Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 08:50:01 -0700
Reply-To: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Hello! We have some questions...
In-Reply-To: <296870.93239.qm@web37308.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Welcome!
1) In a word, no.
3) A 2.1 will work with your DigiJet fuel injection etc
http://www.oldvolkshome.com/19to21.htm
4), 5), 6) www.thesamba.com
7) Get the Bentley Workshop Manual
10) "That guy" is Roger Sisler, long-time Vanagon List member, and the only
place I would buy stainless steel fasteners for my vans.
11) Ours holds 350 lbs without complaint.
Seeya, Jake
On 9/25/07, Kyle Davis <davis_family_46168@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Hello!
>
> At last, my long-time dream of re-obtaining a VW
> to proudly display in my driveway (and hopefully use
> as transportation) has come to fruition. I'm an
> air-cooled type of guy, but this 1984 Westy was crying
> out for some love and attention.
>
> As I've stated, I've only ever owned air-cooled
> vws before, but I don't seem to know too much about
> the vanagon line. I could've sworn they were still
> making air-cooled in 1984, but I guess I was wrong.
>
> I didn't know they made diesel, either, but there
> you go.
>
> Anyway, I took my wife to look at this, and she
> fell in love with it. It supposedly has cracked
> heads, and the previous owners (one of the many favors
> they didn't do for me) was dissasemble the engine
> partway. I haven't had the time for a visual
> inspection of the heads, but I am taking them at their
> word.
>
> The first order of business was to clean up the
> vanagon. It was disgusting! At least they didn't
> trash the popup top or any of the mattresses. The
> passenger sunvisor is trashed (this is the one with
> the lights), the front passenger bucket seat has some
> sort of weird stain or something on it, and the van
> has the usual fair amount of rust, but underneath
> looked blissfully rust-free. It's a full camper. For
> what we paid for it, I could make a profit off of it
> by parting it out to ebay, but I don't want to do
> that. The plan is to get it running first, then just
> continually sink money into it until it is 100% again.
>
> We haven't named it yet, but I am tempted to name
> it Richard or Lieber, after the guy who came over from
> Germany to Indiana to start our State Park system back
> in the middle 1800s.
>
> He is a 1.9 water cooled manual transmission full
> camper. Now, I get down to the brass tacks and
> questions, in order of importance from greatest to
> least.
>
> 1.) If the cylinder heads are indeed cracked,
> will the 2.1 heads work on a 1.9 engine?
>
> 2.) If I am correct in understanding this,
> cylinder head cracking is fairly common. Where does
> everybody else get theirs, and, if you don't mind me
> asking, what have you been paying for them?
>
> 3.) Would it be better to just get a new (to
> Richard) engine? I may be able to lay my hands on a
> 2.1. I am not that mechanically inclined, but a buddy
> of mine is a professional auto mechanic, and I do know
> my way enough around a garage floor to make myself
> dangerous. So, this would leave out most non-VW
> solution engines. Has anybody had any experience in
> going from water-cooled to air-cooled? Or from gas to
> diesel?
>
> 4.) Does anybody happen to know where I can get
> an exterior sliding door handle for cheap, especially
> in Indiana?
>
> 5.) I also wouldn't mind finding out where to get
> a replacement passenger side sunvisor (the kind with
> lights.) VW wants about $300 for those, if they can
> get them.
>
> 6.) Is anybody aware of where to locate the Westy
> Tables? Ours is missing the sliding one for the back
> bench, and I guess there may have been one for the
> middle as well?
>
> 7.) How do the middle seats come out? I would
> like to really investigate the fridge closer, but I
> couldn't figure this one out. Also, how do the front
> seats swivel?
>
> 8.) Are there any other Westy owners in Indiana
> that I can pester, or maybe hang out with at a state
> park once this thing gets campsite ready?
>
> 9.) Eventually, when we get enough money, we
> will want to seriously re-paint the car. Until then,
> can anyone recommend a good solution to bring back a
> more shiny version of the dark brown and tan two tone
> combination paint job? Also, I was toying with the
> idea of keeping a 2 tone paint job, but have the top
> half white and the bottom half red, like on some of
> the older splitties.
>
> 10.) Speaking of paint and rust, we've noticed
> that the bolts, eyelets, and other hardware for the
> pop top externally are rusted. Some of the rust has
> found it's way to the fiberglass top. Can anybody
> recommend a good cleaner for that? Some guy on ebay
> was selling stainless steel replacement bolts and
> claiming you couldn't get them anywhere else, is that
> BS, or really true?
>
> 11.) Last question. This popup business
> intrigues me. What is the maximum load capacity of
> the top bunk for the Westy campers?
>
> I, along with my family, eagerly await answers to
> any of your questions. We are located in central
> Indiana.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Kyle
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all
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>
--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
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