Well, I can't speak much to the pop-top conversion issue, although I  
have somewhat coveted the Westy Eurovans, but I had to pop in even  
though it is a little off topic.  I have a '99 Eurovan with 103k on  
it right now, and honestly this thing has run just great through its  
entire run time.  I am very hard on my main vehicle because I live in  
the middle of nowhere, and make a lot of trips to the hospitals in  
the city, 1-2 hours away depending on which hospital is needed.   
Other than brakes, I have only had to replace 1 hose, and have a  
quirk in the "Climatronic" system.  I will say this car is a lot more  
costly to repair than a Vanagon (parts are fairly outrageous, at  
least in Colorado) but I really do like the van.   And heck, if you  
want, go out and get a full on Rialta instead - true the milage is  
not as good as a stock Eurovan, but it is a full on, way cool  
camper.  I want one.

Just my two cents on something that is probably OT anyway.  Sorry.
David.
'80 West  - Blue Midget
'99 Eurovan - Grape Ape

On Sep 10, 2006, at 4:50 PM, mad madeline wrote:

> I don't want to rant on Eurovans, but here are some thoughts about  
> the vehicles... from someone who's owned 4 of them.  Transmission,  
> Transmission , Transmission.  The transmissons just don't hold up  
> after 50K on the eurovans.  And they cost about $5,600 for a  
> rebuilt. And you can't purchase a new trans for them... so you  
> continue to have problems.  If you decide on that vehicle, buy an  
> extended warranty.  Don't take this the wrong way...the vehicles  
> are wonderful to drive and I loved it for that... but they nickle  
> and dime you to death after 50K.   Check on the Eurovan board at  
> Yahoo and read between the lines.  People want to stay loyal to VW  
> because they have such fond memories of their Vanagons... but they  
> are really not being honest about what these vehicles are costing  
> them.  The gas mileage is only about 13-15 around town ( no freeway  
> soccer delivery).  And if you do any camping, you will hate the pop  
> top.  It does not rise as high.. and leaves one feeling
>  claustrophobic.  Because the engine is in front, there is less  
> interior space n the rear.  That adds up to cramped camping.  
> There's nowhere to put anything.  After 4 of them (regular '93, '93  
> westie, '97 winnie, and '01 MV, we decided to move back into a  
> vanagon style and just drive safe.  The Vanagon is also our extra  
> vehicle not a daily driver.  The Honda I owned was a far superior  
> daily driver and never cost me a dime in the 3 years I owned it.   
> The 2001 Eurovan cost me $2,000 and the warranty another $6,000  in  
> the third year... and the transmission began to go again when I  
> sold it.  Actually we traded it in when they peaked in price and  
> did well... but, I couldn't bring myself to sell it to someone.   
> Just think about it before you buy.  My thoughts, Mad Madeline
>
> Tim Leek <trleek@GMAIL.COM> wrote:   Sad to report that my wife is  
> making me sell our 87 wolfsburg. She
> worries about head-on collisions, shoulder belts for the three kids,
> airbags, etc. Picky picky. Said dragon lady is willing to get,
> instead, a 2000 Eurovan. So I am investigating. Poptop Eurovans of
> 2000 vintage appear to command $20-$30K. Good heavens. Too much for
> a 7-year-old van in my humble opinion. However, I've seen many
> non-poptops of same year selling for less than $10K. There's one for
> $9K on ebay right now. This is the buy-it-now price, even. What is up
> with this freaky disparity? Is the poptop really worth $10-20K?
>
> Anyway, here's my question. Can't I get one of those seemingly budget
> 2000 Eurovans, cut a hole in the roof, and bolt on a poptop? Will it
> take the Vanagon poptop or is that entirely the wrong shape/size? I
> imagine these are easier to come by than the Eurovan one. How hard
> would it be to get an actual spare Eurovan poptop to install on it?
> Or does this f-up the air conditioning completely? Or something even
> more crucial... Any advice would be much appreciated! Any experience
> actually performing this conversion would be even better!
>
> Thanks as usual for the great advice I'm likely to get.
>
>
> --
> When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of
> the human race. - H. G.Wells
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and  
> 30+ countries) for 2�/min or less.
>