January 15, 2009 @ 12:00 am
VW Camper Vans - What to look for in buying different models
Early campers up to 1967 (the vw split screen campers) are really collector’s items now and sell for more than the campers made 30 years later. They are also slow and small. The 68-71 Westfalia bay window camper still had the weak upright 4 cylinder engine and the extra camper weight made for a slow ride and short engine life.
Then in 1972, the VW van got the larger Type 4 engine(same basic motor that went in the Porsche 914) so it had more power, but still blew around in the wind a lot and those campers were made until 1979. The later 70’s models only came in three colors. The basic camper was the white one, the middle grade was orange and the top of the line was the pea-green color.
In 1980, the new much squarer, larger body styles were introduced which was called the VWT25 (known as the Vanagon in America . These type 25s had a wider footprint on the ground, better suspension which cut down on the cross wind issues a lot, as does having the right “stiff” sidewall tyres on these vans as well, as passenger car tyres are unsafe on these vans. They weighed more, but still used the type 4 engine until half way through the 1983 model year when VW went to a water-cooled engine with the radiator up front and the motor still in the back. In 1986, they increased the engine size to 2.1 litres but stilll had barely 100 hp. to move a 5000 pound camper around.
The Westfalia, with more of its camper weight on the driver’s side than the passenger side, can have a noticeable lean to it as most of these campers have over 200k on them now.
The 86-91 model years are good ones to go for and parts are still readily available. Even the bay window 68-79 buses are getting to be collector’s items now and parts are getting hard to find as well. The “waterboxer” engine on the VWT25 looks a lot like the aircooled motor when you open up the rear hatch, but it does have a problem with leaking head gaskets so make sure that’s been repaired before you buy one. Bleeding the air out of the cooling system is a challenge that only a Vanagon trained mechanic will know how to do. If not done properly, you can fry a cylinder head in a matter of miles.
The Vanagon also has another quirk; it has 43 radiator hoses and to replace all of them(entire kits are available) will be about £300. The automatic transmission is awful on hills and gets worse mileage than the 4 speed manual. Petrol consumption is not great. Don’t buy one thinking you’re going to get 25 MPG as most of them get in the 16-18 range when they’re running properly and you aren’t in a hurry.
The manual transmission with over 150k on it can and eventually will be difficult to shift into 3rd and 4th gears due to a cracked slider hub assembly. Make sure that that has been taken care of, or prepare to rebuild the transmission. If you want more power for your Vanagon, there are conversion kits to put several different Subaru engines and the transplant, although expensive, does provide much better power and torque and sometimes, better mpg.
To get 25 mpg, you’d have to fiind an old 82 or 83 diesel camper and they are VERY rare. They crank out a whopping 58 hp and definitely do zero to sixty in an afternoon. If you want 25 mpg, then the best bet is converting your Vanagon over to the late model VW TDI diesel. The true cream of the campers, is a 91 Westy Syncro as it has all wheel drive and more ground clearance than the regular Vanagon chassis.
Step-by-step guide here
http://www.vwcampersforever.com/category/buying-and-selling
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Posted by dimwittedmoose51
January 14, 2009 @ 7:59 pm
I don't have a Westy for sale, but can give some guidance as to what to look for and what to avoid. As far as sites for campers, there's the autotrader.com, ebay and thesamba.com for classifieds and if you narrow your search to the later Vanagon models, you can sign up for the Vanagon mail list at http://www.vanagon.com as there are 3 or 4 a week that pop up there before they go on ebay etc.At the very least, these sites will give you an idea of what they go for price-wise.
The campers up to 1967 are pretty much collector's items and sell for more than the campers made 30 years later. The 68-71 Westfalia camper still had the weak upright 4 cylinder engine and th extra camper weight made for a slow ride and short engine life. In 1972, the VW van got the larger Type 4 engine(same basic motor that went in the Porsche 914) so it had more power, but still blew around in the wind a lot and those campers were made until 1979. The later 70's models only came in three colors. The basic camper was the white one, the middle grade was orange and the top of the line was the pea=green color which was really ugly in my mind. In 1980, they switched body styles and totally redid the bus and called it a Vanagon. the Vanagon had a wider footprint on the ground, better suspension which cut down on the cross wind issues a lot(havingthe right "stiff" sidewall tires on these vans isa must as well, as passengercar tires are unsafe on these vans), weighed more, but still used the type 4 engine until half way through the 1983 model year when VW went to a water-cooled engine withthe radiator up front and the motor still in the back. In 1986, they increased the engine size to 2.1 liters and stilll had barely 100 hp. to move a 5000 pound camper around. The West falia, with more of it's camper weight on the driver's side than the passenger sie, can have a noticeable lean to it as most of these campers have over 200k on them now. If you have the money, I would stay with the 86-91 model years if for no other reason than parts are still readily available for the later vans. Even the 68-79 buses are getting to be collector's items now and parts are getting hard to find as well.
