Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:17:39 -0800
Reply-To: Dick Wong <sailingfc@DSLEXTREME.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dick Wong <sailingfc@DSLEXTREME.COM>
Subject: Re: New owner questions
In-Reply-To: <50b0f630.e9c5440a.714a.ffffd626@mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Hi Rob,
I will definitely look into the fuel line situation. With the engine
conversion, I'll have to sort out what the mechanic did for this.
With the engine conversion, the only thing you see when you open the plate
door is the cam belt cover and the power steering pump pulley of the 5
cylinder. It's pretty much a useless door now. The overflow tank has been
relocated and the oil fill is in the normal place for the 5 cylinder, at the
top of the cam cover (must open the engine deck panel to access). A Bentley
came with the van. Woohoo!
Thanks for the vendor list, I've "virtually" visited them all and I was
actually able to stop by Go Westy in Los Osos, CA. I stood in one spot
there and could literally count more than 20 Westy/Vanagon/Syncros around
me. It was a cool setting.
I've been to my favorite local junkyard a couple of times already. To my
surprise, there was an 86 Vanagon there. Only one. Pulled some
miscellaneous items.
If I see any Vanagon, I WILL wave.
-Dick-
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Rob
Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2012 8:30 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: New owner questions
Hello new guy & welcome to the Vanagon world & the Vanagon list!
It's turning into a tire thread! There are very strong emotions about tires
on this, you can look search for tire threads in the archives.
My take is to get the best you can afford & that has worked well for me
since the mid 70s.
http://gerry.vanagon.com/archives/vanagon.html for the archives.
New owner stuff.
Change the fuel lines. See where the gas line comes into the engine
compartment through the firewall? That fitting is plastic if it's stock, old
plastic at that. Youtube is full of burning Vanagon videos where the old
lines or that plastic fitting failed.
Behind the licence plate you see the oil filler tube? Take the cap off and
the INSIDE slides out making the tube long enough to put oil in without the
big mess. is part of The coolant tank at the licence plate door is the
overflow tank, the tank inside the engine compartment is part of the closed
coolant system, you will generally add fluid to the tank by the licence
plate.
The Bentley shop manual is the Vanagon "bible", even if you don't do your
own work a mechanic in the middle of nowhere could use it to do work to your
VW. It IS worth the bucks.
Parts & such... there are several on line venders:
http://www.van-cafe.com/
http://www.busdepot.com/
http://www.gowesty.com/
http://vanagain.com/
From seat covers to skylights to transmissions, there are many vendors that
have been & currently are being recommended
Need a recommended shop? Take a look at http://www.roadhaus.com/ (he does
tires too..)
Other place I go for help-advice-ideas-used parts is TheSamba
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/
If you see me drive by in my Vanagon feel free to wave back, I always wave
at other Vanagon drivers.
Rob
vwrobb@gmail.com
At 11/23/2012 08:42 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
>let's suggest he get 6 new identical vanagon-rated tires so he can
>rotate 6 and still be sure to have 5 identicallymatching ones should
>one tires suffer fatal damage ..
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.2793 / Virus Database: 2629/5916 - Release Date: 11/24/12