I know I could also post to the numerous Vanagon lists out there, but this is faster, and hopefully someone will have some good advice.
I traveled several hours the other day to look at two.Vanagons. One, the
1987, has 227,000 miles on the engine. I did what I call a ":poor man's compression test," since I didn't have a compression tester with me. I put it on a steep hill and parked it in gear (manual trans) to see if it would creep forward, and it did. People tell me this is a sign of low compression. Even if I do a compression test, couldn't I still get a good reading and the engine might be worn in other ways? Not sure if it is worth the risk with so many miles.Also, this one and the other one have rust. They both have rust around the windshields. How much money is involved in pulling the windshield and trying to repair the area around it? The other one hasbody rust all along the driver's side horizontal seam, sort of bad but not rusted through. It also has a little rust around the windshield. The pop-top on this one is kind of "fuzzy" and would need some attention as well.
Any ideas for estimates on repairs?
Thanks