Best In Show Westfalia Automatic, A/c Recaro New Gowesty Motor W/46k Mi Warranty on 2040-cars
La Habra, California, United States
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What you are viewing here (thanks for dropping in by the way) is what
turned out to be a restoration project that I MIGHT have gotten a little
carried away with. It was a fun project and I’ll leave it to you to
decide if it was time well spent or not so much…
Having lived in Southern California most of my life, I have an intense appreciation for the Car Culture and have been a “Car-Geek” forever. As I get older, the idea of camping with a fridge and comforts of home attached to my steering wheel was appealing, but I am used to driving German sedans and vehicles that are at least a little unique… The result ended up being (for myself anyway) an answer to the question… within reason… “What would a Westy look like if the factory put one together in 2014?” I started by finding a solid, well looked after example and bought it from the owner of an independent Ferrari/Maserati auto service business and shortly thereafter the transformation began… I started with the brakes (Brembo Rotors) from GoWesty, Struts from Billstein and a set of Shiny 16” wheels from the Westy’s German cousin (Mercedes-Benz Motorcars). The wheels were Original Equipment on a CLK 430, manufactured by Ronal in Germany out of Forged Alloy (lighter and stronger than cast alloy). Tires are a matched set of Dunlop SP7000’s size 215/60/16 which vastly improved the stability, handling and grip on the boxy red thing… But then I had this clear coat fading van with a few areas of surface rust in the usual places (seams, under bumpers) making my shiny wheels look bad… so after dismantling it and removing all the trim, it was off to the painter for about 10 weeks of prep and paint, at least that’s how long they kept it. The color I chose was a 2014 formulation called “Basque Red Pearl”, which is close to but in my opinion an improvement over the Factory-Original Color “Bordeaux Red Pearl”. While they were at it, I had the brilliant idea to have them paint the few metal interior pieces that I could think of (Kitchen control panel & Fire extinguisher) to match… So NOW I’ve got this Georgeous on the outside Westy with two new shiny painted parts inside making the rest of the 23 year old interior look… well, you can guess where this is going… Converted the carpet, floor mats, seats, rear pad and upper bunk to black. Leather Recaro fronts are the best you will ever sit in and have the Wolfsburg Castle Logo sewn into the headrests. Back seat was redone to match the fronts, right down to the center backrest stitching pattern and logos. Rear pad had to match the rear seat when converted to a bed, so I had them match that too, right down to the stitching. Now the upstairs didn’t match so I not only had it recovered in black cloth, but also engineered a 12” bed extension for taller upstairs sleepers AND just people that are tired of their pillows falling down in the middle of the night! New seats and Operation-Noir made the curtains look pretty shabby, so back on the phone to GoWesty, while I had them on the line I wanted brighter dash lights, rear hatch struts, a skylight/vent kit and bigger wipers too… I was getting so excited I was preparing it for a roadie and was testing the faucet when I broke the handle. Turns out it wasn’t my only problem as the in-tank pump had died. Samantha at GoWesty (and UPS) to the rescue (again) New pump and variable flow/adjustable position Sure-Flo faucet installed. What else on the inside…? 4 Speakers and a modern Sony stereo with Aux jack for your phone, Pandora, etc. Also installed the GoWesty auxiliary battery kit as well as their battery. Solar charger is hooked up to the Auxiliary battery with wiring cleanly routed under cabinets and plug stealth mounted in factory external power hook up door. Oh, I also had the decals all made up custom for me in chrome, as well as having the metal test switch surround plate on the kitchen control panel chromed, added chrome trim to the molding on cabinets, tables, etc. It’s all subtle, but it makes a significant difference when you see the side door slide open to welcome you. Let’s go back to the outside for a minute… Got a new antenna from GoWesty, they also provided a new exhaust tip, gas cap bezel, rear fender chip guards, rear suspension bolt caps… But wait, paint was great so then I couldn’t resist restoring the bumpers, air dam pieces, installing Audi-style driving/running lights in the factory holes and about the grill… My interior didn’t look like everyone else’s anymore,so why should my face? Personal preference, but I think the South Africa upper and lower grills coupled with the matching round headlight conversion is a huge improvement over the rectangular look. One of the rules among car-geeks is that your ride can’t be all show and no go… GoWesty 2300 motor bought and installed by a local shop that specializes in Westfalias! Best part, better than being able to keep up with traffic or get over the grapevine without incident is that the engine is still