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dachary
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2013
Posts: 130
Location: Boston
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 Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:21 am Post subject: |
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Much delayed - first by finances and then it took 3 weeks for the shop to be done with her - but Sally is painted!
Sally is Yellow! by CorporateRunaways, on Flickr
Very Yellow Vanagon by CorporateRunaways, on Flickr
Yellow Sally Side Shot by CorporateRunaways, on Flickr
And for comparison - a before and after:
Sally Painting Before-After by CorporateRunaways, on Flickr
Had it done at Maaco, because that was the only place nearby that could actually fit it into their paint booth. High top is great but does add complication. We paid around $5,300, which included some body work - fixing some dents and stripping the seams that were starting to rust. They didn't paint the high top - that would have added around $2,000 to the cost, they wouldn't warrant it because it was fiberglass and they didn't know how it would come out, and they wanted to remove the windows to paint the high top - and those are literally irreplaceable windows, so we didn't want to risk breakage. We may do something with the high top ourselves at some point, but for now we can feel confident that she won't rust away over the winter.
Huzzah! She's looking pretty good. Within 5 minutes of driving out of the Maaco, we got two random passers by complementing her, and a bunch of people in our neighborhood have stopped to comment on how nice she looks.
On the downside, Maaco somehow lost our heat/defrost fan knob, stripped the driver's side window crank, and messed up the gaskets on the driver's side window to the point that the window doesn't want to roll up and down freely, and there's a gap at the top of the window. So now I've had to order new parts to replace that stuff, which has been around $160 from GoWesty.
We did strip the door panels, rear view mirrors, window cranks, etc. ourselves because we've been into the doors before, we know how they work, and we didn't want to risk the shop breaking anything. They initially oversprayed our door handles and the brass part of the sliding door, but we had to take it back in this AM after picking it up last night because they had forgotten to reinstall the weather strips on the front doors, so I had them clean off the door handles and it's looking good now! I guess using Maaco is not without risks, but it was our only real option when all was said and done.
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'82 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen High Top |
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srmpf
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2011
Posts: 296
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| Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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looks great. reminds me of the postal service vans back in germany when I grew up  $5k for a Maaco paint job sounds a lot. how much was paint and how much body work?
btw: painting the fiberglass top is easy. Interlux makes a great primer and paint for fiberglass boats. works very well on our tops. Did that two years ago and the top looks like new. here's pic of the paint cans I've used: https://www.flickr.com/photos/srmpf/7150448491/in/set-72157626192344066 |
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dachary
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2013
Posts: 130
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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| srmpf wrote: |
| looks great. reminds me of the postal service vans back in germany when I grew up $5k for a Maaco paint job sounds a lot. how much was paint and how much body work? |
Paint was $1600 (base coat + clear coat + color change + urethane sealer + excessive chip repair + finish sand and polish), they charged $1170 for "materials and supply", $2340 for body labor, and the rest was tax. They did some body work - removing a couple of minor dents, welding up some holes so they wouldn't rust, stripping the seams where a little surface rust was starting, and of course the prep charges for things like stripping the windows/gaskets, etc. We tried to save some money and prevent damage by disassembling the doors ourselves, removing the rear view mirrors, etc. but we left the gaskets on so they didn't take any off the price. Bah.
It turns out they didn't bother to reinstall the door gaskets before we picked it up - we went to get it and saw the gaskets laying in the back of the van, so we had to go back the next day to have those put back. They said they thought we had taken those off since we did so much of the other disassembly. They also couldn't get the driver's side window gasket to seat properly after painting it, so they said basically "sorry, you're going to have to order a new set of gaskets, and oh, by the way, we stripped the window crank trying to deal with it." So now I've got an order in to GoWesty for a new gasket set and window crank, and in the meantime we can't use the driver's side window. I guess it was hoping for a lot to expect things to go completely smoothly when using Maaco, but they were well reviewed and recommended by a couple of other shops around here that couldn't fit the high top into their paint booths.
FWIW, it's the third quote I got and like the 6th or 7th shop I called trying to find a place to do the job. It wasn't the cheapest, but it was about 1/3 the cost of the highest quote I got. I opted to go there based on the feedback from other shops in the area.
