New to the Westy scene

[Ma'ili Pt Westy]

I'm new to the Westy scene. I've had 60's type bugs for the past 20+ years. I'm now looking at Westy's 86 - 91, is this a good choice of years? What else should I look into when looking for my Westy?

[mcsyncro]

look into your soon to be empty checking account.

[Ma'ili Pt Westy]

I was originally going to buy a 1987 - 1988 911, now that would empty my checkbook, saving account and everything else that I have. A complete engine rebuild on a 911 will run somewhere around $10K - $15K, when I started to check into all the HIGH maintenance issues that is associated with the 911's, I decided to stick with my VW's

MCSyncro, how is the maintenance on your porsche? Is it as bad as a 911?

[0to60in6min]

welcome...

depending how good you are as "back yard mechanic", the previous post is right...

a car/van of 17+ years of age has a lot of fixing to do (small and big one)... a lot of little stuff to fix to make it right... and you won't want to pay $50+/hour for a mechanic to do that... i.e $50 as labor to change a gas cable (the gas cable is cheap)

[mcsyncro]

well..........any old porsche needs work now and then, but 944 turbos
are fairly reliable. i've had 911's and a 930, but I kinda like working
on them, (sick, i know) i drive my 944t almost everyday in the
summer because the A/C works in it way better than my syncro.
i'll go out on a limb and say that a 944t a one of the best bang for the
buck out there. they are cheap to buy, handle great, stop great, and
will make tons of hp. also my 944t gets 30mpg on the highway.
ok , get off my soap box now. buy the newest/least rusty/lowest
mileage westy you can afford. just like any other car you want to buy.

[rhpaw]

I would say that working on a 911 is just as easy as a vanagon. The parts however... can sometimes be insanely expensive. -the upside to that is, you don't find so many references to parts NLA.

I just finished a top end job with my 911. the total cost came out to somewhere slightly south of one grand. The work was all me, except for the valve work at a shop, and 3 friends to lift it on and of a stand.

I say buy a 911 AND a westy. that way you can have a hot spare when you need to take something apart. They're cousins and will get along swimmingly in the garage, you can buy your 20/50 in bulk and the engines are on the correct side on the vehicle.

Besides, I've found I've made a habit of having engines and cars that are interchangable. (I suppose it will help with eventual death and consolidation)

OH!! and I forgot.. when considering a westy.. watch out for that whole rust deal.. I didn't know about it when I got mine and I now have a van that's held together with bondo, paint and good intentions. It's fine unless someone leans against it.
I believe the rule of thumb is, "if you see rust on the outside seam, you're already fk'd.." -I could be misquoting..
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"z's house of boxer"

[McVanagon]

[joetiger]

[quote="rhpaw"]
I say buy a 911 AND a westy. that way you can have a hot spare when you need to take something apart. They're cousins and will get along swimmingly in the garage, you can buy your 20/50 in bulk and the engines are on the correct side on the vehicle.

quote]

Or, if you're on a much, much smaller budget, buy a Vanagon and an A2 GTI. The GTI is great for running to the store when the Vanagon is down (and vice-versa, of course)
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Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"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

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[rhpaw]

but the engine is on the wrong end of the car..
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"z's house of boxer"

[Ma'ili Pt Westy]

Has anyone done business with JDB out of Commerece Co? I checked out thier website and wanted to know if any Westy people out in Co. have any feed back on JDB. They have an inventory of Westy's.

[rhpaw]

RE- JDB
I did a search on here when I was originally looking.. The opinions aren't fantastic. basically:
overpriced and questionable quality.
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"z's house of boxer"