How did YOU get into Vanagons?

[fishgo]

How did I get my first Vanagon in July 2018:

When I was born in 1967, my parents owned a Beetle. During the student riots in Madison, WI, I was two-months old and was placed in the very back window area (behind the read bench seat) as the "car seat" of the day. My dad got caught driving, going down a street between protesters and police, with Mace cans and mace smoke streaming around.

I went through a series of VWs in college. I would buy one for $200, transfer my $300 stereo into it and drive it for a year or 2. And as stuff broke, I would just disconnect it and keep driving. That experience taught me how to fix things on VWs straight out the "Idiot's" Guide by Muir. That culminated when I was 22 and took a train out to Oregon to purchase a 1967 VW Beetle which I owned for the next ten years.

Fast-forward to the Winter of 2018. My wife and I wanted to have a warm spring break trip, and she was searching for camping places on the Florida Glamping site. On there was listed a company in Tampa that rented Bay Window Westys. I said, sure, lets rent one for the week.

Previous to that rental, I had been looking at tear-drop mini-campers, the ones with a small bedroom and kitchen galley out the back hatch. Even purchased a car to pull the trailer around.

Well, upon arrival in Tampa and a quick tour of the '78 van, it took about five minutes of driving around and the love of old VWs came flooding back. The sounds, the smells, the joy of my old Beetle returned. And the first night camping, rolling out of bed and making coffee, cemented NOT getting a tear-drop camper trailer.

That week, however, changed my mind on older Bays. The "fridge" was a block of ice in the Westy cooler. The 5 gallon water tank. And way too much attention from people wanting to look and talk and stop us with questions and photos of the "classic" VW bus. Too much attention and not enough modern amenities for my liking.

Fast forward after my return, and searching all kinds of sites for Vanagons for sale, I found one here on Samba. The transaction took months to happen and finalize, but I am still thrilled with my 1983 2.0 AC Vanagon. More appreciative is the 20,000 miles I've put on in the summer driving since I've purchased the van. I'm over 257,000 miles now on the odometer and while there's pesky little things needing attention, the van is strong, everything works, and I can trust hopping in and driving across the country for work or vacations.

[mikemtnbike]

I have great young adult VW experiences- roommate in college owned a bay we drove all over the country to see some band or another and I owned a 84 Wolfsburg rabbit convertible probably the most fun car I’ve owned- but they did not directly impact my entry to the Vanagon world.

I was wanting to get back into working on my own cars and was shopping for an 80s era US truck to use for hauling and camping. My van came up on craigslist and huh that would work for the same purposes and was in my budget range. One test drive and the next stop was the bank. Next stop after that was the gas station where I discovered my tank needed to be resealed BAD and thus my Vanagon ownership truly began.

Literally the best spontaneous purchase of my life I can’t imagine not having the van now and am casually shopping for a “new “ mk1 convertible.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie"
In an abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.

[4mymalamute]

It started with my first car being a type3 squareback....then moved to a ghia, 60 bus, then in 1995 while living in Truckee I purchased my first Syncro Vanagon. I was hooked. Had that one only for two years (ended up living in it for a summer while I purchased my first home in Truckee)..sold it and now 20 plus years later I have another Syncro. I am keeping this one for a LONG time.
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1989 Sally the Syncro.....she is a work in progress.

[hartung105]

[Abscate]

I got routinely stuffed head first into the Bug car seat by two older brothers, usually head first. I got my first camper in college as my DD , first a Bay camper, then a Bay tin top. Bought/sold/drove 9 more Bays

Much later in grad school in Ithaca I got tired of -20F and got my first 1983 diesel T3 with a 5 speed. Lovely, lovely heat.

Drove that until 2000’ sold it, bought a T4 in 2002

I bother Vanagon people too, btw
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.ssS!

[a2wolfsburggli]

My history of VW's is long. The Vanagon just seemed like the next step in my de-evolution of buying reliable, easy to work on VAG products.

