Analog and Grit Podcast Oct 20, 2025

Volkswagen Bus and Vanagon - The Automobile That Crosses All Generations & Socio-Economic Classes

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57:13

Car

Volkswagen Bus

The Volkswagen Bus is a big, boxy van that many people love for its retro style and roomy interior. It's often used for road trips and has a fun, laid-back vibe.

Term

air-cooled engine

An air-cooled engine is a type of engine that cools itself using air instead of water. This means it doesn't have a radiator like most cars do.

Term

water-cooled engine

A water-cooled engine is one that uses water to keep the engine cool. This helps prevent overheating and is common in most modern cars.

Car

The Volkswagen Type 2 is a classic van that was first made in 1949. It has different versions, like the '21 window' which has more windows for light, and the 'barn door' which has a special back door design that many collectors love.

Car

Volkswagen Type 2 Bus

The Volkswagen Type 2 Bus is a famous van that many people love for its retro style and roomy space. The 1974 model is one of the last versions before changes were made in later years.

Part

1.08 liter engine

A 1.08 liter engine is a small engine size, which means it uses less fuel and is usually found in smaller cars. It may not be very powerful compared to larger engines.

Concept

engine failure

Engine failure means the engine stops working, which can happen if it gets damaged or isn't taken care of. It can be very expensive to fix or replace.

Car

Volkswagen Beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle is a small, iconic car that many people recognize. It was popular for its unique shape and reliable performance, making it a favorite among drivers for decades.

Car

Nissan 300 ZX

The Nissan 300 ZX is a sporty car from the late '80s and early '90s that many people loved for its speed and style. It's part of a family of cars known as Z-cars.

Term

late bay

A 'late bay' is a type of Volkswagen bus made in the 1970s. It's not as popular as older models, which is why some people don't want to buy them.

Car

Porsche 944

The Porsche 944 is a sporty car made by the German company Porsche. It's popular for its good handling and performance.

Concept

bay window

A bay window is a style of VW Bus that has big windows on the sides. There are two types: early and late, which look a bit different from each other.

Term

split window

A split window is when the front windshield of a car is divided into two parts that can open separately. It's a feature seen in some older cars that gives them a unique look.

Car

Volkswagen Westfalia

The Volkswagen Westfalia is a type of camper van that has special features like a pop-up roof and space for sleeping and cooking. It's popular among people who love camping and traveling in their vans.

Car

yeah you are listening to the analog and grit podcast I'm your host Victor Troyer

