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Best In Show Westfalia Automatic, A/c Recaro New Gowesty Motor W/46k Mi Warranty on 2040-cars
Year:1990
Mileage:156740
Location:
La Habra, California, United States
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What you are viewing here (thanks for dropping in by the way) is what
turned out to be a restoration project that I MIGHT have gotten a little
carried away with. It was a fun project and I’ll leave it to you to
decide if it was time well spent or not so much…
Having lived in Southern California most of my life, I have an intense appreciation for the Car Culture and have been a “Car-Geek” forever. As I get older, the idea of camping with a fridge and comforts of home attached to my steering wheel was appealing, but I am used to driving German sedans and vehicles that are at least a little unique… The result ended up being (for myself anyway) an answer to the question… within reason… “What would a Westy look like if the factory put one together in 2014?” I started by finding a solid, well looked after example and bought it from the owner of an independent Ferrari/Maserati auto service business and shortly thereafter the transformation began… I started with the brakes (Brembo Rotors) from GoWesty, Struts from Billstein and a set of Shiny 16” wheels from the Westy’s German cousin (Mercedes-Benz Motorcars). The wheels were Original Equipment on a CLK 430, manufactured by Ronal in Germany out of Forged Alloy (lighter and stronger than cast alloy). Tires are a matched set of Dunlop SP7000’s size 215/60/16 which vastly improved the stability, handling and grip on the boxy red thing… But then I had this clear coat fading van with a few areas of surface rust in the usual places (seams, under bumpers) making my shiny wheels look bad… so after dismantling it and removing all the trim, it was off to the painter for about 10 weeks of prep and paint, at least that’s how long they kept it. The color I chose was a 2014 formulation called “Basque Red Pearl”, which is close to but in my opinion an improvement over the Factory-Original Color “Bordeaux Red Pearl”. While they were at it, I had the brilliant idea to have them paint the few metal interior pieces that I could think of (Kitchen control panel & Fire extinguisher) to match… So NOW I’ve got this Georgeous on the outside Westy with two new shiny painted parts inside making the rest of the 23 year old interior look… well, you can guess where this is going… Converted the carpet, floor mats, seats, rear pad and upper bunk to black. Leather Recaro fronts are the best you will ever sit in and have the Wolfsburg Castle Logo sewn into the headrests. Back seat was redone to match the fronts, right down to the center backrest stitching pattern and logos. Rear pad had to match the rear seat when converted to a bed, so I had them match that too, right down to the stitching. Now the upstairs didn’t match so I not only had it recovered in black cloth, but also engineered a 12” bed extension for taller upstairs sleepers AND just people that are tired of their pillows falling down in the middle of the night! New seats and Operation-Noir made the curtains look pretty shabby, so back on the phone to GoWesty, while I had them on the line I wanted brighter dash lights, rear hatch struts, a skylight/vent kit and bigger wipers too… I was getting so excited I was preparing it for a roadie and was testing the faucet when I broke the handle. Turns out it wasn’t my only problem as the in-tank pump had died. Samantha at GoWesty (and UPS) to the rescue (again) New pump and variable flow/adjustable position Sure-Flo faucet installed. What else on the inside…? 4 Speakers and a modern Sony stereo with Aux jack for your phone, Pandora, etc. Also installed the GoWesty auxiliary battery kit as well as their battery. Solar charger is hooked up to the Auxiliary battery with wiring cleanly routed under cabinets and plug stealth mounted in factory external power hook up door. Oh, I also had the decals all made up custom for me in chrome, as well as having the metal test switch surround plate on the kitchen control panel chromed, added chrome trim to the molding on cabinets, tables, etc. It’s all subtle, but it makes a significant difference when you see the side door slide open to welcome you. Let’s go back to the outside for a minute… Got a new antenna from GoWesty, they also provided a new exhaust tip, gas cap bezel, rear fender chip guards, rear suspension bolt caps… But wait, paint was great so then I couldn’t resist restoring the bumpers, air dam pieces, installing Audi-style driving/running lights in the factory holes and about the grill… My interior didn’t look like everyone else’s anymore,so why should my face? Personal preference, but I think the South Africa upper and lower grills coupled with the matching round headlight conversion is a huge improvement over the rectangular look. One of the rules among car-geeks is that your ride can’t be all show and no go… GoWesty 2300 motor bought and installed by a local shop that specializes in Westfalias! Best part, better than being able to keep up with traffic or get over the grapevine without incident is that the engine is still under warranty for something like 36 Months or 46,000 miles! It just had it’s 1,000 mile break-in service done this month, which took me most of a year to rack up due to a few knee surgeries and consecutive whitewater rafting seasons cancelled due to drought. Oh, the A/C also blows hard and cold, the heater is great and the Pop-top canvas is the new 3-window design, color matched to the paint and Wolfsburg Crests embroidered into the fabric to match the seat headrests and wheel center caps. Currently registered in CA till 2015, and it easily passes smog-test here, so it should anywhere. Clear California title in hand, no lien, salvage, rebuilt or other nonsense. Carfax report shows no accidents or issues to report and eligible for all their guarantees. I know I’m forgetting many things...it has Power windows, alarm, remote keyless entry (2 remotes and sets of keys) I re-did most hoses, radiator, cooling system, transaxle is newer, windows are lightly tinted, LPG tank refurbished with new fill and relief valves, Calipers are painted, undercarriage cleaned, detailed and rust proofed, etc., etc.) but I think I have rambled enough for now and If you have made it this far I sincerely appreciate your time and patience and wish you well in your quest for the perfect Road-Trip Chariot, be it mine or another : ) I can say with confidence that this is an extremely well sorted and executed example, and if you had the stamina to drive 10 Westys to compare it to, I am confident that mine would stand out. That said, it remains a 24 year old metal box (albeit one that gets half a dozen thumbs-up per day) and it squeaks on occasion till I can locate the source with some WD-40, has at least one post-paintwork door-dimple, it will have some interesting issue to chase down in a month or two, and will get beaten badly by any Soccer-Mom that floors the accelerator in her late model Mini-Van (She is probably having a hard day and in need of a win anyway, so consider the loss a sort of kindness). I’m located in Orange County and welcome you or your mechanic to climb in/on/around/under the vehicle and by all means take her on a good test drive anytime. Many more pictures can be seen at my photobucket link if you want the address, please email me as ebay prohibits external links on their ads. Cheers! |
