1987 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon

Syncro Minivan, Van

2.1 4 cyl

Manual

WV2YB0252HG097244

Clear

Gasoline

This going to be one of those rare opportunities where you'll look back and say to yourself....I should have bought that one when I had the chance. Up for sale is an ultra rare 1987 Volkswagen syncro vanagon this is a two owner van with a great majority of its original paint still intact (hiding nothing). There is an extensive and well documented service history from 1988-2013 with previous and recent repairs in excess of $30,000 in total. Details below ....read on. A little background here will help to make sense of my situation and why I'm selling this van. I bought this van about a month ago with the single purpose of transporting myself and my belongs from California to Connecticut. I've been working in California for the past two years and recently lost my job. I looked into a handful of ways to get all my belongings back east, from renting a uhaul to having a moving company do it. I had recently sold an older 911 and figured a leisurely road trip with the intention of selling the van back East was my best option. My logic was that a rust free syncro on the west was worth that or more on the east coast. This van ran flawlessly from California to Connecticut almost 3000 miles, that testament alone speaks volumes as the readiness of the vehicle. The two biggest concerns for any new buyer on an old syncro is RUST and SERVICE HISTORY. Bad cancer or seam rust or under carriage rust is both expensive to repair and heartbreaking when it shows back up again. The key is buying a good dry bus in the first place. The seam rust on this van is nonexistent, the under carriage is bone dry and the entire drive line has been rebuilt. Here's a list of the high lights: The 2.1 motor was rebuilt in 2012 $6200 ...today is has roughly 7,000 miles doesn't leak or burn oil, runs flawlesslyTransmission rebuilt, new clutch, new throw out bearing,clutch plate, axles, fuel and vac lines, new drive shaft, fuel pump, o2 sensor, battery, rear wheel bearings, seals, water pump radiator, front bearings, instrument cluster lights, all shifter bushings, linkage in my opinion needs some minor adjusting, new rear cv boots and fresh grease for east coast trip, fuel injectors and seals, plugs, cap, rotor, new cat convertor, fuel pump, check valve, new distributor, new coil, coolant pipes, muffler, u joints, exhaust manifold, rear heater core, high pressure oil switch, power steering rack and pump, As mention the van just did a cross country trip and ran flawlessly doing between 400 and 600 miles a day! Other upgrades include...Four 15 inch Passat allow wheels5 BF GOODRICH KO A/T TIRES LOTS OF TREAD LEFTOLDMAN EMU shocks and struts ....soak up bad terrain really well2 inch lift kitVan cafe bumpers front and rearBrake upgrade all four wheels are now DISC brakes make a big difference Just passed smog test will pass even a California emissions test (super tough)Full Yakima rack carried allot of stuff cross country for mePioneer super runner with removable face and remoteHeadlight upgrade (needs alignment) but very bright on hi beamsOil changes offer four pages of documents since day one PAINT AND BODY: This is an honest mostly original paint syncro. Whit in my opinion is the best color for these vans, don't care for the dark blues or purples much plus they bake in the summer. for those cautious of buying a newly painted van this will make sense to you. most newly painted buses tend to be hiding something. everything here is very self evident. From the car fax report I saw this bus records one accident, from Rich at west coast samba advises the was a minor parking lot hit to the right rear. It's been repaired very well and only noticeable with very close inspection. The primary concern on these buses is seam rust or under carriage rust. These is none and the pictures included will show this. The only noticeable rust is on the front windshield surround. It is not through rust only some minor surface rust from old rock chips which wear never attended to earlier. The windshield has a rock chip and when it's repaired the rust can be easily address and the front face could also be painted. Most of the van has its original paint with the exception of the lower panel on the slider door. I suspect this was damaged in the earliest days of the vans life and parking a big box takes some getting use too. You could either replace to door entirely of have this older bodywork attended too. It's not that bad, see pictures. INTERIOR. The interior is presentable but in my honest opinion shows its age If I had long term plans for the bus I would buy a Bluestar grey velour, weekender interior package off a wrecked bus. CLOSING THOUGHTS.... For those who follow Syncros this write up will hopefully make total sense. If you are considering a syncro or westy syncro.... Go to the thesamba.com or gowesty.com website to see what the restored real values of these buses are selling for. Any dollar put into this van will see its equal on resale if you keep up with the demands of ownership. Two schools of thought on camper vs non-camper. non campers offers a full width bed are lighter and have good speed in traffic even with a 2.1 motor. Full westy syncro campers are obviously heavier and can easily go up to $30k plus. i passed on the full camper as i wanted storage capacity and the fridge and stove were not important. Besides I had a 2 wheel Westy and the fridge was lousy and the stove was pretty useless too except to maybe boil water. Cooking in the van just made the van smell like bacon and eggs all day, fine if your into bacon and eggs but honestly any cooking was best done on a grill outside the van in a dutch oven or fire pit when you went camping anyway. Syncro people or syncro-nuts will understand the price I'm asking and the real value of this kind of a dry west coast vehicle residing here in the rusty northeast/Connecticut. The bus also has two sets of keys for all the doors ignition and Yakima racks. If any of this doesn't make sense .....then safe to say you are not a Syncro person....that's fine but you might want to consider that Dodge mini van instead. I've outlined the condition of the bus showing many pictures and indicating all I know, both its good and its needs, I have a 100% rating on eBay and have been buying and selling on eBay for almost 13 years. The bus is for sale locally and it's very probable that the bus could be de-listed off eBay if someone is willing to meet my reserve. I've sold almost 100 transactions on ebay and there's probably another 40 deals which haven't been recorded because the bidding goes early and deal gets done privately. The van is sold "as is where is"....,you're welcome to come inspect it for yourself. The transaction will complete with a signed tile from the second owner, I will not use Paypal, only cash or a wire transfer is preferred. A deposit of $1000 is required in the first 24 hours of concluding the deal, the balance to follow in no more than 48 hours. any questions use email first... Patm567@gmail.com On Feb-09-13 at 08:27:57 PST, seller added the following information: Thanks for all the interest and questions. I've spoken and emailed a handful of people and wanted to make sure everyone who's interested is aware of a few things as some have asked, I wanted all to know...I found this out after I bought it and believe in disclosure. There is a short in the dash which intermittently produces a buzzer and red light which come on with no ryhme or reason. My mechanic in calfornia found no particular fault and said it was safe to drive just annoying. The suspicion according to Rich at west coast samba as it was described to me was a short. I suspect this true and my reserve and sell price will be lowered by $200 for needed repairs. Also the speedo light bulb went out last night in the dash binnacle which I will replace whenever it stop snowing. Got almost two feet here in CT and the syncro has done really well pushing through it