RELISTED! Fantastic 1986 VW Vanagon: New engine, many improvements!

RELISTED! Previous buy flaked out on us. We've been too busy to relist until now! Well, ow we are MOVING and have to sell right away so I've lowered the BUY NOW and the RESERVE.PLEASE VISIT www.1986camper.com for information and videos!We bought this lovely 1986 VW Vanagon from a family in Austin about six or seven years ago with the intention we would only use it on weekends or perhaps a few local camping trips. However, nbsp;we quickly realized that our affection for Vanagons had become a full-on obsession. No, e did not just take a few weekend trips in our Vanagon, e ended up taking journeys of a lifetime! Yes, e took our beloved '86 Westy all over the Western and Southwestern U.S. through mountains, eserts and the Pacific coast. What wonderful times we have had.Now it is your chance to make many new, mazing memories in this incredible, nique vehicle. See the country! See the cities! Get close to someone you love! Get out there and learn something about yourself, oo!Sure, he stock Vanagon is actually a pretty fine little camper and I wouldn't blame you one bit for buying one of those. That's what we did, fter all. But, s our Vanagon obsession grew, e made many, any changes and improvements to increase comfort, eliability and performance of our little home including new brakes, ilstein shocks and a custom-built performance engine, mong other improvements.Please take the time to look at all of the pictures and videos on this site, specially before asking any questions. We've done our best to represent this 1986 VW Vanagon as clearly and accurately as we can so you can make an informed decision.It's time for your own adventure! GET ON THE ROAD NOW! ________________________________________________________________________________________________Actually, he stock Vanagon interior isn't too bad but there's always room for improvement and preventative maintenance.Is It Your Turn To Do The Dishes?One of the first things we found out during our initial camping trips is the original sink faucet is just about useless, specially for washing dishes. So, e removed the faucet and replaced it with a standard sprayer that is activated by a foot-switch, eaving both hands free. Now, ashing dishes and rinsing produce is easy! If you are stealth-camping you will also like the five-gallon greywater tank we added, oo. Five gallons isn't much but it's better than letting the sink drain on the ground.I Feel Pretty!One thing we really, eally did not like in the original interior was the grim putty-colored curtains. We immediately replaced these curtains with bright, olorful fabric from our local Ikea. The floors were also re-done with thick shock-mat insulating flooring and easy-to-replace indoor-outdoor carpeting.
The Best Upgrade EverA toilet. There, said it. Adding a toilet is the best upgrade ever made to a VW Vanagon in the history of the entire world.No longer will you have to stumble around an unfamiliar KOA Kampground in the middle of the night trying to find the bathroom. Now you can just fall out of bed and, resto, ou're there. And the toilet cabinet, hen not in use, s a pretty decent place to sit and use the front swing-table. You're welcome.Hot Feet?The original front heater cutoff valve on the Vanagon really, eally sucks. I even replaced the original valve and still, till, till our feet were cooked by residual heat as water continued to flow through the heater core. We solved this once and for all by adding a very serious hight-temp brass cut-off valve to the supply line to the heater core. Cool? You bet.All systems GO!Initially, thought we'd just buy the Vanagon, rive it, amp in it, ark it and that would be it. No big deal.But very quickly we became fascinated and enthralled by this unique, oofy machine from Germany. We voraciously read as much as we could about it, oined local VW clubs and on-line forums and really began to see ourselves not so much as passengers or drivers but rather co-operators of the vehicle. Sound crazy? When you own one you'll know what we mean.To help us understand and enjoy the Vanagon's operation we began adding various gauges and monitors so we could keep tabs on all the various functions (we are both descended from engineers and mechanics). After some experimentation, e finally settled on a VDO oil pressure gauge, volt-meter and a water temperature gauge as part of our standard gauge-package. The aux battery system also has a status gauge located behind the driver's seat.The Other Best Upgrade Ever! (no, eally!)On our first trip out we loaded the fridge, ired it up on propane and set off to Santa Fe, ew Mexico. By the time we got half-way across Texas, he fridge pilot light had gone out and the Texas heat ruined all of our food in the fridge. The LED indicating the pilot light status is located on the fridge itself, o we had no idea this had the fire had gone out. We swore this would never happen again. First, e removed the entire fridge assembly and rebuilt the flue, ire box and igniter. Repairing the wind-baffle on the flue insured that wind will not blow out the pilot light. Secondly, e relocated the pilot-light LED indicator to the dashboard so we can keep an eye on the fridge status at all times. To make sure the unit runs efficiently in the hot southwestern desert we also added three fans to help move hot air away from the coils. Each fan has it's own switch. Finally we cut off the top part of the fridge door to its functions could be accessed without opening the door and letting all of the cold out. Keep it Quiet!Another great upgrade was the addition of extensive, ulti-layer eDead noise-dampening material to all of the major body-panels, loor and engine compartment. This made a huge, uge difference in long-range travel.Well, hose are just some of the upgrades and improvements we've made. Please, lease, lease take the time to look at the entire website to learn as much as you can about this wonderful camper. Also, e sure and look at the videos before submitting any questions.Now is the time for your own adventure!
