How long did you shop for your Westy?

[alpinweiss]

[markswagen]

a few weeks tops, as soon as i have gotten permission
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markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310

[llilibel03]

Hi Yosemite.

My profile is like yours- LA area, surfer...

I'm replying late to this thread because I just got back from a week in Sequoia We had planned to go to Yosemite (High Country) but got reports of smoke and poor air conditions. I'll give a more detailed report about the Sequoia trip elsewhere...

I will say this- if you get a Vanagon be prepared to go 25-30 mph going up the Tioga Pass from Mono Lake, Yosemitebound, and then 45mph up the Grapevine (floored) coming home. That is my experience in a 85 Westy with a 2.0l tiico conversion with only 30,000 miles on the engine (116hp vs 96hp stock 2.1). I have an automatic which might be a slight handicap on hills (but was a must if I wanted my wife to share driving duties on long trips). Beware the temptation of big wheels and tires if you plan to be going up to the Sierras frequently!. Unless you plan a lot of off roading. We did a road to Buck Rock Fire Lookout this trip and while I wouldn't want bigger tires (remember you lose low end torque rock crawling) I was thinking- lift springs would be really nice. I also plan to get one of the level gauges so I know when I'm about to tip over. We hit one sand covered granite boulder and slid suddenly abut 2 feet sideways. Scary.

To answer your question- we looked seriously for over a year. I'd been looking for over two years but had not gotten the green light financially from the significant (purse string controlling) other. I knew about what the prices should be. Once I got the financial green light I was looking at Samba and Craigslist 2-3 times a day. The one's that are priced right will go the week, if not day, they are listed. A lot of times I would call the same day (in the evening, after work) and they would already be sold. As I was signing papers for the one I bought in the previous owner's kitchen, he had two calls- one offering over asking, one to wire cash and purchase sight unseen. If I had waited a day to make the call I would not have gotten it.

We got lucky- no rust (tiny bit on kitchen seam), nearly perfect body and interior, and, the best thing of all- working in dash AIR CONDITIONING. Yoohoo! Nice, if not indispensable, when driving through the Central Valley in the summer. Count me as one who votes to have at the least the AC components there and the funds to get it up to speed. If you are Yosemite bound then you know what I'm talking about.

We had to immediately overhaul the brakes, get new tires, and eventually a tranny overhaul. Like everyone else here I've been doing little tweaks and mods constantly since I got it. Most recent was the ARB awning which was very nice at one campsite we had that had no shade.

That said, in the 1-1/2 years we've owned the Westy (i had two previous tin tops) we have gone to- Mendocino (Van Damme SP), Pinnacles NP, Yosemite NP, Joshua Tree NP, and Sequoia NP. Pretty much every chance we get we head to the hills.

You will not regret it.
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87 syncro tintop
90 gl tin top
85 westy 2.0 tiico automatic (present)

[YosemiteBound]

Thanks so much everyone! Love to hear the stories about shopping for your Westy. Well, it took us about 10 months total. And yesterday we got one. After looking at so many - and only in the last few weeks turning the volume up - we both looked at each other and realized we were looking at "the one".

It's a cool vanagon. Not perfect, not be any means, but one that we both could both fall in love with.

It's an 85 1.9 brown. It's not a garage queen... it's been sitting its whole life on the same street in Ventura, CA. I love it. One guy bought it at the dealer in Ventura. Had it 20 years then sold it to his neighbor. He had it then sold it to the guy across the street. Who we bought it from. This guy had his eye on it its entire life. He knows it was only used to go to the beach and barely camped in. Not really any long trips. He took it to the "VW Guy" in Ventura and had him rebuild the engine only 3 months ago. It has 132,000 original miles (which i understand isn't always a good thing). And it drives fantastically. No fooling. The clutch and shifting are tight and easy. The power steering is fantastic. It's somehow quick! I got it up to 75 mph no problem before slowing down. Took it up and down the freeway and hill climbed etc.

There's no seam rust, no undercarriage rust it's all dry as a bone.

I say it isn't a "garage queen" because it sat on the street its whole life. Which def oxidized the heck out of one side of the van. The other side has a bit of clear coat peeling off etc. But it's all original paint. It's straight and there's no rust.

I drove her home to LA from Ventura with my wife following me and it charged up the mountain between Camarillo and Thousand Oaks and the temp gauge never climbed above half.

Fantastic.

