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Sat Nov 30, 2019 5:00 pm

I'm 17 and just bought a 1985 Vanagon Westfalia in pretty good condition. When I went to look at it, the odometer read 667,000 miles! The owner said that it was accurate and that it hadn't rolled over yet.

This leads me to believe that the transmission has likely been replaced and the engine may have been rebuilt or replaced at some point, but other than that I don't have evidence to support that. I hear they can go a long time if you keep coolant and oil running through 'em. It was sitting for a few years and I'm getting it smog checked pretty soon. Has anyone seen such high mileage on a water-boxer before?

Jack

1985 Vanagon Westfalia

Sat Nov 30, 2019 5:09 pm

Nope. Uge.

Sat Nov 30, 2019 5:19 pm

Was the seller the original owner?
How did not have any info on it's history?

Sat Nov 30, 2019 5:30 pm

The seller's neighbor was the original owner. He collected a lot of parts for restoration before he got foreclosed on. I have those parts now and I suppose he could have done a lot of work on it and just never had to replace the actual engine. He is ninety something and his neighbor offered to sell it for him. I think that he just took very good care of it and went on many adventures. But of course with Vanagon death syndrome the transmission must've been replaced. But yeah, the seller never mentioned an engine rebuild ever.

Jack

1985 Vanagon Westfalia

Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:00 pm

Jack, Jave you read the FAQ up in the top of the first page? There is a lot of good info in there.
Also the first things you should check and probably replace just to know 100% that they are new are the fuel lines. They are rubber and get dry, crack and leak. On a hot engine that usually means a fire.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=440675

Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:26 pm

Thank You Steve! It's in a local VW restoration shop right now. We asked them to do what they can to get it running and safe so I'll mention that to them next time I head over. I'll check out the FAQ too.

Jack

1985 Vanagon Westfalia

Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:39 pm

It's also very easy to replace the whole cluster, including the odo.

Maybe not as common these days, but it used to be vanagons were easy to find in junkyards, and if the trip meter or blue ribbon gave any trouble the easy thing to do was just replace it.

I think I've replaced my whole cluster 3 or 4 times now.

Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:46 pm

Yea, the previous owner spent a lot of time in junkyards stripping old vanagons for parts.

Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:50 pm

JackConner wrote: I'm 17 and just bought a 1985 Vanagon Westfalia in pretty good condition. When I went to look at it, the odometer read 667,000 miles! The owner said that it was accurate and that it hadn't rolled over yet.

This leads me to believe that the transmission has likely been replaced and the engine may have been rebuilt or replaced at some point, but other than that I don't have evidence to support that. I hear they can go a long time if you keep coolant and oil running through 'em. It was sitting for a few years and I'm getting it smog checked pretty soon. Has anyone seen such high mileage on a water-boxer before?

Jack

1985 Vanagon Westfalia

Sounds like a neat van! There certainly are high mileage vans but just about everything would be rebuilt by 670K miles.

Is there. Chance that the original owner has a folder full of paperwork that the neighbor can get for you? The Venn diagram of owners who drive a car 670,000 miles AND keep a lot of paperwork would seem to have a lot of overlap.

Post some pics here (exterior, interior, undercarriage, motor, trans, etc.) and folks may have some additional insights.

Enjoy.

Sat Nov 30, 2019 10:17 pm

jimf909 wrote: Post some pics here (exterior, interior, undercarriage, motor, trans, etc.) and folks may have some additional insights..

Post some pics of the brake, clutch accelerator pedals.
Shifter knob, steering wheel wear areas.

That van may have been “over-maintained”. Some old farts tend to do that.:wink:
And maybe he wasn’t rough with it, didn’t slam the doors. Lubed the locks etc when they needed lube.

Sat Nov 30, 2019 10:52 pm

Sodo wrote:

Post some pics of the brake, clutch accelerator pedals.
Shifter knob, steering wheel wear areas.

That van may have been “over-maintained”. Some old farts tend to do that.:wink:
And maybe he wasn’t rough with it, didn’t slam the doors. Lubed the locks etc when they needed lube.

The wear items in the driver's area were next on my list! I'd love to see pedals, steering wheel, etc. with 670K on them. Although my minds profile of this van has had the pedal pads replaced.

Certainly, the '85 mirrors are either very floppy or were replaced. If this is a one owner 34 year old car that's begun its second round-trip to the moon it would be an interesting study.

Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:28 am

He’s already flipped it.

Sun Dec 01, 2019 5:14 am

WHAT! :roll: Why waste the time helping people?

Sun Dec 01, 2019 5:46 am

Steve M. wrote: WHAT! :roll: Why waste the time helping people?

I made that up, sorry. Cynical morning

Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:33 am

Abscate wrote: Steve M. wrote: WHAT! :roll: Why waste the time helping people?

I made that up, sorry. Cynical morning

:lol: had me going there!

Sun Dec 01, 2019 10:31 am

Steve M. wrote: Abscate wrote: Steve M. wrote: WHAT! :roll: Why waste the time helping people?

I made that up, sorry. Cynical morning

:lol: had me going there!

I was watching Wolves playing Blades. My hometown team can beat the best in the EPL and then go flat against the middle teams

Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:12 pm

Thank you all for this feedback! I will get some pictures up as soon as it gets out of the shop. I’ll also reach out to the seller to see if there’s any service records or paperwork that can help me out.

The van is quite dirty and looks like it hasn’t been touched in a couple of years but no doubt it’s possible that he over maintained it before that :lol: . And no I haven’t flipped it and don’t plan on it for a long time! Sorry about your game though!

Sun Dec 01, 2019 5:04 pm

If you really want to know about the mileage and history, a carfax report will probably give you a good idea.

Sun Dec 01, 2019 8:55 pm

There is a guy on the Vanagon Diesel owner group who has 1982 for sale with 630000 miles on it.

I thought my Syncro was high at 330000 miles (documented)

Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:57 am

If your drivers side lower door lip (top of wheel well/fender) is original and not repainted, you should see a very nice indication of age from the wear marks of sliding out. Its a dead giveaway on original paint Vanagons.