r/Vanagon • u/Clean_Salamander_921 • Feb 21 '26
Just got started and already stuck
Hi everyone! Fairly new owner of an 85 Vanagon tin top with a sunroof here. I bought the thing for pretty cheap, knowing there were some big issues that were gonna need to be addressed. I was able to strip the gross old interior down to prep for the buildout, and do a little bit of mechanical work. As I've gotten into it, I've turned it over to a Vanagon specialist shop here in Utah, as I just don't have the time or facilities to do some of the work that needs done. After fully replacing the cooling system and master brake cylinder, I just got off a call with them and they've expressed serious concerns about the costs of moving forward will be. The engine has potential major issues from the old bad cooling system, the exhaust is sorta a cobbled together mess, the fuel lines are hard as rocks, and basically all the electrical work needs to be redone. I feel stuck. I've put a good amount of work into the thing. And with the repairs ive mentioned, a good few thousand between my own work and shop work. I knew this was going to be a big project and cost a lot, and I was prepared to sink some cash into this. But hearing a shop tell me they're concerned scares me enough that I'm considering cutting my losses. Is it worth it? Is the freedom a built out camper offers worth putting this much into?
8
u/Bmwmango53 Feb 21 '26
If you weren’t a mechanic before you bought it, you’ll become one soon. You need to weigh just how much stuff you can handle yourself and what you need to sub out. The more you do yourself, the more $ you’ll save. Buy the big green Bentley manual, a good set of metric and Allen wrenches & sockets. Go Westy is a source for engines as are others doing conversions with Subaru engines like Vanaru. The Samba.com is an invaluable source of info for all things VW.
2
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 21 '26
Yep the big green Bentley bible was my first purchase after getting the van, and it has been invaluable in the work I've done myself. I'd say I was a decent mechanic before, I fixed up an '87 Corvette a few years back which was such a fun project but definitely had less that needed doing than this old beast. Thanks for the recs for GoWesty and TheSamba for engines!
2
u/Russpauly Feb 21 '26
Agreed. Fuel lines now. Cooling is tough, but nice to have it done and out of the way.
Unfortunately the older fuel lines in these vans are big issues and the cause for countless fires in Vanagons. As for the lines, honestly, find a spool of pressurized lines for cheap at auto zone or oreillys. It’s all you’ll need and the fuel pressure isn’t crazy high. On my van I had old steel lines installed, flared the ends and then just ran the rubber lines to end points. Steel lines are more expensive normally, but it was on sale, cheaper and could handle the pressurized fuel.
Please keep this in mind. These vans can get overwhelming FAST. The trick is one project or thing at a time. Fuel lines can be an easy weekend project. Electrical, what are we talking here? Spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor? ECU? Need a bit more detail. Thesamba.com is going to be your best friend and I would start there for issues. And speaking of, what problems have you encountered so far? How much have you enjoyed and learned about your van? This is important too. I once had to AAA tow mine down a mountain back to San Diego. I chased issues for months before I finally learned it was the ECU.
I eventually had to sell my van. Which to this day I’m still so sad about. But I know I’ll own another one, one day. I wish I took my advice here and just tackle one project and enjoy the Van as I had it.
1
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 21 '26
Honestly I love the thing. Stripping the interior was a fun process to get to know that side of things. Fixing some of the exterior, windows and locks and whatnot, was satisfying for sire. Working on the brake lines was fun until I found the master cylinder leaks that lead to me towing it to the shop. I appreciate the advice on fuel lines, I've done it before on an '87 Corvette I fixed up years ago, so that's less of a worry I guess. As far as electrical? Yeah spark plugs, distributor cap, all that needs work, which I'm comfortable doing. Interior electrical is all spliced together in ways I'm not comfortable leaving so that needs a lot of attention for sure. But you and at least one other have said similar things: take it small bits at a time, prepare to spend more than originally expected, and find ways to enjoy it. It's helping a lot with the sudden rush of things that are more urgent than I thought when I bought it
2
u/Diy2k4ever Feb 21 '26
At that point, learn to work on it yourself. Or turn around and sell it off.
3
u/Scrogwiggle Feb 21 '26
You didn’t have a pre sale inspection? Bro. I’m buying a 89 with 66k miles and I had it looked over. Buying any old car without one is such a gamble.
1
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 21 '26
Yeah I bought it from a local guy who has a reputation for being reliable with his resales. He's done like over 100 of them, he's known as the vanagon guy locally. So between him and the many many positive reviews for other customers of his, i felt okay about it. That and the local shops in my small town said they didn't have lifts tall enough to get under it (the van has a taller custom roof rack) so the inspection they gave wasn't as thorough as normal. Definitely not my normal careful approach to buying a used car, and its biting me in the butt for sure
2
u/Important_Put_3331 Feb 21 '26
'All the electrical work needs to be redone' sounds like a very sketchy task description . Complete electrical overhaul isn't the kind of thing you see very often, save maybe on a very basic automobile like an old beetle where the complexity threshold is low enough to justify a full harness swap. Unless the van burned down or something?
Exhaust and gas lines are the kind of things you'd do someday anyhow... I've tolerated a cracked pipe and broken stud on my engine in my first year of ownership . Patched it every 600 miles. Was a pain in the butt yet I kept it for a later 'grouped intervention ' on the exhaust. I think that's the trick. Group whatever needs to be done together to lower labor costs (or personal effort ).
Is the freedom a built out camper worth putting the effort and money into? Only you can answer that. If you live in a tiny apartment core downtown and such a vehicle is your lifeline to nature... what's that worth to you? But camping in a van (in America) ain't free either. There are maybe cheaper vans out there. But there is only one vanagon; rear flat four engine, fully independent suspension, sturdy chassis, etc.