That's really helpful to know! I still think eventually we're going to want to remove the high top entirely, clean up the metal where it was installed and re-install and seal it properly. Whenever we get into that can of worms, I'll add this to our to-do list.
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'82 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen High Top |
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22668
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Did I read that right? Someone quoted you 15k for body and paint??
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.ssS! |
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dachary
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2013
Posts: 130
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Abscate wrote: |
| Did I read that right? Someone quoted you 15k for body and paint?? |
Indeed! IIRC it was a bit below that, but we rounded to that. It was more of a full restoration job, though - removing the high-top, stripping things down to the metal, etc. We didn't really have the budget for that level of job, and we didn't really want to strip things down to the metal anyway since we've done a ton of soundproofing and custom wiring and whatnot, so we kept looking and went with Maaco's more basic options.
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'82 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen High Top |
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dachary
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2013
Posts: 130
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 1:58 pm Post subject: Time to say Goodbye |
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I'm sad to say, we've decided it's time to part ways with Sally. We love her dearly and it's a shame to sell her now that we've gotten her all fixed up, but after almost getting stuck in the mud earlier this year, and taking a much harder, more realistic look at the places we want to go, we're gonna bite the bullet and look for something 4WD. Currently considering Sportsmobile and Earth Cruiser, both of which are a whole different class than our modest camper van - but the Vanagon introduced us to integrated living, and helped us realize exactly how far we could go with the right tool for the job. And after 60+ nights and ~15,000 miles, I'd say we got the systems exactly right when we upgraded our Vanagon's camping interior.
That being said, she's now such a one-of-a-kind creature that I'm not remotely sure what to ask for her. I'm preparing her now for some fresh pictures so I can list her, but do you guys have any thoughts on asking price? Here is a list of the updates we've done (with some added explanation for some of it for people unfamiliar with these systems/options):
1982 VW Vanagon Westfalia (diesel) w/Adventurewagen High Top
“Sally”
Camping Upgrades
- Propex HS2000 propane heater
- TF-49 Truckfridge refrigerator
- SHURflo faucet and upgraded water pump
- Bus Depot gray water holding tank
- Installed retractable cutting board above TF-49 Fridge
Body/Interior Upgrades
- New custom sunroof for Adventurewagen high top from Bomon Marine Equipment in Canada
- Pergo Cross Sawn Chestnut wood flooring replacing stock camping interior carpet
- Premium SewFine Vanagon Curtains
- Premium Dynamat Soundproofing in both front and sliding doors, behind sink/stove cabinet and refrigerator, on engine compartment, under bench seat
- Replaced thermal insulation behind camping cabinets, around refrigerator, in sliding door
- Added side access door and removable, adjustable shelves to closet behind bench seat
Electrical Upgrades (House System)
- Concorde SunXtender AGM Deep Cycle Battery
- Kyocera KD140SX Solar Panel (140 watt) on a Thule extended roof rack
- SunSaver 15 Amp MPPT
- Iota DLS-45 12v 45 Amp Regulated Battery Charger w/IQ4 3-stage charging (Charges house battery when plugged into shore power + providing power to operate camping equipment)
- Pentametric 3-Channel Battery Monitor System (monitors house battery, starter battery and solar panels)
- Blue Sea Accessory Blade Fuse Block (to operate camping accessories)
- Blue Sea Circuit Breakers to isolate/protect house battery, solar system, IOTA charger/shore power
- Battery relay isolating house/starter battery
- Replaced shore power connections with clean fittings, GFCI, replaced existing 110v outlet in camper with modern outlet + w/2 USB charging slots
- New wiring when possible, marine grade fittings, refresh/clean connections on existing wiring
Mechanical Upgrades (done by prior owner)
- 1.6TD long block engine w/turbo injection pump + upgraded transmission
- A whole lot of cleaning up prior mechanics' work, improving installs, and lots of fixes of aging systems
Other Upgrades
- Upgraded Bluetooth sound system w/hands-free calling (Alpine stereo + upgraded speakers in front and rear)
- Rhino Center Console from GoWesty
-Custom easy-remove dog bed on rear cabinets in front of closet
Based on this, and the body being in excellent condition with a new paint job last fall and no mechanical issues, what do you guys think is a reasonable asking price? I know there's no chance of us getting anything near what we've put into her, but I do want to price her appropriately based on the market/her real value.
