Well,  there's a little more to it than it seems, especially in the AC
vs WBX case.

>Date:    Sat, 2 Sep 2006 09:48:02 -0700
>From:    Mike Rouby <mikerouby@YAHOO.COM>
>Subject: Debunking GoWesty!
>
>Anyone who has read GoWesty's catalog or website, will get to the info in this link:
>
>  http://www.gowesty.com/campermodeloverview2.html
>
>  According to them:
>
>  1) Aircooled Westfalia's are the WORST models
>  2) Thank God they only sold the Diesel models for two years
>  3) Round headlight Westfalias are not recommended for sale.
>
>  1) Aircooled Westfalias - According to them they last 90k miles before requiring a rebuild.
>
I've been driving them around Phoenix for 30 years, starting with a '68,
then a '78, now an '86 converted to a Tiico (195K on the 2.1L WBX).  A
good friend of mine was in the VW business here (All Bug) for decades,
and I can't tell you how many air cooled bugs and buses he saw come here
from NY or NJ, or the midwest, with 200K on them.  95% of them died the
first summer here.  90K on an upright motor in a bus *here* is about all
that can be expected (with case savers, sodium filled valves, external
oil cooler, etc.).  90K on a 2.0L AC Westy, with the square exhaust port
heads, is pretty remarkable here, though the same  motor could go 200K
in less harsh climates (e.g. like where GoWesty is located).  Stop and
go traffic in 115�F weather just kills the air cooled motors.  And with
A/C....

As far as the diesels go, I'll never cease to be amazed that VW was too
dumb to put in a 1.8L Gas motor in the Diesel configuration (or a TDI)
instead of redesigning a bug motor with kludgy seals and jackets and
hoses.  Having pedaled a '68 with a 1641cc through the Colorado Rockies,
Sloooooooowly, a diesel with roughly the same HP is not my dream either.

And for headlights, IMO the square lights are much better looking, but
much less illuminating. So, take your choice.

Keith Hughes
'86 Westy Tiico