Oh I don't know...
...no matter what I did to my old splitty it could still do 0-60 in about an hour and a half.
I don't see what the problem is! 
Oh I don't know...
...no matter what I did to my old splitty it could still do 0-60 in about an hour and a half.
I don't see what the problem is!
60mga wrote: I've had car crushes on westies several times and talked myself out of them each time. I've passed many a westy on the mountain climbs here in BC, either barely moving with a long line of traffic behind them(think getting passed by a motorhome) or just plain dead with the engine lid up. And having no heat in a damp climate with lot's of rain does not excite me. Let's face it, by the time the engine heat gets to the front of a vw van it'll be the same temp as the air you're trying to heat. And it always smells like oily exhaust. ...
The heat should not smell oily. If it does they are using "stale air" heater boxes that haven't been put on a VW since around '65. Or, they have a leaky oil cooler that needs repair. FWIW, I installed Eberspacher gas heaters in a number of my busses. They would heat up the bus immediately no matter the temp of the engine or the outside air.
I've also never had an issue climbing long grades, even when loaded, except for a time that I had a rocker shaft work loose going over Raton pass. Fixed it in Colorado Springs and motored on to NYC without issue. Drove a decent Binz Double cab and a double door swivel seat panel around in the Malibu hills without holding up any traffic - and all of those busses had Type 1 engines. The Type 4 in the later busses is capable of holding decent speeds and climbing Colorado grades without issue as long as some Einstein hasn't sabotaged the cooling system because he thinks it needs to be re-engineered.
Keith, if you really want to know what you're getting into, read up on the Bubble Window Bus forum on the Samba and read a later edition (post 1980) of John Muir's Idiot book. Lots of advice on living with an aircooled VW.
Cotton wrote:DaewooOfDeath wrote: No experience with Westies but I will say that the Yota camper thing is a good idea. Tough, kind of cute, comfy. Used to go camping with my granddad in one. It was nice not worrying about getting stranded.Did it have a 22r or re? Weren't you worried about head gaskets? As far as the bus. I like them and have looked at a few early ones, but I'm curious to see how well they do in your environment. I'm no stranger to slow (see avatar), but I do like to make it to the top of the hill.
It was the 2.7 liter fuel injected engine if I remember correctly. I could be wrong on that. I was like 12 when my grandpa owned his. It was slow but we never had any problems with it.
It was the 2.7 liter fuel injected engine if I remember correctly.
Pretty sure the 22r's are a 2.4L
What post? I don't see no post.
We must now engage in an Orwellian revisionist-history battle until no trace remains.
War is Peace. lol
Interesting note I found when reading up on these things: they're supposed to use light truck tires at a fairly high pressure, and they have a relatively unusual size. So most people just bung passenger car tires on 'em and run at a a more typical pressure. The end result? Poor crosswind stability...
In reply to Keith:
They're sorta light truck tires and sorta not. We made sure to have the correct tires. I think they were 185/14 (yes 185/14, no height number) D load tires. . About the only thing we could find locally was Hankook. I can't say what bad tires will feel like, but I will say the only time that felt unsafe was crossing a large bridge in Mobile, AL where the crosswinds had to be over 20mph exactly perpendicular. Other than that, no biggie.
Found it, it's a Hankook RA08 185R14 All Season Radial
If you think the 2.0's are slow, you haven't driven a 1.6 or even a 1.2.
modernbeat wrote: Drove a decent Binz Double cab and a double door swivel seat panel around in the Malibu hills without holding up any traffic
I'm such a mess for the old specials.
Just picked up one of these (for the g/f):
http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Volkswagen-T1-Camper-Van-10220
Janel's getting one of those for Christmas regardless of what we decide on the Westie. Shhh
Vigo wrote: We must now engage in an Orwellian revisionist-history battle until no trace remains. War is Peace. lol
It's for your own protection. 
iceracer wrote: If you think the 2.0's are slow, you haven't driven a 1.6 or even a 1.2.
They made a 1.2L van!?!?!?!
1.2L van..
To paraphrase Jeep:
Driveway-Rated.