who do we have on today's Volkswagen bus and van episode we got Dylan over here

returning for this episode who else and I got Reuben over here first-timer

first-timer Reuben Sergio Mascareno first-timer as well all right who else

we have HL Suarez first-timer here at analog so a lot of first-timers yeah

mainstay Dylan and a few first-timers Reuben and I we met at Monterey car week

right you think we yep right analog and grit member so we kind of connected on

the fact that you had this like fascination with VW buses yes and at the

time I think I just bought my my van again and I was new to the van bus you

know culture so to speak and I know yours is air-cooled well all all your

guys's buses and vans are air-cooled right yes right all right so I'm the

only water-cooled van here so obviously maybe I need to you know educate myself

on which one is more preferred right so why don't you go around talk about what

bus or van you guys own and just talk a little bit about it well I got a little

rust bucket it's she's a 1959 I've owned for about maybe eight years and

it's been a long project just trying to restore all the rust and make a look

back to the original state without changing the paint okay you know the

original patina although look you know how I found it right and just me and my

buddy been working on it for we can say five years now that I brought it over

he's the one that pushed me because I just had it safe storing parts saving

it and he's the one that's like here's my trailer go get it stop playing around

yeah you know and got it running literally in the weekend like we locked

in Friday Saturday Sunday by Monday we were driving it up and down the street

not perfect but you know just like Finnegan would say you know and like

dude just don't just get it running don't make it right just get it running

you know yeah yeah get it running one thing at a time yep right okay and you

said what year it is 59 59 dang that's crazy yeah so so when did the bus cuz

like honestly I'm gonna be real guys like my knowledge of Volkswagen buses is

all from fluffy the comedian like that's that like he when he goes on like Jay

Leno's garage and he talks about it all that like 21 window and bay window and

all this stuff I know from fluff like I'm not gonna lie so I need you guys as

help here but how when did they first come out 49 I believe like September

late was like the beginning of it but the first one that was like out we're

getting sold to the public was 1950 that's where they came out 1950 1951 but

throughout those years which is 49 and 54 they're really desirable actually 55

and a half so oh okay yeah so 55 and a half was the last year they called the

barn door with the big decklid in the back that's like really desirable but

the last year 55 still shares the same chassis so you're looking at the same

bus we have but when you look under it has the vintage style chassis from 1949

oh it's just like a six-month kind of bus that came out pretty desirable as

well they have like half years like I noticed like the last water-cooled van

was 83 and a half oh the first they started water-cooled at 83 and a half

right where like like before early 83s are technically air-cooled so I noticed

they do like the half right yes okay so so let's go around let's what what uh

what bus do you have you want to slide it over for him I have a 1974 panel bus

that I got when I was like 19 20 years old and ended up getting it in a very

unique way I went over to one of my buddies shops he had maybe like 10 buses

five bugs around and I asked him if he could finance me a car and he looked at

me funny like what do you mean I'm like well I'm young I'm a youngster I'm not

good at saving money so I'd appreciate it if you could help me out like I

really want a bus and he's like looking at me and I'm like all right I'm gonna

help you out so he goes around showing me the buses and bugs that he wants to

sell me and then he stops and says wait a second I got the perfect bus for you

runs over to the front of his shop and he sees a panel bus and he's like this

one take this one and he gave me a pretty fair price about nine years ago I

paid $150 every weekend for a year $150 a weekend yes so that was your finance

yes my finance price so 150 every weekend so that's what $500 a week a

month yeah so in a year and a month I paid him $5,500 okay all right there we

go dang yeah and it came looking just like how it looks now yes he had it

freshly painted the motor was roughly running everything was running good he

gave it to me moving I was 19 years old I was really excited still learning

about Volkswagen's I've always known Volkswagen's my whole life but never

owned one ended up taking the sucker down the freeway made it to La Jolla and

the engine blew up oh wow it was a 1.08 liter yeah and maybe about five years I

had it sitting there until Angel came around and was like I got a bug and I

was like no way well I got a bus and he's the one that was like as well did

the same thing to me started pressuring me to go build it fix it help me find a

motor sorry sorry to interrupt funny story about all this I was working in

that shop at the moment okay and then I became good friends with him and then he

was out here buying buses and we like I did not okay so so when you got your

panel van the 74 you none of you guys had buses yet right you had you had a

beetle okay I had one but not running they did not know I had a bus okay so

they just thought I had a bug I met Ruben's dad before I met Ruben okay so I

see so tell me what made you want a bus so bad like you told the guy I need a

bus like I want like you're a young kid like what what possessed you nine years

ago to get a bus well growing up my dad always would tell me that his older

brother used to own a bug back in Mexico right and he used to drive it up and

down the street take it into the mud to the to the river and that thing would

keep running anything would happen he'll just take it off by himself and it

impressed me that he'll tell me he would take off the motor with his hands by

himself sit on a table fix it tune it up slap it back on and just keep going up

and down the road so since I was a young kid I always had that impression that

Volkswagens are really reliable I gotcha okay fair all right and I imagine

so let's uh shift gears here so I imagine you had a beetle and kind of

thought the same thing yes I got a beetle and right after high school like

2016 2017 I just wanted something to learn stick shift I didn't know how to

drive stick shift my dad had a 300 ZX 91 they didn't want to teach me didn't want

me to burn the clutch so I had to find a way to learn stick shift so I thought you know beetles are easy to work

with parts are not that expensive why not go for it right so I ended up

finding the beetle around Lakeside area me and my dad we went to I was like 8

o'clock at night we went to go pick up an RV RV didn't happen but the beetle

still did happen the next day we went to go pick it up and brought it home okay

so the beetle then got you hooked on VW's right because you said your dad

had a 300 ZX 91 91 oh nice okay I see so then you guys then

connected and then what got you to buy your bus so going camping with Ruben and

some other friends we would go to all these camps I would always have to

trailer the bug so I could carry all my camping accessories my girlfriend

would always sit next to the bug while everyone was inside chilling so I

thought you know what I think it's time to look for something and you know we

gotta get comfortable you know we can't always be sitting out in the tent camping

around so I found this 70 bus at the junkyard I went to go pick it up Wow so

before we recorded we went out and saw you I'll post pictures on the Instagram

page so your bus was in a junkyard pretty much ready for you know people

pulling parts off of it but you kept it the entire thing instead of going there

for like a door or a seat panel or whatever you end up taking the whole

thing that's correct we went over there and it was about three weeks of back and

forth what do we want to do technically we were supposed to get the bus so we

could strip it but the was following a furniture to my sister's 69 was following

a big window did it happen I ended up keeping the bus and Ruben came over

helped me start it so the main thing was if it doesn't start we'll strip it it's

not worth saving it if it does start and we'll just keep it and kind of do a

Eurostyle on it right so how does that work when you buy like a whole car from

a junkyard like do they have a price for like a whole car yeah I figure they

would want to I my guess would be that they would want to part it out right

because they can make a little bit more money so like how do you come up come

across like buying a whole bus so they priced it out I guess they talked to

their manager up in LA and I guess they're doing their research on it I

guess they're going to Carfax or you know whatever history you bring out what

the buses are worth and they at first they gave me a pretty high price that

you know even Ruben was like it's not worth spending more than $2,000 on

because it's a you know late bay and nobody wants those so we came to

agreement and I ended up getting it for $1,800 Wow with everything dang that's

worth I mean I guess for them they're like we can get rid of it and we don't

have to have it in the yard for a year while people pick parts off it yeah but

dang that's yeah it was it was a steal and Ruben came over and the first thing

he did was chop it up he said hey we're doing your stuff he showed up I was

trying to fix the brakes you know to get around the blog he just started chopping

it up trying to get him to go around the blog he started going through the brakes

trying to clean everything and turns around and I'm like with the salsa he's

like what are you doing I'm like we're lowering it like yeah we're not gonna

waste time you know doing all this and I'm like we know it runs let's just do

it yeah and he already had a bunch of parts saved like the brakes Porsche 944

brakes we had a bunch of air ride parts airbags and stuff that we had from his

bug and we try to utilize and get the bus where we needed it to be yeah

euro-style like I said just lowered keep the patina brand-new on the inside

really comfortable and just laid out on the ground yeah so you said it's a bay

window right so bay window explain what that is so bay window is basically you

got two types of bay windows you got an early bay you got a late bay the early

bay is right after the split window the split window you can always tell by the

two windows in the front it has the window split mm-hmm and the big window

just has the one large window flat gotcha okay so split window you can open

them up kind of like you know individually individually right a bay

window is one solid windshield yes and then the difference between the early

bay and a late bay is that the early base how the turn signals down by the

bumpers mm-hmm and they base have them up by the grill okay gotcha so I imagine

you know we talk a lot about values on this podcast so their values I noticed

are all over the place depending on what type of bus or what type of van you know

it is right so I know like for example yours the one that you got from the

junkyard is Westfalia right so that means it's got a camper top right it's

got like a little kitchen in there with a sink right some ports where you could

what like and like electricity right you try camping you can connect you know run

