Background:
I thought that this was going to be the bus of my dreams; however, the Westfalia interior
just does not meet my future needs. Rather than take it out (silly) or modify it
(sacrilegious), I have decided to start from the inside out with another project.
"A Westy" has been a great stand in as my surrogate bus, and I have had a great
Summers in it. History:
As far as I know, this bus spent a few years as a proposed project at a garage / shop in
New York State. The previous owner purchased it and drove it to California and Florida. I
purchased it in September, 1997.
Basics:
It is registered and inspected. The true mileage is unknown. My guess is around
160,000.
Here is the complete M-plate:
05 7
425 042 025 108
UK2312 523907 7000597
Note that it is chassis number 597 manufactured
July 5th, 1966. M025 = lap belt anchors. M108 = S0-42 camper kit.
There is no original documentation.
Body:
The previous owner repaired rust damage by replacing sheet metal on the lower exterior
panels and along the outside edges of the cargo floor. It looks like a fairly good repair
job, although there are some ripples in the side cargo doors. There is surface rust on the
bottom of the floor pans. The rubber on the passenger and driver's door windows were
recently replaced. The rear bumper is missing. The original roof rack is gone (stolen in
CA). The body is straight as though it has never been in an accident, but I don't know
that for sure. The main left frame member was repaired with a weld job at it's
intersection with the rear torsion tube. It looks solid. Door close good except cargo door
which requires slight push with knee typical for splitties. Hubcaps are chrome so I don't
know if they are original.
Interior: The interior is in good shape
with the following exceptions: The driver and passenger seats were reupholstered fairly
well, but in black not the original mesh gray. The screws holding on the plywood veneer
panels are phillips sheet metal screws (not hex head), and they don't look original. It is
doubtful that the interior cab panels are original, but the headliner and cabinets are.
The flooring in the cargo area is non-original black carpet in okay but not great shape.
Pop-top:
The pop-top canvas, seal, and hold down straps were recently replaced although I have
noticed some wrinkle cracking in the hold down straps.
Misc.:
The original washer squirt bottle is missing and the previous owner installed a after
market bottle with an electric pump. The lights work
Engine:
The engine is a recently rebuilt 1776cc which is not original. It has a two barrel Weber
Progressive carburetor. I have intended to replace the engine with a stock engine, so have
not paid too much attention to it. It ran very well from CT to Vermont when I bought it up
in September, 1997 and ran great on a trip to Ohio in the Summer of 1998. No noticeable
smoke from exhaust. Unknown gas mileage. I took Westy out to Minneapolis in
1999 and blew the engine on the way back. It is a long story which I may post some
day. Write me if you really want to know. Basic stupidity.
Tranny and Clutch: The clutch works but
it needs adjusted. The lever plate where the cable connects at the front broke on me on
the trip from CT, and I had to turn the plate around to get home. I welded it up, and it
works okay (but not great) now. I first thought that it was hard to shift into
second gear, but found that by pulling the stick at a back and out angle instead of
straight back it did okay. The previous owner replaced the stick due to a worn out ball at
the base.
Suspension, Brakes, Tires:
The shocks were recently replaced. The brakes were recently worked on and seem to work
well. They do not pull or lock up.The tires are new, but I don't know the brand or size.
The king pins have recently been replaced. There is some play in the steering, probably
due to a worn out lever bushing. |