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Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:54 am

Hello everyone!

My fiance and I have been reading this group (found through Google) for about a year gleaning info from all you opinionated high-flyers in preparation of our upcoming Vanagon search and purchase. I've always wanted a bus, and Pat (the future misses) is a hippie wanna-be and is tired of sleeping on the ground. Therefore with the prerequisites of:

Automatic (her)
Air (her)
Fairly straight body (mine, I HATE bodywork)
Unmolested electrics and mechanicals (I don't mind repairs, but nothing is more frustrating that undoing someone else's stupidity)
Located somewhere within 6 hours or so of us (WV),

we began our semi-serious search back in August of 07. I should probably put in at this time the standard "we couldn't have done it without all your help" blurb, and I will. Seriously, our decision and purchase could have in no way went as well and as successful (so far) as it has been if not for the invaluable, humorous and sometimes testy posts we have absorbed from The Samba. As we work forward on Esmerelda (Pat had the name picked out a year ago) I plan on trying to give back to this community through detailing the work we have started and plan on performing both in repairs and upgrades.

Enough of that... here are the pics from the PO's Internet ad.

Ezzie is an 1984 waterboxer with 67,000 original miles. We're the 3rd owner, with the last owner only putting 4k miles on her in the last six years. She's been resprayed professionally, with not-so-professional masking. Just a little surface seam rust behind both rear wheel wells. Newer tires and 100% straight on the outside, even the bumpers.

Inside she seems to be original too, with light use on the stove, original canvas, upholstery and carpet. The only upgrade seems to be an aftermarket radio. The side curtains, rear screen and ice cube tray are all there.

Issues: Needed alignment, slight hesitation when warm from a standing start, sink pump doesn't work, refridgerator won't light on propane, AC blows loud and warm, engine runs at about 2/3 up the temp guage consistently but doesn't overheat. All this and a brand new Bentley for $6,700. From what I've read I think we did OK for East coast pricing.

Being the adventurous (read careless) type, we drove her 300 miles the day after we picked her up (with plates off my old Jeep) to a music festival in northern VA and back without missing a beat. Muscial pun there. I think we did OK.

Since returning, I've placed and received a big Van-Cafe order (mmmm.... cookies) for fuel lines, tune-up, filters and such to start the preventive maintenance portion of our project. As far as I can tell from all the receipts included in the glove box, the only major replacement that has taken place was a gas tank in the late 90's and a water pump last year. I think we did OK.

Anyway, thanks again for the incredible community you have built. Pat, myself and Esmerelda thank you.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:19 pm

Wecome....nice ride

Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:22 pm

Sweet ride
Welcome to the Samba.
Good to hear that you have already ordered fuel lines.
My Van Cafe order arrived today with NO COOKIES AGAIN! (':cry:')
If you have any questions, and you will, just ask.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:10 pm

Nice find! Very few westy's out there with only 67,ooo on them....

I want one! :) :) :) :)

Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:14 pm

Wow... what a beauty!!! Congratulations and welcome aboard.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:08 pm

Congrats and welcome!!! I've got your Westy's slightly younger (by one year, mine is an 85) brother or sister. Same color, and the classy round headlights!!

Welcome to many new adventures, with a few likely misadventures as well. All part of the journey! :D

Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:14 pm

congrats!!

Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:26 pm

A hearty welcome to the three of you, hope your travels are memorable and numerous. 8)

Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:28 pm

Nice Westy! We were camping at Blackwater Falls SP last weekend and did a lot of driving in the mountains.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:01 pm

congrats! Welcome to the madness. Sweet looking vanagon (don't be afraid to pronounce it 'va-noggin' in order to throw off a few know-it-alls that will now approach you). :lol:
Might that be a bit of the old "westy lean" visible in the rear pic? Could be the angle of the photo or driveway. If you don't know what that is from your lurker days, do a quick search and you will find plenty of info and solutions.

Nice color. Now get ready to make zillion little "investments".

Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:12 pm

T ake what remaning CASH u have left put in a jar and bury it in the back yard west of the old oak tree BEFORE your wbx discovers u have some left!!!!!

Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:23 pm

Welcome!

Good Find... There still out there...

Cheers to the three of you!

Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:48 pm

Gosh morymob...your response is just..............well, you know.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:12 pm

Welcome aboard, the three of you and congratulations on your future wedding. Nice lookin' Westy (hope I can graduate to one soon!!!!)
That color combo rocks!!!!!!
I wonder why the gas tank replace at 50-60K miles...?
Happy Trails 8)
Berge

Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:50 am

Thanks for all the responses... communities like this make it all worthwhile, don't they?

Westy lean... I think the pic is a little misleading, although I do have new springs/bilsteins on my "second" list (the one Pat doesn't know about.... yet...) along with 15" tires, big brake kit, pop top shocks, rear tire carrier and ladder, Yakima rack and rocket box, second propane tank, euro spec headlghts, etc. etc. Yeah, as you can tell I've read most of the forum and archives. First things first though... safety and reliability. And the saving of the associated fundage.

I do feel very, very lucky to have found one with low miles and unmolested. She seriously starts and drives like a much newer vehicle, although with the aged shocks/springs/14" tires interstate travel leaves a little to be desired.

As for MoryMob's comments, I have graduated from two previous schools of auto insanity... first a British sports car phase where I grew to hate the name Lucas, and secondly and partially still ongoing fascination with older Jeeps.

Campism: We're down around Blackwater quite a bit (we live in Morgantown... GO MOUNTAINEERS!). If you haven't been, make sure you stop by the Purple Fiddle in Thomas http://www.purplefiddle.com/ and tell my buddy John Mike said hey. Great food and fantastic music.

For all of you out there looking for your dream Westie I would say based on our experience, don't compromise and hold out for what you want. We made a list of what we were looking for, our budget, and we stuck to it. There are lots of iffy vehicles and shady characters in the automotove world, but if you're patient you'll be rewarded in the long run. I do believe Esmerelda was a borderline steal based on her mileage and condition, but then again, it took almost a year for us to find her.

On to my first official forum question: Are there 15" steelies available out there that Ezzie's original hub caps will fit? Van Cafe has some, but no hubcap options are listed in their description.

Thanks again everyone. Sorry to be so verbose.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:01 am

Congrats on both brother! You now have a mistress and a wife to be!

I used 15inch Passat steelies for Larz and they fit great (i had to grind out the center hub abit since the Syncro has different requirements, but it should work well for you).

The 14inch hubcaps probably won't work on a 15inch wheel though...

Do a search on "15 Passat steel". I got mine off Ebay from a gentleman in Florida for 30 a piece new.

Cheers!

Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:05 am

morymob wrote: T ake what remaning CASH u have left put in a jar and bury it in the back yard west of the old oak tree BEFORE your wbx discovers u have some left!!!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That is so true.
Congrats on the find.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:13 am

As far as I know there are no 15" steel wheels that the stock hubcaps 14" hub caps will fit. If you go with the Passat wheels you will need to grind out the center bore quite a bit, also the offset (ET) is not ideal for the vanagon, if I remember correctly you will need spacers to correct the offset. If you want 15" steel the Van-cafe (or others) are the best way to go, that being said I think finding a cheap set of Mercedes alloys is the best way to go. For more info on wheels go to both of the "ultimate wheel" stickies or contact Loogy, he is the man when it comes to wheels and suspension here on the Samba.

Sweet Westy, by the way. It looks just like mine. Same year and color (if you ignore all the rust).

Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:16 am

We had lunch at the Purple Fiddle on that trip. Nice folks and food.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:23 am

Congrats on the find. I've always liked that color. Since I feel special about 84's I'd like to offer $0.02. If there is seam rust showing on the rear quarters, there might be more lurking beneath the surface of the other seams, under the window seals or at the camping utility hookups. (guess how I know) Regarding your water temp gauge reading, 1/2 - 3/4 is what most people see. At 3/4 the fan should probably be ON automatically. The 1.9 will continue to serve you 82 horsies for a long time as long as it stays cool. OK, thats it from me. Enjoy the brown carpet!