The"waterboxer" engine looks a lot like the aircooled motor when you open up the rear hatch, but it does have a problem with leaking head gaskets so make sure that's been repaired before you buy one. Bleeding the air out of the cooling system is a challenge that only a Vanagon trained mechanic will know how to do. If not done properly, yo can fry a cylinder head in a matter of miles. The Vanagon also has another quirk; it has 43 radiator hoses and to replace all of them(entire kits are available from list vendors) will lrun you about $700 in parts alone. VW gets like twice that price. I'd avoid the automatic transmission at all costs as it does horribly in hilly road driving and gets worse mileage than the 4 speed manual tranny. Don't buy one thinking your going to get 25 MPG as most of them get in the 16-18 range when they're running proerly and YOU aren't in a hurry. The manual transmission with over 150k on it can and eventually will be difficult to shift into 3rd and 4th gears due to a cracked slider hub assembly. You'll want to make sure that that has been taken care of or prepare to spend about $1500 to rebuild the tranny.
If you want more power for your Vanagon, there are conversion kits to put several different Subaru engines in the Vanagon and the transplant, although expensive, does provide much better power and torque and sometimes, better mpg. To get 25 mpg, you'd have to fiind an old 82 or 83 diesel campe and they are VERY rare. They crank out a whopping 58 hp and definitely do zero to sixty in an afternoon.
If you want 25 mpg, then the best bet is converting your Vanagon over to the late model VW TDI diesel. That conversion done by a specialty shop will set you back about $8000, but many swear by it. If you want the true cream of the campers, then hold out for a 91 Westy Syncro as it has all wheel drive and more ground clearance than the regular Vanagon chassis.
I'm not real familiar with the Eurovan models that came out afte the Vanagon was discontinued in 1991. The early Eurovans had the 5 cylinder VW water cooled motor up front and the later ones had an up front VW VR-6 motor in it. A friend of mine bought a new 2000 Eurovan Camper done by Winnebago instead of Westfalia and he loved it but then his wife was a doctor and they could afford to pay someone else to work on it.. Got 20mpg with the airconditioning on going 70mph down the highway, but not many of those vans were made much less imported to the US,so parts availability could also be an issue.
Expect to pay anywhere from $15k to 25k for a cherry Syncro Westfalia, and figue around $10-12k for a good 2WD Camper. A nationwide search is best, especiallly if you live in the rust belt. Also. be prepared to learn how to work on the engine and van yourself. VW charges horrendous prices for service and most of the young mechanics in their service bays weren even born when the Vanagon was first introduced. The vanagon.com mail list is packed with experts that have fixed most everything on these vans and are a blessing to new Vanagon owners.
For my money, I wouldn't own any other vehicle even though I don't do the camping thing. The 86 and later Vanagon had a Z bed option that cleverly folds the back seat down into a queen sized bed that sleeps as well as my home bed and you save 1500 pounds of camper stuff yto carry around, but if you have a family to take along, the Camper is the way to go.
Good luck in your seaches./ My 1990 GL is the second best vehicle I've ever owned; the first being a 1963 356B Porsche Coupe. And my project vehicle right now is a really rusty 86 non camper Syncro for the winters up here. There's not many snow storms a Syncro can't handle with good snow tires on it.
References :
40 year VW owner including a 60, 71, 79, 86,87, and 90 model buses and learned how to ix them myself.
Posted by Michael K
January 14, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
No, I don't
You may want to post your wanted ad in the Yahoo! Classifieds section;
http://classifieds.yahoo.com
You might get better response from someone actually selling a VW bus. Good luck!
References :
Posted by Jim J
January 14, 2009 @ 9:02 pm
I've got one for sale–just posted it on Craig's List, but you can look at it on this webpage with lots of pics and all the info. Let me know if you're interested! http://www.cjmg.net/VW/VW.html
References :
Posted by calhale
January 14, 2009 @ 9:24 pm
Yes! Sure do. It needs some brake work and flushing. It has a Diesel engine — popup camper, etc. Body and trim are in good shape, if a bit dirty.
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