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1991 Volkswagon Vanagon Carat

I have owned this van for about three years. It was sold new at Volkswagen of Honolulu and spent all but the last year of its life on the island of Oahu. I purchased it from it second owner, a Captian of the Honolulu fire department. He owned the van from 1994 to 2012.

The van was well cared for over the years, but was in need of some work when I got it. As with nearly all waterboxer VW's it developed a head gasket leak. I removed the engine and replaced the all gaskets. During this process I discovered the original VW heads had been replaced with AMC heads. AMC heads are far superior to the original VW heads. The original head are prone to crack between the valve seats. AMC heads are not cheap! They are about $1000 for the pair.

Since the engine was out I replaced the transmission pump seal as it was leaking too. All new hardware for the exhaust was installed. New O2 sensor and catalytic convertor was was also installed. The water pump was also replaced along with all coolant hoses. (those hoses are VERY expensive, about $250), All new drive belts. Remanufactured distributor along with all plugs and wires. I also installed a new Bosh fuel pump while the engine was out. The fuel pump is not the cheap one, it cost me about $250.

The A/C system does work. I converted it to a R134a system. If you know much about these vans, dont expect the system to work like your newer cars A/C. When the temps get very high over 105-110 the system takes the edge off of the heat. Below 105 if works very well and cools the van great.

The suspension received new ball joints and tie rod ends. New brakes on all four corners were installed. This van does have the big brake kit on it. This is a conversion to the 96 Audi A4 front brakes. When you get from brake parts you must get 96 Audi A4 pads, rotors and calipers. This kit cost around $800-$900, if I recall. ??The van also have VERY RARE South African Rhine wheels on it with newer tires (Sams Club Honolulu). The tires are the correct load rating for the van!! The Rhine wheels were used on the South Africa Vanagons. These wheels are no longer made and are in high demand among Vanagon enthusiast. ( The wheels are original VW, not cheap imitations) I have been stopped many times by other Vanagon drivers and offered cash for the wheels.

The paint is faded and their is some seam rust on the passenger side. Overall for the age of the van, it is not bad. Remember this van is 23 years old with 178K miles on it so it is not perfect.

I have owned a twin turbo Supra, a Z06 Corvette and some other cool cars. The van get more attention from the ladies than another car I have owned. (The rear seat does fold down into a bed!)

The van is very reliable, but it is not perfect. When we moved to Phoenix from Hawaii last summer I drove it from San Diego to Phoenix in 115 degree heat. I hate to sell it, but it is time.

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VW invests in QuantumScape for potentially fireproof, long-range EV batteries

Mon, Dec 8 2014

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