Garage Sale Haul

My buddy picked these up for me at a garage sale the other day. They are going to be immensely helpful.

I also picked up the official Vanagon Bentley repair manual, however that book is extremely technical and does not give you the practical step by step info that a novice needs.

I am waiting on my Master Cylinder and Cooling components which should arrive today!! Getting excited!

Cheers, Matt

Shout-outs, Help, and What's Next

I need to pay tribute to a few people/books/websites etc. who have helped me out and showed me the way. First of all I would like to thank my cousin Brian who was a big help in learning about Westies in general, for supporting my decision to get one (despite the amount of work I knew I was getting into), and generally getting me pumped up.

Also to my girlfriend Julie, who supported my decision despite my lack of VW knowledge, and more importantly, dollars. Anther great help was one of Brian's friends, a Westy Pro, who sent me an email outlining several things to do including fuel hoses, thermostat, engine tin seal, and cooling flaps, among others.

Also to The Samba, The Bus Depot, and Been There Done That, among many other great websites that are very helpful for the noob VW owner.

So toady I ordered some parts for the Old Broad. I still havent figured out what to name her. I have some ideas, but nothing great yet. So, I ordered a new Master Cylinder, the engine tin/body seal (called 'the engine weather strip' by the Bus Depot), and a bunch of those little seals that mount to the spark plug fittings. Again, this is an air-cooled vanagon, so the cooling components are very important. From what I have read and been told, the engine weather strip (tin/body seal) is a crucial component to keeping this thing cool.

So look for posts concerning master cylinder (MC) installation (and brake adjustment) and cooling component installation and maintenance.  

Have a good one!

Fuel Hoses

Although I have already done the Fuel Hoses in my Vanagon, I thought that it would be good to devote a whole post on it. Fuel hoses are the first thing any Vanagon owner needs to address when they get a new (to them) Vanagon. The fuel hoses are made of a rubber which wears out within a few years. I have heard VW enthusiasts say to replace them every five years. I would just keep an eye on them, and check them every so often to see if they are cracking or breaking.

This is extremely important because of the fire hazard associated with cracked hoses. The fuel passes through those hoses at (i believe) 45PSI and therefore it will force itself out of even the smallest crack. That means that you van can catch on fire. Lets not do that.

Installing new hoses is not that difficult. It will require a length of 5/16th hose, I bought five feet. Some sites will tell you to buy a metric size hose. The hoses that came out of my van said 5/16 so thats what I asked for when I went to the store. The section from the fuel filter to the fuel pump is a larger size, i believe it was ****. You only need about 5 inches of this, I bought a foot just to be safe. I would also get some new hose clamps as you never know how many of yours will break when you mess with them.

Another tip: wear some nitrile or other work gloves. When you get fuel on your hands it takes for ever to clean off, and it itches. Just avoid this with some cheap gloves.

I went ahead and disconnected the ground, or negative terminal to the battery just to be safe, although I have no idea if it matters in this job. I also started by disconnecting the fuel line at the tank on the right side of the vehicle and draining the gas into a fuel tank. Luckily there was only like, two gallons of gas in there so it didn't take long. There is probably an alternative to this, but I don't know what it is. I then went piece by piece, measuring, cutting, and replacing each piece of fuel hose. It took a couple hours, and it was tough at times, but overall I would say that it was a pretty easy job.

If there are questions about more specifics I will be happy to answer them. I can also add some pictures if you would like to see them.

Backstory/Vanagon Origins

I have long wanted to get my hands on a Volkswagon Bus or Vanagon. I preferred to get a later model one, I think because those are the ones I saw the most during my younger days. I am talking about the newer, boxier version which came out I think in 1980. You can tell that I am not a Volkswagon genius, at least not yet anyway. I also began to figure out that many of the Vans on Ebay and whatnot were going anywhere from $3,000-8,000, and I didn't have that kind of money to spend.

After a long search, lots of research and patience I was super lucky to come across a 1980 Volkswagon Vanagon Camper on Craigslist for $1000.00. I immediately emailed the sellers that I was interested and to call me. They waited four days to call me, I was sweating bullets they already sold it. It turns out that I was the first to contact them and they would offer me the first chance to come look at it. It had been sitting for three years.

I went out there on a Saturday evening in January with my special lady friend Julie, and my cousin Brian, another Westy owner. I figured it would be in pretty rough shape, but if I could get it to start and find some stuff to haggle on, I could pick it up. When we got there it looked pretty good. It was the original Assuan Brown, the exterior had some rust, mainly around the windows. We got the keys and tried to start her up with a jump but she wouldn't go. We ran down to the local auto parts store and picked up a new battery, put that in, and she started right up!! That made me really exited. There was three significant fuel leaks, that was to be expected with what I had read about the fuel lines. There was(is) still a significant oil leak, a big hole in the muffler, and hornets nests all over the underbody, but otherwise she looked great!

My New-to-Me 1980 Air Cooled Westfalia Camper

1980 Volkswagon Air-Cooled Engine

Well, I was gonna have to get it towed, had to do fuel lines, etc... So SHE offered me $500 for it!! I was jacked and trying to keep my best poker face. I calmly accepted and said I would take it! Finally I had my Westy. In retrospect, I probably could have offered $250 and she woulda taken it, but I figure I was gettin a good deal anyway.

I went and got the cash, paid the lady, and called a tow truck. Now my Westy is parked in my driveway and I've got to fix her. This is a log of those repair jobs. I've been having some difficulty finding tutorials on the web of how to do these fixes, and it is my intention to pass along any knowledge I can to other novice Westy owners like myself.

Caveat: I am not an auto mechanic. I may not do some things in the same way as a certified mechanic will do them and I am not instructing anyone to do what I do. This is mainly because I will surely do something stupid. I am going to try and do the majority of these repairs myself, those I cannot do I will take to my local shop(s).

Bad News: Before I had the bright Idea to create this blog I went ahead and installed all new fuel lines, fuel filter, spark plugs, and air filter. So those will not be reported on yet, but I'm sure there will be some discussion of it from time to time, as it is such a crucial repair for the novice Vanagon owner. There is a great video on you tube for this. I did not produce this video, for the record, but it helped me.

Enjoy The Blog!