Hi Doug,

I might be looking at an '84 Westy this week. Thanks for the straight
advice on what it could cost. I am definitely leaning towards spending
more money up front. I think I need to take a big step back and add
some padding in my "what am I willing to spend" calculation to account
for whatever might need to be done to get the van where I want it to
be. These numbers are really helpful. I know every van is different,
but even a ballpark helps.

Cheers,
Brad

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 11:15 AM, Doug Alcock <doug.alcock@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Brad -- welcome to the list. You've already received some good links to
> peruse. I bought an 84 Westy 12 years ago. My advice is to spend the most
> money you can upfront to get the best van you can afford. The expresion
> 'needs a little work' ranks up there with with 'the cheque is in the mail'
> as one of the big lies in history. If you can't/aren't willing to do the
> work yourself you're going to be buying your mechanic a Mercedes.
>
> One of the replies to your post said you'd be looking at 5 to 10K to get
> your van in shape. I agree with that. It may not come all at once -- but it
> will. I paid $6500 to get my van on the road 12 years ago -- since then I
> estimate I have about $30K invested in it. New engine, new trans, new darn
> near everything.
>
> Took a lot of years to work out but now my van is reliable, looks great and
> is much less likely to be seen stranded at the side of the road.
>
> You can't put a price on the travels, adventures, and places we've seen --
> but if you were going to it adds up to $250 a month about the price of a car
> payment or a lease.
>
> But it really is best to put the money in upfront rather than dribs and
> drabs (some of them large) along the way. I bought a cheap fixer-upper
> because I was unconvinced that my wife would be into the Westy lifestyle.
> She turned out to be an instant die-hard (who knew).
>
> If I was doing it again I would look for a rust-free hulk with a blown
> engine and trans. Rust-free is very important. Then I'd get someone to put
> in an engine conversion (I have an I4 in mine) and a rebuilt trans and while
> that was going on I'd look at stuff like rad/gastank/brakelines. You could
> probably do that for about 15K --- but you'd have a van that was going to be
> trouble free for a long time.
>
> I wish you good luck and hope to meet you down the road someday.
>
> Cheers,
> Doug
>
> On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 12:27 PM, Brad Pauly <bpauly@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Everyone,
>>
>> I think I'm finally ready to take the plunge. 10 years ago I was
>> searching pretty seriously but never pulled the trigger. This time I
>> think I'm ready. I was hoping to get some first time buyer advice.
>> I've been looking for '86 and newer Westys. Originally I was set on a
>> full camper, however, I think I'd be really happy with a weekender (at
>> least at first).
>>
>> I'm not really a "car guy." I'm actually an engineer on paper so I can
>> understand most of that stuff. I do like tinkering, but it's been with
>> bicycles all my life which are decidedly less complex. I have two main
>> questions.
>>
>> Should I avoid out-of-state vans? Not having experience working on
>> cars it makes me a little nervous. If I could find a good local
>> mechanic to make sure things are okay I'd feel much better though.
>>
>> What about older vans? Am I needlessly limiting myself with '86 and newer?
>>
>> Thanks for any advice or feedback!
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Brad
>
>
>
> --
> http://www.dougalcock.com
>