A Volkswagen Westfalia Camper Van Blog - VW Bus

Since I wasn't going to be able to drive Lucy home from Glenn's yesterday, I went to CanTire and picked up some new schwag for Lucy that I can install upon her return later this weekend.

• A. Beaded seat cover, for driver's comfort;
• B. Storage bin for random things, plus will double as a step-up to make it easier for my dog to climb aboard;
• C. Clock
• D. New wiper blades
• E. Back seat organizer, to stash stuff on the back of the passenger side seat
• F. Console organizer, for cups, CDs, etc.
• G. Seat covers: black velvet with red tribal flames!

The total cost was around $125.

Reading my list of "priority" issues with the bus makes me feel a little naive since my appointment at Glenn's!

I took Lucy in yesterday and asked for a full review of the vehicle and an estimate to resolve my "priorities" and get her into good restored condition. The final report was 2 pages long and totaled $4497.02–just a little more than the $1000 I had earmarked!

The brakes are certainly the biggest priority. In addition to a non-functional emergency brake and leaky seals on the back brakes, Lucy needs:

• new rear brake shoes and drums
• new rear wheel cylinders and system bled
• new rear brake cables
• new front brake pads and rotors, pack wheel bearings 
• new front calipers

The current front calipers are completely seized. Noel at Glenn's almost burned his hand removing the hubcaps because they were so hot from the caliper friction! 

Needless to say, I went ahead and authorized the brake job. The total cost will come to around $1400, parts and labor. I should be able to pick her up tomorrow afternoon.

The next job will be to upgrade the exhaust system, including a new muffler and heater box. That will come to around $800. At that point, I'll have invested $2200 into Lucy's mechanical restoration–halfway there! 

Some of the other things she needs:

• new ball joints (about $600)
• new engine seal
• strap main wiring harness to frame
• new tires, balance tires
• remove axles, disassemble CV joints (clean, inspect, re-pack or replace CV boots)
• replace front and rear shift linkage brushings and cage

There's also some of my original issues remaining: 

• fix gas gauge
• fix passenger side seatbelt
• fix rear light wiring
• replace burned out passenger side headlight ("eyelids" may or may not fit–apparently, they can be problematic, especially the knock-offs)
• all-new locks
• install tape deck and speakers (Unfortunately, this has been moved to the bottom of the list!)

So, we're looking at a process here, a long term investment in Lucy. I'm up for it!

The good news is that Noel and Sean at Glenn's gave Lucy a big thumbs up for the condition of the body. They said she's "very clean" and appreciating in value every day. Once these mechanical restorations are complete, she'll be an extremely fetching Westy! 

Enjoying Lucy for the past couple of days gave me the opportunity to make a detailed list of repairs that need to get done. I have an appointment this Thursday at Glenn's Import & Domestic Parts & Repair in Courtenay, BC. Here are the major issues to be resolved:

• Emergency brake
• Leaky seals on back brakes
• New muffler
• Pass. side headlight burned out
• Gas gauge
• Pass. side seatbelt doesn't lock
• Rear light wiring

The muffler problem wasn't expected, but I have to have it replaced. It works OK, but it's way too low–I have only about a half foot of clearance under the vehicle. This means no Denman Island driveways (too bumpy) and only taking Lucy off of Denman Island when the tide is high, otherwise the angle of the ferry ramp will be too steep and the muffler will scrape against it. Hilarious, yet wildly impractical, so a new muffler it is!

The rear light wiring is funky. When I turn on the hazard lights, I get one orange blinker and one red one on the other side. This is possibly illegal, and definitely not safe.

Secondary issues include:

• Stick shift OK?
• Install headlight "eye lids"
• Make sure all locks are functional
• Install front license plate
• Install tape deck

The stick shift is unique–something to get used to–if you miss first gear, you can wind up in this nether-gear-world where the stick doesn't feel engaged with anything and spins at random, like a shoulder out of its socket.

I found the headlight "eye lids" in a box of parts inside the bus. I hope they fit on Lucy, they look so cute!

The sliding side door is from another bus, so the locks don't match. I'll either have all the locks replaced so one key works, or keep the existing locks and just make sure they all work.

The tape deck slot is just a little too small, but I think the folks at Glenn's can just cut that opening a little bigger to fit the deck. 

