular headlights - first is, if you get a rock chip or
crack in a lens, the lenses are very expensive. And each of the four lenses
is unique, and the plastic break-easily adjuster thingeys are not available,
and the headlights are all that bright or really good. What's good about
the round ones - Very easy and inexpensive to replace. I've gotten one of
those sealed beam headlights at 8 PM on a Sunday night before, no kidding.
Inexpensive too ...12 to 20 bucks.
Plus ....roundies are easily upgraded to euro-style really decent lights
with separate halogen bulbs that work just super, and those are not
expensive either. Heck, many rectangular headlight van owners convert to
South African style headlights and grill....which work great, but cost
fairly big bucks, $ 400 or so I believe. )
the 'one thing' that the 85 doesn't have is the later type fuse box. The 85
and earlier has the 'since the 40's or 50's" ceramic type fuses which are
just very old tech, they work 'all right' ....but in 86 they upgraded the
fuse box to a much better later type fuse and fuse box.
I happen to like 87's .....among the 86 to 91's...don't know why, just like
87's.
Another choice...power steering or not. Normally 'all' 86's and later have
it. Was not available in 83, was optional in 84, and many 85's have PS.
I'd say it's preferred unless you value Simplicity very highly. PS is nice
to have.
there's auto trans or manual trans. 'Usually' manual trans is preferred by
many. Automatics drink more fuel for sure. They're an 'all right' automatic
..nothing fancy at all though, just an old fashioned 3 speed 'slush box'
...no overdrive, no lock-up torque converter..
they're basically robust.,
later years are worth more of course, so if you can get one, and you
eventually sell it, it'll bring more when you sell it.
rust ...falls into to large categories ...surface rust and body cancer.
Surface rust is very easy to deal with. Can be stopped 'forever' with good
materials. Body cancer rust though ..is really bad news.
Really bad body cancer rust is pretty 'semi-unfixable' ....it can be fixed,
but the time and effort required is huge, doable, but something you really
want to avoid unless you want an endless project.
Rust shows up first usually at the base of windows.
Particularly the windshield and rear side windows. If you see a paint
bubble, usually under there is really bad rust, or even a small hole right
through the body.
Westy's are well-known for having leaks at the Power and water connections
on the left side of the van ...
so water gets in there, and rusts the inside of the body behind the
stove/fridge.
There is a horizontal seem about a foot from the bottom of the van on the
left side ...from front to rear wheel areas...
that seems is a real ruster on a van that has lived in a corrosive
environment.
Not unfixable, just something to watch for.
I'd say make sure any Westy you consider has 'real' vanagon tires on it
...but I would also say tires are something that should never keep you from
getting an otherwise fine van. They need tires every once in a while, and
'real' vanagons tires are roughly 80 to $ 100 and up ..
and you will ultimately want something besides the stock 14 inch wheel and
tires. but that's jumping ahead.
color ..
matters to me a lot. I always consider white to be a quite desirable car or
van color....but overall condition is the most important thing.
oh right ..checking a van out remotely. Very doable ....if the seller
cooperates.
I just ask a lot of questions ....starting with why selling, and 'how long
have you owned it?'
then going into things like 'when were the CV joints last serviced?' ..or
when was the transmission oil last changed,? , how many miles on the current
engine, ..
Questions like that, and right away you should get some idea if they have
taken much care of the van, or if they even know much about caring for one
...etc. And always ask for pictures of course.
oh ...by the way ....lol,
wasn't the purpose of my post here, but I do have n 85 Westy GL I am working
on right now to sell.
worst things on it - someone removed the stove/sink/fridge and propane tank,
so it's a Faux Weekender. ( weekender is a slang term for a vanagon with
poptop but no kitchen....which is the stock vanagon with the most interior
volume btw )
no dents or rust. Some scratches.
the good ...
doing fresh valve work and head gaskets for it right now.
I am putting in 'correct' front springs. Forgot to mention....oddly, 85
Weekenders and Westy's sit too high in front. Like almost 2 inches too
high. Looks kinda dorky and can't help cornering abilities. So changing
those springs.
GL interior in very good condition,
tent is in quite good condition
poptop fiberglass is in super nice condition. Skylight is good ( they're
often blown out old westy's .........and in early ones there is a place for
a skylight, but it's often blank ).
This 87 GL has a 4speed manual, PS, and had AC, but most of it has been
removed. Price ......$ 6.,200 at the most. Fully sorted out and 100 %
roadworthy. All systems inspected, serviced, repaired, fine-tuned, lubed
etc. etc. etc.
ok....too long already !
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter K" <bybike@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 4:15 PM
Subject: any words of wisdom for a virgin to the world of westy's?
>I am looking at getting my first westy, and have spent the past couple of
> weeks looking through gowesty and thesamba to see what knowledge i can
> glean... along with reading all the the info here for the past week or so.
>
> i'm not a mechanic, although i'm good with simple machines (i love
> bicycles,
> and am looking for a westy to keep my bikes company : ) I work with
> computers, and don't love them... 'nuf said. So after a couple of weeks of
> reading, I think I'm on that page "are you a eurovan guy or is a vanagon
> in
> your future"... and as much as I appreciate the creature comforts of the
> eurovan, I think it's a vanagon. So... now what?
> I'm up in Canada (Toronto), and importing one from the States seems like a
> lot of added effort. Most of the ones I see up here are out on the west
> coast, which means I need to ask and assess remotely or spend a lot on
> airfare to visit. I do get the "avoid round headlights" level of info I
> have
> (so '86 or later), I don't know enough to be able to assess what leaks or
> malfunctioning parts are the ones that will have big $$$ signs attached.
> And
> rust... well, where is it really bad and if I see it I should stop
> dreaming
> vs just an indicator of some body work and paint?
>
> I'm sure everyone here has gone through the newbie thoughts when they
> first
> got the westy bug... help?
>
> --
> /Peter K
>> You can find me at http://studiofstop.com
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