Previous:
'85 Merkur XR4ti (Not a VW, but a temperamental German / American redheaded step child.)
'84 GLI with Autotech Supercharger
'89 Helios Jetta
'89 Helios Jetta #2
'95.5 URS6
'02 ALMS TT with about 325hp
'04 Audi A4 Quattro
'04 Touareg V8 Full Tech package
'07 Passat TDI Wagon

Current:
09 VW CC 3.6L 4Motion R36 wannabe
and of course the '87 Westy 2.1L
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Current: '87 Westfalia | '16 Audi Q5 3.0T S-Line w/sport package.

Past: '09 CC 3.6L 4motion "R36 wannabe" | '02 Audi TT "ALMS Edition" | '84 Jetta GLI with Autotech Supercharger | '89 Helios Jetta GLI 16v's (x2) | '95.5 URS6 | and the list goes on.

Never underestimate the entertainment value of OCD overruling Common Sense

[joetiger]

Short version:

We test-drove a brand new 1977 tin top when I was six. I remember the white interior, how perfect it was, and even remember how it smelled. I loved it. My parents bought a Ford Econoline instead. I was crestfallen.

I had a '79 Rabbit C in high school which solidified my love of VW's and led to many other water cooled VWs; I had Rabbits, Sciroccos, and Golfs throughout my teens and 20's.

In 1998 I was preparing to get married, settle down and move to the 'burbs when, quite unexpectedly, the relationship abruptly ended. I subsequently spun off the surface of the planet. A few months later my roomie and I got kicked out of our house for too many noise complaints, and I needed something big to move my stuff with. There was an '85 Vanagon GL in Marine Blue down the street for sale for $1000, so I thought I'd give it a look instead of spending $300 on a Uhaul van.

I'll never forget that first drive...Coolest vehicle ever. It turned out that I also needed to remove myself from the life I thought I'd wanted and I couldn't have been paired with a better vehicle for the reboot. It literally changed my life.

I sold my 1986 Scirocco 16V two weeks later and have been primarily a Vanagon guy ever since. The Syncro is #4.

Long version:

The first three chapters (pre-edit) of a book I'm writing about my family's experiences with our Westfalia.
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Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'85 928S
'19 Golf R
'02 Beetle GLS

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

[Blaque Jacques]

I grew up in Tanzania in the 70's. We would take holiday by going on safari to one of the great game parks. the vehicles were old Kombi's that were painted in zebra stripes. Best times of my life! Long after moving back to the US my sisters boyfriend at the time bought a 78 westy. When they broke up he got the house and she got the VW. She was having a hard time with the break-up so I invited her to come out west from Virginia. I was a mt. bike guide vagabond and it was winter so I talked her into driving the van down to Oaxaca in S. Mexico, where I had spent a few months the previous winter. Neither of us had any mechanical experience but didn't think too much of taking a 25 year old Bus 2000 miles into Mexico and back. We bought a crate of used books in Tucson and a couple of surf boards and had a great 3 month beach adventure. 6 years later I borrowed the van along with my now wife and we did an abbreviated version through Mazatlán with the ferry across to Baja and back up.
Fast forward 6 years. Married with a 2 year old and one on the way. Looking for a minivan or something 'reliable' with A/C for the hot desert summer. in our search we find an 86 Westy a friend of a friend is selling. no A/c, original everything 210k miles. One test drive and that's all it takes. All of the memories of the road trips in the 78 and the thought of raising our girls in a Bus. We scrapped up the cash and a month later road trip out to Yosemite. We've roadtripped all over the west and down to Cabo and back. Our girls are 9 and 6 now and have grown up in the westy. Best purchase I've ever made!
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86 2wd Westy GW2200. 99 EVC. Lots and lots of bikes

[Blaque Jacques]

