85 EJ25 Powered Westy "Eugene Abernathy" in Austin TX

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Glad to be back in the Vanagon community (traded my 82 Westy for a 71 Westy back in 2003 so it's been awhile)

Today I traded my 97 Eurovan camper for this 85. I'll definitely miss the Eurovan, it was one of the nicest of the 19 VWs I've owned. I had a blast exploring the country in it, but I was working a ton and not enjoying it so i put it on the samba and said I'd be interested in trades.

Ended up getting an offer for this 85 plus cash and I jumped. I had always discounted the watercooled vanagons due to the head gasket leaks. And I had just loved the VR6 power of the Eurovan so I was really interested in one already converted to a Subaru engine.

This Vanagon just feels more "me", it's similar to my old 71 Westy which I LOVED in terms of sitting on the wheels, rear powered, also similar to lots of watercooled VWs I've loved (had two sciroccos, mk2s, mk3s, and a corrado)

With the Eurovan I loved the AC, crash zone, and airbags, didn't like the turn radius and lack of clearance, and having to pay for a transmission rebuild. The Eurovan just felt too FANCY to me.

Trading is just fun, It's my 3rd VW trade and I think we both got a good deal and will enjoy our VW campers. Previous owners named it "Eugene Abernathy" and I'll keep it.

The power of the subaru engine is just great. Makes it a joy to drive even in aggressive Austin traffic like I did today. Like the VR6 I can accelerate if I need it. The AC is good too, not as good as the Eurovan

I often forget to take lots of pics of a VW as I got it, so here are a ton of pics:

Here are my priorities:

Buy a ratty used Bentley
Fix horn so it can pass inspection
Brakes (they are soft)
Tires - feels shaky at full speed and these tires are new, but not rated for the weight of a westy

I plan to document in this thread the work I do and various trips I take.
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

[weswsimpson]

Looks Nice!

Welcome back!

What size wheels and tires do you have? Do you know what vehicle the wheels came from?

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The PO snapped a pic of the EJ25 donor....a 98 Outback.
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

[9.5isCanadian]

Wow
That sure is nice. Love the suby motor picture.

I’m currently gathering components to do my own. Planing on the Subaru gears reverse pinion and the Sub 5 speed.

Do you have any details about the swap?

I loved your description of the effect the Subaru motor on the driveability of the van.

You expressed exactly what I *think* it’s going to be like.
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9 1/2 - missing a few pieces.

1987 Getaway Hightop
1980 Sunroof Vanagon
2018 BMW R Nine T
2012 Golf tdi

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Horn didn't work, I verified the horn and voltage, pulled it, and tested with a battery. No dice. The previous owner had a 2nd horn, beeped loud as hell with battery, so I hooked it up.

But when I would test it would give a "click" sound. It just seemed like it didn't have enough juice.

The search feature is amazing, I determined it made sense to use a relay kit based on other posts. So I ordered the dual horn kit from Van Cafe. It was the first time ordering from them and I loved how i ordered on a Sunday and I had it in my hands on Wed afternoon.

Link


Kit was super simple and easy to install, and boy THIS THING IS LOUD A F!!! YES!
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

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So now with the horn working, time to get the inspection! I used to feel stressed because Vermont and Massachussets were so darn picky with old VWs. Texas is much more resonable.


The inspection guy was really interested and said he could feel the power it had. Here he is taking it for a spin:

So with a clean inspection, time to get it registered. I literally had a zero wait time at the DMV in San Marcos TX (this is where I work on it and registered it).

I took a long time because I wanted to use classic plates, but it was worth the wait. Apparently not many people do this and it was the guys first time pushing one through. I'm using period correct plates for 1985 - scored online for 30 bucks and they are in amazing shape!

Rear plate with 2019 sticker.

Front plate, running an 85 sticker in front (probably not legal but whatever) I wonder how many people will see it and think it expired in 1985
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

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Now that the Westy is officially in my name, time to start ordering parts and sorting things out.

Cracked Boshe wiper blades from Belgium got yanked off and replaced with Chinese Boshe wiper blades.

Scored a fire extinguisher from wally world and the bracket fit holes already drilled for one.

