1985 Vanagon Westfalia, 0-60 In 11 Minutes

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Back in 2013 I got struck by van fever. I scoured ebay, the samba, and craigslist looking for vehicles in my price range that weren't total rust buckets. I found a 86 full camper in southern maine, loaded up my work truck with a trailer and headed out to pick it up. Once arriving I noticed that the photos were much older than they were advertised as. Rusted through seams and wheel wells, no exhaust were just a few of the stand out items I noticed. I declined and sadly headed home with an empty trailer. Later that night a new ad popped up on craigslist and I quickly emailed the seller. Making plans to drive the forty-five minutes to look at it the following day. The husband and wife greeted me gleefully in the driveway as I backed my trailer up to the van. Negotiations then took place, I countered his $2,500 offer with $1,200 seeing what wiggle room I had. His wife quickly elbowed him in the ribs and whispered something in his ear, followed by him reaching his hand out and saying "you've got a deal". Awesome I wasn't expecting that to be so easy. So I loaded it up and brought here home. Here she is in the driveway before winching her onto my trailer.

The day after

One of many modifications the previous owner made

All natural filter element

Scrubbing the grime away

A couple weeks later after I got a new tent and started figuring out where each bolt goes in the 5 gallon bucket of hardware the previous owner gave me.

The previous owner was an "electrical engineer" He made many modifications in the dash which needed correcting.

Got that sorted and then continued the dash mayhem

Those square plastic connectors are the bane of electrical woes. He used them in all sorts of weird locations. Years later I am still finding them, recently the horn decided to start making a squeek instead of a honk. I found two of these connectors under the van in the horn wiring.

After I fixed that stuff, it was time to get her registered and on the road.

 

[Steve]

Welcome! I've been following you on Instagram, and it is a pleasure to have you join us here on Overland Bound.

Steve

 

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One friend, my friends dog, my girlfriend, and myself loaded up the van with our snowboard equipment and headed north for the weekend. Heavy snow and cold temps were the forecast, I had a propane heater I borrowed from work though so we were ready. About an hour into the drive we came to the conclusion that the front heater core valve was not functioning. If you have never been in a vanagon, there is always airflow coming into the cabin, when the heater works that means you get heat. When it doesnt it is the same temperature as the ambient air outside. So cold air was blowing in, the roof vent had air blowing it, outside temp -15F with 30 mph winds. Heavy snow was pummeling us as we crawled toward our destination, the Killington Gondola parking lot, around 11 we rolled in popped the top, fired up the heater and hopped into bed. We woke up to a fresh coating of around 10inches of snow, made some breakfast and headed out to ride. After riding all day we hopped back in the van and headed north to Jay peak, snow still falling and the temp hovering around Zero F and dropping. A few cold hours later we rolled into the condos our friends were staying at, we went inside had some beers then crashed in the van, outside temp -15 yet again. As we woke the windows were completely covered in a blanket of snow, the riding that followed was some of the best early season snow I have ever ridden. The drive home was also something I will never forget. My friends girlfriend joined us on the way back making our party now four humans and one dog. Cold air was blowing in and the vw motor slowly chugging along up and down the hills. As I slowed down for the exit ramp for 93 South I pushed the clutch in and with no resistance it went straight to the floor. Well thats not right, shit no clutch pressure, something is really wrong.
In the dark, slushy snow covered side of 93 I crawled underneath and diagnosed the clutch slave leaking. We had to make it to a gas station to get some more brake fluid for the hydraulic system. So we got her going with no clutch, at this point it is time to mention that the Vanagon shift linkage system is an 8ft long puzzle that needs to be aligned perfectly to work even remotely correctly. I had noticed that shifting was slowly getting sloppier. The bushings in the shift linkage had come completely apart now and we were driving blind trying to read braille with an oven mitt on. My friend hopped in the driver seat and I stood precariously between the front seats shifting as he drove, we made it an hour farther south the an open gas station and refueled. I topped off the brake reservoir, then I through down some mats, my friend and I crawled underneath and proceeded to make some fake bushings with foam and zip ties. It worked, we had clutch pressure and shifting was only slightly better, but it worked and that is all that was needed. A few hours later we made it home frozen and cold.

