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1981 VW Vanagon Westfalia Bus/Camper - 2% Donation to Make A Wish upon sale!

Location: Falmouth, Maine, United States
Make: Volkswagen
Model: Bus/Vanagon
SubModel: Vanaon L
Type: Van Camper
Trim: Westfalia
Year: 1981
Mileage: 98274
VIN: WV2ZA0259BH128126
Color: Brown
Engine size: 2.0
Number of cylinders: 4
Fuel: Gasoline
Transmission: Manual
Drive type: RWD
Interior color: Plaid
Drive side: Left-hand drive
Options: CD Player, Leather Seats
Vehicle Title: Clean

1981 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon Westfalia Description

This 1981 Volkswagen Vanagon is equipped with a Westfalia pop-top, dual burner stove,refrigerator, recently rebuilt air cooled 2.0L flat-four paired with a four speed manual transaxle. The van shows 98Kdocumented miles and was acquired by the seller as a restoration project for him and his son in 2018. Subsequent work includes minor corrosion removal, new paint, a refreshed interior, an engine reseal and tune up and new exhaust system. The prior ownerkept the van for five years andreportedly rebuilt the engine 2Kmiles ago. Modifications include new leather seats, HID headlights, and 16" alloys. This VW T3 camper includes a clean Carfax report, repair manuals andextensive receipts.
This Westy was a resto project that my son and I did over the past year. This is our 10th restoration. This was a nearly rust free van when weacquired it and itisbelieved to not have been driven in winter months. The outstanding condition of the underbody with not one single spec of rust confirms this. The majority of the work for this restoration have been complete and this Westy can be enjoyed as is for new adventures or a new owner can continue to restore more items to nearly perfect it and increase the value significantly. We have maxed our budget on this van, hence why some minor items are still missing/unfinished.

98K original documented miles
In 2019
New Boch Alternator (still under warranty) and belts
New Value Cover Gaskets
Complete Fuel System rebuild including fuel pump and filters
Complete Gas Tank rebuild, including all vents, gaskets, grommets and hoses
New shift Rod bushings
Engine Reseal and new push rods and seals (engine had to be dropped to repair these)
New Ignition Switch
New Exhaust including BOTH heat exchangers
New leather front seats
Surface rust repair, dent repairs and repaint (see notes below).
New Pioneer CD Stereo and speakers and GOWESTY rubber floor mats
New batteryNew LED interior lightsNew Front BRA.