I grew up in Tanzania in the 70's. We would take holiday by going on safari to one of the great game parks. the vehicles were old Kombi's that were painted in zebra stripes. Best times of my life! Long after moving back to the US my sisters boyfriend at the time bought a 78 westy. When they broke up he got the house and she got the VW. She was having a hard time with the break-up so I invited her to come out west from Virginia. I was a mt. bike guide vagabond and it was winter so I talked her into driving the van down to Oaxaca in S. Mexico, where I had spent a few months the previous winter. Neither of us had any mechanical experience but didn't think too much of taking a 25 year old Bus 2000 miles into Mexico and back. We bought a crate of used books in Tucson and a couple of surf boards and had a great 3 month beach adventure. 6 years later I borrowed the van along with my now wife and we did an abbreviated version through Mazatlán with the ferry across to Baja and back up.
Fast forward 6 years. Married with a 2 year old and one on the way. Looking for a minivan or something 'reliable' with A/C for the hot desert summer. in our search we find an 86 Westy a friend of a friend is selling. no A/c, original everything 210k miles. One test drive and that's all it takes. All of the memories of the road trips in the 78 and the thought of raising our girls in a Bus. We scrapped up the cash and a month later road trip out to Yosemite. We've roadtripped all over the west and down to Cabo and back. Our girls are 9 and 6 now and have grown up in the westy. Best purchase I've ever made!
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86 2wd Westy GW2200. 99 EVC. Lots and lots of bikes

[vwwasatch]

In the 70’s a buddy in high school had bus that I thought was really cool, even though I was driving a 59 Triumph TR3A. In the 80’s I went camping with a friends who had a 71 westy and while I was trying to set up my tent in the rain late on a Friday night they were snug and warm in their westy fast asleep. I got home from that weekend trip and found a 70 westy with barely a straight body panel but no rust and a good engine, so I bought it for $1,000.00. On one of my earliest trips I took my brother down to Moab to Mountain Bike. After that trip he bought an 84 Westy which he later sold to me when he moved to New York.

[OzzieJo]

Never had a VW...Never even contemplated getting one …. that was until about 6 years ago!.

My Wife likes to take her horse out on some of the trails in the bush near us, so one day while riding she came across a T3 with a Trakka pop top conversion. When she got home she told me about it and I just thought that another car had been dumped in the bush as a wreck.

Anyway about two weeks later we were out on our mountain bikes and she said "lets go and have a look at that old car I found". After a bit of a trek we finally arrived at the spot and this T3 appeared out of the bush. All of the doors and windows were closed, top was down, no visible panel damage, and it looked as though it had been untouched for years. Cautiously I opened the sliding door half expecting to find a body, but nothing was there except the remnants of the previous owner and a nest of bush rats. Apart from a lot of dirt, moss and grime (both inside and out) the car looked pretty good, the tires, although down, still held air and the engine looked OK. The vehicle showed obvious signs of being stolen as the ignition had been tampered with and the steering lock had been smashed. We searched through the car and found what we thought were the owners details, placed these in a back pack and then left the old girl as we had found it.

When we got to a place where I could get some mobile reception I called the owner. He seemed less than impressed that his personal details were still in the car, and explained that the van had been stolen from him 5 years ago. When I asked him what he wanted to do with it he said that he wasn't interested in doing anything with it as the car didn't belong to him anymore, it belonged to the insurance company, and that was basically that.

The following morning I rang the local police and they confirmed that the vehicle had been reported stolen from a town not too far away in 2010, it was subsequently "found" and the location passed onto the insurance company for recovery. I also sent a text message to the previous owner and asked if he would provide me with the insurer’s details, which he did after only a short delay. With this info in hand I gave the insurance company a call, I told them the story of how my wife had found the vehicle and that we wanted to recover it with the intent of restoring it back to roadworthy condition, and would they be prepared to transfer ownership to me. The claim clerk liked the "story" and said that she would get back to me. To my surprise about 15 minutes later she called back and said "its yours", to which I replied "can I get that in writing".."sure, I'll send something out in the next 2-3 days. Now what to do...I had just taken responsibility (liability) for a vehicle that was dumped in the bush.

