1986 Vw Syncro Westfalia Vanagon on 2040-cars
Owasso, Oklahoma, United States
It is with a heavy heart that I must part with my beloved “Great Big Daddy Van”, a 1986 Full Westfalia Syncro. It has been my daily driver since 2004. Here’s the good, bad, and the pretty darn cool:
The good: Runs strong on the original engine! I haven’t hesitated to drive it from Tulsa to Denver and back at least once a year. New(ish) cv joints all the way around. The front half-shafts were replaced earlier this year, the rears were done a few years ago. No vibrations in the drive-shaft! New(ish) canvas up top. Interior is in nice shape for the age, no rips or tears in the upholstery, no major dings in the cabinets. I have both of the tables and stands in good shape, as well as an upper bunk step. which fits in the front table bracket. Still the best way to spend the night away from home! A/C works well, although it needs charging at the beginning of the hot season. Recently replaced coolant downpipe, the one that always rusts out. Recently replaced exhaust system. The bad: The rear diff locker quit working after I had the transmission rebuilt. I suspect they didn’t reconnect the vacuum line and if so, this ought to be an easy fix for a better mechanic than me. The odometer quit working at 140,000 miles, I am unsure of the actual current milage. Crack in the windshield. Hole in the rear passenger quarter panel, it was there when I bought it. Bullet? Rebar? Ski pole? Whatever caused it, it makes for a good story. Rust bubbles in the usual places, some rust through at the bottom same passenger rear quarter panel mentioned above, should be eliminated if you were to replace it. There is also some rust through in the passenger step in under the rubber mat. I couldn't budge the mat on the driver's side, it was too well glued down. I looked underneath but didn't see any rust through. Please see the photobucket link for close-ups of the affected areas. Blown propane tank. I have a replacement, and will try to have one of them cleaned/repaired and functionally installed by the purchase date. Front washer switch has burned out, but I have a spare which leads me to the cool bits: The pretty darn cool: I have purchased over the years add-on’s that I never got around to installing, all are original factory items unless otherwise noted: A nearly complete factory cruise control set, including the turn signal stalk controls, and lacking only vacuum tubing and a second pedal switch. (it came from an automatic transmission vanagon) Seat heater controls, including the switch, housing and wiring, but not the heater itself. Power door lock set including actuators and wiring, for all five doors including the sliding door interlocks. Power window set including motors and switches. Two sliding center seats, one a single on a swivel base with a locking box in the base, the other is a double, both with matching upholstery. I have used these, and they’re awesome. I will include floor dollies for both, they make them much easier to move around the garage when not in the van. External thermal wrap by Fanchers.com for the canvas around the upper bunk. Custom made Gary Lee rack for the back hatch with a spare tire mount and a shelf for carrying a wheelbarrow. One of my neighbors backed into it while it was mounted on the hatch and as a result, one of the legs is slightly out of alignment. It should be easy to negotiate back into place. Two cargo carriers that I built, one covers the entire length of the extended rear bed and has rope handles for ease of carrying, the other can either go in the rear with the seat up or on the floor, or use them both at the same time, and save your interior! I am selling for a few reasons: we have brand new twins and to make my wife happy, I need a different vehicle to transport them. (with factory installed shoulder belts, headrests, and latch points) I never took it off-roading like I thought I would, although I sure was happy to have its amazing abilities when the snow and ice hit! We also didn’t camp in it as much as I thought I was going to, Oklahoma weather is either too darn cold or too dang hot. And the kicker, none of the mechanics around here know what to do with it. We are minutes away from Tulsa international airport, we will cheerfully pick up the winning bidder to drive it home! Here's a photobucket link with all the pics, if there's anything you want to see but don't, please ask, and I'll get it posted too! |
Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon for Sale
Early 60s volkswagen 11 window transporter micro bus van project rare find
1959 vw single cab(US $15,000.00)
1966 volkswagen deluxe 13 window bus(US $9,000.00)
1972 volkswagen baywindow sunroof bus(US $21,500.00)
1950s - early 60s volkswagen 15 window deluxe transporter micro bus van
Pop top campers (2)(US $3,000.00)
Auto Services in Oklahoma
Twister Auto Sales ★★★★★
Turn Key Auto Mart ★★★★★
Steve`s Country Garage ★★★★★
Sports & Imports ★★★★★
South 281 Autos ★★★★★
Select Auto Sales ★★★★★
Auto blog
Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota
Wed, Feb 25 2015It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study
VW clubs pay it forward to fix elderly woman's vandalized '69 Bus
Sun, Jan 11 2015Not long after Thanksgiving, surveillance cameras caught four boys in Arizona throwing rocks through the windows of a 1969 Volkswagen bus belonging to an elderly woman called Ann. A few nights later they returned to the scene of the first crime and repeated it, smashing windows they missed before. Ann had no other car and no way to make a living, but when Jesus Aguilera – a member of the Arizona Bus Club – came across the incident on a Facebook page, he got to work. When he was finished, the AZ Bus Club and the Tucson Mob Squad had donated thousands of dollars to pay for new glass and get it installed, and now Ann has a magic bus she can drive again. Now, the vandals just need to be caught... Check out the video above for the story. News Source: AZ FamilyTip: Jav Volkswagen Minivan/Van Classics Videos crime vw bus
J.D. Power customer survey of dealers counts Cadillac, Buick as big winners
Mon, 14 Apr 2014Cadillac and Buick have taken the trophies in J.D. Power's latest Customer Service Index Study examining satisfaction with dealer service. Surveying more than 90,000 owners and lessees of 2009-2013 model-year cars, the study found that those with pre-paid maintenance packages were ten percent more likely to buy their next car from the same brand.
Dealer satisfaction scores have improved overall, Cadillac nabbed the luxury segment ahead of Audi and Lexus, taking the crown that Lexus held last year. Buick keeps the mass-market dealer satisfaction win in the family, finishing ahead of Volkswagen and last year's winner GMC. The study also found that service department use of tablets increased customer satisfaction, as did "best practices" like "providing helpful advice." Who knew?
You can find details on those and more findings in the press release below.