[Vwdiesel] Air cooled gas VW's versus Diesel VW's

[Harmon Seaver]

   Yeah, the heater in the bugs might have been okay when new, but once the rust
got to them it was gone. The buses didn't have even remotely enough heat to keep
the windsheild defrosted in Wisconsin's Winters even when new, let alone keep
anybody warm. Even worse, since the windshield was so frosted, I sometimes had
to open the side vent to blow cold air on it to be able to see. 
    And yes, the gas heaters are nice (I've got a diesel heater in my '82 diesel
westy), I had one in my '81 vanagon, but very, very few VW's came with those and
they were/are ridiculously expensive. Plus a bit dangerous if malfunctioning, at
least the gas ones -- a friend of mine burnt up his car with one that suddenly
turned into a flame thrower. 


On Tue, Apr 06, 2004 at 02:36:51PM -0600, Chuck Carnohan wrote:
> Gee Whiz!  What kind of question is this?  You are a brave and foolhardy
> soul Andrew!  I agree with all that Harmon testified plus a big
> detractant to the air cooled VW's is their sorry excuse for a heater!
> They are downright dangerous in northern climes!  Defrost is just a hope
> and functions least when needed most!  How did the German's ever make-do
> with such a sorry excuse for a cabin heater?  Buses are the worst for
> this.  I remember a trip from N. California to Texas one winter in a 69
> Westfalia.  I do believe that it was warmer outside that in the box!
> (fun trip though!  Gotta love the air-cooled).
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Harmon Seaver [mailto:hseaver at cybershamanix.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 1:49 PM
> To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Air cooled gas VW's versus Diesel VW's
> 
> 
>    It's not even remotely debatable -- aircooled engines of any brand or
> type simply don't last at all compared to watercooled. My brand new '69
> VW bus burnt out the valves at 25K, and it was maintained by the dealer
> from the start with all oil changes, valve adjustments, etc. done right
> on time. I ran aircooled VW's for many, many years -- and rebuilt many,
> many engines as well. They just don't last. You'd be extremely lucky to
> get 100K on one without a complete rebuild, at least in a bus. 
>    Compare that to the 450K some people are getting on VW diesels. Not
> to mention the fuel economy differences. Aircooled is great on my
> chainsaw, not much else -- I wouldn't even own an aircooled lightplant
> unless it was one of the tiny portable ones to use around a construction
> site, aircooled lightplants are incredibly noisy compared to
> watercooled, and having spent a long time living off grid, I can testify
> as to how damn annoying they are -- 
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Apr 06, 2004 at 03:39:32PM -0400, Libbybapa at wmconnect.com wrote:
> > Just thought I'd raise a little trouble.  Anyone care to post their 
> > opinions?
> >  Which is better and why, aircooled gas or diesel?  Probably not an
> unbiased 
> > group, but what the heck, just thought I'd ask?
> > Andrew
> > P.S. Try to keep it objective/civil.
> > _______________________________________________
> > Vwdiesel mailing list
> > Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
> 
> -- 
> Harmon Seaver	
> CyberShamanix
> http://www.cybershamanix.com
> Hokay hey!
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Vwdiesel mailing list
> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel

-- 
Harmon Seaver	
CyberShamanix
http://www.cybershamanix.com
Hokay hey!