The tertiary list is made up of things I want to get for Lucy:

• Spare tire
• Touch-up paint
• New wiper blades
• Locked metal box to be bolted under seat
• Extra keys
• Storage bin/step up for the pooch
• Foam bed for the pooch
• Collapsible table & chairs
• Install speakers
• Protective seat covers, plus beaded seat covers for comfort
• Seat storage covers (storage on back of bucket seats)
• Clock

I might look at getting new seats, especially if I ever do any long distance driving in Lucy, but I think protective covers and bead covers will do for this year. If I can get all these things fixed for this summer, I will be elated!

What a weekend! I finally picked up Lucy from the shop where she had her spiffy new paint job done. The paint looks fabulous! I'm very pleased with the brightness of the "Torrid" red. There was some bleed on the white bumper so it looks pink, but that will either wash off or I can do some minor touching up. Without further ado, fresh from her makeover, Juicy Lucy Matilda!

Ain't she a beaut'?!

After picking her up on Friday afternoon, I quickly realized that the gas gauge and passenger side seatbelt that I had paid to be fixed were still broken. Sheesh. I can't say that I had a good experience dealing with the folks who did this "work" and the paint job, so rather than take her back to them, I am simply going to get these items fixed at Glenn's Import & Domestic Parts & Repair, where we have an appointment this Thursday morning.

Friday evening, I cleaned Lucy out and spent some time just hanging out in her. The maiden voyage came on Saturday when I drove her around the island and picked up a friend for a ride. Unfortunately, while waiting for my friend to come down the driveway, I inadvertently left the key engaged in the ignition and drained the battery! I tried turning it over a few times, but there was simply no juice. I laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, then tried one last time and Lucy sputtered to attention! What luck! That was an easy lesson, the first of many she will teach me no doubt.

I didn't stall her on that first trip out, but I still sometimes have a hard time finding first and reverse. You have to get into the Zen of it and not think about it too much. I need to just let Lucy guide my hands. She's really fun to drive!

We're close, oh so close! It looks like I will get to drive my bus home on Monday, finally! I think the energy started to move last weekend when I picked up a crystal for Lucy's dash. I went to the annual "Rockin' Weekend" rock and gem sale on Denman Island on Sunday and picked out a super nice quartz from the Skeena River for the dash centerpiece. I'll post a photo once I have it installed.

I had a visit today from a friend who brought me a genuine VW tape deck. She recently purchased a 2000 VW Golf and the former owner had replaced the deck with a CD player, but included the deck with the sale.

If memory serves me right, there is a spot for a tape deck below Lucy's dash, but I think it's smaller than this deck. I'll have to pull MacGuyver to affix it, but I'll have music! Just look at that deck–it looks like it's barely been used! Lucky day! It feels like the pieces are falling into place, Lucy's coming home soon!

This has been a true exercise of patience! Lucy is still not back from her paint job. In fact, I just got off the phone with the person doing the job, and it hasn't been started yet! That's two ETA dates that have come and gone with no progress. Sigh. I'm bummed because I really wanted to spend the weekend with her, but as one of my favourite poets once wrote, "All good things in all good time." Lucy will be home soon and once she is all this waiting will be in the past, with only open roads in our future.

On Saturday, I dropped off the last two quarts of "Torrid Red" paint and two cans of hardener at the mechanics' where Lucy's new paint job is being done. The job, which includes some minor fiberglass the body work, should be complete early next week, at which point I'll finally be able to bring Lucy home (it's been almost two months since the test drive!)

I'm very curious to see what Torrid Red will look like. I think it will be a little brighter than the current red, and this spawned a suggestion from the former owner to add a touch of black paint to the red to make it darker. I'm going to stick with the stock Torrid color however. The guy doing to work on the bus called it "Ming Red". It's quite lively and I think it will look smashing!

Everyone loves a good makeover with before and after shots, so here are some photos of Lucy as she appeared when I purchased her. I'll post the "after" shots as soon as I bring my girl home next week!

I think I've decided: unless another opportunity comes knocking before this one rolls around on the calendar, the first adventure that Lucy the Bus and I will embark on together will be to attend the Vancouver Island Music Fest in Courtenay, BC this July. What luck! The headliners are Joan Armatrading and Los Lobos! A Westfalia, the hot summer sun and a weekend of live music: who could ask for more?

