Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2013 09:57:38 -0700
Reply-To: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Subject: Re: Diesel good idea?
In-Reply-To: <540CEC0E-C5A2-4273-AF7B-7C280DEED198@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
If you had a gas T3 and liked it, I agree that's probably what you should primarily look for.
However, for some small minority of us the T3 Diesel has appeal. I have an 82D now TD, an 85 gas
and had a 94 T4 Westy for 5 years. The '82 Diesel is my favorite. I like the simplicity of the engine,
the somewhat sparser interior, the color scheme with the original light green/beige striped
upholstry etc. When I first converted from the 1.6D to TD it was for the additional power and speed,
but now a decade later I find that my typical driving speed has dropped back down to 90km/h, just what
I did before with the 1.6D. I tend to select scenic country roads over expressways, and try to keep daily
driving distances reasonable or short during my vacations.
The pool of current and potential Diesel Westy lovers is probably on par with the number of vehicles,
but due to the sparsity of both finding a good condition vehicle can be difficult locally. If you don;t mind
please post the vehicle details and ad contact info here. That might help someone find what they are
looking for, and hopefully a good home and long future for the 82 Diesel Westy.
Martin
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vw/
________________________________
From: Eric Caron <ecaron1@COMCAST.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Saturday, June 1, 2013 10:56:31 AM
Subject: Re: Diesel good idea?
Listers,
My mistake! The diesel is a 82. Many people have written to me with info and recommendations concerning the diesel. I'm very grateful. It sounds like I do need to pass on this clean sounding camper because of safety for my drivers. Reading all these adds and keeping it all straight is starting to make my head spin!
I do feel like I'm beginning to narrow my search though. Luckily though I never considered shipping a camper I now think that is a reasonable option. this opens up the search area considerably.
I was also lurking on the Eurovan list for ideas but it really feels to me that I need to return to my old friend a 84 and later vanagon Westfailia. That should do it for my mid life crisis!
Please keep the great sightings and adds coming!
Eric Caron
On Jun 1, 2013, at 12:30 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In stock form the US vanagon Diesels were only 48 horsepower. Power to
> weight and frontal surface area this is worse than the 67 and earlier buses.
> When the vehicles were built the national was 55 mph. These days you really
> need to be able to do 65-70 to travel comfortably on the interstates. Even
> then you can get pushed around. When pushed to the limits these engines do
> blow head gaskets and crack heads. The low mileage can be a warning sign.
> Why wasn't it used? When a vehicle like this is put to regular use age
> instead of mileage will become a problem. A lot of the rubber, plastic, and
> hydraulic parts will fail. Unless you really want this vehicle and/or plan
> on upgrading it I would keep looking.
>
> Dennis
>
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