I just washed her up and I'm waiting for the sun to move so I can polish compound and wax. My grandpa's old truck was super oxidized from sitting around and I did this for him - years ago. It seriously looked like a new paint job. So I'm hopeful that this thing will clear up. It's all cobwebs and raw metal... I don't think it's ever even seen a hose. But the pedals are like new, the shifter untouched - original cassette player, stickers inside and out are on... It does have factory AC installed, but of course. non op at the moment

We love it. And our daughter has been playing in it (the wheels on the bus go round and round) nonstop.

BUT I have a few questions. Of course:

It just had the rebuild and on the receipt it says all the fuel hoses were done. I shouldn't STILL replace those right?

I will change the oil. But do I really need to order a Mann filter for this? I've been searching the forum and reading this whole debate. I hate to wait to change the oil....

The coolant reservoir behind the license plate is empty. Should I fill this or is it just for overflow? There are two lines there so I imagine I should get it between there.

I also park on a hill facing down. Would this take the oil and coolant away from a rear engine? I also ask because the vanagon purred like a kitten all day yesterday and starting her up today she was a little louder... sounded a bit more like a VW Anyone else ever noticed there not being enough oil in the engine when facing downhill?

It did sit for a long time (unsure why this wasn't fixed during the rebuild) so maybe this is why the throttle cable is sticky? It kid of goes down in increments instead of smoothly. Which is annoying.... I read some threads on this. There is no rubber boot under the gas pedal - where it goes into the floor. just a hole. But when I get underneath I can see the sheath the cable is in looks pretty good. Can't see the cable itself. When I depress it while inside the cab I can hear its "oldness". With the van off it kind of groans as I press the pedal. Right below the floor maybe....

I don't have the Bentley guide yet as I'm trying to source a used one (anyone?). The wife has us tightening our belts after this purchase hah! Good timing, right?

Here's my list:

Check coolant hoses (when I get bentley guide)
Check all fluids when parked on flat ground
Install shoulder belt for child seat
Change og pop top to 3 window
change pop top seals
pop windows out and check all seals/replace
Fix sticky throttle
Change out propane tank (it's the original)
Put in go westy hookups
Go westy skylight kit
Go westy aux battery install
Clean and flush water tank

This is our list after only owning it less than 24 hours.

BUT it's og paint, straight, rust free, rebuilt and clean as heck. So I think a good starting place. And we got a great deal on it.

llilibel03: That's all great - thank you so much! My wife and I met in Yosemite. We both used to work there... in fact I think we might try and head up next weekend if I can get the shoulder belt for the kiddo and the throttle cable issue fixed

Here's a quick photo. Sorry there's not more yet! All of the other ones have my fam in them and I am planning to take a ton more once I'm done detailing :

And, yeah, that front end looks kinda high in that photo... it doesn't always look that high. But I looked it up on here and guess it's an 85 thing?

Edit: Pulled it forward and checked where it had been sitting all night. No leaks!

[elizer]

Congrats! great find. Need more pictures though.

[Abscate]

[YosemiteBound]

[Abscate]

It is a bit alarmist here about replacing fuel lines.

I would much rather have someone e develop an inspection protocol than just replace. You can put brand new clamps on everything, have an infant failure , and be just as torched as Mr Blissfully Running in 30 year hardware

Even more so if you don’t do the work yourself nowadays
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.ssS!

[Ahwahnee]

I'll say 'well done'.

Fuel line sometimes has a date on it - seeing a recent date may give you some additional peace of mind in addition to a basic inspection.

Some say use only a particular filter (usually begins in M) but I have always used the one that begins in F. Got 220K on the first engine before the usual head issue caught up with it. Expect a similar life from the rebuild.

Noise at start-up often due to the lifters - annoying perhaps, but mostly harmless. I have never parked much on a hill so can't say how that affects things.

Coolant reservoir you see should be about half full - it is your overflow/reserve.

The other one you can see with the engine lid off should be totally full.

For the sticky throttle you might spray some light lube on the moving bits on the top of the throttle body and exercise them a bit. I think they are more prone to sticking than the cable itself.

[kamzcab86]

[mikemtnbike]

Looks like a great van.

Look to see if the firewall adapter on the fuel lines has been changed or bypassed. If not, it should be and go ahead and replace all the lines at that point.

If it has, good sign that it's true the lines were actually recently replaced. I'd also double check that the lines from the rails to the injectors were replaced- my PO had replaced the "main lines" pretty recently, but not the adapter, the line behind the adapter, the line off the tank, or the lines to the injectors.
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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

[erikgundy98]

Looked for a summer, then found it (71 bay) in Sept. Upgraded to Van after 6 yrs in a bay
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'90 Multivan Westfalia

[YosemiteBound]

Will be loading photos up this evening. I spent all day cleaning the new rig with the fam. My wife and daughter pulled so much hidden stuff out from under the seat and behind and between things. They got: three little toy dinosaurs, four hand written notes, two dominoes, tons of misc screws (that I’ve saved), found hammock storage netting, curtains and a rear bug screen (net?). Also the dometic manuals and a rock that says “Noel, you are loved.”

I washed it twice, compound polished it twice and put on two coats of wax. It had sat on one side of the street for so long that the right side was oxidized and the left side really wasn’t. Now they’ve evened out a bit

Man the old clear coat is doing bizarre things. Peeling at places, but there’s also a clear line where the clear coat begins... that wasn’t obvious before all of the polishing and waxing. But I love the og patina

All is great and I’m looking forward to my first project. Fixing the sticky gas pedal. I will start with checking the pedal and carpeting inside for hangups or anything detached then move on to dropping the spare and checking/cleaning the mechanism under there. Then I’ll check the throttle body at the engine and the cable itself. This will be my first DIY auto job ever so hopefully I don’t screw it up!

Back with photos.

[mikemtnbike]

Great story on the found items; if I found that rock in my van, I wouldn't have had such a debate in my mind once I decided to name it. Serendipity!
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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

[elizer]

yosemite. Are you sure its not a clear bra and not the clear coat?

[YosemiteBound]

Elizer, it’s not on the front. It’s on the back left side... and it’s not paint nor is it at the seam. It’s like a super thin, clear, film or something. You can feel where it starts with your finger and with a bright light tiny little bubbles under it? I dunno. Is clear coat sprayed on? Or applied like a film? You can actually kind of see it (the color difference) if you zoom in the one photo I posted. I’ll take photos when I get home.

[elizer]

If its over the wheel arch on the leading edge then its a film for protecting the wheel arch.


Edit:
If its that lighter color with the right angle before the turn markers... then I have no idea what that is. Haev you tried hitting it with a blow dryer or heat gun and a plastic razor to get it off?

[YosemiteBound]

[YosemiteBound]

Alright, I'm only keeping this thread going to post up the pics of my new vanagon. Originally, I thought it would be a cool idea to read stories about how folks found their "ones". But then I got super narcissistic and decided to post up about our "one" once we found it. Over and over again. If I wanted to show off my new vanagon - should I have started a new thread?

Has anyone here heard David Foster Wallace's "This Is Water" commencement address? I am failing his message. But I will continue to fail - just once more. So I can fulfill a promise to this blanket void of consonants and vowels. Squiggly lines and dull colors that hold the promise of kindred flesh and fluid behind them.

Y'all.

Also I have a story. I newb story. I hopped in and drove my vanagon (which we are now calling Liam [it wasn't Noel on the rock - I got my oasis guys mixed up]) to the donut place tonight. It had been since Saturday since I drove it home. As I started it and cruised to the donut place - about two miles away - I noticed that my newly rebuild engine sounded like a sewing machine. Not like the purring kitten I test drove.

I parked on a level street to get donuts and decided to check the oil level. There was oil on the dipstick, but not any oil between the two lines there was supposed to be. BLAH I thought. It's sounding loud because I am low on oil!

So I hopped into a Lyft and caught a ride to the auto parts store. I had NO idea what oil to get. As I had no idea what oil the previous owner had put in it. No good. I can't add oil. As the dummy oil light hadn't come on and there was still oil on the dipstick - albeit below the low line - I decided it better to drive the two miles home. Gently.

Of course at startup and all of the way home it purred like a kitten. No typewriter.

I parked it on my hill (nose pointed down) and shut it off. Then upon doing research here I found something called Sticky Lifter Syndrome. Oil slightly low, parking on a hill and not being run for a couple days.... I guess that makes sense?

Needless to say I will not be driving it until I change the oil and fill it with synthetic. Of course, I need to wait for crush washers and a mann filter first

I guess my point is - I was pretty freaked out. And then I read up on the engine. These things are crazy. Now I feel better.

Lessons learned: Check the damn oil. I have no idea how long it sat or how long it's been low on oil - but I drove 60 miles home on Saturday like this. I shouldn't have assumed the seller had it all filled up. As there are no leaks I can only imagine it's been low a while. BLAH. Also, check thesamba before freaking out about noises

Okay, anyway, it ain't perfect. But it's ours:

Edit: I never got the donuts. My wife thinks I'm losing my mind.

[elizer]

Not sure what's going with that driver rear quarter. Too perfect go be clearcoat. Notice any damage in that area? Otherwise great looking van. Before u fill the oil find out what the PO was putting in. You can add some MMO I felt like it helped some with lifter noise.