Back at it...should I buy? Round 2

[h00drat]

Hey everyone. I'm back.

After wisely deciding to not trade my truck for a pretty beat up 1986? Vanagon, I am back for more punishment.

What I found is a local (right around the corner from my house) 1985 Vanagon passenger van. I'll post everything I know about it below. Looking for any specific things to check out (other than what's already listed). Opinions, etc.

Engine: Stock 1.9 litre
Tranny: 4-speed manual
Miles: 204,000
Tin-top

The Good:
Brand new tires
New shocks all around
New brakes
Pretty clean interior
The wife is on board

The Bad:
- Some rust. See pictures. I'm not sure how concerned I should be over this, or if it's just superficial?
- Passenger van. My ultimate goal is to build up a weekender, so the lack of z-bed is unfortunate. However I have seen a few on Craigslist in the area from what I've read, it's a direct bolt in. Can anyone confirm?

Unknowns:
- The owner has a few receipts from the previous owner, but no mention of a motor rebuild. It sounds like the van has been in our area for a while and all receipts are from one shop. So they MAY have records of work done. Probably worth calling.
- Fuel lines looked pretty fresh, but I can't confirm if or when they were replaced.

I'm sure I'm missing a ton of stuff. But at this point, the rust and z-bed question are probably highest priority.

[rubbachicken]

can you stand a bit further away from the van for the next picture
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lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

meet 'burni'


markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182

[Steve M.]

From appearances that is just surface rust, but you definitely cannot take that for granted.
Check all your window rubber for signs of paint bubbling under the rubber or on the edge of the rubber.
Also get on your back and look up into the 4 jacking points on the inside of the body. You cannot see what you need to see by getting down on your knees and looking at them. Well you could if your good at aiming you camera/phone at arms length!

The front is just being hit by rocks, the important thing to look for there is behind the bumper along the front where there is that 90° flange lip meeting the sheet metal bumper frame. So far that looks great considering the rock damage.

I'd be thinking about cleaning out the seam sealer between the body panels and re-doing it. It will also give you a better idea of how the metal is at the edges of the body panels. the seam sealer is only on the outside of the panels, it is not protecting the inside of the seam that is underneath the van below the level of the front door sills. So another reason to get on your back to look at them!


p.s. Welcome back!

[h00drat]

[Terry Kay]

Beware.
With the "Weekender" nomenclature you used for the rear seat will not instantly bolt in.

It's narrower leaving a big gap on the ends, it will not directly bolt to the walls for side support -- not without the appropriate spacers / adapters.

Just food for thought.

Are you sure that the back seat doesn't flop down?
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T.K.

[h00drat]

[Zeitgeist 13]

So you'll want the z-bed from a GL passenger van, and not a Weekender...unless you also buy the side panels. I think you'll need to relocate the mounts for the backrest latch in either case. Best to just buy a van with the z-bed originally
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[?Waldo?]

The z-bed from a passenger van will bolt right in with the exception that the lock pin location is wrong. The plates that are welded to the body will need to be moved or new ones welded in at the proper location. My understanding is that the z-bed from a Carat is narrower.

[?Waldo?]

[h00drat]

[Terry Kay]

Take another look at that seat.
If the back releases from the side locks--it may drop down to a bed.
Lift up on the seat cushion as you have the back unlocked.
You might be surprised if it all drops down flush to the rear deck height.
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T.K.

[KristianS]

I recently picked up a 1983 passenger van in a bit better condition that yours. Tiny bit of surface rust - 100% California van. I picked up a Z bed locally and it bolted right in. As other mentions you do have to relocate the mounts for the backrest latch. I havent done that myself yet as I still need someone that can help me with this.
I have some pictures if you care.

One of them with the foam mattress I just picked up yesterday

[h00drat]

[h00drat]

[mikemtnbike]

If you buy it and don't have proof it was 100% done recently, I'd suggest changing the fuel lines yourself.

While the PO on my van did claim they had been done recently, I noted the original firewall adapter and decided to do mine myself. When I did so, I quickly noticed that the hoses on the fuel injectors, as well as the return hose, were much more degraded than the others. Like, scary degraded.

Unlike most other jobs on the van, it's an easy and affordable task that (almost) nobody can actually screw up.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual

[Terry Kay]

>>I'll look at it again...but I've read that if the backseat has arm rests built in, it does not turn into a bed. If it does not have arm rests, then it likely a z-bed and will drop into a bed. But to your point, it can't hurt to try I guess.>>

You just qualified the back seat with the armrests.( this would have been easy to mention up front )

It won't turn into a bed.
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T.K.

[KristianS]

[h00drat]

[quote="KristianS"][quote="h00drat"]

[h00drat]

I'll get more into project details if/when I pick the van up. The purpose of this thread was to show the rust, and see if there were any other points of concern. It sounds like unless the rust is bad in other places, there aren't.

But one other thought while I'm here, just to gain pre-purchase input, is this...

I would be camping in the van with my wife and our 2 year old son. My original plan, and reason for wanting a z-bed, was so that we could use the remove the middle seat and use the rear seat with the car seat while driving, then use the rear seat as our bed and still have room for a pack-n-play for the kid to sleep in (between the bed and the front seats).

An alternative would be to keep the middle seat in for the carseat, remove the rear seat and build a flat bed frame in front of the engine compartment to hold up a mattress. Basically turning the back half into a flatbed (from the trunk door to the back of the middle seat). Concern in this scenario is where do you put the kid to sleep? I've seen cool over the front seat cots, but I don't think he is big enough or old enough for one of those. Any other thoughts?

[KristianS]