under warranty for something like 36 Months or 46,000 miles! It just had it’s 1,000 mile break-in service done this month, which took me most of a year to rack up due to a few knee surgeries and consecutive whitewater rafting seasons cancelled due to drought. Oh, the A/C also blows hard and cold, the heater is great and the Pop-top canvas is the new 3-window design, color matched to the paint and Wolfsburg Crests embroidered into the fabric to match the seat headrests and wheel center caps. Currently registered in CA till 2015, and it easily passes smog-test here, so it should anywhere. Clear California title in hand, no lien, salvage, rebuilt or other nonsense. Carfax report shows no accidents or issues to report and eligible for all their guarantees. I know I’m forgetting many things...it has Power windows, alarm, remote keyless entry (2 remotes and sets of keys) I re-did most hoses, radiator, cooling system, transaxle is newer, windows are lightly tinted, LPG tank refurbished with new fill and relief valves, Calipers are painted, undercarriage cleaned, detailed and rust proofed, etc., etc.) but I think I have rambled enough for now and If you have made it this far I sincerely appreciate your time and patience and wish you well in your quest for the perfect Road-Trip Chariot, be it mine or another : ) I can say with confidence that this is an extremely well sorted and executed example, and if you had the stamina to drive 10 Westys to compare it to, I am confident that mine would stand out. That said, it remains a 24 year old metal box (albeit one that gets half a dozen thumbs-up per day) and it squeaks on occasion till I can locate the source with some WD-40, has at least one post-paintwork door-dimple, it will have some interesting issue to chase down in a month or two, and will get beaten badly by any Soccer-Mom that floors the accelerator in her late model Mini-Van (She is probably having a hard day and in need of a win anyway, so consider the loss a sort of kindness). I’m located in Orange County and welcome you or your mechanic to climb in/on/around/under the vehicle and by all means take her on a good test drive anytime. Many more pictures can be seen at my photobucket link if you want the address, please email me as ebay prohibits external links on their ads. Cheers! |
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Auto blog
VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini
Fri, 14 Mar 2014It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.
Chrysler and Fiat offering $1,000 rebates to VW owners as Marchionne gets tough
Mon, 10 Dec 2012The throw-down between Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and Volkswagen has heated up in earnest. According to Bloomberg, Fiat and Chrysler are now offering current Volkswagen owners in the US $1,000 rebates to trade in their ride. It's the latest in a series of shots Marchionne has taken at his German rival. As you may recall, the Fiat executive entered into a spat with Volkwagen board chairman Ferdinand Piëch and CEO Martin Winterkorn in October after the duo called for Marchionne's resignation from presidency of the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (AECA). At the time, the Volkswagen executives were quoted as saying Fiat would not survive the European economic downturn.
In response, Marchionne called the German executives "reprehensible," and accused Volkswagen of using a pricing strategy that has created created a "bloodbath" in the EU. Volkswagen has taken to steep discounting to carve out ever-larger slices of market share in Europe, but the company has a much smaller foothold in the US. Marchionne may be trying to hit Volkswagen where the manufacturer is weakest with the new Fiat new incentive program.
Late last week, the Fiat executive was voted to a second term as ACEA president.
GM outsold VW globaly in first quarter, Toyota reports numbers next week
Thu, 18 Apr 2013General Motors released its first quarter sales figures this week, reporting that it sold 2.36 million cars and trucks worldwide. That figure represents an increase of 3.6 percent when compared to the same period last year. GM's growth was attributed to many factors, including global Cadillac sales that were up 26 percent and Chevrolet posting a one percent increase over last year (this marked Chevy's tenth straight year of record global sales).
Volkswagen came in just behind GM, as the German automaker reported global sales from January through March at 2.27 million vehicles, an increase of five percent when compared to last year. While that number was strong, VW is cautioning that markets outside China and the US, such as those in Europe, are becoming a challenge as economies falter.
Yet to report sales is Toyota, current holder of the global world sales crown (the Japanese company sold 9.75 million cars last year, against 9.29 million sold by GM and 9.1 million vehicles sold by VW). Even though GM and Toyota both say they don't care who sells the most units, it is unquestionably a strong bragging point and sales equate to revenue. That said, Toyota will report its first quarter numbers next week.