After fixing the linkage and clutch system it was time for another trip, this time it was up to Loon mtn and then across the state to the maine seacoast for some surfing. A freezing rain poured down on us on the way up, and we slept in my friends cabin one night before crossing the Kanc over to Loon, rain still coming down. The Loon parking lot was glass black ice by the end of the day.

The drive back across the kanc to drop my friend off was slippery, thank god for studded tires. Around 930 at night we rolled into my friends driveway in Maine. We drank some beers and discussed which breaks might be firing the next day. The spot we had in mind wasn;t working so we made the decision to hit a different break. Ambient temperature was around 10F and the waves were Head High + thank god for neoprene.

After a heavy day of paddling and ice cream headaches it was time to go home. The van was starting to stumble and I still wasn't totally trusting in the fuel gauge so I refueled.

 

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The following morning I went to go to work and the van wouldn't start. This resulted in a multi-day mind screwing diagnosis of what was going on, spark check, compression check, fuel pressure check. Eventually i figured out that the rollover valves in the front expansion tanks were totally gone. All of that pouring rain I had driven through on the last trip had splashed up in the front wheel wells and then drained into my gas tank. Awesome.

What my fuel looked like

Next thing up on the docket to break, the starter. Sometimes it would work sometimes it wouldn't. While waiting for the replacement to come in, I got really good at bump starting the van by myself.
This is why the starter wasn't working.

After fixing the starter things were good until one day leaving work I heard a new knocking noise in the rear. The upper shock bolt had come undone.

After a trip to western MA, it was time to overhaul the braking system and wheel bearings. Stainless lines, front rotors and calipers and new rear drums. Also should be noted that on this trip I picked up a low mileage subaru EJ22.

I also took apart, cleaned and regreased the CV joints.

 

[0to60in11minutes]

Welcome! I've been following you on Instagram, and it is a pleasure to have you join us here on Overland Bound.

Steve

Thank you! Its been a long road!

 

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Subaru motor on the way home

Heading back down south after a few days in the backcountry the van got louder, much louder. The strap that holds the exhaust had snapped resulting in this.

Some safety wire and things were reattached, albeit still a littler louder than normal.

At this point the foam floor tiles had to go. Hard wood oak was the replacement. This has held up great even to surf gear and snowboard boots. At this time I also replaced my cracked shift knob with a tap handle scored from a friend who worked at a local brewery.

The faded, oxidized paint was always a thorn in my side. It was time to do something about it. Armed with some rehydrating wax and a few hours of time it was time to tackle the paint. I claybarred then waxed the shit out of it. Results were fantastic.

I also enlisted the help of a friend in redoing the vinyl pinstriping on the sides

 

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It was time for another trip so my girlfriend (kate) and I loaded the van up with essentials and head north to Downeast Maine. This would be the longest trip in the van yet, putting that little 1.9L sewing machine to work as we took the coastal route up. The little machine powered us farther and farther away from home all whilst loosing only a little coolant, thanks VW for your stupendous water jacket design! We thought we were nearing our destination when we got put back in our place with an update from our gps, "55 more miles and your destination will be on your right". Eventually we got to the camp site near Lubec. We fell in love with this area during this trip. The camp area is bisected by multiple bay inlets which are flooded and drained with the massive tidal bores in the area. Quoddy head, the eastern most point in the continental US has terrain like Acadia NP, except with way less people.

 

[RaggedViking]

Well, you've got my attention.. Boy howdy!!!!!!

 

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The trip to Eastern Maine would end up being the last for the VW motor, besides daily driver duties. After hording parts for months it was time for a heart transplant. Goodbye Wasserleaker hello Subaru power. The weekend before Christmas I loaded up all my conversion parts, some food and headed over to a friends garage. Which he had nicely decided to let me use for the conversion. I had to air down my tires to get into the garage and give me enough height to jack up the rear of the van. Over the next 48 hours I removed the VW motor, installed the Subaru motor, replaced the front to back coolant pipes with new larger stainless ones, resealed the gas tank as well as a few other odds and ends. I worked pretty much straight through stopping around 3am, folding the lower bed down and sleeping for a few hours, the benefits of a camper van. The only setback I came across was the radiator hoses not fitting the new stainless coolant lines. Two days later on the morning of the 24th I turned the key and she came to life just in time for me to make it to a family christmas party. Merry Christmas to me! The wiring harness work was a bit over my head at the time so I enlisted Jeff Robenolt of AutoVentures LLC for his expertise. His harness work and then conversion help later was and is A+. A month into the conversion I was having battery issues which I diagnosed as a failing alternator, which I then replaced. Once replaced my van wouldn't start, the injectors were going crazy whenever the ignition was turned to the on position. For some reason the van conversions and early ej22 rebuilt alternators do not get along. Jeff worked with me over the phone late at night trying to diagnosis things. Once I replaced the alternator with an upgraded new unit from a tribeca all the problems went away.

