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Date:         Wed, 03 Jul 96 16:13 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Danke <JDANKE@macc.wisc.edu>
Subject:      Vanagon front (nose) bodywork question

How-dee, folks.

While being lost, my internal "VW radar" picked out a vanagon-camper shape from a used car lot.

So I darted (as much as a 77 bus can) through the triple-X bookstore parking lot and into the driveway of the dealer. It turns out that this guy has three vanagons on the lot. One's an '85, and I don't know the other, but they are both 7-passenger wasserboxers.

The brick that triggered my alarm, though, is a diesel Westy.

(duck under the vehement exchange between the "keep it stockers" and the "put in a 2.8 Citation" crowds ;>)

I know that the diesel Westy (slowus januarymolassesus) takes a certain kind of laid back driver. But because I drove (& still have) a rabbit diesel, I feel a particular kinship. Plus it's a full camper with stove & fridge & swivel seats. Drool.

The good news: cosmetic rust, seams, etc. No big gaping holes which are all too common in Chicagoland. The sliding door doesn't fall off (or risk it), like mine has been known to do. Poptop is not torn, seals look good. Engine "diesel-looking" (kinda oily), but the muffler looks nearly new.

The bad news: unknown running condition. Guy sez it is reputed to have been running when he bought it "for parts." Lots of small parts missing as a result: all fuses (!?), glovebox, window cranks.

But the biggie of the bad news is a serious munch in the driver's side of the nose. The driver's door does not close completely, though I think I could force it. A peek underneath: the damage seems to be local, that is, it doesn't seem to have affected the frame, or the areas surrounding the suspension mounting. The windshield is gone (parts), but the damage does not appear to have reached that high.

The damage is quite complex: lots of creases & odd shapes. It seems to reach from the left of the radiator to the leftmost edge, and from above the bumper to six or eight inches underneath the windshield. Again, it has misaligned the door, but appears to have not misaligned the front suspension. In other words, I believe it to be local.

My idea is to attempt a straightening of the body, to close the door, and then cut the offending area out. There is NO WAY I could even get it close enough for the headlight to point down the road. I'd then get my dad to weld in a donor section. (He hasn't done anything like this before, but he welds a lot, and took a complete program in weldment technology, completed two years ago, which includes MIG welding, and all those other GAR, GWAR, GUNWAR, or whatever. You can see why HE is recruited for the welding :> )

My question (finally? Yes.) is on the feasibility. I looked at the archive, and without naming names, several folks have done this, or have considered it (though I don't know of the results). And the cost. And suggestions on how to tell if the complete vanagon is misaligned, and other nightmarish dangers I should specifically check for.

Frankly, I don't care if the weld shows. It adds a touch of character.

I just don't want to get in too deep without knowing what to look for. See, engine work I can handle. I've done a bunch of that. Mechanical stuff does not scare me. This chopping and welding I haven't done, but I know folks do it all the time.

Finally, what would you suggest as a price for a vehicle in such condition?

OK, I guess that's it. Thanks a whole bunch (in advance).

Joel Danke


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