Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 08:41:06 -0400
Reply-To: "Horace K. Sawyer" <firestream@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Horace K. Sawyer" <firestream@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject: Re: my '83 watercooled westy passed away!
In-Reply-To: <f776de89.247cd8a1@aol.com>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
Have you checked the archives? Lots of info. Also, NOW is definitely the time
to upgrade. Several reasons, why. First, you can get a much better engine.
Second, more reliability. Third, more power. Fourth, more enjoyment. And
you thought you already knew how much fun Vanagons are! :) Fifth, and most
importantly from a pocket book standpoint, you end up with a more valuable
vehicle. The better engine moves your vehicle into a class of the elite among
Vanagons. Should you sell it, it will bring more. Vanagon people will
recognize this and be willing to pay far more than others. Vanagons are like
real estate now, a finite amount diminishing daily, and the price should
continue to go up. Especially the good ones! Maintenance and records are
crucial to value.
I plan on converting mine someday. I will go until this motor does the
Lewinsky thing. What will I put in? I have thought about a Subaru with the
Kennedy conversion package. Why? It appeared to me at the time that if
offered more band for your buck in terms of HP/per dollar, reliability, ease of
maintenance, the whole nine yards. Will move my Westy down the road and up the
hills like a champ. Have you checked out Kennedy? Or you could stick with VW
and go with the 5 cyl. conversion. That provides a nice upgrade. Motors
readily available in junked Audi's. Or, there is the GTI conversion. For the
wealthy landed elite, the TDI conversion may pose the ultimate. I have
probably left out some alternatives. For me, the most bang for your buck over
the long haul is what is important. You have to decide based on your
situation.
Your mechanic will probably frown on conversion to anything other than stock.
Why? If I were him, it would be much much easier for me to simply replace
what's already there. Breaking new ground is too much trouble. Besides, I
would not want to continue to try to figure out the little nuances of a new
system, etc. On any engine job, the customer has to bring the vehicle back a
number of times usually to get the glitches worked out, worst case scenario.
UNLESS of course, I am getting paid appropriately to do this hard work. Then
my motivation goes way up. In other words, don't expect something for
nothing. Hope I am not sounding condescending. Just my experience over the
years.
Enjoy the opportunity for change!
Anyone who sees it differently, thinks I'm full of BS, or can say what the best
route is based on experience, let us know
HK
At 12:54 AM 5/26/99 -0400, Rob Rubin wrote:
>This will be my maiden voyage.....My '83 westy died yesterday at 252,000 mi
>may she rest in peace. Now the search is on for the proper engine
>replacement......I've heard many things : 1. Waterboxers suck and that I
>should put one of them GTI conversions in , which seems a
>a bit pricey
>2. Fast German auto says they have a Stage 2 thingy that will produce more
>horsepower, but my mechanic say he doubts that I'll ever get the thing smoged
>in California !
>3.That APV has a 1.9 to 2.1 conversion thing that will offer more horse and
>still meet the emissions requirement of this great state of mine.
>4. My mechanic says "stick with stock"
>Not being a work on it myself type of guy I am deep in quandary that all I
>can do is stay up late and watch re-runs of Jerry Springer! Since I'm gonna
>spend the money, I want to get the best possible for my companion of 12
>years, and also would like to get a bit more power for myself.............I
>would love to get the advice of others that have been down the road I'm about
>to travel
>
>Thanks
>Rob R.
>Camcaddie@AOL . COM
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