About those flip-pacs, I had one on my old toyota for a hot second and I loved it. Put one on your cummins and you've got an awesome camping solution. I'm pretty sure the ones for a full size have a queen size bed. And you'll have tons of storage space in the bed of a full-size.
Oh man I can't believe you guy's have done it to me again. I've sat here for the last hour daydreaming of putting together a weekend getaway camping van. Although one of my neccessities would be some kind of small boat to go fishing on, but not on a trailer, something that I could throw on top of the van. There are so many lakes around here it would be a shame not to. Only problem is my wife will not get in a canoe, oh well I'll have to do some research.
I just saw the thread and suggested to the wife that we make a camper out of her Honda Element Her response......"Hell no....I don't camp"
IIRC you can totally camp IN an element. Dont the back seats recline crazy far?
You lot will love to know that a Subaru-engined Vanagon Westie has come up for sale locally (ie, within 3 hours) for the same price as the 1978 and it's getting serious consideration. It's nowhere near as interesting, but we know it's a better vehicle partly due to the drivetrain and partly due to the fact that it's got a stove. But brown velour is so much less fun than green plaid.
Keith wrote: You lot will love to know that a Subaru-engined Vanagon Westie has come up for sale locally (ie, within 3 hours) for the same price as the 1978 and it's getting serious consideration. It's nowhere near as interesting, but we know it's a better vehicle partly due to the drivetrain and partly due to the fact that it's got a stove. But brown velour is so much less fun than green plaid.
Nothing some reupholstering can't fix, right?
Keith wrote: You lot will love to know that a Subaru-engined Vanagon Westie has come up for sale locally (ie, within 3 hours) for the same price as the 1978 and it's getting serious consideration. It's nowhere near as interesting, but we know it's a better vehicle partly due to the drivetrain and partly due to the fact that it's got a stove. But brown velour is so much less fun than green plaid.
Links or Ban.
And now, the exciting conclusion!
The 1978 was super-funky. Any company that uses green plaid upholstery as a standard color obviously is not taking things too seriously. And it was a fuel injected engine and overall not a bad choice for an aircooled bus. But it had a few problems - no major rust, but patina that was starting to get a bit heavy on the funky green paint. And while it wasn't as slow as legend would have you believe, it would have taken some more instrumentation and a going-over before I was comfortable taking it too far afield. It also needed a fair bit of investment to make it a legitimate vehicle, such as new tires to replace the bald ones and a "make the heater work" program.
So when a Subaru-powered Vanagon showed up locally for the same price, we had to ask just what our priorities were. The Vanagon is still a pretty cool little camper and the one that turned Janel's head in the first place. What it lacks in charm it makes up for in utility and reliability. Heck, it not only has heat, it has TWO heater cores! Since the goal was to make it easier for us to go camping on a moment's notice instead of bringing home another project for Keith, we decided it was the smarter move. Yes, for once I'm making the practical choice.
This thing also has a better backstory. It was owned for 6 years by a couple that took care of it and gave it only the best - for example, it's on the correct tires and they installed Bilstein shocks instead of the cheapest option. It drives well. It's a little banged up in spots, but any scratches were primed, repainted and cleared. It also came with a solar panel to charge the "house battery", which is pretty cool for when you're off the grid.
I drove it home from Montrose last night at 65-70 mph (the speed limit on the road) and it seemed happy enough with the EJ22. Of course, now that I've taken 3/8" of slack out of the throttle cable and given it the ability to reach full throttle, it might be even happier now 
I spent today dealing with some small problems such as a corroded brake light connection and some incorrect bulbs in the taillights. Bonding, you know. Coming soon, I get to drop the fuel tank and reseal some of the grommets so it'll take more than 3/4 tank.
I do wish it made me laugh the way the green bus did. But it won't make me curse the same way that would would have eventually.
More and better pictures to come, probably in a separate thread. Don't mind the early morning frost.
For reference, here's the green bus.
keith. sweet buy. i truly am jealous of not only the camper but also the fact that you can do that whole car/camping thing.
Best of luck to you and janel and up coming adventures
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