Vanagon Resurrection

[cmyoch]

I assessed our recent '84 Vanagon GL purchase today and took some pictures. I posted my introduction to the Vanagon group the other day. This van has been sitting for 10 years which the overall mechanical condition of the drivetrain was completely unknown. After an hour or so at home, we replaced the ignition module and swapped out the coil to ensure we had spark. One spray of starting fluid and the engine fired! Next I plan on hooking up an auxiliary fuel source to verify fuel delivery. I would like to keep the fuel tank empty since it will need to be pulled in order to address the blown out brake line(s). I also looked over the factory sunroof. It is stuck in an almost closed position where the crank gear is not pulling the cables. It seems to be skipping over them. I managed to retract the headliner from the sunroof panel and push it a little more closed so that water will not seep in. My '74 Super Beetle has a manual sunroof so I'm familiar with how the system works. The crank portion though is further forward on the Vanagon and I'm curious how I address any issues with the cables when hidden inside the roof? Hopefully the headliner doesn't need to be removed in order to restore it. Also, there's a blue rubber seal that looks bound up in the roof panel. I'm not sure what that is for but I'll look it over when I pop the steel roof off.

Here are today's photos. The body is fairly straight with rust in the quarters, front door steps, and channel underneath the sliding doors. Both the passenger front door and sliding door do not open from the outside so I'll have to pull the door cards off and repair/replace the latch mechanisms. The passenger vent window was shattered when the PO had it in storage. The engine bay is filthy from sitting for years and that will get a good degrease and pressure wash soon.

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1974 Super Beetle (Factory Sunroof)
1974 Super Beetle Convertible
1984 Vanagon GL (Factory Sunroof)

Jack of all trades. Master of none!

[zuhandenheit]

Hell yeah, save that van.

Rust is pretty bad but the underside looks great. And the stainless coolant pipes suggest that someone cared about it once upon a time.