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New to me '85 Camper!
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:26 pm    Post subject: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

A few months ago I purchased a 1985 camper! Finally getting around to posting
some photos and starting a thread!

It was purchased in San Diego from a gentleman who had owned the van since 1992. He daily drove the van, but did not really camp a bunch. So the van is in great shape, but some stuff needs to be replaced since it hasn't been used.

I started taking auto class at my local college starting last fall, and now I have the pre-req to take a motor building class. The plan is to possibly do a gowesty rebuild and finally fix my dad's van
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Ahwahnee
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:02 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Well done - it looks to be a very nice rust-free example. Gotta love a SoCal vehicle.
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Merian
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:18 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

auto class is a great idea (I hope the Vanagon weirdness does not give the instructor a heart attack)

read my sig.
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:08 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Thank you for the compliments!

Here are the first upgrades I completed on Saturday.

Got some used truck lites from a fellow Jeep owner. The Go Westy hook-up covers with the quick disconnect water filler is pretty cool. And a new antenna.

The previous owner did a very poor job installing an after market stereo so I have electrical to clean up which was a surprise.

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ALstew
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:39 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Ordered a lot of parts to begin with a full tune up on the van.

I also replaced the motor mounts and they were soooo sooo bad.

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Next up:
Rod adjustment with new lifters maybe, axle rebuilds, upper ball joints, sway bar bushings, tie rods ends, alignment, fixing some cabinets, tank reseal, and fuel lines. Then hopefully I have some money to doing some cooling system upgrades.
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:41 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Also, most exciting! I picked up a 2.1 longblock that I will be rebuilding in my machining class. I may do a gowesty rebuild kit even though it fairly pricey.

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shagginwagon83
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:51 am    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Very clean!! How many miles are on it? And how was the job of replacing the motor mounts?
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Steve M.
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:14 am    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Well Congratulations!

You've joined the forum almost a year ago so presuming you read the FAQ and other useful bits about FUEL LINES and FIRES and letting the smoke out of the wires because you did not disconnect the battery before doing electrical work! Very Happy
Sounds like a good project and your starting out nicely. Concentrate on your basics and go from there. Have fun!
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:38 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

shagginwagon83 wrote:
Very clean!! How many miles are on it? And how was the job of replacing the motor mounts?


The motor mount job was super simple. I had never done it and I was able to get it done in 2 hours!

I am not sure if you're asking about milage on the longblock or my westy.

Longblock I don't know too much about it but it was running!

My westy has 215k miles. But the speedo doesn't work so I am not sure how many for sure. The guy I bought the van always did routine maintenance at a reputable shop, but he was suuuuuper cheap. I imagine he had the shop pull the mileage gear to save on insurance.
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:44 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Steve M. wrote:
Well Congratulations!

You've joined the forum almost a year ago so presuming you read the FAQ and other useful bits about FUEL LINES and FIRES and letting the smoke out of the wires because you did not disconnect the battery before doing electrical work! Very Happy
Sounds like a good project and your starting out nicely. Concentrate on your basics and go from there. Have fun!


Thanks! Definitely doing fuel lines sooner than later!
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 3:00 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Steve M. wrote:
Well Congratulations!

You've joined the forum almost a year ago so presuming you read the FAQ and other useful bits about FUEL LINES and FIRES and letting the smoke out of the wires because you did not disconnect the battery before doing electrical work! Very Happy
Sounds like a good project and your starting out nicely. Concentrate on your basics and go from there. Have fun!


Also, when I was changing the plugs, it looked like someone had recently done the fuel injectors. The job looked like it had been completed well. So that was good news.
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:16 am    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Merian wrote:
auto class is a great idea (I hope the Vanagon weirdness does not give the instructor a heart attack)

read my sig.


Haha my teacher was going on about chevy's while walking by me disassembling my motor and he just rolls his eyes at me. Happened on this wednesday.
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:20 am    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Did the Ball Joints on Wednesday night. The joints were bad but they were not stuck, so i was happy.


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ALstew
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:55 am    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

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Replaced the inner and outer tie rods and new sway bar bushings. Drives straight and true now after an alignment.

Also replaced my transaxle fluid. This was one of the most frustrating things I have worked on in regards to the van. The fill plug and drain plug were so unreasonably tight I needed a breaker bar to break them loose. I thought I was going to strip the fill plug. It appears someone before had used the wrong tool and ovaled it out. And also over torqued both plugs Mad
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lucianosanchez
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:55 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Nice find. Are you taking night classes?

What all do you want to do to the westy?
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:50 am    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

lucianosanchez wrote:
Nice find. Are you taking night classes?

What all do you want to do to the westy?


Unfortunately my classes are tues-wed. I just swapped my schedule and working saturdays.

Plans for the van is to get her dialed and start going on some road trips. Hopefully I can take some extended trips and work remotely for a month.
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ALstew
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:01 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

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Redid my passenger seals because this side was whistling bad and the windows bounce around. Had a buddy help me with this job who had done the job before and it went pretty smooth.
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:36 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Did the van cafe shift linkage at the transaxle and it so good, it made the rest of the shifting feel crappy. I am happy with the results, but i want to redo everything now

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Also working on the driver side seals and the wing window frame is rusted out. As a CA native I have no idea how to deal with rust.

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ALstew
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 11:36 pm    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

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Gas tank reseal tonight. I couldn't imagine doing this alone, so I am grateful my buddy helped me out.


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This seal never was sealed from the factory :-/
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Abscate Premium Member
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 12:35 am    Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! Reply with quote

Damaged on removal probably. Things get crumbly.After 32 years.

The eye rolling is jealousy, of course. Wait until instructor finds out you don't have rent and can bill your car out as a combined BnB Lyft, and deduct mileage and class costs as a business expense. May as well open some Wells Fargo accounts to keep all that money....
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