A little Advice sought for Westy Owner

[fiftytakedowns]

My name is Morgan, I am a current wrestler living in Colorado Springs, CO on Team USA. I represent our country in international and domestic tournaments in which we compete against other nations. I just brought home a silver medal in Sassari, Sardigna Italy the last weekend of May.

For those who don't know, Olympic sports don't pay much, and I have to support myself to maintain this career. I'm looking into options in order to facilitate this career and also maintain my Westy, named the Wrestfalia.

I have a 1981 westfalia I will use to travel to our national, international, team trials/tournaments and training camps. She is in good shape all around, however her engine is tired, and started smoking when she gets warm.. There are other little things that need to be fixed, but I figure this is a priority.

I’ve started to look long term at developments. Subaru engine swaps, 1.8t engine swaps (AWP engine code), rebuilt TYPE 4 engine, etc. Ive got a complete car for trade a 2004 Passat wagon v6. She runs and drives well, but needs some maintenance to be reliable. Im hoping to trade for a Subaru drivetrain, and/or a 1.8t drivetrain or donor car. Shoot a rebuilt type4 would do me well.

Words of advice for my situation?

Thanks!

Morgan

[MarkWard]

Welcome. Owning a vanagon on a limited budget when you can't preform the tasks yourself is next to impossible. A reliable vehicle and the internet and you could probably travel very far on a smaller budget than what you'd spend getting your vanagon reliable.
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[bobbyblack]

I too both welcome you, and agree with Mark, I sure hope you can do plenty of tinkering on your own, as otherwise, Westy ownership is truly for the wealthy.

Firstly tho, you've got a "tired" Air Cooled engine that smokes. Question is, where is the smoke from?

I'd smoke too, if I were covered in oil from a leaky breather, or something else like that... Its only a matter of time that the inevitable conclusion of oil on a hot engine ends an otherwise perfectly good VW..

Have a peek when you see the smoke next time. If it is the Breather tower, you may be in for a stoke of luck, with only a new O-Ring needed..

As for the "tired" part... its not hard to imagine that the original 70 horses in that engine have declined a bit, but it was seriously deficient when sold new, so perhaps there is another way of looking at what you have.

Expect $9-$11K to get a shop to do a transplant. Its going to way over in-debt you to the small $'s you'd get from selling your other car. Mostly, folks are lucky to "get away with" $3500 in an all do-it-yourself transplant.. Also, some of the best DIY guys around calculate times for each portion of a swap, and the total time usually comes to something like 150-200 hours. I got about 80 hours in before I decided my 2.1 WBX was still running fine, so I gave what I had to my kids, who decided that they could make it just a couple more miles home with a blinking temp light... wrong!

Footnote:

I truly love every one of my AC engines. They were built to go a long long way with just small adjustments on schedule. They can be rebuilt pretty easily, too. From time in memorium, I've had way more air cooled engine cars than water cooled ones, and in nearly all cases, it was not the engine that gave up as for the reason the car was 'parked indefinitely'. In fact, if my dad had been a bit less of a stickler, I would still have more AC engined cars now... At the moment, its 2 toyotas, a kia, a ford and 2 WBX VW's against my Ghia, my Splittie, and my Notch. Weird how kia now offers a 10 year or 100K miles bumper to bumper warranty. Oh wait... I've never had a single problem with the kia... smart!
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[Tobias Duncan]

Wrestfalia... well you are one of us alright...
I suggest fixing your air cooled motor , these engine swaps can be a nightmare in my opinion. Stick with the 70hp what god give ya.
As others have mentioned, you will have to learn some basic mechanics here and get some tools. You are young and driven clearly... you can do this but you need to realize that you have a new "hobby" that is going to take some of your time.
Remember that when you are being interviewed to tell them you do all the work on the van yourself. I am dead sure that there are more "athletes in vans" articles coming and you want to make a good impression.

Show us pictures of your rig, show your face here from time to time and we will help you through the rough spots.
The members here can be snarky sometimes but can also be insanely generous with time and resources.

[fiftytakedowns]

[danfromsyr]

uuuuhhh
we're happy you've got a van
we're proud you're representing our country

it's weird to pose like that with a VW unless you're a 12yr old girl..
and no I'm not creeping..

there are a few good VW repair shops in the CO SPrings area. so I've no doubt a relationship can be eventually worked out that works for both you and the mechanic/owner..
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[r39o]

Unlike many, your AC van looks clean. So it is not a waste of time to upgrade it.

THE (and I do mean THE) best thing I did was to replace the original VW engine in my van.

Parts ARE getting harder to find. Actually, GOOD parts are getting harder and more expensive to find. Internal AC engine parts actually seem to be getting rare and really need expert massaging. NOTE: Our family repaired German cars for 50+ years professionally. That wheezer 68hp AC engine just really was never up to the task of pushing a Westy around.

