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What options packages were avaiable in the westies?
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2003 11:16 pm    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

I am shopping for a westy and was wondering what option packages were offered? I have seen ads for deluxe westies? Did any of them come with furnaces?

Thanks for the help,
Scott
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NeverHadaBeetle
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 4:06 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

Your gonna' have to narrow down your request to a few specific years or we could just go on and on and on with info. Options wise they were basically the same from 1968-73 with sinks and ice boxes, but very few cook stove models and practically no bed in the pop top. From 1974-79 they had a nice useable bed in the pop top and could be purchased with a stove and electric fridge. Many details in between, but that's about as general as it gets. Deluxe Westfalias had the stove,sink, and electric fridge where standards only had a sink and non-powered ice box. Layouts were basically the same between standards and deluxes. Westfalias never came with a furnace except for the gas powered unit available in all busses, but is not really considered camping equipment. The 1993-up Winnebago Eurovans have forced air propane furnaces and I have seen several people install these in older campers, but they were never an option. Good luck with your search.
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notsobigkahuna
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 6:26 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

sadly, canadian deluxe buses didn't get a stove! (not until the first vanagon)they only had the 2 way fridge. i'm trying to make my 78 standard into an American Deluxe....
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 10:18 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

Thanks, as for narrowing years I was leaning twards a 71 or a 78-79. But like anything else condition is what really matters so a great condition bus in another year may be the final decision.

At risk of sounding like a complete idiot (I am a novice thought) can you elaborate on the gas heater. Is this standard for all models? Does it heat the entire bus or the cab? Also could someone give me an overview on the dual battery system? Is this for a power inverter setup, and is the setup standard?

Another question is about A/C. Normally it wouldn't matter but I live in Las Vegas. Temps over 100 are the norm. What years/engines would come with an A/C option?

Thanks for all the help. After searching the web for about 3 months now this is the best site I have found for fanatics!!

I'm off to look at a couple local busses for sale...

-Scott
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meredith@fivepointedstar.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 11:21 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

I'd say if A/C is a requirement you should consider the Vanagon Westies. There are some buses with A/C that I've seen online, but they are pretty rare. You might be able to find a 78 or 79 with A/C, though. I have a 78 Riviera Westy that I love. It has a gas heater, though it doesn't work -- which seems to be par for the course. We looked at a 71 before buying our 78 and I have to say there is such a huge difference in the engine. In the 71 we felt like we were crawling along, very underpowered -- it's basically a bug engine. But in the 78 we really feel like we've got power. Good luck to you on your search. I spent about a month on The Samba every night before eventually finding our bus at a local show. It really is a great place to look and learn.

Meredith
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 12:07 pm    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

The gas heaters are not on all busses. The gas heaters heat the whole bus cabin, but I remember my brother had a bus with a canvas wall that snapped in behind the front seats, and he'd hook up a dryer vent hose to the heater out let, and just heat the front area. We could even defrost the windows really quick with it. If you search the forums here, or google it, there is a guy who makes aftermarket A/C units for westies, but I think it's pretty expensive. If you're mechanically inclined and creative, you might be able to install something from a car in the junk yard, I've considered trying that, but I've got lots of other projects that are more important! Jeremy
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 6:34 pm    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

If you can get a engine a/c bracket for your engine, any VintageAir dealer can install a a/c system for your bus. It isn't cheap, but it can be done.
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crukab
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 8:37 pm    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

Scott,Gas heaters were "available" for any bus, they did'nt come with every bus, it was a option, they are more common in the 74-79 westys, I guess with the delux model, there again you had to order it.
Getting AC & a gas heater in one bus would be alot of work, if your flexable between a bubble window & a vanagon, and you want AC & heat, get a Vanagon westy, I recomend a 86 or newer Vanagon, but thats my preferance.
We camp with a 91 Vanagon carat/wlfsbrg, not a camper, but the rear seat folds into a bed, comes with curtains, we carry a cooler & coleman 2 burner stove, a couple plastic "Fish tubs" (for you kitchen guys out there!) for dishes & dry goods, it works well for us, gone 16,000 miles camping the last 3 summers, loved it !!
Tom in Vt.
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josh
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 02, 2003 11:59 pm    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

The gas heater was only standard in Alaska. They work very well if insalled and maintained correctly, otherwise they are a hazzard(fire). I installed one in a 77 bus. It was a lot of work and I did reasearch to make sure it was done correctly. I found out that if I didn't install it correctly I probably would have set my bus on fire, so be carefull. Performance wise the cab heated faster than most watercooled cars and didn't use much fuel at all.
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 03, 2003 10:25 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

Well I looked at a westy with A/C yesterday. It was an AZ resident most of its life before moving here to Las Vegas and has no rust and a new cheaply done paint job.

