So, what did your Vanagon get for Christmas?

[otiswesty]

From fleabay - Front rubber floormat

From Winkler - SA Leather Steering Wheel

[djs94124]

I missed the Xmas shopping deadline by a few days, but just yesterday my 1987 camper got a set of GoWesty's new, custom-made 2WD lift springs installed, along with replacement of all front-end bushings, an inner tie rod end, and new lower ball joints. Since they already had the camper on their rack for the springs, it made sense to take care of all of this in a single visit.

I drove home to San Francisco from their shop last night, about 220 miles, which was a good opportunity to assess the upgrade. The camper no longer dives precipitously at the merest touch of the brake pedal, and no longer do I have to listen to the constant sqeaking of dried bushing. Together with the WhiteLine front swaybar and Bilstein gas shocks, my camper now corners quite flat, with minimal weight transfer.

The springs are variable rate, so ride quality seems to be close to what it was before, not much harsher. The camper sits approximately 1.5" higher than stock, and this is amplified a bit for me since my original front springs had sagged quite a bit, almost bottoming out when encountering bumps.

All in all, I'm very happy with the results.
_________________
1987 2WD Westfalia
Modifications: GoWesty 2300 engine & rebuilt transaxle, 16x7.5 tire/wheel kit, South African "Big Brake" kit, Bilstein HD shocks, Whiteline front sway bar, 2WD Lift Springs, 2nd deep-cycle battery.

[McVanagon]

[kenmag]

5 X 15" VW steel wheels from VanCafe. Will be installing Nokian Hakka SC's for the white stuff next week. I'm going with 195/70/15.

Happy New year everyone!!
_________________
87GL Westy/suby ej22
87GL tintop/suby ej22
05 Golf TDI
95 jetta GLX