I have owened a 1985 Westy with the 1.9L and an Auto. It was a great cross country camping mobile as long as you were not in a hurry to get anywhere, and creature comforts, such as air conditioning and the power to cross the continental divide in a day are not on your list of requierments for reliable transportation.
That being said, we loved it. Sold it when campting time was reduced du to added children. I rebuilt an engine and it was pretty easy and low cost. (note this is how I learned not to drive it over about 65 MPH) the greatest reliability comes at about 60MPH. I added lowering springs which reduced ground clerance but sure added to the stability on the road. Now that I am no longer a nomad I miss my days in my VW. 1982.5 was the first year for water cooled. If heat is important to you, this is the only way to go. I will not speak for anyone else - but my experience has been that the water cooled models were more reliable. The head issue is true - but can be avoided with a properly assembled engine and teh proper coolant and proper coolant changes. Tires are important, and using your head is important as well. Dont' over load it. Don't dirve it over 65 mph. If you can drive an old mercedes you can drive and old vw vanagon. I also had a 1974 airheated vw camper. Had its advanatges and disadvatages, but I found the cost of operation and the carb made it less reliable. Hope this helps - I still have some parts so let me know if you get one. Peter On Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 9:39 AM, E M <pokieba...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks Allan, lots of good info there! > > Ed > 300E > > On 9 March 2012 10:33, Allan Streib <str...@cs.indiana.edu> wrote: > > > I would go for the last gen Vanagon with Westy kit. (I think '91 was > > the last year for the USA, not sure about Canada). > > > > That will get you air conditioning (at least the chance of it, it may > > not work). All the water-cooled Vanagons have decent heat, particularly > > in comparison to the earlier air-cooled Vanagons and microbuses. > > > > The 2.1 l boxer engine is a weak point, often develop head gasket leaks, > > religous coolant changes may help avoid issues but it's fundamentally a > > bad design. The "Digifant" engine management system is rather primitive > > as well, and at 20+ years of age the electronics are no longer really > > reliable. > > > > Check engine compartment fuel hoses for cracks, several are positioned > > right above the exhaust and if they start leaking you'll have good > > chance for a fire. > > > > Many people swap in a Subaru engine or even a Ford Zetec (see > > http://www.bostig.com) as much for reliability as additional power. > > > > Be sure you run the proper tires, the vehicles are heavy and need a load > > range "C" tire. The Hankook RA-08 are favored among Vanagon owners. > > > > A westy in good condition, properly maintained and with a professional > > engine transplant will not be cheap. Then again, a cheap Westy is about > > like a cheap Mercedes. > > > > Allan > > > > > > Curt Raymond <curtlud...@yahoo.com> writes: > > > > > I think '79 or '80 was the last year for the proper microbus, after > that > > you get into the Vanagon which I'll admit has grown on me over the years. > > The 2l engine in the Vanagon is a monster for power compared to the early > > 1600cc. > > > > > > Best would be to find one with a no-rust body but a tired or completely > > dead engine. IIRC for $3k you can do a really nice brand new engine. $3k > in > > paint isn't a whole lot on something so tall and long. > > > > > > I'd love to have one too, my wife and I dream of someday driving across > > the US and a VW is our #2 choice. Number 1 would be a 123 300TD turbo. > The > > MB wagon is such a nice driving car and a wagon would have plenty of > space > > for stuff and an air mattress for occasional camping for 2. > > > > > > -Curt > > > > > > Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2012 01:35:30 -0500 > > > From: E M <pokieba...@gmail.com> > > > To: Mercedes Discussion List <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > > > Subject: Re: [MBZ] VW Westfalia campers? > > > Message-ID: > > > <CANth8RWPuHNRMP+rgaQUgjV4DbHs=tPCK7ZC6aE1iRvKXsE= > g...@mail.gmail.com> > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > > > > Hey Guys, > > > > > > As we're talking about alternative modes of transport, do any of you > have > > > any experience with old VW campers? I've always wanted one, but have > no > > > idea of what the current market is. I'd like an older 70-80s one. > Older > > > would be cool, but I suspect the price for a decent one would be quite > > > high. Redoing paint, interior, brakes and tires and such would be > fine, > > > but I'd want one with a good solid body (work in that area previously > > done) > > > and a sound engine, that just needs going over and having the rubber > bits > > > replaced. > > > > > > Any idea of the best place to look for these? > > > > > > Any thoughts on these welcome. > > > > > > Ed > > > 300E > > > > > > _______________________________________ > > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > > > > -- > > 1983 300D > > 1979 300SD > > > > _______________________________________ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
