1981 Volkswagen Vanagon / Westfalia 2WD

1981 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon Description

I'm selling my 1981 Volkswagen Vanagon because I am about to move and no longer have the time nor money to continue putting into this ancient beast. I've had this van for around 3 years now, slowly acquiring the funds to fix things here and there and the time has come for me to pass her onto her next owner.
Let's start with the good:This van is in near perfect cosmetic condition, save for a few small things. Firstly, the title is clear and in my name, so all good in that department. There are tiny spots of rust on a few parts of the exterior body (very small spots) that could be fixed easily, but other than that she looks great for being almost 40 years old. Except for a few wooden things I think the previous owners added, this van is almost exactly as she was off the lot when first purchased. The bedding is all solid and could be slept on as-is. The cabinets are all fine, though some of the lining of them is peeling off, but that is an easy thing to replace. When I first got it, I replaced the driver and passenger seats with way more comfortable seats from a newer year Vanagon I found in a broken down van my mechanic had sitting up and they match the interior beige of the van so you can't tell they're from a different van. A few months back, I replaced the hydraulic system on the rear door, so that's brand new and works perfectly. The radio is a basic AM/FM radio and works perfectly, and the speakers seem like an upgrade from whatever was in them from the factory.

I just bought and upgraded the tires+wheels from the shitty 14" wheels that were still on it to the Van Cafe 15x7 Silver European-Look Alloy wheels and Nokian WRG3 205 65R15 tires, which are a huge upgrade for interstate driving and handling strong winds and snowy terrain. I bought all four wheel+tires plus an extra one for the spare, so you'll have a full size high quality spare. Less than three months ago I replaced the battery and I still have the old battery if you want to get it rejuiced or something, it wasn't that old but I preferred to buy a new one. Before these recent improvements, when I first bought the van three years ago, I replaced the gas tank, had the breaks fixed, and did around $2,000 of tune up work on it. It was while all this work was being done that the mechanic realized that there was an oil leak in the engine and the engine needed to be rebuilt or replaced.

Now with the bad:The engine needs to be rebuilt or replaced since there's an oil leak inside of it. For people who know about the air-cooled van engines, this is something that happens during the lifetime of many air-cooled vans, I just wasn't very lucky with the timing. I bought multiple books on how to rebuild the engine myself and about understanding the underbelly of the van, but I just don't have time to put into it anymore. All these books will be yours for the reading included in the cost of the van (all the books together probably cost me $300). I also bought some German spacers as an option to further offset the wheels from the body that I decided not to install but will also be included with the van. The person who owned the van before me disconnected some of the wiring that leads to the gas tank meter, odometer and speedometer so those have never worked while I've had it, but I don't think it's an issue of them being broken, rather they need to be rewired/reattached. The pop top canvas needs to be replaced, which is how it was when I bought it, because the previous owners didn't close it properly and there are multiple spots of dry rot and holes from it not being air dried properly before putting the top down. I have no idea how the camping equipment (fridge, stove and sink) works because I was always putting my money savings into getting mechanical things fixed, so that's an unknown. I would imagine if you hook the van up to the gas required to run the stove and fridge, they'd work and the sink is a water-attached pump system, but I can't say.
And that's about it! When I bought the van initially, it ran and would drive 15-20 minutes at around 45-60 mph before it started smoking (from the engine oil leak). I left to study abroad for 6 months within a few months of buying the van and when I got back, two of the old shitty tires were dry rotted and wouldn't hold air and the battery was dead, so my van that would have otherwise run had to sit undriven while I figured out the complicated ordeal of finding the right wheel+tire upgrade and getting a new battery. She won't start up right now and likely would with a tune-up, but even so, she needs an engine rebuild.
I have taken immaculate care of this van while she's been in my possession. If I was 10 years older and much richer, I'd keep her and replace the engine, but I'm a young nomad with no time for long car projects anymore. When bidding, understand this is a project van, but while many other vans I see on here don't run and look like a wild raccoon was living inside of them, this one truly is in great cosmetic condition given her age. If you have the time and money to fix strictly the mechanical issues with this beaut, you'll have a worthy road-home.
If you have any questions, don't hesitateto message me and ask! I want to be totally transparent with this van in the way that the person who sold it to me was not, so ask away!