a generator and run an extension cord to the plug and right gives you power to

the inside and and universally Westfalia's are worth the most yes

desirable because I noticed that on the vanagans at least right but then besides

just Westfalia or not Westfalia like you have tin roofs which is not a

Westfalia obviously doesn't you know you can't pop the top but everyone has

their preference but for the most part generally speaking when it comes to

values Westfalia's you know synchros what what where buses ever four-wheel

drive like vanagans had the synchro no they're always no the newer ones like

right you want to slide it over to you which one was it the similar one you

have synchro vanagan yes those there's double cabs and single cabs that were

used for the war like later on oh those are the ones with the pickup beds right

yeah yeah we've seen one actually when we went to Monterey and we were at the

car wash I think Josh posted a picture and it even has Porsche logos and

everything yeah on the side a red one yeah I believe that one was four-wheel

drive yeah yeah so Porsche did collaborate with the van again and make

their own version I think like less than like 30 you know exists or something

like that some crazy low number where they put like a flat six Porsche engine

in there right brakes yeah yeah yeah which those are worth I mean if you want

to say values that's probably the holy grail of buses and vans but let's talk

about like buses so like I know the 21 there's a 21 window 23 window 21 23 yeah

so it is different and that's like it has the Safari window or sky when on top

plus the regular window so are those considered one of the most valuable to

people do think those are the most valuables but in my opinion I think the

15 window it's the most desirable one for me it doesn't have the windows on

top does it have the rack top still just has the corner window and there was only

a few of those made hmm okay so because of rarity that's right

those are valuable mm-hmm in the year sometimes yeah that helps a lot if

they're newer I feel like that impacts the value a lot okay you know 62 and

later more affordable still expensive but anything 62 down or 60 and down once

they got bullets and they go from the egg turn signals in the in the dash that

impacts the value a lot okay so newer is more valuable than older no older older

okay so pre 62 yeah is more valuable gotcha okay that's interesting cuz um

sometimes I feel like with car values like the more contemporary the car like

the sweet spot like it doesn't it can't be too new right because then it's like

it's not classic looking enough and it can't be too old because then it's not

daily driver daily drivable enough it's got to be like right sweet spot in the

middle so 62 I mean that's obviously right in the middle because they came

out you said in the 40 late 40s mm-hmm right so that kind of makes sense well 62

or earlier right so then all right so the ones you guys have besides yours is

you said 74 and then yours is what 78 78 okay so you have to smog yours yes so

you don't have to smog your 74 right so I guess that's that's cool and then

yours is obviously you know that's one of the biggest things I I think I look

for when I buy a car when I do get a car it's just like make sure it's smog

exempt you know that's the reason Ruben didn't want me to keep this bus because

of the smog and you know if it was a transporter I probably wouldn't have

kept it I probably would have trashed it but that's what was follies what come my

eye but I mean for how much you paid for it too and the fact that you're able

to get it running like you know it's all of like a push and pull yeah it came

running right out of the junkyard just took the fuel injection off through the

carburetors went around the block everything was solid yeah all the gears

went in reverse usually third or fourth pops out mm-hmm but they never did in

the gas well I was surprised cuz I'm like you're definitely gonna have to

pull the gas tank out I know this for a fact he's like no he's like takes the

gas uh gas line off clean like clean smelling gasoline clear like it looks

like they try to get it running before throwing it on the junker like they gave

it a second try let's get this running it didn't work they're like trash it oh

wow but okay ripped all the fuel injector system out made it carbureted

runs amazing yeah he's been dailying it almost for a year now drives it

everywhere that's awesome up and down cars and coffee camping goes to the

drive-in like once a month probably in it yeah try to get it try to get the use

out of it yeah yeah I mean it's the most fun part of it forgot about the bug

already yeah bugs been sitting I don't remember the last time I think last time

I took it out battery was dead just hopped in the bus didn't want to deal

with it yeah believe me I told him once you get

this bus going that port you're just gonna say he's like no I'll go cars and

the same thing new yeah and and you know as a I've owned his van again now for

just a few months not not very long but like what I noticed right away and even

the people I've let drive it like my buddy Christian he has a he's been he

has that red bug he's come to Sunday grid a lot and he it's like I want this

thing like right like and I could tell like cuz you had the beetle like like

you already have the Volkswagen itch now you get a van and he drives he loves

camping too so I had him drive it he was obsessed with it my other buddy

drove it he was he never drove a car like that ever in his life you know had

no experience with Volkswagens really and he loved it and I feel like it's a

testament to like not only the build quality but like the way Volkswagen like

the way the card handles the way the car like just feels driving down the road

like I don't know how to explain other than the fact that it's like for such a

big car it still feels nimble like the turn radius is so easy like and then you

just the seating position the visibility like all the things you don't really

think about that much right it's so good at it it does all those things so well

and then you look back and you're like damn like I have that much car behind me

right now you know like granted they're slow up hills right there's all these

things you know saying how you know it's a debt trap because your your knees are

in the crumple zone all that stuff but that kind of adds to like the cool

factor right cuz like no car ever today would ever be like that like they like

like God forbid you got into an accident like like but you're not

thinking about that cuz you're going like 50 miles an hour like you're not

worried about it you know so what are your thoughts Dylan being that you know

I know you don't have one but like just from the outside looking in what do you

what do you think I mean safety for me is never a priority when I choose a car

so that's like out the window I could care less about that but I was actually

reading a comment on your about your bus where somebody was talking about how

they would take it camping and they enjoyed like driving it through the

mountains and just the experience of having the flip seats in the back with

people and them loading up like all the homies into the back of the bus and and

like making memories and I think that's a big part of it and I think also as a

daily driver it has a similar appeal to my Mercedes diesel where it's just like

you can't exactly put into words what it is but something just feels right about

driving it like it it just feels like it's easy to drive it just feels like

you know it's not a bad place to spend time behind the wheel like it just feels

something about it it's like you're driving an old time capsule yeah and

like you get you get the looks and attention from like the right people who

like appreciate it rather than like just having like a typical modified car that

everybody else has like you get like the right kind of like looks and attention

in it which I think is cool and the really cool thing is it's generational

like you guys are all really young and you're driving cars like older than your

parents right like it's there's only certain amount of cars that are

generational like that meaning they they continue to transcend and people like

like obviously you guys like slammed you know the bus and it looks different than

