1987 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon CAMPMOBILE 1987 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon

Description

Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon. 1987 Syncro Weekender (rare combination!). I bought this from Pop Top Heaven in 2008 for ,500. I think it was a Colorado van until then.  It has not been my daily driver, but I've loved this van consistently, made a number of substantial upgrades, and have kept in in good running shape since purchase. The mileage is low.  I've only added about 50,000 miles since 2008.  In 2008, I had a TiiCo conversion engine (basically a 2.0 Jetta engine) put in by http://www.foreignautosupply.com/ -- that engine has worked out great and has about 50,000 miles on it.  FAS have done various other work on the van over the years, including replacing brake/gas lines, new brakes, new exhaust system, new syncro, suspension work, etc.  FAS are East Coast Vanagon experts and great guys. Within the last 2-3 years, I've had a new clutch installed and new transmission (https://thevwgaragellc.com/). I've had a number of items added to the van from gowesty.com, including their dope lift kit. The wheels and tires are relatively new (2017). New syncro in 2017, emergency brake holds tight, Kenwood stereo has added speakers, the bench seat has two shoulder seatbelts and one lap, the backwards-facing seat has a lap belt. The weekender set-up allows the back seat to fold out into a comfy bed for two people, plus there is the pop-top for two more people (my wife and two kids and I had some good times in this van). The interior seats are a custom kit from https://sewfineproducts.com/ -- I got them about 10 years back, but they have held up great. Do you like those custom curtains? Yeah, they are made with fabric from https://angelaadams.com/
The van is plastidipped (see dipyourcar.com) -- if you don't know what that is, go to the website for more info. The interior paint is the original gold color (one of the photos attached here shows what the van looked like before I started having fun with plastidip. Plastidip lasts 5+ years and then you can just peel it off and spray it again. I dipped it black like 8 years ago; then had the Herbie-inspired scheme you see in some of the photos; then switched to Root Beer within the last year (my last dip job is not my best -- in retrospect, I should not have left on the racing stripes from the previous dip, but you can just peel everything off and bring it back to its gold glory, if you want, or add some racing stripes, or dip it again -- dipping your car takes just a few hours and is monkey-simple).  The Root Beer color goes great with the seat color scheme and the interior color.  When I did the Herbie dip job a few years back, I scraped off a few rusty spots on the body and did a B- job of applying bondo -- these spots are obvious and you can easily improve on my handiwork.  No accidents, ever.
Is there any work I think this van needs?  Hmmm.  The poptop canvas is a bit worn -- I've ordered a new one from gowesty and will send it with the van.  The little latch on the closet in back broke a couple of years back and I came up with a simple fix from the hardware store (nothing super fancy).  You could bring the body up to the "like new" level if that is your thing.
A note about the odometer -- it reads about 109,000 -- this is wrong (that is about what the van had on it when I bought it in 2008). In 2017, I had the syncro and speedometer replaced and the odometer was set back inadvertently.  I didn't notice it until recently.  From repairs records, I can see that I put on about 40,000 miles through 2013.  Since 2013, I average less than 10 miles/week -- no big trips.  I have a Jeep that is my daily driver.  My best guess is that the van has at most 160,000 miles (I'm being conservative).   All I can say with certainty is: 1) the odometer is wrong and 2) my best guess is less than 160,000.
This is a fun van -- my family and I had a blast with it -- but my kids are off at college and I don't use it as much as I used to. If it was fully tricked out and in pristine condition, I would ask a lot more. The car has a young engine, a lot of upgrades, and a lively spirit. It is what it is. The price reflects a van with a lot of upgrades, but not in gowesty pristine condition.
The van is being sold as-is, with no warranty, etc. You can have it picked up locally by your shipper (I'm near Portland, ME). Payment in full by cashier's check before pickup; nonrefundable deposit to secure the sale; sale to be finalized within 7 days of deposit.
I'll answer questions, but full disclosure: I'm not a van nerd...what I've written here is about all I know.  That said, happy to respond to reasonable requests.
The Dude Abides!