Now I was the proud owner of a T3 camper, but I had no idea how to go about getting it registered, so off to the motor registry I went. I explained the story down at the motor registry, and asked how I could go about getting it registered again. After a few taps on the computer the motor registry clerk said "Sorry written off vehicles can't be re-registered in NSW" and handed me the relevant fact sheet. Oh man, now I am responsible for a T3 camper, that's stuck in the bush and is only good for scrap. So I went home quite deflated.

When I got home I sat down on the couch and started reading the fact sheet that I had been given and it quite clearly stated in bold "Written off vehicles cannot be re-registered in NSW". I'm not sure why but I elected to read on, anyway over the next page I struck gold when I found a the following statement..."These laws apply to all light vehicles........,up to 15 years old". The T3 was a late 84 model so I was in the clear. Back to the motor registry I went with my new info, and when confronted with the new facts they agreed the vehicle could in fact be re-registered. Now how was I going to get it home!!

The T3 was located about 500-600 metres off a main dirt road, but the track that it was driven in on had become quite overgrown and a large tree had fallen across it about half way up.

Over the next few nights I did some research on T3s and downloaded a wiring diagram, workshop manual and a few other bits and pieces and then searched on YouTube "how to hotwire a car"...yes you can find anything on youtube. Now armed with wiring diagram and a basic knowledge of how to become a car thief I had my wife drop me off at the start of the track, and I set off into the bush with a wheelbarrow full of tools, multimeter, a can of WD-40, and a new battery.

My first task was to clear a bit of space around the T3 so I could work on it, it must have been there for at least 4-5 years as a small tree about 20-30cm in diameter was growing up from underneath it, had curved its way around the body and was now about 20ft high. I checked in the engine bay and everything seemed to be there that should be and I could turn the engine over by hand. I checked all the electrical connections that I could find and then put the new battery in. After checking a few wires with the multimeter I found what I thought was the ignition, starter and battery. I connected the ignition and battery together, and heard a few relays clicking and the petrol pump started running, then touched the starter wire to the battery....nothing...damn. I climbed under the car and gave the starter motor a few taps with a hammer and tried again. This time I could hear the starter clicking...a few more taps...now I could hear the starter spinning, but it wouldn't engage. After a few more taps I gave it another go and the engine began to crank. Then after only a few cranks I could hear it trying to get back into life. I had a 20L jerry can of fuel in the wheelbarrow, so I poured that into the tank and gave it another go and to my surprise the old engine sputtered back into life. It sounded like a chaff cutter and blew a bit of smoke (well quite a lot really !!) but it was running and maintaining a rough idle. By this time it was getting quite late in the afternoon and I didn’t have a plan B (Extraction of dumped van from bush) so I elected to cover the old girl up with a few branches and made an attempt to cover my tracks as I retreated out of the bush. My Plan B would have to wait until the following weekend.

The week ticked by super slow and every other night I made the trek back into the bush to check that my new van had not been discovered and stolen out from under me. I carefully crafted an extraction plan that involved both stealth and cunning, and keenly waited for the weekend to arrive.

Saturday arrived and around mid morning I got my Wife to drop me off back up near the van. Armed with a chainsaw and a pruning saw I commenced slowly cutting a track from the van back down to the main dirt road. Once this was done I jumped in the van and cautiously drove it out and onto main road where my Wife was waiting with a car trailer.

Once loaded up we rattled on down the road with our booty…a not so new T3 Camper.

When I got the van home I gave it a good wash down and was amazed at how good it looked,

but that excitement soon turned to disappointment. Over the next few weeks as I pulled up carpet, peered behind panels etc I just found more and more rust. The entire floor pan was rusted out on the drivers side and nearly every other panel had signs of rust. After a few more months of trying to get this beast safely back on the road I realised that it was a lost cause and gave up.

