1985 Weekender

[Pinetops]

New Vanagon owner here. It's a 1985 pop top weekender with an automatic transmission.

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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[dustinwor]

oh man your pocket book is gonna be empty better sell it to me. lol but seriusly looks like a nice van . fuel lines ben done yet?

[Pinetops]

Tell me about it

Just got it home. I'll be doing fuel lines, and tank lines first. It's also running hot and leaking coolant around the bleeder valve so I gotta figure that out. I'm planning on an external cooler for the automatic trans.

I'm already considering a bostig or subaru conversion but maybe I'll see if I can get some miles out of this engine. Doesn't run great but it does run.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Pinetops]

Started cleaning the dirty top. The original finish on the top seems to be still in decent shape. I always assume they'll need repainting or gelcoating from dealing with older buses but this one may clean up.

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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[raoul mitgong]

Run it and then take off the front grills and feel (carefully!!) if the whole thing is hot. Mine wasn't, full of junk and super heavy. It ran hot too when I first bought it. New radiator isn't too expensive and a pretty easy swap.

Careful if you replace it. The new light radiator that weighed about as much as the box it came in had me thinking the one coming out would not be very heavy either.

-d
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84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim))

[benandmj]

That thing looks to be in great shape. The 1.9’s last forever!!
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85 Westfalia Weekender
91 Syncro Westy

[djkeev]

Looks good!

Engine swap.....

Do you need to do 80 mph?
Are you happy to take secondary roads and see the Countryside?

If so, keep the 1.9, just get it running good.

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Pinetops]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the comments.

As far as the engine swap goes, if this one can be made to run reliably I have no problem keeping it original. I would love to not have to come up with the money to do a swap.

My other bus is a split window so going slow isn't a big deal although one day more hp would be cool. The PO mentioned that it seemed to have less power than it once did and some strange noises but maybe it just needs some kinks worked out. The odometer isn't working but from the paperwork I belive this bus to have around 120,000 miles, so that's good. It doesn't seem to be leaking oil although I haven't checked thorougly yet.

Expect plenty of cooling questions, I have never had a watercooled bus before...
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[djkeev]

Get an oil pressure gauge on it.

The reading will verify the health of the lower end.
If all is well with the lower end, the rest is childs play!

New top end gaskets, new coolant bits a proper tuneup, even rings if need be.

My 86 ran so well on my last 8,000 mile journey I was almost afraid to say anything and jinx it!

More than adequate power. I had run the trip twice before with the timing not set optimally. After proper timing this engine screamed along reliably...... with minor issues...... but it IS an antique.......

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=690342&highlight=

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Pinetops]

Thanks Dave, will do.

I spent a little time in the vanagon tonight. Man, I can't get over how much room there is in there!
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Pinetops]

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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Wildthings]

[Steve M.]

Good buy!
In regards to that alternator the mount under it is the weak link.
Vibration causes it to stress crack off the head of the bolts that attach the "cantilever" mount to the engine.
GoWesty has a 2nd generation steel bracket to help it.
Some people make their own.
Do a search on this idea because those mounting bolts are a PITA to access!
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Pinetops]

Thanks for the advice.

The alternator shakes when the engine is running, that was something I thought was odd. Is the gowesty mount the best way to address this?
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Wildthings]

[shagginwagon83]

[Pinetops]

I appreciate the pictures and advice. I will be picking up one of those brackets and possibly adding another of my own.

Before I bought the Vanagon I assumed I'd eventually put on the 16" Mercedes alloys that are so popular. After reading some of this thread I'm having second thoughts.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

What I'm getting from this thread is that the stock 14" wheels and tires offer the best transfer of power and hill climbing ability. Is that accurate?

This couldn't be more conflicting with the advice Gowesty offers:

There is, in fact, no change more important for your Vanagon than ditching those original 14" wheels and switching to a 15" or 16" wheel/tire package. But which one should you choose... 15" or 16"?

On a scale from -10 to +10, here is how we would rate these tires for on-road handling, fuel economy, tire life, and lack of noise:

215/60-16 Defender: 10
215/65-15 Defender: 9.5
215/70-16 BFG: 8.5
225/70-16 BFG: 8.5
185/80-14 ANY: -20


So is Gowesty full of it and just out to sell wheel and tire packages or what? My van has 205 70R14 on it right now and I thought maybe I'd go with the hankook 185 R14 because I like those tires but I can't imagine putting even smaller tires on this thing. The wheels/tires already look small as it is.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[Steve M.]

The wheel size increase to 15" gives you more options for different tires.

What happens though when you go to larger wheels plus tires is the diameter of the tire killing your rpm at the wheel. So that adds a bit more for the engine to overcome.
So you have to stay within the ideal RPM range for the engine. It all adds stress to the engine/gearbox. You want it to last, keep a stock tire diameter or very close to it.

More important to me as i do go offroad is the distance between the edge of the wheel and the outside of the tire.
The size of the sidewall dictates how much room there is between the wheel and a rock. Think of Low Riders with 22" rims and 1" of sidewall for the look and parking lot speed bumps...

Depending on what/how your driving should be the deciding factor in what size tires you put on.

There is a lot of information to be researched in the forum and I suggest you do that research. You have plenty of time before you "need" to change wheels.

Check the tire section of the FAQ!
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6236054#6236054
_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[JudoJeff]

I’m in Massachusetts, and just removed a 1.9 to install a Bostig. The engine ran fine and is for sale with EVERYTHING that was on it.

Just in case you’re not far away....
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1989 Vanagon GL Westfalia Camper, Burned up on 7/31/16.
1987 Vanagon GL Westfalia Camper, Bostig & Rebuilt, sold
1986 Vanagon GL Westfalia Camper, Bostig Sold May 10, 2021
1999 Ford GTRV Westfalia camper (30% bigger Westy layout)

[Pinetops]

I'm in the southeast so too far unfortunately.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."