Home / Volkswagen /

1987 Vanagon Westfalia Weekender, 2.4L GoWesty Motor, 5-SPEED, Rear Syncro Lock

Price: Ask a price!
Location: Encinitas, California, United States
Condition: Used
Make: Volkswagen
Model: Bus/Vanagon
Type: Van Camper
Trim: Westfalia Weekender
Year: 1987
Mileage: 273,000
VIN: WV2ZB025XHH017056
Color: white
Engine size: 2.4L GoWesty
Number of cylinders: 4
Fuel: Gasoline
Transmission: Manual
Drive type: RWD
Interior color: grey/blue
Drive side: Left-hand drive
Vehicle Title: Clear

1987 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon Westfalia Weekender Description

1987 Vanagon Westfalia Weekender with 2.4 L GoWesty engine, RARE 5-speed transmission, and rear SYNCRO AIR LOCKER (RARE on 2WD vans).
This van is a beast. With the 2.4L GoWesty engine, you would expect it to perform well on the road. But, off road, it is equally impressive, thanks to a syncro differential locker. (Yes, these can be installed on a 2WD Vanagon!)
I bought this vehicle from GoWesty in 2005. It was the personal vehicle of the owner, and he had done seemingly everything imaginable to it. He sold it to me because he had recently built himself another one just like it, but Syncro.
Overall, the vehicle has 272,403 miles. However, due to all of the mechanical upgrades, when I bought it from GoWesty they told me there is "hardly a single part on it with more than 80k miles." Since that time, I've added approximately 23K miles (and continued with the upgrades!)
Here are the highlights:
2.4L GoWesty motor with 40,000 miles on it
5-SPEED manual transmission with 104,000 miles on it (Gearing is 4.11/2.33/1.48/1.02/0.70 with 4.57:1 final drive)
Disc Brakes, front AND rear (front from GoWesty, rear from Small Car Performance)
Bilstein Shocks
15x7 Alloy Wheels with Michelin Defender Tires (215/65R15)
GoWesty Plate Steel Bumpers, front & Rear. Rear has "swing away" tire carrier and "swing away" gas can tray
GoWesty Progressive Springs (1.5" inch lift)
South African Grill, High-Powered Round Headlights
Trailer hitch
800W Power Inverter
Auxillary Battery
Exterior Repaint in 2007, looks great (see photos)
Heavy-duty German VW Floor Mats
Pioneer Stereo/CD/Mp3 player with aux input jack for iPod or cell phone
1-PIECE stainless steel coolant pipes
3- window pop-up tent
Ignition Kill Switch
Fiamma 10' awning
Hi-Lift Jack, with appropriate Vanagon adapter
GoWesty exterior LED bulb kit (turn signals, tail lights, brake lights, license plate, etc.)
Gowesty Memory Foam Mattress Toppers (Upper is 1" thick, lower is 2" thick)
GoWesty Circuit Foil Replacement Kit with Gowesty Audible Coolant Alarm
South African VW Leather Steering Wheel
A/C (yes, it works, and it blows cold!) It's R-12!
HitchSafe Key Vault in Trailer Hitch
Power Door Locks
Power Steering
Tinted Windows
And much more.
Being a weekender, this van has the pop-top, but does not have the stove/sink/fridge. This is by far the preferred setup, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many Vanagon owners. Generally speaking, people who have never owned a Vanagon want the full stove/sink/fridge package. Those who are Vanagon veterans realize that having more space in the van is actually a better option. You get more interior space with the Weekender package, and the stock stove/sink/fridge package doesn't work very well anyway (especially the fridge). For camping, you are way better off with a good YETI cooler or a 12v plug-in ENGL fridge, and you cook outside under the awning on a simple Coleman stove (you don't really want the lingering smells from cooking inside your van.)
Vehicle has 2 minor issues that I am aware of:
1) It's equipped with power mirrors, but the "power" part doesn't work. I have no idea when or why the power function stopped working, because I never use it. The mirrors are easily manually adjusted, and then you never move them again.
2) It's also equipped with cruise control. I am told that there is likely a loose ground wire in the cruise control wiring. This is probably an easy fix for someone with auto electric skills, but I never bothered with it, since I don't use the cruise control.
I have receipts for everything I've done to the van, as well as the vehicle purchase receipts from GoWesty.
Passed California Smog emissions on September 6, 2017.
Van is very clean overall. Cosmetically the van is quite nice; the body is straight, and paint is very nice. But the real strength of this van is the mechanical side and the heavy-duty upgrades. My philosophy in owning this van was to keep everything tip-top from a mechanical perspective, so that I'd never get left stranded somewhere. It worked. I never had a serious mechanical failure with this van, and I've driven it from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas and back.
Being a 30-year-old vehicle, some rust is apparent in the typical Vanagon spots: left/right corners around the windshield gaskets, the bottom of the window gasket on the left rear quarter panel, some evidence in certain body seams. This rust Is basically some "bubbling under the paint" and, I believe, merely a cosmetic issue. There is also some surface rust on the front bulkhead around which the GoWesty plate steel bumper attaches. You need to be standing directly in front of the vehicle and looking down to see this rust. I asked my mechanic if I should address it, and he said, "No, it took 30 years to get that way, and it'll be another 30 years before it becomes a structural issue."

**UNTIL THIS AUCTION IS COMPLETE AND THE VEHICLE IS SOLD (OR THE RESERVE IS MET), I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THE AUCTION AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON**

More Volkswagen classic cars for sale