Coby Smolens
Valley Wagonworks
VW Bus and Vanagon Specialists
"Intimately acquainted with VW Vans since 1959"
1535 SF Drake Blvd, San Anselmo, =
CA
94960
415-457-5628 =
Hi all...I am the sentimental owner = of a recently "deceased" '85 Westfalia (Westy, I gather from previous msgs) that I = had named "Buster Brown"...Buster bcuz he was always in trouble (mechanically = falling apart but I wasn't able to afford continuous maintenence) & Brown = for obvious reasons (gawd, I hated that color!).Anyway, my problem is that I'm too = sentimental to give him away to charity but I really don't have any use for him = now. For different reasons, my husband & I are just not able to use the = van for camping purposes anymore & his usefulness for commuting ended with = a blown reservoir next to the back-end water-filling tank. As you can see, I = know little to nothing about car terms...What am I going to do? I read = w/interest the msg about how many miles one can expect to get out of one of these = & I must admit Buster is over the 200,000 mark easily...(after I nearly = fainted when I saw that 142 msgs were waiting for me...anyway to = decrease some of that? I just came into this to ask my little questions...).Some of the problems I've had over = the years related to the O2 sensor but the strangest concerned what would happen = to Buster's personality when I would use the defroster (or heater) for = the 1st time each winter. First it was the O2 lite going on, but after = being frustrated w/know-nothing "generic" mechanics I took Buster to a VW = specialist & he knew what was going on in an instant, fixed it & I = thought the problem was solved. Another time, the speedometer would bounce = around like the dial on a vegetable scale (that was after using the cigarette lighter to power something off the battery). In = short, it was always doing wierd, quirky things.Most recently, the heat = sensor started to go on the minute I started the car (but it again, it was right = after I'd used the defroster for the 1st time on a particularly cold & rainy/foggy morning) so I ignored the problem. This light matched the temp gauge (in the "too too hot" range) only at = the initial startup of the car, and the problem would stop once the car had been running awhile...So I again ignored = it. I never heard anything wierd in the engine, nor felt the car struggling = to operate in any way, right up until the time I saw steam pouring out of = the back end & heard that little reservoir blow apart. = Thank God I didn't have the back end opened or the engine cover = off when it blew!I really can't afford the complete = overhaul it would take to get Buster operational again, and I really won't be = using him for camping any more (my husband's a weenie for modern comforts & = really doesn't enjoy the outdoorsy life, and I'm too convenience-oriented to = go thru that much work in a quirky vehicle...I didn't use to be). Im now = using my hubby's car to commute with (he's got a nice new one) so I won't = need Buster for that either. Problem is, I get all choked up thinking = he's just going to rot away somewhere he's towed to if I sit still and do nothing...Can any of you help me by = suggesting inexpensive repair options, or maybe someone would want to buy him off me for = parts or restoration? My original idea was to donate him to a worthy = cause of my choosing so it wouldn't be a complete waste or junking = issue, but I still can't help but feel that there may be some hope for him yet.Any thoughts?