Jeff's fine harness work

Bye Wasserleaker!

 

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Well, you've got my attention.. Boy howdy!!!!!!

Thanks!



A weekend up in the White Mountains broke in the new setup. For someone who had daily driven the 1.9L VW motor the new power from the subaru transplant was happily welcomed. Not having to downshift for any incline on the highway was a new and wonderful experience. The ej22 was using a little oil over the course of 1k miles but I was hoping that would go away with more mileage put on the motor. It was time to put the new setup to a significant test, an eastern seaboard trip down to Florida to escape the harsh, arctic tundra like winter we were having.
From

to Palm trees

 

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Down to Florida!
We had the van loaded and ready to go, I had a plethora of spares including an extra wheel/tire in the yakima box. We left in the early morning hours to beat the Boston and NYC rush hour traffic. This would be a long day of highway slab slogging. Around sunrise we were nearing NYC on 95. For those of you who have never driven this particular stretch of highway, I will give you a brief description on what to expect. Picture yourself in heavy traffic, traveling at 70+mph, on the moon dodging huge oil pan and wheel/tire eating craters. At one point there was a cop sitting on the shoulder drinking coffee with 5 disabled cars in the shoulder in front of him. It was as if he was just doing a daily detail in the same spot. Once through that clusterf*** we refueled in New Jersey, a place were you can't pump your own gas. After hours on the road we made it through DC area traffic, had lunch somewhere along the way and it was now getting dark. Dinner time was approaching so we got out the smart phone and started perusing options for food. We were deep into North Carolina, so options were limited. We were soon rewarded with a four star rated place that had multiple reviews stating "BEST GUAC EVER!!!" Boom decision made, that is where we are going. The place was busy, so busy in fact we had to wait for a parking spot to open up. When we finally got seated and placed our orders, one of the owners came over and made us our guacamole table side. It was the best guac we had ever eaten, the reviews were right! This had our hopes high for our main meals. Our dreams of a tasty dinner were dashed when what arrived was some sort of resemblance to tex-mex with a heavy dosing of plastic tasting weird liquid cheese. Well we had the best guac and worst meals of our lives at the same place. After dinner kate grabbed some sleep in the back as I consumed coffee and crushed miles. At this point I was becoming more and more thankful for the lighting the front of the van has. The wildlife was everywhere and I lost count of deer once I was nearing one hundred. Eventually a light appeared on the horizon, what greeted my eyes was some sort of insanity that looked like it had teleported from the Las Vegas strip, South Of The Border. I gawked at the scene and drove by, a place I will never stop. Eventually we made it to Savannah were we stopped in the rest stop, tucked the van in between some trucks and I got some shut eye for a few hours. 30 hours on the road and the subaru motor ate every one of them. The following day we finished the drive to my parents house in florida were we would spend the days exploring the local area and sitting on the beach collecting fossilized shark teeth. The ej22 had been drinking slightly more oil on this trip.

 

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After we had our fill of fun in the sun it was time to head back north. Before leaving I did some last minute maintenance. I wanted to run a can of sea foam through the gas tank. I dumped it in an then got distracted, in the end I didn't fill up after I dumped the can in. I moved the van and let it sit. This resulted in the sea foam literally melting the inlet side of my fuel filter. Upon doing some investigating we decided on hitting the Outer Banks via ferry. The price to take the ferry north to Ocracoke was only $15 coming from a place were ferries regularly cost several hundred dollars this was a deal! We slept in the terminal while waiting for the first ferry of the day early the next morning. After a short boat ride we explored empty beaches and searched for wild horses. We both wished we could have spent more time out there but a few work commitments were calling and we had to make moves to head home.

