1986 Wolfsburg Weekender Intro and Chronical

[MSGGrunt]

Scored this beauty today. A one owner Gem. All original paint. This Westy is a New England van, but zero rust, so well taken care of by its one owner. Just over 125,000 miles with stickers on the glass showing trips to Alaska and Mexico, so well-travelled over its life so far. All original manuals and documentation including the original window sticker and odometer statement showing 15 miles at the time of sale.

Surprisingly the original weekender OEM frig is in place behind the passenger's seat and even the factory rear overhead air works.

The van has had a new fuel tank installed, some fuel lines, belts, plugs, wires, cap, rotor and brakes taken care of. I will replace the rest of the fuel lines that weren't replaced, give it new injectors and new GoWesty fuel rails.

Upon initial startup the motor runs a bit rough but smooths out as it gets up to temperature. Ideas???

The Weekender driver's side interior panel/table will be removed, and I plan on swapping in the smaller bed from another Westy as well as remove the rear facing seat and OEM frig.

Are these OEM stand-alone refrigerators uncommon? I can't recall seeing any before buying this van. Or did they just not work well and were removed over time?

This will hopefully be an enjoyable "rolling" work in progress.

[Red Ryder]

Very nice score! The OEM fridge is pretty rare. It is not compressor-driven, so is not very efficient except when running on 110v. There should be a 12v outlet on one of the front seat pedestals to plug into, and a dual-battery set up. You will no doubt find an interested buyer for the fridge when you decide to move it.
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“Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed I am not quite all there myself.” — Cheshire Cat, Adventures of Alice in Wonderland

“Scarlett” — 1990 Vanagon Carat Wolfsburg Edition (Tornado Red)
“Nigel” — 1999 Jaguar XK8 convertible (Alpine Green Metallic)

[Abscate]

Awesome ! It lived in the high rent district of Westchester so those tend to be maintained well by first owners. Better yet, it’s a smart car that got out of Albany as fast as it could.

I sent a lot of money to colleges in western MA educating six daughters to fight the Orange Plague
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🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[MSGGrunt]

Mount Holyoke or Smith? A beautiful part of the state.

This van was bought in Westhampton, MA only a few miles from Smith College in Northampton. The seller acquired it from the deceased original owners Nephew. He replaced the fuel tank, some fuel lines, all the brake lines and brakes, power steering hoses, master cylinder, clutch slave cylinder, belts etc. Probably anything suspect from sitting in storage would be my guess. I plan on giving the cooling system a good looking over as well.

It even had all of the screens and curtains neatly folded in the back cabinet looking as if they had never been used, which is possible.

I stumbled across the FB marketplace add when it was only an hour old and was the first person to reach out to the seller. He had multiple interested parties, but I was first in line, and he was a gentleman and gave me first right of refusal, which I knew before even looking at the van in person this was going to be mine, especially for the asking price of $12,000.00.

[vanagonjr]

Another Mass Weekender owner here.
Sounds like you plan to replace the Weekender interior with Westy interior-is that correct?
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John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[MSGGrunt]

That is correct. Probably just the smaller Westy bed set up with custom made cabinets that go where the Westy stove and frig reside.

[dabaron]

[jlrftype7]

To the OP. EDIT

What happened to your previous Westy?
Disregard the getting to know your interior Advice- you’ve already lived it-


It's surprising, but more than a few have warmed up totally to the Weekender models with their larger interior space not taken up by the narrower bed and side cabinets after owning the actual Campers.

I can't add to that except to say that since we own a Tintop, with no Pop Top, we too wanted a few mods to the interior. I've modified ours to a Weekender type set-up , with a DIY rear Cabinet and storage system, and a DIY side table that folds out, and has yet another DIY table extension that attaches to it for even more table space if needed.
The standard WIDE rear seat allows seating for 3. It comes in handy from time to time for us with extra people on board.
So again, you own our Dream Vanagon for the most part. congratulations.
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[Red Ryder]

[Xevin]

[Yellow Rabbit]

I’ve owned both one of these and a full camper. This layout is superior in many ways. The storage is at least as good as a full Westy if not better in some aspects. The bed is superior as two sleepers can separate on the head side.

