We as VW Van nuts, always appreciate the excited,motivated, ready top buy a van, customer. The unfortunate thing is we always hear the same thing. People assume that just beacuse a Vanagon is "inexpensive" they won't have to spend a lot of money to fix it up. Even if you already own a Van, nickel and diming yourself to death is most common. Now to efficiently go over a van and fully restore a van can cost up to $20,000. OK, so that number is huge for a 20year old vehicle. This seems like a lot, but compare it to "fixing it up as you go" , it's actually a better bargain. Now think about it. Everytime you have the van worked on, everytime a hose blew out, everytime a repair was needed, when all said and done, over the years, add all those invoices up, shocking!!!! Everytime a repair is done, something else will go out, so you spend more money and the more money you spend the more to start to think it was a bad investment. So what are you trying say? Don't buy a Vanagon? Hardly!!! What it somes down to is, you can spend money on a fully restored van, ready to go off the lot, safe and reliable. The comfort of knowing this Vanagon is 100%. Even if you have a van already, go over all the receipts of repair. They are pretty close to as if you would have spent that money, just once and not over and over, the van being towed in, ruining a family vacation. So unless you are a mechanic and know how to work on your Vanagon, trying to own one "on the cheap" will only lead to frustration and disappointment. There is no other van out there that has the same characteristics of VW Vanagon, sure they are out there, but thats why you chose a Vanagon, uniquely seperated from all the others. Lucas over at GO Westy wrote a similar article that we thought was right on the money. This is so true. Trust us, we're not the only ones that agree!
Westy Fridge Issue?? Why can't I light the fridge?
So to those who own the pleasure of owning a Westy. Either two things here. Either your the person who doesn't know why he is reading this? And those who say to themselves, " I can't light my fridge!" So lately we have heard too many people who said they couldn't get their fridge to to run off propane or they couldn't light the fridge! The really bad part? Some of them have owned their vehicles from the start! So either, were a really bad shop and our customers are not enjoying the full capabilities of the Westy! Or some are too frustrated and feel its useless! Well let's go over this now. We suggest after reading this, if you are still confused please contact someone who will know, so that you may enjoy the coolness of a beverage!! Alright. First, please make sure that you print this ou
t and go over this with the fridge in front of you. SO, first things first, lets go over what the buttons and knobs mean.
Coolant Pipe Repairs-
Those coolant pipes that run under the van. Theres two of them, they go front to rear. These hoses have ends on them that can come off & will need to be repaired. A pipe repair kit is available as well as new pipes, even in stainless steel. However, theres is also a repair that can be performed most of the time, which involves riveting the ends. Most vehicles wont show signs of these pipes seperating untill they have over 100K miles, but it wouldnt hurt to have yours checked out while the van is up on a hoist.
Subaru Engine Conversion....??
What to do??
OK- SO your engines getting tired and your not willing to give up the van. Well theres a few pros & cons to this conversion. Subaru makes a good engine for sure. Theres a few things involved. You will need to find the engine first. Either a rebuilt one from say like Small Car. or a used engine. The wiring harness from the van can be sent out & redone to work in conjunction with Subaru Engine/Vanagon. A few minor items get changed out during the installation process. When all said & done, this job can get upwards of $10k & up. The power is great! The parts can be failry inexpensive to maintain. Check for CA smogging issues.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THIS TIME..........STILL ADDING INFO