In 2014 from prior owner and only 2K miles since then:
Engine rebuild
New Clutch
New Clutch Master and Slave cylinders
New Tires
New Wheels(alloys)
New upper mattress (still in excellent condition).
New Brakes
Driving Condition: This Westy drives nearly perfect. It drives straight with no vibes whatsoever on both low speeds and on the highway. The brakes stop perfectly with no vibes. The clutch grabs perfectly. The van shifts very good with the new recent replacement of the shift bushings with no grinding at all. 3rd gear does stick a little andlikely is a slightly worn syncro, however, itcan be driven daily as is and is easy to get used to if taking out of 3rd gear at a lower RPM. Rest of gears including reverse work perfectly.
Engine: The engine starts, even in cold temps and runs perfectly and strong. When we got it, it had a slow leak of oil from the push rod seals which I had replaced. At the time, I also had both value covers replaced. It appears theserepairs stopped any leaks. I have driven it @100 miles since these repairs and no oil has leaked.
Interior: Included with the purchase are the originalunaltered 1981 Vanagon cloth seats in case you ever wanted to be critical of the restoration. The drivers side one would need to be recovered. However, the leather seats I put in, are VERYcomfortable and a major upgrade. They still recline and swivel on the original base. Theinterior panels were changed to a plaid fabric from the prior owner. it is in good condition and can be enjoyed as is. Ifyou want to perfect the interior, Iwould suggest the ABSblack plastic interior kit from GOWESTY for @$500. The dash has no cracks and all items on dash work. We did rip out the carpet and stone guarded the floor and added new GOWESTY rubber mats. The main cabin area has a new bamboo hardwood floor installed.
Canvas pop top and screens: The canvas is theoriginal pop top and has had a few tearsrepaired with clearheavy duty poly tape. Itis fully functional and can be used as is, however if you want to be perfectedGOWESTY sells new ones for $275. The pop up mechanism works perfectly. The Van alsoincludes theoriginal sliding door screen and a new rear hatch screen and new magnetic window screens. The mattress in the pop top is fairly new and in nearperfect condition.
Stove/Refrigerator/Water: The stove and refrigerator both work fine. I test both of them onauxiliary power(extension cord plugged into the side aux power port of Van). The fridge got to 20 degrees after about 90 minutes. I tested the stove with an adapter on my grill propane tank and all burners worked great. I have read that if you converted this to use a 1lb camppropane tank, that you can run the stove for up to 10hrs on a single tank. Both the water holding tank andexternal hose connection(water) work fine including the interior sink.
Exterior: When we received this van, the paint was very faded and the top was also faded, but it was nearly rust free. The exterior had 3 small dents, but no rot. The rear quarters, rockers and lower panels all were solid. One dent was the size of softball on the sliding door edge, one was the smaller on the drivers rear corner and the last was on the drivers side in front of the rear wheel. We repaired these with exception to the one infront of the rear wheelbecause it is hardlynoticeable. There were also a lot of small dings (dime-quarter size or smaller) around. Most of these are still there and were not repaired. The areas that did have some surface rust was because the factory seam sealer had cracked. There was zero rot on these areas. We media blasted these areas back toshiny metal and then treated with anepoxy primer and applied new seam sealer. The only areas that had the most rust, wason the front valence just above thefrontbumper. It was rusted through about an inch wide area for the width of the valence. This decision was tomedia blast the rust off and then use a fiberglass resin screen to patch the area. This was then covered with a stone guard then paintedwith the rest of the van. This repair should last a very long time, but did leave a "wavy: look to the lower value. All other repairs were repaired with Marglass and not bondo. It was then pained in the factory brown with a 2 stage paint with 3 coats of clear. The paint condition is very good overall, however there are some imperfections here and there related to DA/sanding marks and the unprepared dings. There is enough clear towetland for a "flat" showroom shine if someone felt they wanted it perfect(but its good as is). Theunderside and the floors are incredible for having no rust. Both bumpers were repainted and are in excellent shape.
Misc Mechanical: The steering rack boot has a tear in it, however there is no play in the steering joint andshould be easy enough to replace the boot. Like all air cooledWesty's, the heat is barelynoticeable. There are new heat exchangers andboth he primary fan andauxiliary fan work. We replaced on of thecables that controls the "flapper" for the hear exchange and that works properly, the other side has the flapper stuck in the open position(heat on), however, it barely gives much heat. This is a common issue with these vans. I have seen other owners add in anauxiliary heater wired to theauxiliary fan switch to supplement satisfactory heat in the cabin. (https://www.google.com/search?q=dual+level+big+power+300W+electric+heater&client=safari&rls=en&sxsrf=ACYBGNQT9euctpGjJmeELbp0REBp7WgBXA:1577110200014&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS_fip-cvmAhVQw1kKHe3VAxcQ_AUoAXoECBAQAw&biw=2048&bih=1089#spd=2779864388704129941)
Missing Items: This van is missing the spare tire, but does have the mount for it. Thisshould be a $25-$50 item at any junk yard. It is also missing the rear closet cabinet. I have found these used on both "The Samba" and "GoWesty" classifieds for <$300. It is also missing thepermanent external propane tank. These itemswere all missing when wereceived the van. I have researched thepropane tank and feel that a great option is to do a simple conversion to add ainterior 1lbpropane tank connection(these are the style tanks you buy for camping). This can be done for <$25 and seems to be a simple and lesscumbersome solution then refilling the 3lb permanenttank outside that it is missing. it also appears atsome point it may have had an awning installed, but it is missing. They do sell various replacements for these.
Here are some videos that may be helpful:
Video walk around and cold start: https://vimeo.com/372480851
Video of doors opening and closing: https://vimeo.com/372479614
Video of lights: https://vimeo.com/372476355

Ihave done my best to describe the condition and expectations of this van, so if you have questions please ask. This van can be great investment to enjoy summers with and in my opinion is a great value for the work that has been done. Thank you for bidding!

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