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'82 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen High Top |
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Gnarlodious 
Samba Member
Joined: September 28, 2013
Posts: 2323
Location: Adobe Jungle USA
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| Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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You did all that great work and forgot the Torque Biased Differential? Its really a little unfair to beat up the diesel Vanagon for “almost” getting stuck in the mud when it has the best power/weight ratio of any other engine. With the Peloquin and 5-speed you can go places a one-wheel-drive axle could never go. Almost as good as a Syncro, but cheaper, better mileage, less weight and less road noise.
All it takes is another $1300 for the Peloquin and you can keep Sally!
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Vanagon ’83 diesel AAZ w/Giles injection, 5spd 4.57R&P+TBD and a '78 diesel Rabbit |
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dachary
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2013
Posts: 130
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Gnarlodious wrote: |
| You did all that great work and forgot the Torque Biased Differential? |
Actually, I didn't know about it! I'll definitely look into it, but I'm not sure it really hits the heart of our problem.
| Gnarlodious wrote: |
| Its really a little unfair to beat up the diesel Vanagon for “almost” getting stuck in the mud when it has the best power/weight ratio of any other engine. With the Peloquin and 5-speed you can go places a one-wheel-drive axle could never go. |
It's not the "almost getting stuck in the mud" that has made our decision to sell her. That was when we first started looking at our needs vs. what she can do. We were driving through a muddy parking lot at a place we go at least once a month, and I found myself thinking "if she can't handle a basic muddy parking lot 10 miles from home, how's she gonna handle the miles of washboard corrugation, sand, barely-existent roads, etc. we're gonna throw at her later?" It's not that she's in any way lacking - it's that we were unrealistic with our needs when we got her. Prompted, in part, by the "Drive Nacho Drive" folks - what they've done with their Vanagon is truly awesome.
Could Sally handle what we might throw at her? Possibly. But we'd definitely be worried about her, and I feel we'd limit our travels more than we want to based on where we felt she could go. (Ground clearance, for example. Rocks. Sand. Mud. Water crossings.) We've realized in traveling around in Sally that we want to go even farther afield, and that need has prompted us to search out real, purpose-built 4WD expedition vehicles.
Not that we don't love Sally. But I fear we'd destroy her trying to get her to some of the places we want to go, and she deserves to continue her long and happy life with a family that wants to stick with tarmac and the occasional dirt road but really wants the comfortable in-house off-grid living options she offers.
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'82 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen High Top |
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iliketowalk
Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2011
Posts: 614
Location: Northern CA
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| Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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Bit cheeky - but can you PM your reserve?
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1986 Weekender "Birch" |
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dachary
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2013
Posts: 130
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:39 am Post subject: |
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For the curious, the eBay auction ends this afternoon. We've shown the van in person to several people (including test drives) and have traded messages with people too far to come see it in person. I've been sending people here to the build thread, in addition to the oodles of pictures we posted. (I also did a walkthrough video if any of you are curious to "see" how the mods have come out, etc.)
I've been telling pretty much everyone who cares to inquire how great of a resource TheSamba is - so hopefully the next owner will use the site. (And selfishly, I'd love to see what comes of her under the new owner!)
Anywho, thanks to everyone who has chimed in on this thread, and everyone who has taken the time to document their fixes, repairs, ideas, mods, upgrades and installs over the years to make this such a great resource.
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'82 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen High Top |
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roscoePcoaltrane
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 5
Location: Kansas
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| Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 7:59 am Post subject: Re: Fixing up the ol' '82 Diesel Vanagon |
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You had mentioned replacing the exterior door handle...mine has cracked off..ordered a new one but cannot seem to make sense of getting the old pieces out. I have removed the interior handle and screw, took a look behind the interior door handle..and of course, beat it while cursing.
Any suggestion on what I am missing?
85 Vanagon
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1985 automatic subyvanagon
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epowell
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Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| masukomi wrote: |
Yes, but you didn't take into account one very critical factor: time. There are two important time factors: 1 getting it inspected. 2 getting it to a safe starting point.
I agree that bearings should be easy, even for me who is clueless about changing car bearings. I've looked up the diagrams, read the instructions and seen what's involved. I also know that it's unrealistic to suggest that I would get to it this weekend. Ditto for the brakes.
