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Date:         Tue, 14 Apr 1998 16:23:59 EDT
Reply-To:     Sean Bartnik <sbart7kb@WWW.MWC.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Sean Bartnik <sbart7kb@WWW.MWC.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Body stiffness in Bus/early vanagon/late vanagon
Comments: To: GMBulley <GMBulley@AOL.COM>
Comments: cc: vanagon@vanagon.com
In-Reply-To:  <b8523413.3533c417@aol.com>; from "GMBulley" at Apr 14, 98 4:16 pm

> > However one of the few things that I *DO* like about her bus is the thickness > of the metal/sturdiness of the body. It is a rock. The Westys we have driven > (1986-1990's) were comparably lacking in this department. "Tinny" when you > close the sliding door, rattly and creaky over bumps and twists. > > Were the earlier air cooled westys sturdier/thicker metal? Any guidance would > be appreciated, as I want to make a purchase this summer, and need to focus on > what year models are appropriate for my desires/needs. The air cooled ones are > looking very attractive. Is this one more reason to consider? > It's sturdy enough but I doubt it's any different than the later Vanagons. My '81 has a few rattles and squeaks, but it also has the full West kit. I was able to get rid of a lot of rattles by tightening up the cabinet door latches so the doors weren't as loose when closed. I still have a persistent metallic rattle that either seems to be pop-top related or related to the rear seat/bed. Still working on that. I have a few rattles and squeaks from the dash but that's mainly due to my stereo installation and the two broken tabs on my instrument cluster.

I don't seem to notice it being any sturdier or less sturdy than the '78 Bus I used to have. I do note that on my old '78, when jacking up the front of the Bus, the front doors would no longer close right due to body twisting but that doesn't seem to be the case with my '81.

Sometimes the rattles do get annoying, the worst one I had was the metal heat shield on the stove cover rattling against the stove grate when the cover was closed. Stuffed a towel in there and it's been silent since.

Of course the thing with the Vanagon Westies is that you have a huge hole in the roof, so you lose some structural integrity right there. But I'm happy with the solidness of my '81 as compared to my '78.

-- Sean Bartnik Fredericksburg, Virginia 1981 Volkswagen Vanagon L Westfalia 1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible http://www.type2.com/bartnik/myvan.htm http://www.mwc.edu/~sbart7kb/vwbooks.htm


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