hi Adam,
Sweet Westy you got there!  You're going to get deluged with strong
opinions on this question.  Bottom line is, any Westy is coming up on 20
years old.  My winter beater is a 1987 Toyota Camry, one of the all-time
legends of reliability that made Toyota's reputation in this country, and
after two decades even it needs some little thing fixed every few
months.  Well maintained Westy will be no different.  If you are serious
about keeping the van up you will probably ended up spending some real
money on it in the first few months to take care of things the previous
owner ignored (unless the PO was exceptional), but soon enough you will
trust your Westy to take you anywhere.  In the year I've had it my 84 has
been to Death Valley/Joshua Tree, Thousand Islands, Great Smokey Mtns,
Shenandoah Valley, etc etc.  Carry a few tools and spares with you to
appease the gods.
best,
Robert H
Ithaca, NY

At 06:55 AM 5/24/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>I have wanted one of these van's for years and looked around for 2 months to
>get one in good condition in my price range (87westy) I would love to take
>this thing across country but now after reading this list I am unsure if it
>will make it without me crossing my fingers the whole time. Am I hearing the
>worst of the worst? I am reading a lot of problems with these van's now and
>I am nervous I don't know if I can take this thing out of the city or trust
>it on a long trip. Engines blowing, CV Joints, Bearings, Hoses Popping etc.
>Can people please provide me some positive stories of trouble free ownership
>and trips with regular maintenance? Am I hearing all the bad news only?
>Thank you your comments are welcome.
>
>./athacker
>
>1987 Westfalia
>http://www.thacker.ca/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=1987-Westfalia