what it did from brand new yeah but like you're making it cool again right and

it's like it'll never be uncool that that that car give it another life yeah

you give it another life and obviously you know literally you resurrected it

yeah but I think it's a testament to Volkswagen how easy those cars were to

work on how like reliable they were right in general and and overall the the

look is timeless no one will ever be able to recreate that look you know like

you look at the euro van right because I always think when it comes to cars like

in the automotive industry they eventually there's a point where the the

ball stops right and the euro van don't get me wrong I look at values of those

right I know they there's camper versions of those like I know there's

the MV and all these trims that obviously are different based on whether

it has the sliding you know door seats or the table that flips up like there's

certain things that make those more valuable but the engines in the front so

you no longer have that crumple zone right what else you said there's a you

mentioned the euro van had a v6 in it er 6 er 6 so like it lost like the rear

engine you know the engine in the back and and a radiator yeah we don't like

that well mine has a radiator to front-wheel drive front-wheel drive yeah

yeah you don't get the engine in the bag with the rear-wheel drive now and

transaxle I don't think it has a transaxle either yeah as a front-wheel

drive transaxle if it's not gonna be in the rear but regardless it lost its

appeal like that's those are things that people still look at you know so like

when I learned when I got my van and I heard that people don't like like the

first thing I think Josh was saying cuz Josh the owner analog and grid has a

you guys saw the van again I don't know if he's doing like an STI swap on it and

you know the first thing he said is that we don't talk to euro van Pete owners

you know like right there you know they're like outcasts you know it's like

so it's interesting to see like how the the van kind of evolved right so what

are your guys's thoughts overall on like why people love the bus and love the

Volkswagen back just like he said I believe I was right he was like on the

perfect track when he mentioned like for me in my experience is driving it you

can just your drive ideally my car and you're driving it you're having a bad

day or something somebody in the road like you'll turn around somebody out

there just giving you the thumbs up just like dude and also like you

mentioned the factor of us like kind of being young in a way I feel like that

kind of makes people trip out a lot like to put this young kid is it his is it

not is he working on it it's funny that Ruben mentions that on the way over here

I live in Chile so it's about 20 minute drive I probably had about four people

honking at me giving the thumbs up you know so you can't get a rid of having a

bad day it's like that like yeah you forget everything else you're driving

the car people are you like doing like you know like what was I mad about yeah

I don't care you know like that's the main my car my regular car just messed

up from sitting because I don't drive it I'll drive the bug I'll drive the bus

and I daily my cars I think driving them around the experience the people stories

you're pumping gas some guy just walks up tells you this amazing story you're

like what like I'll just sit there I don't care I'll be late you know I'll

the old people talk yeah I had one in high school my dad had one they wish

they never got rid of it so now they tell you oh where can I get one is you

know it's just good luck there are harder harder to get fine yeah cuz they

used to be like a dime a dozen right like back in like the 70s and 80s like

they were like nothing cuz they were plentiful my grandpa had one when he was

living TJ said I think he bought for like 150 bucks yeah even in the 90s you

can buy him left and right five yeah eight hundred bucks less than a thousand

bucks I heard my dad you know sir I I wish we lived in the 90s one really

special thing about the Volkswagen bus and van is that it crosses like

socioeconomic classes so for example if you go to Ocean Beach right you'll see

hippies with with them right like like nice ones 21 yeah windows 33 windows

right nicely restored these guys that's probably their house like they don't

even have a home and they don't care but their car is worth like 40 grand but

like besides that you'll see him in people's driveways right in Point Loma

you'll see it in you know by the beach you know whether they're rusted and

clapped out and then you go to Coronado and you see the same types of buses and

vans like all over people's driveways super clean right and for those of you

that don't know Coronado is an affluent area right parts of OB are not

necessarily affluent but like you know it's by the beach so you expect that a

little bit but like my point is is people of all different incomes and you

know walks of life can own one right it's cool the cool factor is not just

with hippies anymore you know what I mean it's even people that have money

that that obviously want a really cool fun-looking car that is easy to drive

you know you mentioned this last week in the daily driver episode is like you

just turn your key and go like sure sure an adventure right now and have a

couple friends share an adventure and then do stuff together I think that's

also a big part of it like you mentioned I've been in locations where I'm just

living the moment in the bus and hang out with this guy I just met leaves and

it's like oh you know that guy is a millionaire I was like huh this guy's

super cool like what do you mean he's all like you would not expect he just

left in his rusty bus like yeah that guy's a millionaire it was like you

just the environment you don't you meet so many people you open so many doors

and I feel like they all share the same thing just drive an old car the

adventure of it create memories and also like he had mentioned when you're

driving and it happens you break down you're on the side of the road with

your friends like you figure it out you find a piece of wire like you make it

work like that story nobody takes that away from you yeah I'm getting all those

adventures and saying dude we made it home like or me personally we went to

Big Bear maybe like three years ago I broke a valve on the way back it was in

in Poway and he had his trailer but he was like up up ahead mm-hmm so I was

like just keep going if I stop or like I'll call you and you know he's probably

gonna have to drop off his bus go to San Diego come back pick me up but I was

like the motor blew up already it's done like let's just go for it that thing

ran all the way Poway broken valves oh I still started it the next day move

shuffle cars around and put it in the lot so I can yeah pull the motor out and

it's like I don't know what other car would do that right it's broken still

made it home like yeah that's the adventure of that like nobody takes that

away from you yeah that's a testament to Volkswagen you know my van again has

252,000 miles on it more like 252 and like 500 so like when I bought it I was

like not even slightly worried I did my research you know I know a lot of people

like Subaru swap them so I thought okay if I ever down down the road want to do

that or if the next person I sell it to want to do that like they're gonna care

about this this van more for its condition of the exterior and interior

forget about the engine right you can think like people swap them right what

are you guys's thoughts on that like obviously my my engines original to like

back then no one even thought a car goes past a hundred thousand miles

that's funny that you say that about you know your van again having 200 something

