Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 14:09:29 -0700
Reply-To: "Christopher M. Smith" <csmith@SDSC.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Christopher M. Smith" <csmith@SDSC.EDU>
Subject: Re: Why so many '84 & '85 Westies??
In-Reply-To: <74d4d923.35a67633@aol.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Could it be that the 83.5, 84, 85 were the first production years for the
NEW water-cooled Vanagons/Westies and thus possibly plagued, more than
most other vanagon models, with engineering "mistakes" that have come back
to bite us ?
I've not noticed much difference in the performance or longevity of these
year models, but then again I'm not an original owner of such a vehicle
year either ... just my 86' Westy and 73' T3.
Chris
vanagon list co-admin
On Fri, 10 Jul 1998 KENWILFY@AOL.COM wrote:
> I think the number one reason is the fact that more were sold. Number two is
> that when these vans get higher miles on them people either do the head gasket
> thing and then want to sell the vans immediately (why they want to sell a van
> they just sunk $1500 into is beyond me but this is usually the story) or fear
> doing the head gasket thing so they want to sell it real quick before that
> happens. True there are some low mileage older Westies out there but the
> problem here is that I think that the heads go bad when the vans are not being
> driven too (maybe even faster since the coolant isn't circulating).
> To me a higher mileage westie that has had the gaskets replaced and is being
> driven every day or very frequently is better (motor wise) than a low mileage
> one that sits all winter and then is driven a month in the summer. Sitting is
> not healthy for a motor.
> Anyways the newer westies are considered more desireable since they could have
> low mileage without the problems associated with long term storage, they have
> a 2.1l motor instead of the 1.9l (there is a difference) and usually come
> stock with power steering, A/C, and have power options that the earlier ones
> didn't. Therefore people tend to hang on to them once they have purchased
> them.
> Thats my two cents.
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
>
************************************************
Christopher M. Smith, PhD
National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure
San Diego Supercomputer Center
University of California - San Diego
San Diego, California 92093-0505
(619) 534-8370 (voice)
534-5113 (FAX)
csmith@sdsc.edu
