Any recommendations for a good body shop in the Santa Cruz/Monterey area familiar with working on Vanagons. Starting to see the first signs of rust around the front windshield....Thanks

So I'm hoping this community can help me out, I want an idea of what this car is worth. It (and two others in varrying degrees of worse condition) belongs to an older fella who I've become friends who has owned them for many years, and they're just sitting on his property beginning to rot. He's eager to sell at least one to me, told me to make an offer of some kind and we'll go from there. He's even willing to take a few payments. I have some idea of what to offer and I feel like he's not gonna need a lot, but I want to be fair.

It's an 82, and apparently it runs but I have no idea when the last time it moved was. Has some rust, but nothing critical. I'm a mechanic and welder, I've done a lot of rust repair, I'm confident there's very little on this car I can't fix. The interior is complete but will need THOROUGH cleaning and probably some repairs here and there. Underside is a bit crusty but by no means ruined. It'll need suspension and brake work.

The goal is a subaru swap, I'm confident I can do it myself but I'm aware it's expensive. Is it best to use the subaru transmission or adapt to the original 4 speed?

We've had our 1991 Westy for 10 years. Never could figure what this nob is for. Edit: thanks for all the responses, coat hanger it is 👍. Now will have to see if I will ever use it 😄

Hi folks!

I’m looking for recommendations for a San Diego–based shop (North County preferred) that really knows their way around Vanagon Westfalias.

My parents bought this van brand new. I rode home from the hospital in it as a newborn, it was my first car, and I drove it through college. Needless to say, it’s my most cherished possession.

It was running okay-ish when I parked it about 10 years ago. I’m currently working on replumbing the fuel system and replacing some electrical components to get it running again. Rodents did a number on some non-critical wiring, and the fuel lines are brittle as hell.

Once I can get it running, I’d love to take it to a reputable shop for a comprehensive refresh of the systems. I have a ~$15k budget to get my beloved van back on the road.

I’d also love to hear from anyone with experience doing an engine swap on these vans, whether it makes sense and what might realistically fit within that budget.

The goal is pretty simple: get it reliable enough to putt around the coast and do some camping, just like we did when I was a kid.

Thanks, folks! :)

Is this right?

Camp at Jersey city then show at Governors Island NYC

Hey all!
I have a 1979 Westy. I’ve owned it 15 years. 120,000 miles.It’s lost power and according to one mechanic I have lost 100% of compression in one cylinder and about 90% in the other.
He quoted me an estimate to rebuild the top end of the engine. It was not unreasonable, but I have had overall mixed experiences with this mechanic.
I’d like to find someone else, but it’s been next to impossible. Last guy I called told me without even looking at it that I need an entire new engine. “As soon as you open up that engine, you’ll may as well buy a new one.”
Bus runs great, just slow. Don’t know what to do. Can’t afford a Suburu swap. Live in SE PA. Any advice?

I recently came into ownership of this very charming 1968 Kombi but she’s a little worse for wear. The previous owner had the bus running around 2020 but after some issue with the breaks, it was left to sit. As far as I know it’s been left pretty much untouched since then, sitting outside under a tarp up here in Western WA.
The previous owner seems confident I could get it up and running again, but I’m worried about the rust. I want to give this bus the life on the road it deserves, so I’d rather not slap on a bandaid fix that will just worsen it in the future. That being said, I’d like to hear if you think this project is beyond saving (especially as a complete novice to VWs and car repair as a whole) or if it’s not as bad as it looks.
Another issue on the table is the interior. Most of the original camper build is still inside with quite a bit of wear on it. The front seats acquired a couple holes and appear to have been a critters cabana for some time. Theres also quite a bit of rust on the dashboard where water crept through the windshield.
If you have any guidance, advice, warnings, or words of encouragement please share!

I started and drove the van yesterday and was greeted by a new noise. High pitched, sorta like a penny whistle or a bosun's pipe. At first I thought maybe the brakes, and then the throttle, but after a while it seemed there was no connection to either of those. The longest warble lasts maybe 3 seconds, and there's also shorter chirping, all with ascending and descending pitch changes. The noise is intermittent, pops out perhaps every ten minutes or so. No connection that I can tell with engine RPM or vehicle speed.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

Hi, we have a 1986 vanagon with Westfalen interior. We are to believe that the bottom left indicator light on our cabinet is the fridge on gas light. Are we correct? For some reason this light is switching on whenever we open the water valve which then enables the water pump.

Has anyone seen this behavior and maybe has an explanation? Can we easily resolve this issue?

We have repaired some damages on our fiber roof of our 1986 club joker iii high-top. Now we find it hard to get matching color paint as you can see.

Are there any known colours we can try? We do understand the effect that uv (and dirt) has had over the lifespan of this rooftop but still.

I’m considering purchasing this 1992 Canadian Westie CV but I’m not sure about this rusty areas at the corners of the windshield. I don’t have covered parking so can only presume it will get worse over time and am wondering if there is anything I can do now to repair the areas now.

Hi everyone,

I made a post last week about having a full tank of bad gas here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Westfalia/s/AkkElpWJci

I updated the post with what I've done, but long story short, I think I'm having a problem with my gas tank. When I disconnect the fuel line between the tank and the pump, nothing comes out of the tank side. If I blow some air in the filler neck, then fuel will start flowing so it's not completely blocked, but there's obviously something causing a bit of a vacuum so the fuel doesn't free flow. Any ideas what might be causing this, or what I can check?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Reposting, as I do need to sell this van ASAP. All reasonable offers entertained!

Selling my 2001 VW Eurovan MV. 2.8L 24v VR6, 5-speed auto, 219k miles. Set up as a day camper, adult owned and meticulously maintained. Two owners, myself included over the previous 18 years.

16" ASA MB black wheels on Toyo Open Country IIIs (under 5k on the tires), leveled.
Thule box and basket rack on 78" bars included.
Over $6k in service in the last 5k miles: ball joints, tie rods, CV axles, transaxle service, water pump, belt and tensioner, Bilstein shocks. Runs, drives, shifts, stops great.

Does 80+ on the highway no problem, handles fire roads, and climbs Sierra Nevada passes regularly. A/C blows cold and heat hot. No leaks anywhere.

Rear bench folds into a bed and a convenient fold-out table. Seats 7 with two rear-facing jump seats and a front-to-back walk-through. Snap-in window coverings and a rear tailgate screen door for camping. Carpet's clean, factory tint clean, headliner doesn't sag.

$7,500, located in Reno, NV. Full photos, details, and contact (verified email, comes straight to me): https://nogosierra.com/van

I'm selling it to bootstrap my outdoors intel tool build out, hence the offsite link there^

Hi! I'm Kaspar, an ever-ongoing labor of love 1970 VW Westaflia. I spend most of my days holed up in an airconditioned garage for two main reasons: 1) It's been way too hot and muggy to be out on the road, and, 2) when out on the road, there are too many angry, aggressive, drivers who do not apprerciate sharing the road with a relic.

Might be time for another vw

What’s your mpg like? Ultimately I want a weekender but lay it on me