miles and people still love it still want to buy it I'll just tell you to my

dad it was like last week that we're watching Bear Jackson and I was like

it's funny how you know you can get an old car and it can have so many miles

but people don't care you get a new car nowadays it has over a hundred thousand

nobody wants to buy that car you know because you don't know the engines bad

or worse worn out but then you're looking at a Mustang you're looking at

a Porsche anything you're looking at old you don't care cuz first thing you think

I'll just swap the motor right you know and it doesn't impact the value of the

car yeah yeah the mileage isn't as relevant

older stuff my buzz out the junkyard is salvage you know and a lot of people

look at it's like I don't care it's salvage it's you know I just wanted for

the looks I wanted to drive around so I just think it just amazes me how old

cars don't really impact the value of a new car nowadays yeah that's a good

point yeah at least at least with this type of car like I could tell you if my

Alfa Romeo Spyder had 250 2,000 miles on it people are gonna be like like yeah

you need it yeah what are you doing like first of all we'll never get that far

right you'd be putting in like doubt like hundreds of thousands of dollars

to get it yeah right and again that that's another testament to like how

affordable and accessible parts are for you know for the Volkswagen I mean you

guys all have air-cooled right so let's talk about that real quick so 83 and a

half late and on like I mentioned earlier they went water-cooled right he

said no radiator in the front right obviously you know air-cooled is another

level of like a generation of like obviously with Porsches right people

want an air-cooled Porsche 911 because it was a different time as different

sound the cars ran differently but what are your guys's thoughts do you feel

like there's a perk there's a benefit or is there is there a benefit to water

cooled what do you guys think I think it's a benefit to air-cooled I mean you

really don't have to worry about your motor overheating like a radiator you

just overheat you throw oil fan in keep it cooling I don't know throw some ice

in it how much you need but I just think once you get to water-cooled it's just a

lot a lot more things to it than it is air-cooled okay they do overheat though

they do overheat they do give him the microphone just talking to the mic

Mongo's a mechanic and I was worried about the air-cooled you know what I

mean I asked him how reliable is an air-cooled and he told me those cars

are designed to drive in the desert hmm that just gave me a solid response right

there right I shouldn't worry about it you know obviously be considered that it

can overheat and blow up but on the long run you can drive it in the desert and

you'll be fine yeah interesting and it's hot in the desert it gets up to 100

degrees right of course yeah that's when you keep them stocked you I think you

have more issues once you start upgrading the motor bigger cam bigger

pistons and higher compression and luckily nowadays they sell everything

though we got all kinds of big coolers aluminum radiator so we can get more

cooling out of the motor make sure that the motor stays like super cool but

there is a lot of work you have to do you know know what kind of motor you're

gonna have what kind of compression you're gonna have so you can have the

right amount of cooling that's a big factor okay and like displacement never

really went up like it was it like 1.8 you said yours was 1.8 or 1.9 2.0 okay but

there I know they had a 1.9 and then a 1.8 okay yeah they just went up like

just 1 10th of a displacement like mine's a 2.1 you know so went from a 2

liter to a 2.1 right and I don't think you know I don't know I don't know what

the euro van with the vr6 but regardless like 3.2 yeah okay totally started from a

25 horsepower one yeah a little four-cylinder motor with yeah power was

never like their forte right I know you know I remember seeing fluffy right with

with the Jay Leno driving up a hill in his episode of Jay Leno's garage and

and they were just like yeah like like we ain't going more than 50 like like we

need to know like we accept that right but I take my van again on the freeway

yeah maybe I'm not going uphill but I hit 70 75 no problem and I'm chillin

there's a little bit of like like if I roll down the window wind will get in

and it'll like circulate a little bit but for the most part the wind noise

ain't bad because you're driving a brick literally you know down the road but like

how is it on the freeway I know you guys have four speeds probably right yes

yeah so like there's no overdrive like how is it on the freeway with you guys

well on my my transmission actually I had to upgrade it so if it was original

with the original running gearbox reduction gearbox it wouldn't good luck

hitting 50 okay you're not gonna go so okay I had to swap it out put a bug one

and then we changed the gears for longer gears so it has a 344 so it does

pretty good on the freeway well you're talking 1959 you said yes right yeah so

so I can do 75 60 yeah 70 75 relaxed pushing it we can probably do 80 you

just see a break down the hill yeah his window does really good too I feel

because of the transmission being newer yeah he does really well that was a one

thing is that we were talking about when we got our my big window running was how

