Date:         Tue, 03 May 94 17:40:07 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         derekdrew@aol.com
Subject:      Re: Syncro's: + & -

Mr. Syncro here to answer your questions: 

The syncro is definitely better...
...or at least it must be, because it costs so much more to maintain. 

Actually, the syncro is: 

1. ...worse for the average owner because parts costs are much higher and the
handling is not as good on the highway,
2. ...one of the best kept 4x4 secrets in the USA. That is, the syncro is a
true off-road beast that can compete and beat many other vehicles made in USA
and Japan for off-road ability. It is made by the famous maker of the
Pinzgauer family of African expedition vehicles, Styer-Daimler-Punch in the
same factory that makes the Mercedes G-Wagons. This is the only Vanagon
assembled in a different factory from the rest of the vanagons.

You cannot install the differential to power your front wheels on a 2WD
vanagon because the body of the two vehicles is different. So there is no
converting 2WD to 4WD. But you *can* install a syncro transmission in your
2WD and this will allow you to lock your rear differential when you get
stuck. This will give you the ability to drive off-road some and create a
kind of 1/2 syncro. 

A rebuilt syncro trans at the dealer is about $3,500.

If I had a 2WD I would think about adding this syncro trans as it would give
me added piece of mind that I would not get stuck in snow, ice, or mud. With
a 2WD, if only one wheel is on a slippery icy surface you are not going to
move at all.

The gas tank modification is the hot ticket for the 2WD Vanagons. This
involves mounting a Syncro gas tank over the motor in your 2WD van and then
you will have *two* complete gas tanks, the old one in the front, and the new
one in the back. Us syncro owners cannot make this modifications because our
bodies won't accommodate a gas tank up front.

The best thing about a syncro for many users is that it can travel up into
little nooks and crannys to find a camping space for the night. This means
you don't have to stay at campgrounds and pay a campground fee. When you are
traveling and tired, just drive up the nearest power line road or other bad
road where ordinary cars cannot travel (thus insuring privacy), and then pop
the roof and get out the pillows.

Derek Drew 90 westy syncro