The Van

“Evelyn,” as we’ve come to call her, is a 1983 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia. We bought her about a year ago, and have done much work in the interim to add modern features, and more importantly, to make her road-worthy.

Evelyn is powered by a 2.0L four cylinder engine that is fuel injected, horizontally opposed, and air cooled. The engine makes an impressive 67 horsepower (Our modified 2010 GTI made 360 horsepower with the same displacement). We removed the engine to clean it up, replace all the seals, and fix a couple odds and ends. We’re really glad we chose to remove it, because underneath some of the tins were mouse nests that seriously restricted cooling air around the cylinders.

The fuel lines on Evelyn looked original, and had stress cracking and seepage that was deeply worrying. Thankfully, replacing the fuel lines and resealing the gas tank was an easy job.

The suspension and running gear needed help too. New CV boots, new shocks, new tires, and all new suspension bushings took Evelyn from being a slow, wandering, clunking mess to just slow.

The pop-top canvas was original, torn, faded, and chewed by mice. We chose to remove the entire pop top to replace the fabric and paint the top. We then took it a step further and just removed the entire interior. Yikes.

By removing the interior, we were able to fix a couple rust spots, add insulation, and address some wiring issues. We were also able to add some nice vinyl plank flooring and reupholster all the interior panels.

As we put everything back together, we wired the van for solar power with 200W of solar panels on the roof, a charge controller under the sink, an inverter under the refrigerator, and a house battery behind the front grille. We also added a small Webasto heater that runs off the gas tank to keep the van warm on chilly mornings. The fridge is a new unit that is DC powered and much more efficient than the original.

The final product is a van that should provide convenient living and trouble-free service for the foreseeable future. Obviously, we have tools and spare parts packed for when little (finger crossed) issues emerge along the trip and when regular maintenance is required.

Oh, and if you’re curious: Our van weighs 3,920 pounds empty (no people, no gear, and almost no gas). Add all our gear, us, and a full tank of gas and we’re sitting at 4,720 pounds fully loaded. Still well below the GVWR but I wish we were lighter.