1982 VW Westfalia Camper -- Diesel, Beautifully Restored

Description for Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon 1982

This gorgeous camper has been completely restored. There is nothing you need to do to her at all. My wife named her Betty, ecause she's "better than a tent."Actually, he's a lot better!

Virtually everything about the van has been rebuilt, epaired, eplaced, r upgraded. The engine is a newly rebuilt 1.9L diesel engine with a turbo-charged mechanical injection pump; you can think of it as a TDI with mechanical injection rather than electronic. During the rebuild, e made sure that all parts of the fuel system are biodiesel-friendly, nd I have been running her on biodiesel ever since. Fuel efficiency is about 21 mpg in town and 26 mpg on camping trips. Suspension and brake systems are completely rebuilt. A list of the main mechanical (and other) repairs and upgrades is below.

The interior has been completely re-done; new upholstery, all panels, arpet, nd headliner. Sound-deadening material throughout. Cabinets are original; they have a few dings here and there, ut nothing that detracts from function or appearance. The floor in the camper section is wood-grain laminate flooring. Very easy to keep clean — beats the old carpet. (The floor is the big eye-catcher!). LED lights all around — inside and out. Betty has a full set of original curtains, ncluding the rear hatch mosquito screen. I have only the small table, hich I use in place of the large table. And actually, hardly use the small table at that.

The body is in great shape. I can't tell you for sure that there is no rust — I can't look inside those body seams — but I can't find any. Any noticeable rust was removed and the body fixed prior to the new paint job. There are a few very minor dings that have been touched-up. They don't show up in the photos, nd really are only noticeable if you go looking for them . The pop-top was power-washed and fitted out with a new tent and stainless steel hardware from GoWesty. New windshield, nd new door and window seals all around. New tires on 15"alloy wheels.

Betty has a number of important upgrades. The refrigerator is a Truckfridge, nd it works so much better than the original. It runs on AC when you are plugged in, nd otherwise on two Trojan 6V batteries under the back seat. Rounding out the electric power package is an 1800-watt Xantrex inverter/charger.

Betty did not originally have air conditioning, ut she's got it now. The blower is mounted in the overhead cabinet. This system is one of the coldest my mechanic has ever seen in a Westy. Even though it's not ducted to the front, t does a fine job of cooling all of that interior space.

Air conditioning is great in the summer, ut what about heat in the winter? Betty has an AirSnugger2300 diesel heater under the back seat. This is an amazingly efficient little heater that just sips fuel and keeps Betty toasty warm.

Want to tow Betty behind your "big"RV? She is set up to do that, ith towbar and electrical connections, s well as a Unified Tow Brake system. I have towed her across the country three times (about 8000 miles total, ncluded in odometer mileage).

Oh, id I mention the keyless entry security system/power door locks (front doors only), inted windows, eather-wrapped steering wheel, nd 1 ¼"hitch receiver? Also included: Front bra, entley shop manual, well-worn original camper manual, xtra pieces of carpet to cover the wood floor and the cargo area, ashboard cover, xtra foam for the upper bunk, nd a variety of paints and other miscellaneous supplies.

OK, f she's so great, hy am I selling her? To be honest, his was a great project, s much a labor of love as anything, ith a dream of getting back to the Westy I owned in the ‘eighties when my kids were young. It was easily the best camping vehicle I've ever had. And Betty is indeed a fantastic replacement; my wife and I have taken Betty camping and really enjoyed it. But you know, e are older now, nd what with aging joints and other body parts, t's just not the same as the old days. I could say that "my wife's health and our finances require"that we sell Betty to recoup the money we have in her. But the truth is that it was a great project where I learned a lot and had a lot of fun, ut it just didn't work out as we had dreamed.

I've got well over $50K invested. My loss, our gain.

Thanks for looking!

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Major Rebuilds/Repairs/Replacements/Upgrades. This is a non-exhaustive list. Many minor things are not listed, ike replacement step pads in the front doors or re-keying the locks to the same key. I can provide much more detail if needed. If there's something in particular that you want to know about, lease ask.

• Engine/mechanical:
• Rebuilt AAZ 1.9L engine, bout 6000 actual miles since rebuild (excludes miles towed)
  
• Rebuilt/resealed turbocharged fuel injection pump
• High-performance injector nozzles
• Upgraded oil cooler
• New silicon coolant hoses, tainless steel coolant pipes (back to front), ehr radiator
• New heater core and blower
• New drive axles
• New gas tank and sending unit
• Completely rebuilt suspension, teering, nd brake systems
• Replacement instrument cluster with tachometer
• Replacement speedometer head. 25,652 miles at time of installation. 39,641 at time of listing
  
• 
  
• Body/Exterior:
• New paint job (original ivory-color paint
• New front and rear bumpers
• High-output Hella headlights
• 15"alloy wheels
• New Hercules tires
• New bumpers
• New windshield (does have one small pit already)
  
• New window and door seals
• South Aftrican mudflaps
• New GoWesty utility hookups
• 
  
• Interior:
• Completely new upholstery, arpet, all panels, nd headliner
• Wood-grain laminate flooring in camper space
• Swiveling captain's chairs with armrests for driver and passenger
• LED dash lights, ED courtesy lights
• JVC stereo, ew speakers
• 
  
• Camper:
• New pop-top seals
• New GoWesty three-window tent
• GoWesty Stainless steel pop-top hardware
• GoWesty LED light bar over kitchen
• New propane tank
• New Shur-Flo faucet
• 
  
• Other:
• New custom air conditioning system
• Truckfridge TF49, C/DC
• AirSnugger 2300 diesel heater
• Two Trojan 6V rechargeable batteries for camper
• Xantrex Freedom HF1800 inverter/charger
• Battery separator allows camper batteries to recharge when engine is running
• Remote control security system, ower door locks (front doors only)
• 1 ¼"trailer hitch receiver
• Tow package to tow behind an RV, ncluding towbar and electrical connections and Unified Tow Brake system

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Issues. Betty likes to think she's perfect, ut she does have a few shortcomings.

• Betty is loud. Westfalia's are loud to begin with. Put in a diesel engine, nd they are even louder. Even with all the sound-deadening material.
• She leaves a few small drips of oil. Nothing major -- not enough to worry about the oil level. More of an annoyance; I keep a sheet of cardboard under her.
• She consumes a small amount of coolant, bout a liter every 1500 miles. I just keep an eye on the coolant level. The reservoir is conveniently located right behind the license plate, o it's easy to check and fill as needed.
• Betty has "power" mirrors, ut they are not connected. The driver's side mirror is adjustable, ut the passenger side is not. However, t's a convex mirror, o it doesn't seem to matter.
• The window on the sliding door is held shut with a screw. This keeps it from sliding open when the sliding door is closed.
• Because the door seals are new, ll of the doors have to be closed "firmly."
• The dashboard shows its age. It looks fine, ut get up close, nd you can see a number of places that are discolored or touchedup. There is a dashboard cover, ut I don't use it. I prefer the cleaner look of the dashboard without the cover.
• The interior paint is not perfect, otably the pillars on either side of the windshield. The new paint job was exterior only.
• As mentioned above, here are some touched-up spots in the exterior body paint. I have some of the paint in spray cans, ut the shade is not exactly right. And I have never mastered the art of using spray paint to fix paint flaws on cars. Regardless, etty will bring the leftover paint with her to her new home.
• As mentioned in the description, he only has the small table, nd it is used in the back where the large table is normally found. Sorry, o table bracket in the front.

QUESTIONS? PLEASE ASK!