is it gonna do on the freeway because you know test original transmission we

didn't know so I was already looking at upgrades of you know freeway flyer or

trying to gear up the box but we went up to San Clemente for a show a couple

months ago and Ruben was impressed he came to catch up to me I was just flying

down the freeway and you know there's a difference in in big windows on what bus

you get because you know you have the rip 3 the rip 4 the rip 5 rip 6 so I

feel like my transmission a little bit bigger because it's a camper edition so

it's meant to carry more weight mm-hmm you know keep the gearing load on it so

you can carry weight and not affect the motor you know so so you got a climb

you can climb up hills like Sergio's bus has a panel van so it was meant to be a

work van so you know cargo and stuff so I'm pretty sure his transmission had to

be a little bit updated from the dealership mm-hmm I know with the the t3

the van again they added a fifth gear right I know Syncros got a fifth gear

not they were options where you can actually get a five speed so like there's

certain options that came later right which is cool because it's like

obviously getting modern with the times but like t1 let's talk about it so t1 t3

is a van again right that's like the 80 what is it 90 but no I'm I talking about

79 it was like late 70s I've seen people call my bay window t3 and others t4 but

I don't know that's like a euro edition or that's how they they say in Europe I

think there's a type and then there's a T like right but either way like bay

window is a technically a T2 yeah and then a split window is a t1 right so you

guys are mentioning to split windows type 2 but it's not it's considered a t1

maybe a type 2 t1 like what's the t1's got to be the first generation bus yeah

I think that's a different yeah it'd be different yeah type 1 would be the bug

type 2 is bus yeah then we got to type 3s which is notchback fastback square

mm-hmm and the type 34s which is the rare coming here it's pretty rare with

the tooth kind of looks like a Corvair in a way yeah that's a confusing part

because you have like a t1 type 2 right like it's like that's the part that I

got was telling you guys earlier like that is a confusing part with the

different generations but like looking it up yeah it says like t1 means the

original and then you can get different types of a t1 because what was it like

the split window like you guys were saying is really distinctive you can tell

right away and then like you guys know the difference of the lights where the

placement of the lights are like Vanagin's had some of them had like the

round headlights and then like the later ones had the square double like

headlights little things like that but overall I wanted to talk like value so

Dylan mentioned that my Vanagin is on bring a trailer right now it's live for

sale it's an 89 Vanagin GL Wolfsburg edition so what I've learned is if you

get a like it's a tin roof so it's not a Westfalia but if it has the rear facing

seats and it has the the bed that pulls out those are more desirable right

because clearly you can sleep in it right people want these cars to go

camping exactly so that's usually the draw right these cars were meant for

people to take and share adventures go around the country and obviously

reliably and then sleep in it like that you can use them as your home you know

so like what are you guys's thoughts like just culturally like with the

impact that the the van and the bus had on the car culture I think it just

changed the perspective perspective of people going camping like you know some

families cannot afford a motorhome you know and there's some motorhomes that

now you could trick out live do what you want but if you're talking about

seventies and eighties you know you couldn't get a motorhome you know into a

remote area like a bus can so I think that's why they came out the Westfalia

so you could go places where motorhomes can't right and I think that was a good

idea of home because now you know we so my parents own the motorhome and I

rather take my bus than a motorhome just easier to go you just get up and go you

don't have to worry about dumping it going to storage you know you just get

back home late at night and park it in your driveway go to sleep yeah that's

true the first one started also like back would be 1960s 19 were the easy

campers there was this addition there was this company getting buses like the

panel buses kind of like his white buses and now they're pretty rare if

you find a bus with the logo stamped easy camper and there's a they're

numbered they came with a sink some came with the stove some were cut on the roof

and they did what they called a little popped up mm-hmm a little hatch yeah a

sub hatch so there's a couple those are pretty rare so that's where once you

start getting it's like 23 window 20 is like no like this bus is actually more

rare because there's less of these mm-hmm some of them are one-off we have

a buddy that goes camping with us a lot and he has one mm-hmm we have a friend

who just picked one up to the easy camper yep I was trying to remember the

name but I know that that was like one of the really rare like early pre West

Follia campers they would soup him up and rent him out for the public so the

public would rent him out go camping and well later on they shut down so now you

can you know buy the buses keep them but they're pretty rare yeah find one they

got under the door they got the the stamps they got an aluminum plate with

the number and everything they have a tent that attaches to the side right I

remember my buddy's trying to find one of those yeah so he just went to you

guys probably know what it is but wasn't up last weekend there was a big air

cooled thing right on Saturday yeah yeah type twos only mm-hmm so he went up

there trying to hoping to find parts and stuff that's where angel comes in and

to sell the bay window that he has you go to you go to that show in your bay

window your parking at Walmart in the front okay so let's talk about that

because like there's so many different variations right so like when you think

about you know I know like in the Jeep community right you have like Rubicon

you have YJ TJ CJ 5 CJ 7 right and like they have a big strong you know group of

people that go out and you know but they're obviously welcoming everyone as

a Jeep you know except maybe like people with YJs because they have square

headlights but like with the vans and buses what's the car culture like what's

the car meets like because I imagine like you were mentioning earlier

everyone's willing to share everyone's excited like everyone's friendly about

it it's it's not it's not snobby like snooty people that you know don't like

care to share what you have or care to learn about what you have so that's my

experience so far but it's only been short so what is your experience been

with like car meets with the bus community it's great I like I mean it

depends the area you're at because like you said the snobby you'd be surprised

you know you you will find I guess go around you will find that you know maybe

three characters around you know bugs and around around San Diego there you

know they're around but some of them like the old older heads and the people

I guess we grew up like they're really genuine they're really nice they'll

always stop me they see you on the side of the road you know help you out be

there but it's a big big big culture big and then the shows up there and everybody

out here like it's all kind of connected everybody kind of knows each other you

know going all the way up to Vegas and all the way in California even we know a

couple people UK like France and then also Thailand they've came down also

like cars like they bring you together like I was mentioning social media we

had a couple friends they come down to shows and it's like they tell us hey

come over and it's like next thing you know you got like other places you can

expand go to other shows around the world and that's our plan for next year

is they have every four years in Europe they have the bug show the bug show you

know you got people from over that come down to our show so a lot of San

Diegans to a lot of people from out here try to go down there so we've been

talking about it maybe going out there and show our support since they come

down here 2026 actually is the next year next year so every four years get some

experience out there it gets knowledge you know like in Europe they do a lot of

what they do it well not technically because they do a late base they don't

have a lot of spin windows out there since you know it's always raining out

there and always you know rot it out and stuff so the next step is being windows

and you can see those out there left and right lower drop and that was our idea

that brought it to my buzz it's like let's do their style over here in United

States and see what people think of it oh well so this meetup is every four

years every four years and it's like the World Cup yeah is it different locations

