Dern,
I guess the cheepskate in me comes out. For 1000 dollars, you can buy a
rustfree, bad engine 84/85 Westy around here in the Bay area. With that
much damge, I wonder why you would do more than strip good parts out of
it and rebuild a good chassis one.
But... since you have already done it, keep on keepin' on.

tim o'brien

> Derek Darling wrote:
>
> Hi all! My name is Derek Darling, and I just became the proud owner of
> a '84 Vanagon Water-cooled (bright yellow!). I have owned. driven,
> cussed at, repaired, maintained and generally been obsessed by VW Bugs
> for a number of years, and recently, a friend of mine gave me this '84
> Vanagon.
>
> He had been in quite a serious accident with it, running into a
> front-end loader at about the height where the bottom of the
> windshield is, on the drivers side. The front was pretty much toast,
> and the drivers door was crunched and hopelessly mangled. I thought
> about getting out my ball-peen hammer and banging it out (like I did
> with a '67 beetle once), but once I had a better look at it, reality
> set in and I decided to get the job done properly. The rest of the
> vehicle is in really good shape (absolutely no discernible rust), and
> I am told that the motor is particularly sweet; but I have been
> reading about the Subaru 4-cyl conversion, maybe next year!.
>
> At a local wrecking yard I found a '88 Vanagon that was t-boned in the
> rear, so I bought the first 10". they nicely cut it off with a saw and
> delivered it to me. I found a door at a local VW-Bug shop (The Bug
> Shop in North Delta, B.C., see Ed for the best VW Bug service around.
> They do buses as well, so I'll have him tune the motor and stuff
> later) for a really good price, and a windshjield at a local glass
> place for another really good price. I am told by those who know such
> things that I got these items for about a quarter of what I could have
> paid, so I guess God is watching out for me. Did I mention that I a a
> Christian musician and songwriter, and I needed this kind of
> transportation to become more mobile, and that all these things came
> along in the order in which they were needed.
>
> The body shop I am using is Craftsman Collision in Surrey, B.C. (on
> Scott Road at 88), and the bodyman who worked on it is named Sanjay.
> This guy did an amazing job! He went way beyond what I would expect
> and did a first-class sectioning job. When the primer-seal paint went
> on, I couldn't tell where the welds were. They straightened out the
> frame and triple-checked all the alignment points with a laser
> machine. I know the people there personally, and I would not ever
> hesitate to recommend them to anyone.
>
> The next step is to tow the vehicle home and finish the job.
>
> I have the following short list (but it seems to be growing like a
> weed):
>
> -I need to bang out the fan shroud on the radiator so the fan will
> turn
> -I think the heater box is damaged, but I have a line on a used one
> -There is one brake line that is kinked (thankfully a short one,
> easily reached)
> -I need a drivers-side mirror
> -The '88 front has square headlights, and I only have the passenger
> side assembly
> -I'll give the new pieces (tan and light brown) a quick yellow paint
> job, then do it right in the summer
> -The dashboard and electrical systems need to be reinstalled
> -Does it start?????
>
> Once I have it running and licenced, it will be my daily drive. future
> plans include:
>
>  -Subaru or Jetta engine conversion for dependable power
> -Second battery and upgraded charging system to run a P.A. and other
> musical type equipment
> -Fridge and Stove?
> -Bike rack?
>
> As I mentioned above, I needed a vehicle to haul people and equipment
> for what is becoming a very busy music ministry. While none of this
> has been handed over completed and ready to go, everything we needed
> has been available, at reasonable cost. I like to think that many
> years of VW maintenance experience with my Bugs will equip me to keep
> this vehicle is top condition.
>
> I would like to hear of any comments or advice anyone has.
>
> Derek Darling
> Vancouver, B.C. (actually Surrey, but unless you live here, it really
> doesn't matter)
> <><