STOLEN: 1985 Westy in Portland, Oregon **FOUND**

[PDXWesty]

Heard this story on the news this morning:

http://www.kxl.com/van-manuscript-inside-stolen-se-portland/

Let's see if we can help this guy find his van!

Oregon license plates, 550 JEN
1985 VW Westfalia near SE 20th and Powell
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[candyman]

I hope he gets is back unharmed and with all his stuff.
Good grief its getting pretty stressful owning these nowadays. Used to be all I worried about was headgaskets. Now all the fires and thefts adds an element of stress that never used to be there since owning and daily driving these since the 90s

[drj434343]

Is there a sense that these are getting stolen more often because their value is increasing? Or have they always been targets because they're likely to contain other goodies inside?

[Andymon]

One reason I use The Club. Alarm is next.
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"Blanch" '85 Westy
"Too many freaks and not enough circuses".

[Ahwahnee]

[Wasted youth]

[Andymon]

Post in PNW stolen cars page on FB
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"Blanch" '85 Westy
"Too many freaks and not enough circuses".

[newfisher]

Is it just me or is it primarily Vanagon owners that are not on the Samba that don't have hidden cut off switches, clubs and Blazecut systems in their vans? I hope that all of the people here that have read these threads have taken the simple steps and protected themselves on both counts, theft and fire.

It sucks to always see a stolen van, a burned van etc but then I think of the simple solutions to these problems and wonder why people don't protect themselves and then it ends up as a " pitty for me, I lost me van"

The recent fire thread where a possible solar controller may have been the culprit is outside the scope of 1. fuel lines 2. left D pillar ac wire fire , but to read that another van in Portland was stolen is frustrating to process. Flip the hidden kill switch, toss the club on and go into the store. 6 seconds sure beats trying to find your van.

[Abscate]

[tjet]

[rcook52459]

this is getting real close to home now.
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85 westy tiico conversion.auto trans triumph TR250 1980 Suzuki GS1000l

[Merian]

I bet it is parked near the Springwater Corridor
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....

[?Waldo?]

[Sodo]

[?Waldo?]

From what I've seen, most of them are recovered not too long after being stolen and have been a temporary hangout for tweakers.

Regardless, a tracker would make short work of the search.
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I am a high-functioning autistic into VW diesels and Vanagons along with other things that are unrelated to this site.

[GWTWTLW]

I doubt if any of the vans stolen in Portland are being loaded on a flatbed. As Newfisher said, flip the kill switch and put the club on. More effective is the version that locks the brake or clutch pedal. I put mine on the clutch. It's not going to stop someone who's intent but it will slow down your average tweaker enough to go look somewhere else.
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89 Syncro Westy - GW 2.5, now with a double knob job
@gwtwtlw

[DwarfVader]

[chachi]

[davevickery]

For those who are interested. Here is what you get with a SPOT TRACE GPS tracking notification:
When the van starts to move you get an email. And it keeps track every 5 minutes putting another spot on the map where your van is and if it is moving or stopped.

Email looks like this, just telling you your van moved. This might be helpful if you got an unexpected email while you are shopping or something but the has to be stationary for at least 30 minutes I think before it would send a new email.

Date/Time:08/04/2016 14:34:03 MDT
Message: SPOT Trace has detected that the asset has moved.

Click the link below to see where the asset is located.
http://fms.ws/Zq8qg/40.53757N/105.05878W

You have to log onto their website to get all the useful details of where you van is headed or been.

I don't do anything with it now it is automatic. It is just battery powered and is supposed to last for up to a year I think on the batteries. If it doesn't go that long, I'll buy the 12V plug for it. It gets a good signal through the poptop roof, but it might not through a tintop). And it works off GPS and doesn't need a cell tower nearby so out in the National Forest it will still work. (although I have to get back to a cell connection to open the app on my phone to see where it is. It's $99/year.

The website is pretty good, but could be better. I think I could use it to retrace the GFPS coordinattes of a trip too. It certainly takes the worry out of leaving the van at a grocery store with the windows down open and doors unlocked.

I also have a hidden kill switch. I should check if I can get an insurance discount with this.

[PDXWesty]

I got word the van was found. Still trying to track down the details.
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto