VW Westfalia advice.
- Thread starter stclair
- Start date
Congratulations! I have a 86 Westfalia Syncro myself...
More here:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17010&highlight=westfalia+syncro
More here:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17010&highlight=westfalia+syncro
T.Low
Expedition Leader
Last edited:
3konas
Observer
For those that don't find themselves in the VW Bus/Vanagon mentality of..."It's the journey...Man!". http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/images/smilies/costumed-smiley-007.gif http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/images/smilies/victory.gif There are other alternatives, and I'm sure these have been covered here on the Portal, but I will share mine.
I chose to do the Bostig Engineering Zetec conversion. It just made more sense to me over the other options. They are currently finishing up there Turbo to offer as an option, which at first I wanted, but after putting roughly 15k on this I'm very happy with the power. It's a different van now. For example: Stevens Pass with the old motor 45mph avg. Zetec I can do 70 if I choose to. But I may still go Turbo! To have the turbo blow off sound coming from a VW Vanagon...! Plus the turbo is on boost at 1500rpms.
I have had this van for 12 yrs and I entertained getting something else but this van fits me. It's not a Westy. A Westy does not work for me as well. 3 dogs, bikes I like to keep inside, and If I get tired and can't find a cool place to camp, I can pull in to hotel parking lot or side street and not draw attention to me.
It's a work in progress. Dual battery powering ARB fridge, invertor and 12 volts sockets. Playing with the layout inside for a cabinet of some sort that is secure but easily removable, say at camp. I've upgraded the suspension. Installed a de-coupler, TBD, lockers front and rear and I'm now trying to design some rock protection for the motor because the stock rock guard won't fit with the new motor.
These vans are not for everbody. But I think that is why like them.
And if Toyota takes T.Low's idea about putting a van on a Tacoma platform, I would be very interested in that.
Sorry if I jacked this thread, I have a passion for VW Vanagons. Plus I really enjoyed this forum and I wanted to say hi. HI! http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/images/smilies/victory.gif
I chose to do the Bostig Engineering Zetec conversion. It just made more sense to me over the other options. They are currently finishing up there Turbo to offer as an option, which at first I wanted, but after putting roughly 15k on this I'm very happy with the power. It's a different van now. For example: Stevens Pass with the old motor 45mph avg. Zetec I can do 70 if I choose to. But I may still go Turbo! To have the turbo blow off sound coming from a VW Vanagon...! Plus the turbo is on boost at 1500rpms.
I have had this van for 12 yrs and I entertained getting something else but this van fits me. It's not a Westy. A Westy does not work for me as well. 3 dogs, bikes I like to keep inside, and If I get tired and can't find a cool place to camp, I can pull in to hotel parking lot or side street and not draw attention to me.
It's a work in progress. Dual battery powering ARB fridge, invertor and 12 volts sockets. Playing with the layout inside for a cabinet of some sort that is secure but easily removable, say at camp. I've upgraded the suspension. Installed a de-coupler, TBD, lockers front and rear and I'm now trying to design some rock protection for the motor because the stock rock guard won't fit with the new motor.
These vans are not for everbody. But I think that is why like them.
And if Toyota takes T.Low's idea about putting a van on a Tacoma platform, I would be very interested in that.
Sorry if I jacked this thread, I have a passion for VW Vanagons. Plus I really enjoyed this forum and I wanted to say hi. HI! http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/images/smilies/victory.gif
3konas
Observer
Wow, I can't believe anyone could call that Astro van torture chamber comfortable?! I drove one for 45 minutes on friday and I still have a sore leg. The footwell on those things is even worse than on a Dodge van. Yes I have driven it quite a bit myself- at least fifteen or twenty thousand kilometers.
I spend a lot of time working on my mother's Safari, and while the engine may be bulletproof, I have replaced so much other stuff on that thing it's stupid. It's sad that such a great job of packaging could be so difficult to live with.
On the other hand, I've never owned a Westfalia, though I have borrowed an early 70's model. It felt like driving a house or a ship, not a car.:088: At least the Vanagon model drives better.
I am the satisfied owner of a couple of high mileage Jetta diesels, and I am always on the lookout for a cheap diesel Westfalia... Yes, I know they are slow. I've owned slow Volvo and Mercedes diesel cars -my Volvo 245 was so slow that the only car I ever passed going uphill was a diesel Westfalia, and I was barely creeping past while trying not to gloat... I'm not really in a hurry when I'm travelling, so a diesel Westy would be just fine for me.
After the last go around replacing the steering column and ignition switch in mom's GMC, I finally realized the engineering in these vans is just too much on the cheap side for me to live with, and that I'm getting to old to put up with uncomfortable vehicles.
stclair
Adventurer
Love that Syncro Christian, but it just wasn't in my budget. I think I'll enjoy my 2wd van, and if some day I decide that I just have to have the 4wd, I'll sell my house and buy one. So far, I'm happy....very happy. I'm going to have to get advice from you when we venture outside of the USA. Soon I hope.
Buying a Westfalia Diesel is going to be the biggest mistake of your life...they only sold them for one year (1982) and it wasn't the best year for this model.
Whatever saving you think you will do with the fuel economy will be lost in repairs and frustrations.
The problem with being slow is not just so much for you but for the people around you. They are so slow that it almost becomes a danger on the road.
Life is short. Go for a 1986+.
jammyauto
Adventurer
VW Built a Diesel vanagon in every year after '82 but the '82 was the only year a diesel was sold in the US market. The syock 1.6 NA (non turbo) motor put out 49 hp. With this engine 60 mph is sometimes possible, but unlikley unless your going slighty downhill. I drove a '82 Vanagon pickup for quite a while I bought on Ebay Germany and shipped over. Slow is an understatement.
There are still lots of options if you want a vanagon diesel. Buy a gas van converted to diesel or convert one yourself. The options are 1.6 TD, 1.9 TD, 1.9 TDI. I have a few friends with 1.9TDI powered vanagons and they are really nice.
There are still lots of options if you want a vanagon diesel. Buy a gas van converted to diesel or convert one yourself. The options are 1.6 TD, 1.9 TD, 1.9 TDI. I have a few friends with 1.9TDI powered vanagons and they are really nice.
Haha. Where's your sense of adventure?
I've been driving slow diesels for years, so I'm not too worried about a slow Vanagon. I think we got them for a few more years in Canada.I've owned a few Volkswagens over the years, and my diesels have been absolutely trouble free. I would much rather work on a VW than a Toyota or a Chev, but that's just me. YMMV.
I avoid freeways, and I have driven slow trucks before so I know what I would be getting myself into. Maybe they aren't perfect for everyone, but I know it will be for me...when I do find that cheap one.
I was already planning to do like jammyauto suggested, and find a dead gas model (and maybe someones leftover diesel parts from a Subaru conversion or something)to put a 1.9 Td into (not TDi).
I have some experience with engine conversions, engine building and fabrication, so this would be right up my alley.
All of my VW ownership has been happy times. On the rare occasions I have had to work on something, it has been reasonably easy to do, unlike with my last (and I mean last) Toyota.
Yeah, you are right about that Astro footwell, it is small. But the rest of the Astro package made that up for me, particularly the bags of power that the Vortec puts out. It was faster than my Jaguar. This looks like a place where we have a different outlook. When I rebuilt the motor on my wife's old Volvo 245-turbo and took it for a high-speed test run from Denver up to Loveland Pass on I-80, the only thing that passed me was a Lamborghini Contach whose doors I had blown off a few miles earlier.
For me, the lack of power in the Vanagon really takes away from the usability of the vehicle. We call it "Vanagon-time", where we stop thinking about how slow we are going and just sit back and cruise. But that gets old after awhile. Even with the final, 90hp, gas 2.1L, it's a rolling roadblock climbing in the mountains. Which is why I am prepping a 240hp Subaru SVX motor to go into it.
The other thing to fix is the noise level, the Vanagon is like a big tin can and needs soundproofing, lots of soundproofing. I've started in with Raammat to dampen the vibrations of the big panel and am looking for a good source for MLV sheets for noise isolation.
Hummmm, I don't seem to have any pics of the astro, but here's some more of the Vanagon near Quandry Peak from a few summers ago...
I agree with you about the power of the Astro van-it's pretty nice. That doesn't make up for the other problems. IMHO.
I've owned Volvos for years. I had a GLT powered 244 that nothing could pass in the mountains, and I have a 740 Turbo now.I always enjoyed kicking butt on the shocked Mustang GT drivers over the mountain passes here. I guess I'm slowing down as I get older (must be the five diesels in a row), and now I'm usually trying to be gentle on my equipment -although I do occasionally open up the 740. When I want to go fast I jump on one of my motorcycles.
I want a camper engine to be reliable and economical, and for me the VW diesel engine is the perfect choice. I would run a turbo, intercooler, and a pyrometer, and I know how to make them last. Fast isn't a prerequisite for this vehicle. YMMV.
I've owned Volvos for years. I had a GLT powered 244 that nothing could pass in the mountains, and I have a 740 Turbo now.I always enjoyed kicking butt on the shocked Mustang GT drivers over the mountain passes here. I guess I'm slowing down as I get older (must be the five diesels in a row), and now I'm usually trying to be gentle on my equipment -although I do occasionally open up the 740. When I want to go fast I jump on one of my motorcycles.
I want a camper engine to be reliable and economical, and for me the VW diesel engine is the perfect choice. I would run a turbo, intercooler, and a pyrometer, and I know how to make them last. Fast isn't a prerequisite for this vehicle. YMMV.