like is it always in the same spot yeah same spot same spot but since it's every

four years they know people from all all over the world go they do like a week

and a half of shows it's like a home almost like a whole month you kind of

want to go to Germany just be there for a whole month so you can enjoy all the

shows and it's just this is in Germany yes okay interesting Wow okay and people

like are in like shipping their cars out there for these meets or you just kind

I've heard of that before but I recently haven't seen it yeah but a lot

of our friends they go out there I know a friend actually from out there I was

talking he's from the UK he's actually shipping his car over here and it's

gonna store it in LA to come shows down here they do that oh yeah yeah so that's

like kind of one thing you know I was telling him one cool thing I think we

should do is ship his bay window out there because once it touches grounds

over there the value is way different right it's it's more desirable there's

less the snow just took everything like he said it's yeah yeah we can I told him

to take it drive it sell it and you know yeah come back buy your split window

there you go there you go I feel like when you see a bus you think of America

like you think it's so American simply because of like yeah beach vibes hippie

culture surfboard all that stuff right but like what do you think like it's

obviously not it's a German car you know and you forget that but like I

wonder what like the Germans think of the bus like do they see it like that or

they like no that's ours like you guys just you know you just put flower power

on it and and you know and and Scooby-Doo you know made it famous well

yeah I mean I think I think it everything about it and what it was

intended for when the buses got popular in the u.s. like just really spoke to

like 1960s and 70s America so I think that's kind of maybe why you feel that

way about it because that's why they that's when they were first really

popular you know but yeah I don't really know how people perceive it abroad yeah

I'm curious to know like what they think like because it's obviously not our car

I mean it's a it's a German car but I think like I don't know if you guys know

Jason Kameesa he's a automotive journalist and now there's a lot of

videos for Hagerty he did a video on Volkswagen pretty much like showing how

Volkswagen used that same chassis in the beetle right so they had their beetle

that the Karmann Ghia they had I believe it's the same is it the same body on the

on the van or there's another application they used it for forget

which one but either way thing the thing yes perfect yeah so obviously the bus

was it the bus was a different like yeah similar yeah they're both yeah

buses unibodies and the other ones they but yeah the pants changed slightly

different yeah they're wider pants like on the Karmann Ghia and the things

different pants the bugs share the same pen bug you can change pants any year

but I say even bugs from Mexico up to like 1990 you can still use their pan

and throw it in the 1950s cars I'll be direct fit right so like his pretty much

point of the of that episode was like how interchangeable everything was even

though the car looked completely different like you had your your car

that took everyone across the country like it was like the affordable it was

like the Fiat 500 for Italians right the Volkswagen beetle but it took Germans

everywhere it obviously even took Americans everywhere and then you have

the Karmann Ghia which was like the coupe the two-door sports car that had

this Italian coach builder and in the thing which is like an open top like

looks like a came in straight out of World War two but yeah it's like a

dumpster like a ammo container that's so cool I always wanted a thing they're

worth a good chunk of money too it's unbelievable so like it's just

interesting how Volkswagen had this platform and it just you know I think it

it really revolutionized the auto industry in the u.s. and made people I

think it made our like auto companies our car makers in the u.s. like really

like think twice about the cars that they were producing like because they

can see they can look to Volkswagen and be like damn they're doing it on the

cheap creating all these different styles and they're taking American

market share from an early point right like they were like that they were

really like one of the first like German car companies that had tremendous mass

appeal yeah like before like BMW and Mercedes those were cars that like only

like the really wealthy would be able to buy you know in the 50s and 60s and VW

was kind of the first to like bring those German cars to the mass market

yep yeah exactly before we wrap up I want to talk about one last topic engine

swaps so do you guys all have the original engine in your car no no does

I believe mine is still original okay so I would have to look at the

VIN number and verify if it is or not so what are your thoughts because I noticed

