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Thu Feb 27, 2014 5:57 pm

FNGRUVN wrote: Don't forget these vans were made when the national speed limit was 55 mph.
Please, I am not picking on you - I have seen this said many times, but it makes no sense, to me at least. The vans were designed in Germany where the autobahn has no speed limits. I am sure that the speed limits in the US were not on the designers minds at all. :lol:

Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:54 pm

My Westy found me. Fate. 8)

Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:55 pm

My Westy found me. Fate. 8)

Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:08 pm

Hey fellow AC folks! Great thread idea. My signature pretty much sums up my Vanagon. Looking forward to getting it back out this spring, if it will ever come. I've a few maintenance items to do , which is imperative to maintaining its reliability. It's been a long, cold winter.

Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:25 pm

82 westfalia...at 84500 miles was parked for years with funny noises that turned out to be cracked heads and a melted piston, prior person appears to have overheated it or ran out of oil something but then it was immediately parked... fortunately in the dry part of Oregon, so paint is faded but zero rust...everything works...had the guys "down the street" (shout out for Import Parts, Grants Pass, Oregon) rebuild the engine, new heads, bearings etc and they did a super job. it purrs! I went through the FI piece by piece, greased all the things needing greasing, cleaned all the things that needed cleaning.... and now have driven it 4000 miles or so with zero problems...am planning to go to Florida and back and really don't anticipate any problems. I am fine at keeping it between 60 and 65 on the freeway but it'll hold 70 on the flats....but of course its best on secondary roads...the heat works great after I got the heater box seals all checked out and the cables and levers adjusted...but I do also admit that it really doesn't get THAT cold here.
you do learn patience going up the hills, I have to admit...and it really helps to be mechanically inclined but once sorted out its a pretty darn good van...of course it helps to have had several westy buses...its really cool to have a 32 y/o van with 89000 miles on it...its a keeper...

Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:30 pm

I have had a few in the past and just bough an '82 Westy last week. I think they are fun to drive on the secondary roads, I do not enjoy them on interstates although I would if no one else was driving on them.

Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:09 pm

We've owned a 1980 for 13 months now. More project than adventure at this point, but our plans are to change that this spring.

Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:40 pm

I have owned quite a few AC vanagon's. I have an 80 with under 100k on it right now. I am doing a light restore on it right now. It might be hard to sell it when she's done. I love driving it. I drove a svx syncro to Denver today and it was kinda miserable, I think I would have rather been in the air cooler. Mine is a Asuian Brown and had the tan interior with Boogie Woogie interior.

Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:54 pm

onemat wrote:
I'm not trying to create division between the air cooled and water cooled people...

To OP, if it makes you feel any better, I guess eventually we are all drivin' air cooled machines...

All in this together, right? Personally, I flash lights and wave at anything with a Vanagon shape! ':wink:'

Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:00 am

I've been riding in and driving the same 1980 full westy since it was brand new :)

I'm 3 years older than the van, but if I have my way, I'll be passing it on to someone when I'm gone.

Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:08 am

1971 Westy here, straight from Hanover Germany. Such a fun ride.

Fri Feb 28, 2014 1:35 am

FNGRUVN wrote:

These vans were meant to be driven on flat ground with the air temps around 75 degrees. Don't forget these vans were made when the national speed limit was 55 mph.

Keep in mind that the ancestors of our air-cooled vans were designed to work reliably in extreme climate conditions, hot and cold. I think that's one of the reasons these same basic engines were being made (though with changed designs for emissions and increased power) for close to 40 years after the war for the USA market and almost 70 years in Brazil:

In the North African desert:

In European winter snow:

The engines have gone from, what, 1,200cc to 1,900 or 2,000. Hydraulic lifters were a nice touch. I recently put a 1,700 in my '71 T2 daily driver. Speed isn't too big of a factor for me, which is why I went looking for an A/C Vanagon when I wanted to get a Westy. Ended up with a Diesel, it might be just a touch slower :roll: . I prefer to think of it as a "methodical progression over terrain". But reliable.

Fri Feb 28, 2014 3:05 am

82 Westy Owner here. Got mine in '08 and did a top to bottom restoration.
I used to be more involved in this forum but I've pretty much got everything working fine and have done all the 'mods' I want.

I couldn't have done everything without the help of everyone here.

The Westy is now my 2nd car, driven to work when the wife needs the econo-box, taken out for weekend camping when weather and time permits. Every couple of years we try to take a good road trip in it (SW National Parks, up to Maine, every mile of the Blue Ridge Parkway / Shenandaoh NP Skyline Drive... more to come I hope)

Been asked how long I plan to keep it and my answer is always the same: The next owner will probably be named in my will

Fri Feb 28, 2014 8:00 am

Dampcamper wrote: FNGRUVN wrote:

These vans were meant to be driven on flat ground with the air temps around 75 degrees. Don't forget these vans were made when the national speed limit was 55 mph.

