David,

It is nice to be back on this list, brings great memories. We no longer own a Vanagon, but almost continuously did between 1986 and 2008 - we still own our '99 Eurovan Camper. Here a few comments based on my experience:

What I liked about the 1979 Vanagon (in Germany) was it's simplicity. It was light and even with the 'small' engine moved well enough on European Highways and Byways. We had to keep a spare clutch cable, but never got really stuck.  I bought it as a panel van, finished the interior and added light cabinets and windows, then repainted but only owned it for 2 years before moving to the US. Here we continued with an 86, then 88. As others wrote, the Captain chairs were much appreciated as well as A/C, but it became more complicated and costly to maintain (of course not as compared to more recent cars) and heavier. We started to have a lot of 'bucking' and 'startup when hot' trouble, then cooling parts got more expensive for the WBX and the head leaks started to show again, so we sold it - was a sad day.

Wolfgang

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Higginbotham, David A.
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2014 12:40 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: difference's between model years

I know that it is accepted that the later year vanagons are better than the earlier vanagons, why? Not wanting to open up a can of worms here, but I am curious what were the various improvements made to the vanagons between 1980 and 1991. Is there a comprehensive list somewhere that someone has compiled that lists these changes? I vaguely remember something mentioned about something like this here on the list a number of years ago but I have slept since then.

David Higginbotham
82 Westy (back on the road WHOOHOOO!!)
Silk Hope, NC