I have been around Vanagons for almost 20 years and I have never once seen these seats with in tact original fabric. It’s usually shredded to pieces or replaced. It’s your van, but it it were me I’d camp in it this summer and see how it works out. You are not in it for a ton of money so you could probably sell for a profit and buy a full camper later.

I also always thought those little fridges work better than the full Westy ones. Although lack of propane mode is a minus.

[Red Ryder]

We own a Carat model which is similar to the Weekender (technically, “weekender package”) without the pop-top and rear cabinet. We prefer it for camping with its more generous and flexible floor plan. Since we do all our cooking and cleaning outside the van, a built-in stove and sink is not useful for us. Not sure how much weight the full camper package adds, but it is not insignificant.
_________________
“Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed I am not quite all there myself.” — Cheshire Cat, Adventures of Alice in Wonderland

“Scarlett” — 1990 Vanagon Carat Wolfsburg Edition (Tornado Red)
“Nigel” — 1999 Jaguar XK8 convertible (Alpine Green Metallic)

[MSGGrunt]

All great advice and now you have me rethinking modifying the weekender. Yes, I also have a Syncro that is in the process of having the transaxle rebuilt by Steedle and I am redoing that interior, so not an issue keeping this weekender all original and living with it for now. I appreciate all the different opinions and advice.

My main focus in the short term is getting the mechanicals all refreshed. Fuel lines, cooling system, AC, shifter bushings, engine components like IAC, throttle body, etc, tested to get the most reliability I can out of the motor.

What makes this layout less ideal for me vs the smaller bed in the full camper version, in my mind anyway, is it is just me using the van, no second person, at least for now anyway....

[Nekobus]

The interior of that van is mint! I’m voting for preserving this example as-is (not that you asked )

[16CVs]

That van is pristine for sure, better go start out with a nice example and do yours mods and be done, but do it tastefully and make it look stock and not like an afterthought add on.

I sit on the fence, I originally built my bastard with a Multivan interior and since converted to a full Westy. You did not really lose much bed as there is a cabinet in both set ups.

There is huge difference between a Weekender / Multivan and a Carat, much more than just a convertible folding bed.

OE —- Original Equipment. Came as assembled from the factory.

OEM —- A replacement part or assembly made by an original supplier that is not marked with a VW stamp or part number or sold through a VW dealer.

Keep us posted as you move along, get rid of all the plastic in your cooling system as there is more than you think.

Stacy
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1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread.

[Marshj]

[MSGGrunt]

Placing a big order with GoWesty for:

SS coolant pipes.
Hose kit.
Upper and lower thermostat hosing.
Coolant junction housing.
H-pipe off expansion tank.
H-pipe hose installation kit.
New expansion tank.
Water pump.

Missing anything?

Plus, other fuel and suspension components.

[floodwood]

Welcome to the club in MA. I was out in Pittsfield last weekend sleeping in my 1990 camper for a marathon on the rail trail out there, and I often pass through your neck of the woods on the way to Andrew Flint outside Albany, or up to the Adirondacks.

If you need any advice or help, definitely reach out to Flint in Nassau, he is a true pro with these vans.

Flint European Automotive
906 Central Nassau Rd, East Nassau, NY 12062
(518) 766-5654

Feel free to PM me when you are out east in MA or have any questions.

[dabaron]

[4Gears4Tires]

That's the perfect all around van. Don't touch that set up.

The only thing I might do is swap the fridge out (but I would save it.) I would put in a cabinet with a fridge in the bottom and a drawer or a cooktop.

Or, put a swivel base on the passenger seat.
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'87 Syncro Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition
'85 Westy Sciuridae Domus Edition