1989 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia Camper - 2nd Owner, Excellent Condition on 2040-cars
US $35,000.00
Year:1989
Mileage:177000
Location:
San Jose, California, United States
History & Mechanical - This Westy was originally sold in Portland, OR., I am the second owner and purchased it from GoWesty in 2003.
- Total mileage is coming up on 177,000, but in 2009 I replaced the original VW water boxer engine with a GoWesty 2300cc engine that has more horsepower than the original (no slowing down up hills!)<http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=24111>.
- The new engine currently has about 46,000 miles on it and is running like clockwork.
- I also added GoWesty alloy wheels <http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=3606> and a heavy duty rear bumper <http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=23577>.
- Last year I had the automatic transmission rebuilt by the local VW specialist, Peninsula Automotive <http://www.peninsulaautomotive.com>. They have done most of the repair and maintenance work on this Westy since I've owned it.
- I also got new tires and Bilstein shocks installed last year.
- Last month the Westy got new bearings and brakes.
- New alternator a couple years ago.
- Mechanically, this Westy is in great shape and you shouldn't have to do anything to it other than routine maintenance for a long while.
Camping Gear - The camping gear on this Westy is original Westfalia assembled in Germany. The one exception is the water faucet, which I upgraded to the Eurovan style "Shurflo" faucet <http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=23570>, when the Westfalia one finally gave up the ghost a couple of months ago.
- All camping gear is complete and working down to the key for the water tank fill door, the special tool to disassemble the stove top, and even the ice tray for the refrigerator.
- It has the front and back tables, as well as curtains for all windows and the sky light (which was also replaced last year).
- The stove works well, and the battery/water level/fridge pilot light indicators on the front of the kitchen unit work as well.
- The fridge works great on electric, but if this is your first Westy, be warned that it is tough to get going on LP. I added a kit from GoWesty a few years ago that was supposed to make the fridge easier to light, but it didn't help that much. The only way to make running the fridge on LP easier is to level the van really well before you try lighting the pilot (I mounted bubble levels inside the van to help in that regard). But that just reduces the pilot lighting effort from near impossible to really difficult. If you've owned a Westy before, then you know what I'm talking about. These Dometic fridges are notoriously finicky on LP power.
- I'm including the kit from GoWesty to add a second battery (under the driver's seat), which I never got around to hooking up. That could take care of your fridge power for weekend jaunts.
- I'm also including a space heater which comes in handy for cold weather camping, and a popup shower enclosure, solar shower, and folding wooden platform so you'll have all the comforts of home in the wilderness - almost. You'll need to supply your own toilet.
- The two sliding side windows have their screens, which I've replaced with more sturdy metal screen, and there's a bug screen for the rear hatch so you can leave that open at night to get nice airflow through the Westy without the mosquitos.
- And to recharge the battery during the day while you're out hiking or whatever, there's a Sunsei solar trickle charger mounted on the outward facing side of the passenger sun visor.
- I'm also including the battery conditioner I use to keep the battery in good shape when I'm not going to be driving the van for a while.
Special Features - The driver/passenger windows are powered, as are the L/R outside mirrors.
- The driver/passenger door locks are also powered by the Omega alarm package, which locks/unlocks the doors when you arm/disarm the alarm with the remote.
- The Omega remote also lets you start the engine remotely, which is good if you ever need to jump in and take off right away, or just like to let the engine warm up a bit before you drive, which is a good thing to do on older vehicles.
- The stereo is a Jensen multimedia player with an interface for a phone/MP3 player device. It has a slide out touch screen that will mirror the display of your device, which is handy for displaying navigation apps on a larger screen (for me it has worked up through the iPhone 4S, but doesn't seem to work with the new Lightning connectors). It will also play videos from compatible devices (like the iPhone 4S and earlier). The system also has HD radio which displays metadata about what you're listening to, and there's an input for a rearview camera if you want to add one. There's also a remote that lets you control all stereo functions from the back of the van. Front speakers are Blaupunkt, and the rear speakers are Polk audio. The system sounds great to me, but I'm not an audiophile perfectionist so your mileage may vary.
- I've replaced all the cockpit lights with LED, so you may never have to replace any bulbs.
- All the lights in the cockpit work, and I've even wired up the glove box/map light to automatically come on when you open the glove box and go off when you close it again. You can also still use the switch to turn the light on/off at any time.
- I've added a roof mounted center console with compartments for sunglasses, garage door openers, and other small items, as well as driver/passenger overhead map lights (SO much brighter than the stock lighting in the cockpit).
- I've also added a center console between the seats with more storage space, including net map pockets on each side of the shifter. It's not permanently installed, so if you prefer more floor space up front, you can easily remove the center console.
- The cockpit also has custom fitted rubber floor mats to protect the carpeting.
- The upholstery of all seating still looks as good as new. No rips, no stains, and none of those funky striped patterns that VW seemed to adore in the early to mid-80s. Just a pleasant, calming gray pattern.
- There's a "dashboard carpet" to protect the Westy's dashboard from sun damage. It has worked well, as there are no cracks or fading of the actual dashboard.