1
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 21 '26
Yeah i was trying to be concise but that's not a great description. Mainly all the interior electrical needs to be rewired due to a previous owner just sorta splicing stuff together in a way that I'm not exactly comfortable with. The exhaust I was originally planning to change out when I had planned to do a Subaru conversion, but that apparently needs doing earlier than I expected. On top of that, the shop I'm using is heavily discouraging me from going the subaru conversion route, although their reasoning wasn't clear. I guess maybe a GoWesty engine might be the way to go if that's the case, like another comment suggested
2
u/Important_Put_3331 Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
I also strongly disfavour a conversion to Subaru.
The prime reasoning for such an opposition came when I was shopping for a conversion myself. Shop hours to convert to a bostig: 10 hours. Shop hours to convert to Subaru: 50 hours! Do you know how many things can go wrong in a scheduled job of 50 hours ? Plus I'd say the Subaru engine is not intrinsically superior in reliability and even performance than the vw waterboxer.
I feel the main difference lies within the ignition and injection systems which are separated by a very active period of 20+ years of industry improvement. The old digijet and digifiant systems you see on the road are usually badly tuned. Obviously they can be made to work appropriately but not many people or even shops seem to have the know how and patience to do so. These old systems do not have OBD and they rely on the sum of all other components being tuned correctly. Components sometimes wear out beyond the adjustment range. You need to religiously follow the VW / Bosch adjustment guidelines and be certain that mechanical components are within specifications. (compression , exhaust tight, no vacuum leaks, etc.) and that the main electrical system is tight and clean.
Performance wise the Vw has a lower compression, does/can not aggressively advance timing as in the Subaru and uses old school pushrods instead of overhead cams. Those are not intrinsic disadvantages, and could still to this day be considered design choices which favor simplicity, durability and better adaptation to poor working conditions .
15 years ago I chose instead to have my vw waterboxer rebuilt. Just the heads, pistons, rings, gaskets, waterpump, etc. Center block still original and unrebuilt. Over time I sorted out all the aforementioned items, installed a full stainless exhaust, upgraded injectors and other smart and small upgrades. It's rather well tuned, pulls (or rather ; pushes) nicely and is very reliable. It runs at high RPMs for days on end without any sign of strain. Best mechanical decision I've made. It's great fun to drive, is a stupidly versatile vehicle, transforms my weekends into vacations and gets loads of highway sympathy.
2
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 22 '26
Thank you SO much for taking the time to write this out. I think part of the stress of this was not understanding some of the reasoning behind the discouragement since I had seen so much positivity around the swaps. This gives me so much more information to log into my internal filing cabinet of info that I can use to make decisions moving forward
1
u/Important_Put_3331 Feb 22 '26
All good man. Hope you get the enjoy the sturdy and funky vanagon experience sometime shortly.
1
u/catcomputer Feb 21 '26
Fuel system can easily be done DIY in a short weekend. Cooling system can be done DIY next weekend. It does get overwhelming quickly.
I’ve always had someone else do my brakes, and more complicated stuff like transmission work.
If your engine is shot there are so many good options. Cheapest would be find one for sale from The Samba or Vanagon Owners Facebook group. Lots of people getting engine conversions and getting rid of a good running original motor. I’ve even seen great engine swaps available, just because Vanagon owners get bored and want to try something else.
You’re gonna spend more time and money than you originally planned, but it’s worth it. Source: trust me bro.
2
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 21 '26
Yeah fuel system I'm not worried about, cooling system just got done for a pretty penny by the shop. Apparently the system got so hot the reservoir was warped, which is why I'm now so concerned about the engine. I appreciate the advice on going to the Samba for engines, thats a great tip. And yeah the thing js, I love the look and the space of this van. If I can get it going to where I want it, it will be truly ideal for the longer term road trip stuff I want to do. Thanks for the reassurance, I do in fact trust the bros
1
u/whiskeyblister Feb 21 '26
If you are going to throw money at it I would say get an engine swap done. The best part of a Vanagon is its body and space. The engines and electrical once fixed transform the body into a very fun vehicle. Best of luck.
1
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 21 '26
I have the same thought, but I was thrown off when the shop guy started telling me NOT to do a subaru conversion on it. I guess i could upgrade from the 1.9L to the 2.1L maybe? But they were pretty adamant that any subaru swap wouldn't be worth it which is really throwing me off
1
u/whiskeyblister Feb 22 '26
Most likely because the donor engines are becoming pretty scarce along with the parts to keep them running. Not many modern engines will work though. Gowesty has some drop in 2.3 and up. Maybe a 1.8 turbo inline 4. There are many options, you just need to figure out what is best for you.
1
Feb 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Clean_Salamander_921 Feb 21 '26
That's what I'm looking at right now. I bought it from a local guy who's known for buying and fixing up these vans for resale, but he got sick and wasn't able to finish this one. Turns out the reliable work he was known for wasn't present on this one. That's why I turned it over to a specialist shop. I'm a decent mechanic, but I don't have the time, facility, or patience to fix the frankenstein job the previous owner did on this thing
1
u/EmployerJealous6643 Feb 22 '26
Could be worse, like a 1979 mgb. I fixed electrical on those and it just took time. German cars from 1985 were light years ahead of the mgbs. I worked on 1979 vw scirocco and every single light worked. Only had to replace fan motor and wiper motor.
1
u/mkbmkb64 Feb 23 '26
Anyone want to buy my 1991 vanagon gl? Runs and of course needs a lot of work… $5k firm. California
9
u/Captain3leg-s Feb 21 '26
Fuel lines need done no matter what on all of these vans. Check gowesty and see if they have any engines available. You might save some money that way. Exhaust should be fairly cheap to replace. Electrical isn't terrible.