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! |
Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon for Sale
Auto Services in California
Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Accessories, Automobile Radios & Stereo Systems
Address: 10080 Foothill Blvd, Lytle-Creek
Phone: (909) 481-9555
Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Inspection Stations & Services
Address: 12831 Alcosta Blvd, San-Ramon
Phone: (925) 830-4701
Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Window Tinting
Address: 3074 Broadway, Canyon
Phone: (510) 839-9871
Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Performance, Racing & Sports Car Equipment, Automobile Accessories
Address: 2352 E Orangethorpe Ave, Santa-Fe-Springs
Phone: (714) 526-6925
Auto Repair & Service, New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers
Address: 2165 Pine St, Weaverville
Phone: (530) 244-8088
Automobile Parts & Supplies, Used & Rebuilt Auto Parts, Junk Dealers
Address: 1569 Sebastopol Rd, San-Anselmo
Phone: (707) 542-0311
Auto blog
Sat, Oct 3 2015
Volkswagen's woes continued this week when it was delisted from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and stripped of awards. Senators are also lining up to advocate for criminal and civil action against the automaker, and its consumer reputation is in tatters. Put simply, it's been another rough period for VW. Despite this, the company eked out a sales gain of less than one percent in September, though that was well behind the overall market's performance. Sister brand Audi, which sells a diesel A3, was less affected, posting a 16-percent gain in September. Revelations that Volkswagen rigged millions of diesel-powered cars around the world didn't surface until September 18, so the full sales impact of the ongoing scandal won't likely be felt until October. Meanwhile, VW's image continues to take a beating, and an AutoPacific survey found only one in 14 vehicle owners have a positive opinion of the company. Before the scandal broke, three-quarters of respondents had a positive view of VW. The survey also found 64 percent don't trust Volkswagen, though the same number believe other companies are or may also be using cheating devices to pass emissions tests. "The reputation of diesels has been severely damaged, at least for the short term," Ed Kim, AutoPacific's vice president of industry analysis, said in a statement. Despite the lingering malaise, experts believe VW will recover, just as Toyota and General Motors eventually emerged from their own high-profile controversies. "Consumers have proven through numerous recalls that they are resilient and quickly return to their buying habits," Kim said. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Mazda to reveal sports car concept in Tokyo Mazda will bring a curvy sports car concept to the Tokyo Motor Show in October. The automaker is being especially coy with the details, only releasing the dark teaser shot that you see to the right and a cryptic statement that suggests the concept "condense[s] Mazda's entire history of sports-car development into a single model." Immediately, speculation abounded this is an RX-7 and RX-8 successor, though Mazda didn't specify what engine the concept will have. Reportedly, the company is still working on rotary engines. Mazda will have a Cosmo Sport 110S on its stand in Tokyo, which pioneered rotary technology in 1967. Read into that what you will. The Rock pitches Ford service Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, is the new frontman for Ford service.
Sat, Aug 23 2014
Credit Suisse analysts are bullish on Tesla. The group gives the electric car company's stock an "outperform" rating with a target price of $325. For its continued success, Credit Suisse cites the vehicles' superior technology, in turn offering more torque, roominess and reliability. Says analyst Dan Galves said of Tesla's competition with ICEs, "If Tesla can get to cost-parity with Internal Combustion vehicles and still offer $1,400 to $2,500 per year fuel savings to the consumer, it won't be a fair fight." Read more at Yahoo Finance or at Business Insider. In other Tesla news, Tesla Model S owners will be able to unlock and start their car using an iPhone. The Tesla app is adding this functionality soon, perhaps with the update to iOS 8. It's not yet clear how this function will work, but it's one more innovative convenience feature that Model S owners can enjoy. That means drivers will have less to carry in their pockets or purses when they go for a drive. Read more at 9 to 5 Mac. CarCharging Group has remotely lowered the amperage on some of its residential users' Blink charging stations to 24 amps. This will slow down the charging time for affected customers with 6.6-kilowatt charging by about 15 percent. The company cited safety reasons for the move, with concerns about overheating. The amperage reduction is temporary, until CarCharging is able to provide replacement parts for the chargers. Some are concerned about the delayed action, as well as the fact that the reduction was handled without owner permission. Read more at Plugin Cars. Ford is halting test drives and sales of certain C-Max hybrid and Focus models due to a safety concern. Cars made during a single week this month at a Michigan factory may not have enough ball bearings in the steering gear assembly, which could lead to loss of control. None of the affected cars have been sold, Ford says, and about 50 units are currently at dealerships. Just over 600 will need to be recalled. Dealerships have been notified of the problem. Read more at Reuters and the The Detroit News. A new EPA report shows that urban air in the US is becoming less toxic since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The report shows a 66-percent reduction in benzene, almost 60 percent reduction in mercury from man-made sources, 84 percent less lead and more.
Sun, Mar 2 2014
Reports in October 2012 claimed Volkswagen had begun investigating the creation of its own budget brand. This came after having failed to purchase Malaysian car company Proton or produce a meaningful partnership with Suzuki, and after watching Renault-Nissan make piles of euro on Dacia and plot the return of Datsun. For VW, more important than the question of what to call it was how to build it profitably and in a way that didn't damage the VW brand. According to a report in Autocar, a satisfactory answer still hasn't been found. The hurdle is how to hit "'necessary' quality and safety levels" at the price points needed to make the venture worthwhile. At the time of the 2012 report, German outlet Der Spiegel said VW was trying to get prices down to 6,000 to 8,000 euro ($7,784 to $10,379 US), about two thousand to four thousand euro under the price of the VW Up and in line with the cost of a 6,790-euro Dacia Sandero in Germany. In March 2013, VW announced, "We want to bring a true budget car to the market in China in the foreseeable future," the most concrete move in that direction after years of planning to make a decision. Working with local Chinese maker FAW, it was predicted that the vehicle in question would appear around 2016, but as of November last year a final vote on it needed to wait until this year because "We are still working on the cost side" and profit possibilities for a car that "has to be durable, it has to be precise, it has to be safe." Even Fiat, another automaker long considering a budget brand beneath its Fiat line-up, wasn't sure how to squeeze any extra money from lower-cost products but was sure that it couldn't be done by manufacturing in Europe. If VW hasn't yet made the math work with a joint venture in China, it will be interesting to see how it might build a European go-it-alone business case.
Vw short bus
1972 vw vanagon(US $7,500.00)
1971 vw volkswagen classic bus van transporter(US $8,900.00)
1967 double cab survivor 56k original miles new motor solid west coast vw
1973 volkswagen passenger bus wild westerner(US $23,995.00)
1973 vw camper van "riviera" for sale - the ultimate camping experience(US $8,500.00)