PLEASE VISIT www.1986camper.com for information and videos!INTERIOR UPGRADES & ADDITIONS• new sink water pump•foot-operated sink switch•sink sprayer•new hatch struts•new rear mosquito screen•extensive eDead noise dampening throughout•GoWesty headlight relays•hidden kill-switch•dry-erase panel on dashboard•fluorescent lighting fixtures•oil pressure gauge•water temp gauge•voltmeter gauge•LED cabinet lights•xmas lights•three fridge fans•VW stove inserts•port-a-potty•12-volt power supply•small power inverter•cable TV input•bed-area speakers with switch•heater cut-off valve•dashboard fridge light•custom curtains•Black & Decker Dustbuster•custom-made engine monitor•memory-foam mattress topper•new pop-up canvas•super-tinted windows•extra 12-volt sockets•lighted vintage compass•lighted clock•center console•dashboard console•baby moon hubcaps•bed-area cup-holder•storage compartment lock
View on YouTube________________________________________________________________________________________________PLEASE VISIT www.1986camper.com for information and videos!EXTRAS•new awning kit from Bus Depot (never used)•new roof seal•fog lamps•extra-visible turn signals•5-gallon greywater tank•wind & rain deflectors•cable TV input•re-sealed fridge and exterior utility panels•GoWesty hatch lock extension
• NEW pop-top canvas•GoWesty mosquito screen•EXTRA engine computer ($250 value)•EXTRA idle computer ($100 value)•EXTRA hoses•EXTRA throttle body•EXTRA belts
• THREE shop manuals and owner's manuals________________________________________________________________________________________________
When we first got our Vanagon, t was in pretty good shape, specially for the local, hort trips we had originally planned. However, nce we had decided to go on longer, rips around the country,we began rebuilding or replacing nearly all major components.I'm SHOCKED!!The first thing we did was replace the tired old factory shocks with Bilsteins which completely changed the entire natured of the VW's steering, ornering and rough-road characteristics. Even if you don't buy our Vanagon, must insist this be the first thing you upgrade on your Vanagon. Bilstiens ain't cheap, ut they're worth the $$$ at twice the price.Give me a brake!Vanagon brakes are, 'm sorry to say, rap. Rather than fight the problem bit-by-bit, e attacked the whole thing by replacing the entire brake system from the master cylinder to the calipers, ads, otors, hoes, ylinders and drums. Everything!! It's stops just great now! Ain't that great? Also, hile we were working on the brakes we also rebuilt the rear hubs and axles including all bearing, V joints and boots.New Engine? You bet!I'd say one of the worst things about our Vanagon when we first purchased it was that we felt it was under-powered, ven by Vanagon standards. Our first trip across the Rockies was rather unpleasant as the stock engine struggled to climb up the steep grades. The custom-rebuilt engine includes AA pistons by Rocky Jennings, alanced rods, .25 rockers and a a cam/gear set by CB Performance and genuine AMC heads. Also, he throttle body, ntake and injectors were all rebuilt. The engine purrs like a kitten and roars like a lion. We love it and you will, oo.Are we cool?The stock Vanagon has some shortcomings regarding transmission, il and engine cooling. Without getting bogged down in details, ere's what we've done to address the Vanagon's cooling issues: The crappy oil heat exchanger has been replaced with a thermostatically-controlled oil cooling plate adaptor routed to a heavy-duty 32-plate oil cooler with a relay-actuated high-velocity fan. Now, ven on heavy grades or hot desert temperatures, ou can keep the oil cool and the PSI's high.Still cool?Another massive shortcoming of the Vanagon is the failure-prone water/heat exchanger for the automatic transmission. We always knew we'd be taking our Vanagon out to the desert and across the mountains. So, e did away with the stock heat exchanger and added a super-heavy-duty 36-plate cooler mounted inside a custom air-scoop to ensure that our transmission fluid would be kept cool and fresh.MECHANICAL•new Pierburg Fuel Pump•new fuel filter•new fuel lines•new fuel pressure regulator•new temp sensors•new intake plenum sleeves•refurbished injectors by Cruzin' Performance•new radiator•new hoses•new ball joints•new torque convertor•new flex plate•new front and rear brakes•new master cylinder•new CV joints and boots•new final drive seals•new expansion tank•new 02 sensor•new coil•new cap/rotor/plugs•rebuilt alternator•rebuilt starter•rebuilt throttle body•rebuilt rear hubs•new main battery•new aux battery•new belts•new A/C compressor•new A/C expansion valve•new A/C drier•new neutral start switch•recent alignment•external oil cooler with relay-activated fan•ECU direct-grounding to battery•improved ignition grounds•super-capacity transmission cooler•Bilstein shocks
