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ALstew Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:26 pm Post subject: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2010 Posts: 9775 Location: Mt Lemmon, AZ
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:02 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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Well done - it looks to be a very nice rust-free example. Gotta love a SoCal vehicle. |
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Merian Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2014 Posts: 5212 Location: Orygun
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:18 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:08 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:39 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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.
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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:41 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016 Posts: 3786 Location: VA/TN
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:51 am Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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Very clean!! How many miles are on it? And how was the job of replacing the motor mounts? _________________ Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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Steve M. Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013 Posts: 6798 Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:14 am Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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!
Sounds like a good project and your starting out nicely. Concentrate on your basics and go from there. Have fun! _________________ This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.
There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them. |
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ALstew Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:38 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:44 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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!
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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 3:00 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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!
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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:16 am Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:20 am Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:55 am Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 |
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lucianosanchez Samba Member
Joined: May 04, 2016 Posts: 212 Location: Ventura County
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:55 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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Nice find. Are you taking night classes?
What all do you want to do to the westy? _________________ 1983.5 Aussan Brown Westfalia | 2016 to 2020
1983.5 Beige Westfalia | 2019 to Current |
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ALstew Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:50 am Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:01 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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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ALstew Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:36 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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
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 Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2016 Posts: 176 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 11:36 pm Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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Gas tank reseal tonight. I couldn't imagine doing this alone, so I am grateful my buddy helped me out.
This seal never was sealed from the factory :-/ |
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22568 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 12:35 am Post subject: Re: New to me '85 Camper! |
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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.... _________________ .ssS! |
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