Club 80-90 Forums

Hi Guys,

Delighted to be a new member and learning my way around. I am thinking about buying a 1986 T25 Westfalia Joker. It is listed as having a 1.9 petrol engine which surprised me as a newbee, I thought VW were always diesel. Will I be happy with this petrol engine? Any comments welcome.

Thanks

Andy

Hello and welcome to the madhouse.
A very difficult question to answer that one. It is a bit like saying "I thought they only made green ones and I have found a red one, will I be happy with a red one?"
Diseasel and petrol each have advantages over the other and each type have their adherents who think the other lot are mad. Owners of the stinking oil burners will crow about their amazing MPG figures. Owners of the more flexible and faster petrol engined vehicles will point out that they can achieve just as good or better MP£ by converting their vehicles to run on LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) which is mostly better than half the price of heavy gas oil (a.k.a. diesel oil) whilst retaining their superior performance.
I hope my completely unbiased opinion will be of help to you in making your decision. I note that you are considering the purchase of a Westfailure. I hope you don't like toast for breakfast when camping as 'Westies' don't have a grill.

Seriously now, the ONLY consideration to worry about is ''Does the van suit my personal preferences the most from what there is available.'' Also if there is a rusty example with the same layout as a rust free example with a shabby interior and a dodgy engine and both are the sort you prefer, then ALWAYS go for the rust free example as mechanical and interior problems are MUCH cheaper to put right than a rusty bodyshell.

Have a good read of the wiki buyers guide before choosing a vehicle and ask questions too.
I hope you find what you want and that you get to enjoy it to the maximum. Become a full member of the club (your user name on your posts will turn blue from black) and you will then be privy to details of upcoming meets and shows which you may wish to attend plus much more in the members only section.

Westie is best! End of story!

I'm a 2.1 petrol Westy owner and highly recommend it. And yes you can make toast, just use one of those hob grills. Westy jealousy is an ugly thing

loads like fools fuel,but budget another £1000 to convert it to gas(and you will loose a bit of space for the tank)so the question should read gas v derv cos most of the fools users cant/wont pay to run on it and rightly so
now i shall wait for the cries of indignation
mm

I had a 1.9 petrol camper. It was fine and cruised happily at 65mph. It was a different camper conversion than a Westfalia but fundamentally the same - kitchen, bench seating/bed, storage lockers.
I don't like the smell of diesel, but many people are not bothered by it.

I've now got a camper with 4 wheel drive and its loads heavier, so needs more power to push it along. A 1.9 petrol will struggle.

If you mileage is low and you've not got deep pockets/mechanical skills to do an engine swap, a 1.9 petrol will be fine. If mileage is high a diesel's economy will become apparent quicker.

Ralf85 wrote:Westie is best! End of story!

You can't beat a work of fiction

No such thing as 'best', they're just all different and horses for courses etc and if I was "jealous" I'd simply buy one, but I'm not.....

for fuel economy it has to be diesal but they are smelly and noisey,but you get their eventually

only smell if they leak only noisy if theyre clapped and silencer shot and in an empty van,they go very well thankyou
mm

Ralf85 wrote:Westie is best! End of story!

A solid Devon is far better than a rotten Westie.

metalmick8y wrote:only smell if they leak only noisy if theyre clapped and silencer shot and in an empty van,they go very well thankyou
mm

Exactly.

just for clarity...

diesel is what comes out of a pump.....it bears little relationship to how fast or slow something goes.

i.e....there are fast diesels and there are slower diesels.

the comment about rusty bodies is really important unless you have lots of dosh or own a body shop or are best mates with a guy called Mike.

its a bit like blondes or brunettes or red heads.....I like all 3.

keith wrote:just for clarity...



its a bit like blondes or brunettes or red heads.....I like all 3.

yes but its cheaper to change a blonde to a redhead (£5 from boots)
mm

1664 wrote:

Ralf85 wrote:Westie is best! End of story!

You can't beat a work of fiction

No such thing as 'best', they're just all different and horses for courses etc and if I was "jealous" I'd simply buy one, but I'm not.....

keith wrote:just for clarity...

diesel is what comes out of a pump.....it bears little relationship to how slow D.E.R.V.'s go.

i.e....there are slow diesels and there are even slower diesels.

the comment about rusty bodies is really important unless you have lots of dosh or own a body shop or are best mates with a guy called Mike.

its a bit like blondes or brunettes or red heads.....I like all 3.

Fixed that for you