So do not waste you time attempting to keep that engine going too much.

I will not debate which engine to use, other than to state that you should choose something other than an AC engine.

My conversion has been running for like 6 or more years now with no more than oil changes and just checking to make sure every thing is OK. BRAINLESS is the way I describe it.

Just wisely Grasshopper.
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"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

[SSWesty]

Welcome and that looks like are really nice van. Congrats on your medal in Italy. When you say the engine is getting tired are there other symptoms that you are noticing in addition to the smoking when warm? You could pull the spark plugs out to see if one of them is oily looking. A tan or light brown dust looking color is what you are hoping for. It's possible you just have an issue with one cylinder or one head. This could mean a less expensive repair and give you more time to figure out a future engine.

I don't have any direct experience owning an air cooled vanagon but I have gone from Seattle to Maine to Key West to LA in a '73 bus. I am a big fan matching driving habits to the rig. You have to drive an under powered air cooled engine with care but they will get you there.


If a new engine is needed, an engine to research could be a rebuilt from Bus Depot http://www.busdepot.com/071100627

Another option could be from two engine builders in Washington state:
Rocky Jennings Enterprises- 509-525-7721 Owner is Rocky
Northwest Connecting Rod - 253-872-4945 Owner is Jerry

Rocky and Jerry are both good guys. Rocky's website is dated and Jerry doesn't have one. Jerry stays busy off reputation and word of mouth. I got parts for my top end build from Rocky. What I like about Rocky is he does stuff in the drag racing industry and he is picky about is work.

Others here will probably know of solid builders closer to you.

Good luck!

[Abscate]

5years from now, the number of people who know these cars will be near zero, except for the people here.

There will be no one willing to work on them for money, because they can make a much easier living doing oil changes on Corollas - and telling the owners to change every 3k because they drive under 'hard conditions'

You have a decision to make....TODAY...about if you want to become your own mechanic - this process takes about 2-3 years, so if you start today, your car can work for you lifestyle.

If you don't want to do that, either sell or drive it to the big failure and then move on.

Your lifestyle would be better served by a small one person trailer and a decently reliable compact car with towing capacity, if you are on the road less than 50%
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.ssS!

[shagginwagon83]

[calo1956]

I wish the body on my Westfalia was that clean!!
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Enjoy the ride....
72 bug
80 westfalia

[cmayna]

[Abscate]

Dont listen to these guys Morgan - they are all jealous that they are all now in the furniture business like me - moving my chest into my drawers..

My daughters loved your poses...

Think hard about becoming your own mechanic.
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[E1]

^^^ This ^^^

I admire your dedication Morgan, both to your sport and to your new ride. It's a real beauty. I like your sense of humor, too, it will serve you well.

While I agree you should scour for info and become self-mechanical, these buses are not going anywhere -- see what I did there? -- and good mechanics will not disappear... they're just hard to find, and if there's one good thing about the web it's word-spreading about knowing the people to support, and not.

The people your bus will bring to you will enrichen your life and resolve a hundred times for every bad mechanical experience. We've lived in ours (same color!) for 58 months, so I have some experience in the challenges. That damned bus may even bring you sponsors if you structure it right, as ours does clients.

Welcome to the forum, and to Bus Madness!:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0VsifANR96s

Now go kick ass, win medals, and ignore all naysayers. You can do anything you want. Just don't forget to have fun along the way, what's a given today is a memory tomorrow, so make sure to be grateful for today.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[spitsnrovers]

Loved the first sentance of your original post

[E1]

[vanagonjr]

How long have you had this van? I ask, because these only have 67HP, so they feel tired in perfect condition.
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John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[danfromsyr]

plus the OP is in Colorado Springs at about ~6,ooo ft above sea level..

so take that stock (when new) 67hp down to about 55hp or less. (on a NEW fresh ac engine)

HP Loss = (elevation x 0.03 x horsepower @ sea level)/1000
6,oooft (~12hp loss)

take it up to Divide, CO ~9,ooo ft (18hp loss) brings you to ~49hp at Divide, CO (with a new engine)


add in that you have Oxygenated gasoline that the motor wasn't ever built for or spec'd at.. and that's even less HP.. (iirc ~3% less HP)
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[E1]

That all just means our intrepid new member's car has less guts than he has.

Sans math, his weak motor at 4,500 lbs. will still match a 1.9 at 5,500....... Mostly, sorta. Oxygen loss per 3,000 feet is roughly 11% so curious about your numbers relative to that 11% (not denying anything here).

It's all good, when we get right down to it there be no speed in any of 'em. Not about that, and until we bought ours my entire life was all about it.

Now I just watch race cars go fast from our slow one.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[Tobias Duncan]

If you think its hard finding someone to work on a air cooled motor, try finding one to work on a japanese engine in a german vehicle. Most mechanics will send you on down the road.