that like I mentioned earlier a lot of people swap Subarus in them because they

want more power right they want a car that obviously can go 75 80 on the

freeway and it's it seems like it's pretty easy plug-and-play right but what

are your thoughts on just overall engine swapping a car or a bus reliability I

think most people do it I don't know about reliability on a Subaru swap I

don't know why they do that but that guess that's what they try to go for

reliability and go you know fast and have the bus to move because you are in

danger zone nowadays people used to do 50 60 everybody used to do 50 60 on the

road now everybody's just on their phones doing 80 right all distracted so

you're a target you're in the middle you're in slowly and you're driving like

you are a target so it's not that we want to go fast is that we need to keep

up to the speed we need to keep up to you know because or else you're in

danger you know and I feel like that's mostly why people have to do it get the

car you know so it can drive and keep up to all this new technology all these

electronic new cars that are out here whiling on the freeway yeah when your

average new Corolla has 200 horsepower right yeah that's a really good point

you know it's just like safety you got to keep up with traffic because back

when these cars were created they'd all went the same speed we're all driving

slow and you know but now everybody's trying to go fast everybody's pushing

you and now you're like and I do get people I'm doing 60 65 on the freeway I

still have people doing 90 you know it's like will you do 90 on the slowly like

yeah you know I'm gonna slow me for a reason it just like you said just people

just I think them I think them being slow though and like I haven't had a bus

but I have a 80 horsepower Mercedes diesel that weighs 4,000 plus pounds I

think them being slow is part of what makes them kind of a joy to drive in a

different way because it just kind of slows everything down you just you press

on the gas pedal and you don't floor it you just kind of go the same speed no

matter what and I think that just like kind of quiets down road rage like

you're not gonna chase anybody down rush to go somewhere you're just taking your

time enjoy the moment and you always get there yeah I mean we didn't talk about

this last week but the bus and van is a good classic daily driver I mean it

checks so many boxes it's a head-turner right you got four thumbs ups on your

way from Chula Vista today you know so like you know you mentioned like classic

cars remind you why you're a car enthusiast you know like you're having a

bad day you get in your car you start driving you get a thumbs up and now

you're not having a bad day anymore you know you park it you look back at it you

smile right all these lunch breaks yeah lunch breaks are the best yeah work take

a lunch break let's go on the bus yeah so it's and it starts it fires up right

it's easy to work on it checks a lot yeah the only issue I had on my on my

van again was the battery like I have it like we were talking like a lot of

older cars have parasitic drains right which you could you know go through and

figure out where it's coming from but for the most part like that's simple you

jump the car worst-case scenario if you leave it you know are you popping

sinking on your way see no one knows about that anymore like that's like a

thing like of the past with manuals right like you just push start it right

so so go ahead explain how do you push start a car what do you do this you know

ignition make sure you turn the ignition on put the ignition on it happened to me

where I don't have the ignition on it's gonna happen like we did where I had him

pushing for blocks I'm like did you turn the key and he we were just so like what

was it was that so you know so you gotta put it in accessory mode leave it in

second and then when you having no speed you just pop the clutch and give it gas

at the same time and second you know just keep going why why second gear it's

a little more smoother I see when you start it when you yeah cuz you're

already rolling yes I see okay a little when we try first gear it's like it'll

start but it'll just like jump or like oh you know like yeah second gear feels

a little more smoother okay give him the mic you're by yourself and you have no

one to help you can always pop it in reverse okay it rolls back yeah I did not

know about the reversal a little little little hack a hack within a hack these

guys are lucky because they got reverse I've been driving for two years no

reverse

driven out of the driveway when I had my 1985 Volkswagen Golf I didn't have a

reverse either and I had to kick out my leg and push myself Fred Flintstone style

damn so the mechanical part of it is once the car is rolling right that

alternator even kicks in charges the battery or right with like the generator

if it's old enough and as a generator yeah so that's kind of what happens

right just need a little bit of spark as long as a battery has enough to create a

spark and you get it to turn that's about it you can have a pretty dead

battery but if it just has enough to ignite that spark in the coil mm-hmm

that's it it'll start up and then good generator or alternator and then yeah

that'll keep it alive right interesting okay so nice so so having a dead battery

isn't necessarily a problem but look what I was trying to say was like my car

like when I'm driving it like I I'm on the 8 or the 805 all the time and I'm

keeping up with traffic I mean for the most part I'm not in the left lane

usually but like like I said I'm going 70 the cool thing is the tack on the

van again goes there's like a green shaded area in the middle so it's from

2,000 to 4,000 rpms is green so it's pretty much telling you like that's like

your eco mode that you want to stay within and that's that crazy like who

think like 4,000 rpms on the freeway is not eco mode anymore you know but back

then it was you know and like I mean I keep it at 3,000 maybe a little bit

above it so it's not like it's at 4 but like it's just smooth it rides great

like you like I said earlier with the wind noise it's not a factor but the

most important thing is I feel like you can daily it like it's something that

keeps up with modern-day traffic it's obviously you know air cool sorry it's

water-cooled with fuel injection has cold air conditioning I mean it easy

like when I say easy to drive it feels like kind of like a go-kart a little bit

like it's just easy to move and then the most important thing is like I don't

feel like I'm in a car that's gonna just like break down on me on the side of the

road like I have confidence driving it you know I can't say the same for my my

Alfa Romeo Spyder you know because so many times it's just either a gauge

stopped working and I ran out of gas or you know the thing just ended up the

alternator just conked out on me and now I'm on the side of the road it's

funny they say cuz even though these cars don't have power steering it doesn't

even feel like you're fighting with the wheel or so why it's so light yeah once

it gets going right it's going it's so light compared to cars that you know

those are a little bit bigger than before because yeah I'm running a 150

it's a skinny tire well a modern car runs a 225 in the front so you really

don't feel the weight of the steering wheel when you're driving it right and it just the

way they created a car it just amazes me yeah yeah my 89 has power steering but I

know what you mean like it's it's definitely like even the way the shape

of the tire because you have you're running tires that are 50s they're super

small you know but it works it works that packaging works you know and and

again like I said I think it's a great daily driver so I'm gonna miss mine I

mean I'm gonna in less than a week I'm not gonna own it anymore so that's why

partially I wanted to do this podcast before I sold it so I can at least say

I'm still an owner but I know I'm gonna miss it and but here's what it's gonna

do it's gonna open my eyes to this segment of cars this and the next

project ours right and then I might now you know see a bus and be my get a

yeah yeah yeah yours is cool man you know and then your panel van I know that

you know it's a little bit of on the creeper side but but that people want

those because that's it's easy to sleep in those right you don't you don't have

a it's a tin roof it doesn't have a that's a pop-up yeah I take it fishing

everywhere okay and stuff and that's why I just store everything I go in there

take a nap yeah I get too drunk for whatever reason I can just stay in the

van yeah all right well appreciate you guys coming on and sharing your stories

on your buses yeah no trust me I feel like that needs to be like amongst a

younger generation there needs to be more of this out there because like I

said there's a lot of young people driving these cars it's not just for old

hippies you know and then analog and grit like the way you're you're you're

both setups are like keeping it rusty keeping it gritty like it's the perfect

car for this type of car environment yeah you know so and Dylan as always

appreciate your again for having your two cents today until next time on the

analog and grit podcast we'll see you next week

0:00

57:13

Volkswagen Bus and Vanagon - The Automobile That Crosses All Generations & Socio-Economic Classes

Volkswagen Westfalia

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