Hello all, and thank you for any feedback in advance. I am planning a leisure trip to the southern region in Mexico in Sept. My family I and are proud owners of a 72 Westy, and I have always heard of how inexpensive labor and parts are below the border. My question is, does any one have first hand experience/ horror stories / uplifting revelations to share. I plan on Mexico City as the main focal point for any work to be done on the bus. Aside from the general tune-up what are some areas of concern before making a trip of this magnitude. Craig
Any Good Mechanics in Mexico?
Jul 08, 2003
2 Replies
Just watch out for the Homemade Biscuits Dan
In general, mechanics in Mexico do not have a great deal of experience with the pancake engine. Which means that if push comes to shove, you may have difficulty in locating parts (so haul replacements along with you).
The air cooled engine has been a fixture in Mexico for a number of years. As such, there are some excellent VW mechanics down there in our neighbor to the south. And rebuilding a four banger on the garage floor, or under a tarp in the back yard, it pretty common as quite a few mechanics work out of their house or in a small garage. And the areas nearest the US boarder have - as would be expected - the most experience with American Type 2s.
In Mexico the transporter/samba/type-2 acquired the water cooled Rabbit engine sometime during the 70s. And this seems to be the most common arrangement in almost vintage VW vans in that country.
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