Also, it has never been looked at by a mechanic under our employ, other than the one who was focusing solely on the task of getting us back on the road and back to my employer asap. Even if i had zero repair tasks on our plate I would still pay a trained professional to give it a good looking over for safety issues.
Because of the time constraints, and because it was always our intent to take it to a professional familiar with these vehicles as soon as we got it home it makes a lot of sense to just combine the two tasks.
| djkeev wrote: |
I guess I think differently than you.........
If I was planning such a journey and I had no way of knowing what the PO did to the unit before it became mine..... I would replace EVERYTHING that can be projected to be possible trouble on the journey.
Your posts indicate that you didn't know what engine it had in it and were surprised by the upgrade. In light of this how can you possibly know what cooling hoses have or have not been upgraded or how many miles the "upgraded" engine actually has on it?
Additionally You don't know about items like brake line age or brake cylinder condition.
Sure, you can indeed ASSUME items have been replaced during a long service span...... But have they been? What items have been? What quality of replacement part was used and what about the quality of the installation procedures?
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I don't know. I don't assume. Like I said, "You inspect, you triage, you move on". The hoses around the engine appear to be in very good condition. We've already replaced the one from the fuel filter to the engine, not because it was bad but because we liked the advice of having a clear one. We will continue to inspect the hoses as we have the time to go over them. If any look questionable or show any signs of aging, we will replace.
| djkeev wrote: |
Me? I'd spend the coin and start with a known mechanical ground zero to build upon. (Actually, I'm doing this very thing to my 86 Weekender right now) am I throwing out good parts? Yeah... I probably am. The level of confidence this rebuilding is giving to me is immeasurable! To me, It is worth every penny being spent.
You cannot predict a broken transmission gear or a thrown rod. But to head off problems arising from benign neglect of everyday service items? Oh yeah! THAT CAN BE prevented or at least extremely minimized.
I would probably box up some of the old bits and take them on the journey as emergency repair parts in case a root jumps up and rips off a cooling or brake line.
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It's a sound strategy. It's also an expensive one. I try for a more balanced approach in things. I mean, seriously, if our goal was to get a totally reliable vehicle that could handle whatever we threw at it, and we were willing to spend money that wasn't necessary, we wouldn't have bought a 31 year old van. We'd have bought a relatively new Land Rover or something and outfitted it with a roof tent.
| djkeev wrote: |
Sorry if I insulted or offended you, I didn't mean to. I was just trying to say "hey, have you considered?".
If money is a concern....... Function over form. Put your cash into flawless dependability first. An interior redecoration, an exterior paint job or bumper cap can all wait a few years. Actually as you said, why make yourself a target? It may be best to Leave the unit looking tired and old as a decoy to potential bandits.
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It's not that simple. Yes, the paint job could wait, but the paint's starting to crack and I'd like a little more rust protection peace of mind if I can get it. As for the interior: It's not that simple. Little things are highly magnified when you're limited to such a small space. There are serious psychological effects to something as simple as a constantly dirty carpet you can't keep clean and harbors moisture, spills, dropped food, and smells when you have to live on/beside that carpet 16 hours a day. Imagine what the effects of living with that, and a dark brown color, and cabinets that keep flying open, and need refinishing, and and and ALL day EVERY day, when you have no-where else to go. No other room to escape to. No office to go away to. Just that.... every day... with another person and two dogs.
Ignoring the interior could easily end a marriage. I'm not suggesting that ours is that fragile. I'm suggesting that the psychological effects of such a situation are tremendous. Adventures like the ones we take kill relationships regularly (or make them stronger). My point is that being on the road like that has a serious amount of psychological hurdles all to itself. Compounding it with the issues that come with living in a cramped space with another human, and then the issues of living in a space with issues... you're just asking for trouble.
I get your point about taking care of foundational mechanical priorities first. That is very important. That being said, I don't think you really understand the psychological aspects of the proposed living situation and how severely they can affect people. If you don't take care of those as well, then it won't matter if the vehicle runs or not. After a few months (or less) you won't want to be anywhere near it.
| djkeev wrote: |
Whatever you do, I wish you the Best!
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thanks. We do appreciate what you're trying to convey. |
TIME is a critical factor??
You seem to have huge amount of it to write these epic posts... why not take a bit of that time and work on your van?
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