The previous owner washed the curtains and didn't put them back so I'm figuring out which ones go where.

It's not super obvi why there are different lengths for the tie downs.

And one thing I'm noticing are some of the similarities with my old 71 Westy. This is the same crank handle that my louvered windows used. Gotta love how they keep using shit that worked.
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

[shagginwagon83]

Very nice van, clean interior. I thought they started that curtain style in 86.
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[Odd_Dutch]

I hope that's not a powder type fire extinguisher? If so buy another one but the foam type. These powder ones are very good at putting out fires, but make such a mess you''ll probably have to write your Vanagon off after it.

I have one 10kg foam for primary use, and if that's not enough I have one of these powder thing as spare.

If it's a foam type i didn't say anything
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1980 2.0L Tintop - Subaru EJ-20 conversion

[wesitarz]

Since you didn't do the Subaru conversion, I suggest you find out how your cooling system is plumbed (a diagram from the previous owner would be useful) and find out how it is wired in the black connector box in the engine bay (where fuses are), how the two green test connectors work with ignition on, where the OBD2 connector is and buy an OBD2 code reader if you don't have one or a Scan Gauge already.

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So the VW feels like my old bay window bus at highway speeds. Unstable. I knew the tires are not load rated for the Vanagon but then I saw this.

My sense is that there's no way you can hack up wheels like this and get them to truly balance out.

I'm leaning towards trashing these 16 inch wheels and starting over.
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

[Ride_On]

I'm no expert, but I would lean towards trashing those rims too. Usually, the narrower centre is drilled out wider to fit buses and Vanagons (I might have the smaller # wrong, but I believe from 57.1mm to 66.56mm).

Hope that's the only surprise!
Good luck!
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1977 Westfalia 2.0 FI Skills EJ25 w SubaruGears 5sp
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=687254
2018 Golf Sportwagen 4MO DSG (Dieselgated 2013 Golf Wagon TDI DSG)

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This was the stereo installed by a prev owner. Apparently this thing runs 17 dollars from walmart - I couldn't get the bluetooth to play right so I updated to this guy:

I went for this one because the remote had a power button, that way I can turn it off from the rear of the camper. Plus, I have a soft spot for the Nakamichi brand.

Next I installed a shut off valve for the front heater core. The heat was stuck on, and while I knew I might be able to fix it by getting the cable to work correctly, being in Texas I wanted to know there was no hot coolant going to the heater core at all.

I got it from TK, off his site: http://vanagonwestfaliaaccessories.com/. He shipped super fast. I know I could have gotten something from the FLAPS or Home Depot, but I love supporting entrepreneurial VW folks. Great quality.

The mechanic that did the conversion said that this will be fine because there's a bypass that routes to the thermostat, but I will monitor the water temps to see if this causes them to go up. If so I'll have to rethink this.

Today I changed the gear oil. Fun easy job and great way to get more familiar with this VW. I cannot believe how solid it is underneath. Just completely dry and beautiful.

The Subie exhaust it very close to the drain plug, it was tight but I was able to loosen the plug wihout messing with the exaust. A tarp make sure no gear oil got on it.

I went with 201 Sweepco. I was surprised that it was bright blue! 1 gallon was perfect to get it close to fill hole and account for some spills.

Grind it till ya find it.

I have all the receipts going back to the mid 90s and didn't see the gear oil being changed. It was nasty so maybe it could have been the first time. Some shavings, but no real chunks on the magnet.

I'm still annoyed at the wheel situation. I know I need a stud, and I'm wondering if these are the stock studs with these 16s. Why is there a MIA stud?
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Been on the samba so long I remember petting that dog to see VWs, WYHI, and green bug girl.

<-- Helga, she slammed her dub in '53 and adjusted valves with her teeth

[jasonpap2002]

Awesome van and nice write up. You really got moving on that one and getting it done. Looks great.

I am also in Austin w/ ej25 rig, https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=707113

See ya on the road!

Jason

[kourt]

I've got Mefro 15" wheels from Van Cafe that have been great.

I need to organize the ATX crowd for a fall meetup. I'll be at BusFest for the day on Saturday, 6 October, in Belton.

kourt

[SCM]

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