I'm a relative noob when it comes to these buses but I've had my 80
aircooled Westy vanagon for several months now, it has been a daily
driver, I've done lots of preventative maintenance on it, and it has
run like a charm. I am constantly getting comments about the van and
although that's not important, the cool factor is something that a kid
would die for, which is one reason why so many folks have such great
memories about these buses. You can have as much camping fun in an old
Dodge tradesman camper, but nobody has nostalgia about those things.
The VW buses are also way, way cheaper to run than any other
conversion/rv.

I've been inside and out of my 2.0 aircooled motor, and it's a very
simple engine compared to modern ones. They have a rep of being
underpowered, but that's not my experience at all. Besides, for a
young person, it's better they don't have a rocket anyway. Starting
with a bit of humility as a driver is a good thing.

With good tires the westy vanagom drives and handles very well, and
there is tons of space inside, and being self contained they can stop
anywhere they choose; that's real freedom.

Whatever you choose, if it's an aircooled, you absolutely must get a
cylinder head temperature gauge installed, because everything I've
read about these kinds of engines suggests that premature failure
comes about by people driving the snot out of the poor things. They
are not like other engines in that they must be handled with a certain
amount of care and respect. The zen thing. Pedal to the floor driving
will toast them. Install the gauge, point to 400 degrees on it, and
tell him that is the self-destruct mark and never to exceed that
temperature.

I bought my bus in Washington state for $1800.00, with no rust and it
passed the provincial mechanical safety inspection with no problems.
There are fabulous deals out there in the aircooled buses on the US
west coast.

Nathaniel