Keep in mind that the ancestors of our air-cooled vans were designed to work reliably in extreme climate conditions, hot and cold. I think that's one of the reasons these same basic engines were being made (though with changed designs for emissions and increased power) for close to 40 years after the war for the USA market and almost 70 years in Brazil:

In the North African desert:

In European winter snow:

The engines have gone from, what, 1,200cc to 1,900 or 2,000. Hydraulic lifters were a nice touch. I recently put a 1,700 in my '71 T2 daily driver. Speed isn't too big of a factor for me, which is why I went looking for an A/C Vanagon when I wanted to get a Westy. Ended up with a Diesel, it might be just a touch slower :roll: . I prefer to think of it as a "methodical progression over terrain". But reliable.

The vehicle you pictured probably weighed half of what a vanagon westy weighs, even with the four guys in it.

Don't get me wrong, I love my '80 westy. It was my first VW van. I poured a ton of blood, sweat, and tears into it, not to mention a wheelbarrow full of cash. I think it performs as well now, as it did when it left the factory, but let's face it, it left the factory putting out a measly 67 hp(at sea level).

These vans had problems from day one in certain parts of the country. That's why VW put out service bulletins that recommended increasing piston/cylinder clearance.

For all of you that like to brag about how cool your engine runs, I invite you all to take the Vail Pass Challenge. Bring your beloved to Colorado, fully loaded with three people, two dogs, and all the gear for a week's worth of camping. Get on I70(eastbound) and drive up Vail Pass. If you're still deeply in love with your baby, keep driving until you reach the Eisenhower Tunnel. If you're not a nervous wreck by this point, I tip my hat to you.

Would I restore another A/C Vanagon Westy? Oh, Hell No!

Fri Feb 28, 2014 8:37 am

I've done the Eisenhower tunnel a few times in my old AC Westy and you are right, it's really tough. Definitely the worst fit for the van that I've encountered including driving over a lot of the US, Canada and Mexico in the same setup. There's a climb in MX that compares but it has more places to stop and relax on the way up which makes a big difference.

I was always glad to get to the top but not a nervous wreck, though maybe I should have been. On I70 there are usually a few big trucks doing the same speed as the van so you just get in line with them and get passed by all the others (including lots of the big trucks). As I recall 2nd gear is involved at times! I'll do it again this Summer for the first time in years so that will be fun.

I lived in Winter Park for a ski season and drove the van daily. We used it for trips to other ski hills in the region too. Wasn't fast or perfect but it worked. I could list problems beyond heat and power too (like traction) but it worked and we all loved the van, especially when getting dressed for the next activity in the lot or using it as a hangout, etc.

Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:43 am

had a couple good years in my AC Westy - passed it on to a family member. i do miss the sound of that 2.0. Among the many van's I'd like to own - I'd love to have an AC tin top 7 seater for short and light duty summer tripping. the AC Westy with my family and gear all loaded struggled pretty hard - never let us down though.

Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:09 am

'82 Westfailia here (great post idea)!

Picked it up last July with only 78k on it (our first Westfalia). We'd planned to get an '86 or newer wasserboxer but... as these things go "Dave" found us instead and we've never looked back.

We've already put more than 10k on it since we bought it, and just yesterday had our first mechanical as we were leaving for a trip. Would turn over just fine but not catch (turned out to be a frayed deceleration valve hose). I'm not a mechanic, yet with a Bentley and some basic tools I was able to get it running. I don't know if i'd fare as well with a WBX. Replaced the hose and... well, I'm typing this from a campground on the coast so apparently it worked.

Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:11 am

still driving/modding mine....currently tuning/optimizing the cis and working out the details for a simple h2o/meth injection system

Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:56 am

Sign me up for the air cooled crew! My wife and I love our '83 Westy. I see the air cooled Vanagon as an important bridge between VW's past and present.

I'll grant you that I have limited Vanagon driving experience but it seems to me that a properly setup and maintained AC Westy is a perfectly fine vehicle.

That was not the case when we got ours this time last year. Back then she was a dog! The motor lacked power and ran hot. No wonder...she was missing a good deal of tin and had a crummy engine compartment seal. No telling for how long. No surprise that she soon dropped her #3 exhaust valve. She also had a Weber progressive carb, which is ill suited for a type 4.

So right off the bat I had to build her an engine. I wanted a strong, no frills 2.0. I used new pistons and cylinders, new stock AMC heads and a Web 86 cam with solid lifters. The case was align bored and got new bearings throughout. Chico Performance did the machine work and balanced everything for me. I simplified the exhaust system...just a pair of new federal heat exchangers into an EMPI header/muffler unit. I also installed an FI setup I got from a '79 Bay bus. I put a lot of effort into getting the right tin and ductwork installed and I added CHT and oil temp gauges.

I found everything I needed to know right here on the Samba!

I couldn't be happier with her now. She runs cool, cruises effortlessly at 65 on the interstate and pulls up the big hills between here and San Antonio with ease. We even got some heat/defrost action in the cabin!

It all depends on what you want. If you need to blast up Vail Pass in 4th gear only a souped up Vanagon will do. But if you want to explore the countryside at a more leisurely pace you can have a lot of fun in a well sorted air cooled Vanagon.

I think the great "air vs. water" debate is an apples and oranges deal. Just get the Vanagon that best meets your needs and enjoy yourself!

Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:03 pm

Hey Guys.

I agree, there is a time and place for Air Cooled Vanagons but I love mine. I just made a new exhaust for it since the original crossover pipe is NLA. I mad jigs for this and we sell it complete as a kit to bolt on. Here are some pictures.