Date:         Fri, 6 Aug 1999 09:56:47 -0400
Reply-To:     Ezra Hall <ehall@BTV.IBM.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ezra Hall <ehall@BTV.IBM.COM>
Subject:      New to List, looking to buy Synchro, need lots of advice
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

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  Hello everyone, I just joined the list this morning. My name is Ezra Hall,
and I am interested in learning more about Vanagons prior to purchasing one.
Let me describe what we am looking for, then perhaps some of you can provide
assistance in directing towards a particular year and model of Vanagon (or
Westfalia, what are the differences?). The vehicle will be driven primarily by
my wife, we live in Vermont. We are interested in the Camper version as the
primary reason for considering a Vanagon or Westfalia is camping. Since it
snows often here Vt, the Synchro version is a must. From looking at
www.vanagon.com, I think an '86 or later partial or full synchro camper is
what we are interested in. I understand that it may be a bit difficult to find
such a beast in our area, so we may need to travel to find it. However, I am
willing to do work/modifications on it, so perhaps that opens up the
possibilities. In particular, I understand the engine is way underpowered on
these vehicles. What are the options for replacement/upgrade? I saw a post
this AM with regards to using a Suburu engine, what about Porsche engines? Is
is possible to convert a Vanagon Synchro to a Vanagon Camper Synchro (addition
of pop-up roof). Are non-VW sink/stove/fridge combos available? Could we
purchase a non-camper version, then convert? Obviously, I have a lot to learn
about these vehicles before embarking on this endevour. The two different
paths that I am thinking of are:

1) Purchase a Vanagon or Westfalia camper in excellent condition and won't
need much work.
  Pros- Usable right away, won't be as much of a time and money drain
  Cons- won't match our desires as closely, will have to travel to find

2) Purchase a Vanagon or Westfalia that needs work, go through the entire
vehicle before use, modify,etc..
   Pros- o End up with a vehicle that most closely matches our desires
         o Could purchase more locally
         o Would be re-built when done and hopefully wouldn't require as
           much maintenance as #1.
   Cons- o Lots of time and may cost more than #1
         o May be difficult to find a low rust example in NE


Thanks in advance for your assistance. If you can suggest additional sources
of information that I should reference (web sites, FAQ's, etc..) it would be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ezra Hall
www.together.net/~ehall
1986 Porsche 944, 256Kmiles, perfect mechanical condition after lots of work
1995 VW Golf, 43Kmiles, already showing signs of mechanical problems!