completely rebuilt engine! •1.25 ratio rockers •AMC heads •AA Piston/Liner set •new water pump •refurbished stock exhaust •CB 1525 Eagle Cam Gear •CB 2252 Eagle Cam
View on YouTube________________________________________________________________________________________________Original parts:all steering components including rack, ines and pumpmufflertransmission/differentialwindow sealsPLEASE VISIT www.1986camper.com for information and videos!Non-working items, nomalies or known defects/issues:Needs new A/C LinesWe replaced all major A/C components (by Kenny Hill VW here in Austin) and had real, old, unctioning A/C until one of the A/C lines blew. We repaired the A/C line with a splice but, s our A/C guy predicted, nbsp;another section of the line ruptured as well. You will have to replace the A/C lines. If I had to guess, 'd say this is a $600-dollar job. Since we mostly drove and camped at high altitudes, his turned out to be not that big of a deal.Rusty Stuff?Rust on the driver's side panel. This was caused by bad seals on the fridge, nbsp;flue and utility panel. The seals have been replaced and the rust has been arrested with POR15.Flop.The side-view mirrors are floppy,especiallythepassenger-side. I will try to fix this before the sale, ut I'm not promising anything.Tires:The Hankook RA08 tires are in good shape. The fronts have 80 percent tread while the rears have about 40 precent.Locked up?The driver’s side door only locks from the inside. The sliding door only operates from inside.Take the heat, an!We removed the rear heater for more storage space. We will include the heater with the sale if you wish to replace it. We always needed more storage rather than rear heat. I think you'll find the same.Take a (rear) seat.At one point we added rear seat belts. This turned out to be a huge, uge waste of time and effort and we've since removed the belts. The rear interior panel has been cut so if you wish you may add rear seat belts in again at some point. For now, he bench seat has no seat belts but they WILL be included in the final sale.FINAL SALEThe title is free and clear. No one owns this camper but me, o when you buy it, ou own it. There are no liens on the camper and the buyer will receive the actual signed title upon clearance of purchase payment.This lovely Vanagon is priced at $16,500 but serious cash offers will be considered. If you want to "just look" or you are hoping we will magically lower the price to $3,000, lease don't bother. There are cheap VWs on the internet, nd you can take your chances with one of those. Also, f you mention the word "YOSEMITE" we will sell the Vanagon to you for $14,000 because we can be sure you've read the entire listing. Really. No kidding.
The sale can be completed with the following ONLY:1: cash money (preferred)2: A certified cashier's check drawn on a local bank branch (local to Austin, exas such as Wells Fargo) which will be cashed and deposited at the local bank branch with both buyer and seller present.Under no circumstances will any other payment method be considered. No trades will be considered.Buyer is responsible for all taxes, ees and title rules that pertain to purchaser's local regulations.Buyer is responsible for all transportation for themselves and the vehicle. The seller assumes no responsibility for vehicle or buyer transport.BUYERS! PLEASE READ THIS VERY CAREFULLYThis vehicle, s awesome as it is, as made in 1986. Therefore, o warranty of any kind is implied either directly or indirectly. We have done our best to represent the vehicle as clearly, onestly and fully as we possibly can but we cannot predict the future. Under no circumstances will the buyer's purchase be refunded fully or in part for any reason whatsoever. The sale is final and buyer agrees to this upon acceptance of vehicle.
The vehicle is for sale locally in Austin, exas so if it sells locally I will close this eBay listing.