1971 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon

Westfalia Minivan/Van

4 - Cyl.

Manual

2312262455

Gasoline

This is the One, if you are looking for an as near perfect VW camper. For those of you who know, the 71 Bus was the last year of the upright VW engine, first year of boostered brakes and has flat hubcaps (hmm). I've owned 6 or 7 buses, 3 vanagons, and several beetles. The 71 is still my favorite. I bought this one from California a couple of years ago and had the best time restoring it. First of all there was absolutely no rust, no dents, no evidence of repair--except where the original vertical bumper pieces of crap, must have pushed against the front end, very minor, but this was the only place of any repair, amazing for a 39 year old car. I started by completely removing the entire interior, all exterior items and having Cruiser Dave do his paint magic, including the engine compartment, back to the original VW white to match the interior. He also painted the pop top and luggage rack (twice as I didn't like the first attempt) New front windshield, all new rubber on All windows (except the vent windows), and I completely dismantled the 2 awning windows, really cleaned the aluminum, tinted the glass and reassembled with all new rubber. The interior I cleaned to exacting standards and then waxed everything, man it looked good naked. Then I meticulously cleaned and waxed all cabinetry (I'm a cabinet builder) and reinstalled the interior. I added a real maple floor in the rear, and replaced All plywood paneling on the cielings and walls with 1/8" american made birch finished with 4 coats of satin laquer. I ordered new curtains from Sarah in England as I couldn't find the VW plaid in US, only gray and tan. These curatains are better than original as they are lined and I have a full set for all windows. Then I tightened up the poptop bellows and replaced the cot canvas with a new one. I also have the cot that goes over the front seats, it still needs new canvas. I have the rear hatch snap in mosquito netting too, yeeha. I built a new cabinet to replace the VW frig as you can see in the pictures, but I have the original if you want it, it needs some restoring. Then I replaced the door panels, sunvisors, kick panels, front rubber, between the seats rubber, and even found the hold down clip for the jack (Busted Bus, good for obsolete parts), then installed a good cd player that is ipod compatable, and put in a 3 plug 1 usb power strip. There are more interior items, but I'm tires of thinking of them. I also found a brand new steering wheel, it's really nice and original. Notice the trigger shifter, shorter throw and easier reverse. As for mechanical, I started by having the torque plates reset so the rear end was back to where it was supposed to be and added 4 new gas charged shocks. Then replaced all ball joints and steering stabilizer. I then replace all cv joints and shafts, had the tranny serviced, and the brakes rebuilt. Whew!! I also designed and had built a 2" reciever hitch for a bike rack for small trailer. Now for the good part. I purchased a brand new engine from Mofoco (google them). The motor is all Brand Spanking New except for the flywheel and connecting rods--that's right all new everything else. It is a 1776 cc engine with solid lifters (swapped out the hydraulics, I like adjusting valves, confidence thing) and originally with a progressive 2 barrel carb. I wasn't thrilled with the 2 barrel or hydraulics, so sent it back to Mofoco and had them rebuild it these specs. Now it has dual one barrel Solex carbs and the solid lifters, man what a difference, it drives like a race van (well sort of), just look at the pictures. In closing, this is a very nice VW, one of the best around. I'm not going to give it away, but the IRS wants some money, so its up for sale. Bid with confidence as per my feedback score.