My search for my own Westfalia began more intently as 2007 dawned. I've lived in British Columbia for close to 10 years now, but I've actually seen very little of this beautiful province. The idea of hitting the open roads this summer in my very own Westy was a temptation that I could no longer stifle.

I scanned the AutoTrader and Buy & Sell papers for a few weeks but came up with very little. The local VW dealership had two early 80s Westfalias on the lot, so I went to take a closer look. I test drove the '82 and '84–both in sky blue and in mint condition. I loved the ride, but in the back of my mind I wasn't sure about the boxier 80s styling. It was a Friday night and the staff really wanted to get these off the lot, so they fed on my excitement and convinced me to put a down payment on the '82. That was an exciting evening, but I awoke the next day in a panic: with taxes the cost would come to about $15,000, far more than I wanted to spend on a recreational vehicle. I called the dealership in the morning to let them know I was backing out. My search would continue, but not for long…

It was less than a week later that a nice fellow stopped by and said he'd heard I was looking for a Westfalia. He had one, but didn't really want to sell it. However, the truth was that his beloved "Juicy Lucy Matilda" was no longer a perfect fit with his lifestyle and he was ready to part with it–provided he could find the right owner. If I'd ever had any doubts about the Universe providing you with what you need, they evaporated that day. After all, I had put out a call to the Universe for a Westy to love, and here was a bus looking for for a new loving owner. I knew in that moment that this bus would be mine.

A week later, that little red bus drove up my driveway and put on her best behavior for me. I was immediately smitten, and so was she. So much so in fact, that when the owner tried tried to drive her home, Lucy ran out of gas in my driveway, as if to say that she didn't want to leave me.

We negotiated the sale the following week. I purchased the van for $2200. She's a 1977 model, but not unlike other 70s buses she's got quite a history. In fact, she's now an aggregate of several Westy's, many nuts and bolts removed from her original '77 condition. She no longer has a pop top, for example. The whole roof panel was from another bus. The inside has also been modified, such as the removal of the camper sink. She still has an icebox though. Amazingly, the original plaid covered foam is in great condition. The bucket seats look like they've seen better days though. The upholstery is in rough shape, and you can feel springs in your back. Obviously, I'll need to upgrade the seats for ultimate comfort. There's no heater, but I'm OK with that (hey, they were known as "hippie killers"!) I'm planning to purchase a solar panel and battery that I can use to power a space heater.

It's been a few weeks since I bought Lucy, but I haven't had her home yet. She needed some minor repairs first: a new speedometer and gas gauge, and the passenger seat belt needed to be fixed. I had these repairs done here on Denman Island by the local mechanic. Next, she's getting a new paint job! I went to a local Lordco Auto Parts and picked up some body fill, sandpaper, paper paint filters, reducer and paint: "Torrid Red" for the body and "Performance White" for the bumpers and features. The paint job will be complete in a week or so, also being done at the local mechanics'.

What's in store for Lucy next? As soon as she comes home, she's getting a royal clean up that only a woman can give her! Then I have to take her in to Glenn's Import & Domestic Parts & Repair in Courtenay to get the parking brake fixed, as well as the leaks in the rear brakes. After that, it's the installation of a stereo. I definitely will need a tape deck (I know, who uses tapes anymore? But I have quite a large collection that I've never had the time to digitize.) I'm also thinking of getting an iPod which would be an affordable upgrade that I could use in any of my vehicles.

So, this is the beginning of my Westfalia adventures! I know that Lucy will give me great pleasure, along with a healthy dose of headaches no doubt, but I'm looking forward to becoming great friends with her and hitting the open road together, with my faithful pooch riding shotgun.

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to own a Volkswagen Westfalia, and that desire hit fervent peaks in the past couple of years. Every time I pass a Westy on the highway, I can't help but crack a big smile and wave madly at the driver. Despite my crazy looks, Westy owners are apparently a congenial bunch, as they always smile and wave back politely. I know I'm not the only who's heart skips a beat at the sight of a clean 70s Westfalia, so I imagine Westy owners get this kind of highway greeting often. I suppose it won't be until I find out for myself: I'm now the proud owner of a 1977 Volkswagen Westfalia!