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Auto blog
VW's Skoda says Ukraine partner making wire harnesses again
Tue, Mar 22 2022PRAGUE — Skoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen Group, said on Tuesday its supply partner in Ukraine had decided to restart production of wire harnesses which should allow the Czech carmaker to resume production of its electric ENYAQ iV model. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has added to supply chain problems for global automakers — which were already struggling with semiconductor shortages that have cut production — with a break in deliveries of wire harnesses from the war-torn country. While Skoda, the Czech Republic's biggest exporter, said it expects the supply of semiconductors to improve in the second half of 2022, it said the war in Ukraine and supply bottlenecks will put a significant burden on its operating business. Skoda's 2021 deliveries fell 12.6% year-on-year and earlier this month it stopped production of the ENYAQ because of harness shortages, saying that two other models were at risk because of the lack of availability of the component. "Our partner ... in Ukraine decided to restart production of wire harnesses this week, with full service and full security for workers there," Karsten Schnake, Skoda's board member for purchasing, said during its online 2021 earnings presentation. Wire harnesses form a key part of a car's electrical system, which group and guide cables inside the vehicle. "We decided to double the production in case something is going wrong, and this production will be ramped up in an alternative factory," Schnake said, adding that work there would start in three or four weeks. "Hopefully we can restart production of ENYAQ one or two weeks later when we have wire harnesses," Schnake said. Skoda delivered 878,200 cars worldwide in 2021, the first time that this had fallen below the 1 million mark since 2013. Nevertheless, the VW group brand's sales revenue rose 3.9% to 17.7 billion euros ($19.5 billion) in 2021 and operating profit rose 43.2% to 1.1 billion euros ($1 billion) as it took cost measures. Skoda did not give a financial or production outlook, saying there were still considerable uncertainties as a result of the conflict in Ukraine and the impact on its Russian operations. Skoda, like VW, has suspended production and other business activities in Russia, which was its second-largest market last year, with 90,400 vehicles delivered. ($1 = 0.9089 euros) (Reporting by Jason Hovet, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Alexander Smith) Related video: Green Plants/Manufacturing Volkswagen Skoda Electric ukraine war
Skoda racing Up! to Worthersee with Citigo Rally concept
Thu, 17 May 2012If you thought the Volkswagen Group was about to wind down the endless stream of concept cars based on the new Up! city car, think again. Because not only is the Volkswagen brand itself keeping the train a-moving, so are its sister brands.
Skoda has its own version of the Up called the Citigo. But what racing fans know the Czech subsidiary for best is its rally program that has become a dominant force in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the basis for VW's own foray into the World Rally Championship. Now Skoda is bringing the two together with an exciting concept car previewed by the rendering above and confirmed in the press release below.
Following in the footsteps of the tantalizing Fabia roadster unveiled last year, the Citigo Rally concept is to be the centerpiece of the Skoda display at the Volkswagen Group's annual hot-hatch gathering at Lake Wörthersee in Austria. Details are scarce, but the show car will feature rally-inspired bodywork complete with 18-inch white alloys packed into aggressively flared wheel arches, a substantial rear wing and vents aplenty.
Audi buys Ballard fuel cell patents for $80 million
Wed, Feb 11 2015While some auto companies (e.g., Toyota and Hyundai) are giving away some hydrogen fuel cell patents, others are paying a pretty penny to gain access to the H2 tech. Audi announced today that it has purchased a suite of fuel-cell patent from Ballard Power Systems. The deal between Volkswagen Group and the Canadian fuel cell pioneer is worth over $80 million US. Unsurprisingly, the value of Ballard's stock shot up about a dollar (to $2.61 as of this writing) on the announcement. VW and Ballard will also extend their development agreement, originally scheduled to end in 2017, to March 2019, and possibly another two years after that. Thus far, the deal – which revolves around the "design and manufacture of next-generation fuel cell stacks" for VW's H2 demonstration program – and Ballard says it is a leader in "critical areas of fuel cell product design – including the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), plate and stack components – along with certain testing and integration work." At the LA Auto Show last fall, VW showed off a Golf SportWagen and a Passat with a hydrogen hybrid HyMotion powertrain as well as a Audi A7 Sportback H-Tron Quattro. Audi buys fuel-cell patents from Ballard Power Systems Development agreement with Ballard extended until 2019 Audi's Head of Development Prof. Hackenberg: "The entire VW Group will use these patents." Ingolstadt/Burnaby, February 11, 2015 – AUDI AG has acquired a package of patents relating to fuel-cell technology from Ballard Power Systems Inc. In addition, the Volkswagen Group has extended its cooperation with the Canadian clean energy company until 2019. The purchase of these patents will provide new impetus for the development of fuel-cell drive systems at Audi, VW and the Volkswagen Group. As explained by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG and responsible for the steering of the development departments of all brands in the VW Group: "Audi is acquiring these strategically important patents for the entire group and will make them available to all the brands. In this way, we are securing crucial expertise that will provide new impetus for the further development of this technology." Ballard Power Systems Inc. is based in Burnaby, Canada, and is one of the world's leading companies in the technology of proton exchange membrane fuel cells.