[Vwdiesel] FW: New Vanagon Owner - 82 Diesel - Saying Hi, Questions

[Matt]

My father has an '85 Vanagon with the 1.9l boxer in it.  He recently put a
new engine in it, though he replaced it with the same thing.  It's fairly
slow too, though he can cruise at about 65 in it.  He lives in the Estes
Park area.

Matt
http://matt_lisa.home.sprynet.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: <jon.sykes at ps.ge.com>
To: <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 12:18 PM
Subject: [Vwdiesel] FW: New Vanagon Owner - 82 Diesel - Saying Hi, Questions


> Just saying hey!
>
> I recently  purchased a 1982 Diesel Vanagon camper:
>         http://www.pbase.com/js3150/82_diesel_vanagon.
>
> This is my first Vanagon, first VW, first camper so I have lots of
> questions!
>
> I drove the van about 150 miles the first night - taking the previous
owner
> home.  The diesel sure is slow!  I only got shown the finger once though -
> pretty good seeing as it was all highway and the speed limit was 75mph!
> Funny enough though, I've slowed down when I drive my other vehicle too
now.
>
> The van has about 185,000 miles on it, although the speedo stopped working
> at 169.  That's probobly the first thing I need to take a look at.  Also
the
> bulb for the clock/temp/fuel gauge has dropped down behind the heater
> controls.  This is the original engine.  A refurbished head was fitted a
> year ago and new piston rings at the same time.  I'm wondering how many
> miles this engine may run and what I should look out for when she's
getting
> close to the end?
>
> There's a little bit of rumbling as I accelerate and turn at the same
time -
> perhaps this is the CV joints, perhaps something else (gearshift
linkage?).
>
> There was a slight oil leak from the oil
> filter gasket which suddenly got worse (probobly due to the temperature
> dropping 40 degrees F over the last few days here) but the previous owner
> graciously took care of that for me.  I took it to the local spray washer
> and cleaned it up as best I could.  I drove with the engine cover off and
> found the interior got quite smokey!
>
> This Vanagon camper isn't the Westfalia.  Instead, it is the ASI Riviera
> kind (I think).  I was wondering how I might go about getting camper parts
> for it.  I know I need a pilot knob for the fridge and the pop up plastic
> canvas material could use replacement too.  Any know a source for these?
>
> Apart from a few knocks, cosmetic rust and generally dirty, this van seems
> pretty awesome - nothing that a good steam cleaning, a wash and a little
> elbow grease should fix.  All we need is some warmer weather here in
Denver
> and I'll be taking the family camping ASAP!
>
> I'd love to hear from anyone who has a similar vehicle - who may have tips
> or comments.  I understand I'm in a good position for an engine swop down
> the road, due to the fact that this is an inline 4 VW already (albeit not
in
> such a good position for the Suburu boxer?).  I'm in no rush though.  I
was
> wondering which engine might be the best in terms of value for money, ease
> of changeover and performance?  The TDi sounds awesome, but would
obviously
> be the most
> expensive and probobly entails quite a bit of tweaking?  I wouldn't be
doing
> the work myself anyway, but would be very happy if the van would cruise at
> perhaps 70mph instead of 55mph (when it's flat!) after the upgrade!  The
> national speeds limits have gone up since this van first hit the road.
> However, I love the fact that my 'RV' gets close to 30 mpg and wouldn't
want
> to sacrifice that too much.
>
> Any other Denver/Colorado Vanagoners out there?
>
> Cheers!
>
> Jon
>
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