I think it also must have had a gas heater too. There was a separate exhaust pipe coming out of the tail end. Does that sound right? The guy who had it didn't know much about it at all.

She need brake work as well. I would guess a new master as there was no visible leaks around the drums/disks.

One thing I noticed was that the propane valves and fill were on the drivers side. She is a '78 and all the pic I have seen of '78s have had it on the pass side. Was '78 a half year or dependent upon options?

One of the down's in my book is that she has an automatic tranny. Does anyone have any experience with the automatic trannys? How do they fair? With only a 2 liter it seems tough to justify the power loss due an automatic.

She also had a turnkey engine installed 29k ago. How long should a rebuild be good for?

An my final... and I am sure not my last, question is about the cabinets. They were starting to delaminate. I would guess this is common with the age. How difficult is it to fiz delaminated cabinets?

Thanks for all your help!!

-Scott
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jeremysmithatshawdotca
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 03, 2003 12:58 pm    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

The laminate can be a bitch to get off! I re did some in a 77 last year, and I took a week to scrape and chip all the old lam off. In the process a lot of the plywood underneath got all shredded for two plys, so I used bondo to bring it all back up and level it. If I had to do it again, I'd just get the loose lam off, and go straight to the bondo to fill the holes in the lam. Sand the entire surface, and use contact cement to recover with the veneer of your choice. I went with Birch veneer, stained dark green, looked great. The veneer I got came from quebec, and had a heat activated glue backing, and I did not like working with it, had to slice into too many bubbles under the veneer and remelt the glue. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/43413.jpg
The gas heater will be to the left side of the engine (dr side) and have its own exhaust behind the bach wheel. Don't know about automatics, but if you really didn't like it, you would probably be able to switch it at somepoint down the road. Jeremy
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 1:11 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

Boydresseraol.com is her email.
This is Kathy, her man has a 74 highroof for sale in Vegas, you might check it out. She'd emailed me, about a pic I had posted, and I pointed her in your direction too. Jeremy
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 6:37 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

Scott, more than likely it does not have a heater in it. If it did, it would be a BA 6 heater and it would be mounted under the center of the bus. The 'exhaust' pipes you are seeing came on 78 and 79 buses. They are just going to the heater flapper valves. VW put them on to stop the heat from the heater boxes from dumping in front of the engine. Go here:
http://www.bug-bits.freeserve.co.uk/ramva/fiche/t202410.gif

11A are the flapper valves and 41 are the pipes.

If it had a BA 6 gas heater, you would see this under the bus:
http://www.bug-bits.freeserve.co.uk/ramva/fiche/t202720.gif

There would be a large flat plate with slots in it bolted to the frame.
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NeverHadaBeetle
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 7:38 am    Post subject: What options packages were avaiable in the westies? Reply with quote

Regarding the Westy you looked at on Saturday; it probably isn't a 1978 factory conversion if the propane tank is on the drivers side. Probably converted by a previous owner. Finding the BA-6 heater and A/C on one bus will be nearly impossible because they mount in the same place underneath the bus. You basically get one or the other. A decent rebuild should go 75,000 or more, but everything depends on maintenance of the engine and how you drive it. Automatics are not as bad as you would think. Top gear in an auto is slightly lower than 4th gear in a 4-speed. I have had several autos and they have all worked well and given me no problems. They are very nice in town, but I would prefer a 4-speed if I lived in a hilly or mountainous area. I have yet to find anything that works well to re-glue the old laminate. I have used several types of contact cement specially designed for formica. Last week I purchased a glue called "Gorilla Glue" which was highly touted by the hardware store. I will try it on a Westfalia I am working on now. I have glued and clamped and glued and clamped, but once the original laminate lifts and curls it is VERY difficult to ever get it to stay down again. Good luck.
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