Caveats & Disclosures Now's the moment when you're probably saying, "Ah ha! I knew it was too good to be true!" Maybe, but I really don't think there are major deal breakers here. Check them out: - Air conditioning: It works, so technically the van has it. But if you're familiar with Vanagon air conditioning at all, you know that it's always been kind of a joke. The Vanagon is such a large internal space, and the rear air conditioner so small, that the only one who ever really stayed cool was the dog relegated to the very back of the van. Now that the Freon refrigerant has been outlawed, the air conditioning is nothing but a warm air blower. I had Peninsula Automotive convert the system so that it could be recharged with non-Freon refrigerants a few years ago, but that didn't really help. The air conditioning was designed to get cold with Freon, and even then it didn't work very well. With the new stuff, it barely gets cool. So you'll be much happier if you're the type of person who prefers driving with the windows open.
- Pop-top screens: The screen sewn into the front window of the canvas of the pop-top is still there, but the screen is old, and worn, and starting to tear. The pop-top canvas itself still looks good, but you'll probably want to replace the screen. I'm not sure whether you can replace just the screen, or whether you'll need to replace the entire canvas. It's the one area of restoration I never got too simply because I'm not camping much anymore, so it wasn't a priority (my declining interest in camping is the main reason I'm selling the Westy). The sky light screen also has some rips in it.
- Dings and scratches: This Westy still has its original paint job, and as you'll see from the pictures, it still looks great. But after being on the road as many years as this van has been, there's bound to be some chips and scratches, and if you look closely enough, you can find them. I'm including a paint touch up kit, which I've used to try and keep the paint looking good. There are also a couple of dings in the rear hatch and bumper from a low pole that snuck up on me while I was backing into a parking space one day. Like the chips and scratches, you really only see them if you're looking, so I never went to the trouble and expense of having them fixed. You probably wouldn't have even seen them in the photos if I hadn't mentioned them.
- Cruise control: The Westy has an aftermarket cruise control installed, but I've never been able to get it to work. It's there if you like to tinker. Maybe you can figure it out finally.
Post any questions you may have and I'll answer ASAP. Thanks for considering adopting my Westy! |
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Auto blog
Thu, 14 Nov 2013
Volkswagen is staging a massive, worldwide recall that's already grown from 1.68 million to 2.64 million vehicles and covers three different issues across a number of vehicles. We already reported on 61,000 Tiguans getting recalled over lighting issues - that was just in the US. Globally, however, VW will be recalling 800,000 Tiguans, according to Automotive News, with the focus on CUVs built between 2008 and 2011. The issue with the Tiguan relates to a simple fuse swap, so this is rather unremarkable, aside from the sheer number of vehicles being fixed. The real, troubling issues relate to gearboxes and pickups.
239,000 Amarok pickups (pictured right) are being recalled over fuel leaks, while 1.6 million vehicles are being recalled to swap the synthetic oil in dual-clutch transmissions with mineral oil. Now, the transmission issue is one for the global Volkswagen Group to address, not just the VW brand - vehicles from Audi, Škoda and Seat use the same seven-speed DSG and are covered under the recall, as well.
Why the switch from synthetic to mineral oil? Apparently, using the synthetic oil in a DSG and then subjecting it to stop-and-go conditions or heavy loads in a hot and humid climate can lead to electronic malfunctions, according to a Volkswagen press release. The switch, from the sounds of it, is largely a preventative measure.
Wed, 02 Jan 2013
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has revealed its annual list of Top Safety Picks, an award that highlights automobiles it says offer "superior crash protection." A new and still more significant award, the Top Safety Pick+ honor, is given to those vehicles that earn good ratings for occupant protection in four out of five areas of measure. And while some 117 vehicles were given the TSP seal of approval for 2013, just 13 passed muster for TSP+.
To be fair, IIHS only evaluated 29 vehicles with its new testing procedures for TSP+ (we'd expect that the number of qualified cars will rise substantially for 2014). Luxury and Near Luxury midsize cars were the first groups evaluated, followed by midsizers in the Moderately Priced Cars category - unsurprisingly, it's only midsize cars that you'll find among the class this year.
Only two luxury sedans made the list of 13 for 2013: the Acura TL and Volvo S60. The other 11 cars on the list included entries from domestic, Japanese and German car makers: Dodge Avenger, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord (sedan and coupe), Kia Optima (but not its close kin, the Hyundai Sonata, strangely), Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy and Outback, Suzuki Kizashi and the Volkswagen Passat all made the grade.
Tue, 16 Apr 2013
The launch of a new Volkswagen Golf is never a small thing, and things are already looking up for the subcompact hatchback after it was named 2013 World Car of the Year. While we've already seen the base and GTI versions of the next-generation Golf, now we're getting our first look at the sportier Golf R.
Although this prototype wears GTI lettering on the front fenders, it's more than just the roll cage and Sparco racing seat hinting that this is something a little more serious. Unlike the Golf and GTI, this car shows that the Golf R will continue to flaunt massive air intakes on each side of the fascia, and the rear of the car (though it's hard to see) has quadruple exhaust outlets. We still don't have an official word on power, but rumors indicate that the next Golf R could be pushing close to 300 horsepower, making it the most powerful production Golf ever. As much fun as we had during our first drive of the Golf R Cabriolet in the cold, snowy French Riviera last month, more power is a warming idea.
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