* Note Somewhere in Florida someone stole one of my rear hub caps.

The subaru conversion leaves you plenty of working room in the van. Replacing leaking valve cover gaskets is a synch.

The van also rolled 100K somewhere near the outbanks

 

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I got a set of Audi(a4 or a6) wheels from a friend. They had to get machined to fit, enlarging the center bores to clear the grease caps in the front. From 55mm to 66.56mm and a minimum depth of 37mm.

I went from this O.E. 14in wheels

To this 16x7 Audi wheels wrapped in Grabber AT2's

The factory jack works well for recompressing the subaru timing belt tensioner when you aren't near your shop press.

 

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Nearing the end of the summer it was time for another bigger trip. We were packed and ready for Nova Scotia. Using Lubec as a quick stop before crossing into Canada at Calais we embarked. On the way to Lubec I stopped and grabbed some spare subaru parts I scored off craigslist cheap.

I also decided to use my bike rack as a spare tire carrier. It works great and was free.

Around dinner time a storm system rolled in. We could hear it in the distance as our food cooked over the fire. A couple started setting up in a nearby site. I grabbed our food and brought it into the van just as the sky unleashed. As we sat and ate comfortably in the van, we gazed out at the couple trying to setup a tent. It wasn't long before they gave up threw everything in the trunk of their subaru outback and left, oh well should have gotten a van. It wasn't long before the skies cleared and gave us a stunning view as the storm tracked away from us.

 

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The next day we crossed the border and headed to Nova Scotia, stopping on the way at Hopewell rocks, the Disneyworld of Eastern Canada. The crowds mulling about, taking selfies, bumping into you, and leaving full diapers on handrails certainly put a damper on things.

Lunch overlooking the Bay of Fundy

We then camped here somewhere in Nova Scotia

Next it was up to Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail were we both wished we spent the entirety of this trip.

This ended up being one of our favorite sites of the trip. A cliffside spot to ourselves with a rock strewn beach below.

We sadly then put Cape Breton in our rear view and headed south looking for more surf breaks.

 

[Trowbocop]

Love the photos. Cheers [emoji482]

 

[VCeXpedition]

Good post, enjoying the mix of serious vehicle mods and trips thrown in. Well done. Beautiful pics as well.

 

[0to60in11minutes]

Love the photos. Cheers [emoji482]

Thanks!

Good post, enjoying the mix of serious vehicle mods and trips thrown in. Well done. Beautiful pics as well.

I thought about separate build and trip threads, but after doing that in the past I tend to forget to post updates... I also think its more fun this way!

 

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Leaving Cape Breton we skirted the coast looking for waves. On a few occasions we came to breaks surfed our arms off, getting out of the water just as locals were showing up. We came across a few ferry crossings which we always opted to take since driving around would generally mean several extra hours on the road that day. It also gave us an excuse to get rid of all the 1 dollar and 2 dollar canadien coins taking up refuge with my change. One ferry in particular crossed a fast moving inlet less than 100yds across.

Somewhere in our coastal cruising, exhaust valves in one cylinder after miles of oil coating, decided to get a little crispy. Luckily the motor didn't really care, still pushing us along at 70mph is we wanted to. With the motor in its current state we opted to hop on the now defunct Nova Star fast ferry. This would cut our driving time considerably taking us from Yarmouth straight to Portland Maine. When we rolled onto the ferry, they chained the van down at multiple tie downs front and rear. We would soon find out why, after a few hours underway the sunny skies darkened and we slammed head first into the remains of a tropical storm. People were getting sea sick, I wasn't feeling well either but that was due to happy hour. Not a small boat by any means, we were still getting tossed. At one point everything in the gift shop went flying to the floor and out the door, it was a stuffed lobster massacre. After a few hours of this we eventually passed through the worst of it, just in time to glimpse Portland Head Light house greeting our arrival.

The van cruised without complaint the rest of the way home. Once home it was time to find a replacement motor to swap in.

 

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Good by oil drinking valve burning motor

We try and make it to the Grain Surfboards SurfReEvolution every fall, the Saturday morning of the event I had no motor in the van, no timing belt or intake manifold/wiring harness on the new motor. Early that morning I hammered it out and in the early afternoon turned the key and we headed up to the Surf event.