In researching the many repairs required for the van above I had somehow come across “The Samba” an the Wetfalia style campers really appealed to me due to their iconic design and utility. Unfortunately the Westfalia style of camper wasn’t sold into Australia so I decided to make my own. I purchased a tin top van of ebay for $1,200 and then managed to find a Westfalia PopTop in Chicago and have that shipped out. At this point I was just going to cut a hole in the TinTopand bolt the Westfalia PopTop on, however after a bit more research I managed to gain the confidence to do a full donor roof replacement. Through a few great members of the Samba I managed to ship over a complete Westy roof skin that had been cut off at the pillars, and the rest is history …. Well its another Samba thread actually.

Not the yet …. But someday !!

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=712964

[AZ Landshaper]

I went AWOL from the Hargrove military academy in 1987 got picked up hitchhiking around Danville VA by a guy in a tintop. He couldn’t believe my getup. I was dressed in BDUs and a sleeveless dress shirt, banadana on the head. He was on dead tour. I stayed on thru the spring tour. Hit shows in NC and DC and great woods and a half dozen other spots. We ended up getting arrested on the PA turnpike after a “routine stop”
From the minute I got in and saw the sink and ice box and The fold out bed I was in love w the VW van. This guy had a parrot and a girlfriend I simply fell in love with as well. It was all I could think about till 1993 when I moved out west. Sold my f150 and bought a 72 Camp-mobile.

I dropped out of VW after a 5 year love affair w the vans. Many vans.

Got back in when I stumbled across an so-42 camper in 2013. Bought it for 1200 and sold it for 7500. Been buying and camping and selling since. Some say “flipper” but I buy vans that are dead and try my best to bring them back to life. I drive em for thousands of miles and camp in them and when something else comes along I sell them. Love the Dubs but think it’s more fun to work on them and revive them than drive them. Love the smell too.

Dubs up!
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Support Small Business.

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85 Weekender w/ EJ22
Previously
64, 71, 72, 73, 76, 81, 84, 85 & 87 Campmobiles and Westfalias
and a 67 bug.

[10degnorth]

Not sure I can quite top the tale above me haha.

My family has owned a van long that I've been alive. My Grandfather had on orange 1960's Econoline that he would use to transport the family around in for road trips back in the 70's when my dad was a kid. I distinctly remember stories of my dad and his sister riding in the back of that van from Oregon down to San Francisco with no seat belts, napping away in the back.

My mother remembers her cousin and her new boyfriend showing up to their home in a 60's VW Bus and thinking it was the coolest thing sometime in the 70's or 80's.

In the 90's my parents owned a bright green 70's or 80's Econoline that was used in the Columbia River Gorge for camping and toting around windsurfing gear (as Oregonians did in the 90's). That couple from earlier ended up with a 1984 Westfalia which was originally two tone, beige over brown. Sometime in the late 90's or early 2000's my father helped paint it to a solid beige, complete with brown pin striping. My parents later owned another similar era dark green Econoline and now have a 07' Sportsmobile. Guess what? Still used for moving around windsurfing gear.

That beige van was my first experience with Vanagons, however, early on my only experience with it was seeing it in my uncle's garage, broken down, as per usual. It didn't run for a number of years, but I always heard the stories of fantastic trips in the Vanagon while I experienced my own fantastic trips in the Econolines, but the Ford life was never for me.

My first car was a 1965 Baja Bug, that's what hooked me on VW's. Nearly every vacation through my whole life was in a van, so that how I got hooked on vans. It was only natural the two would collide.

The Vanagon came to me in a dream, I was awoken by the phantom sound of that amazing sliding door and from there I was hooked and knew I needed one. And so I went out and got one. It was the first vehicle I ever purchased outright with my own money. I bought my 1988 Weekender 2 years ago and don't plan on letting it go any time soon.
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1988 Microsquirted, Wolfsburg Vanagon: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=708000&highlight=

Microsquirt Guide (WIP): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1laXykNPbRYS8MT...2imqd2pnx7