Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Vanagon is a Weekender whose Subaru motor makes it an extra-mobile home. You need to decide however if its price makes it worth moving in.
I think it’s safe to say that, in consideration of all the various possibilities, Tonto was the coolest sidekick, with Dr. Watson coming in a close second. I mean seriously, the dude’s a Native American; he’s the obvious brains of the outfit; and he manages to remain wholly dignified even though his name means ‘idiot’ in Spanish, which was common in the Old West. Yeah, I guess you could tell who wore the pants in the Lone Ranger household.
Despite all that, yesterday’s Ford Ranger needed no sidekick to get its Nice Price win on. Fully 68% of you voted it so, owing to an apparently reasonable price tag and a turbo motor that should make the light truck a hoot and a half to drive.
Let’s say you were not so much a lone ranger, but were looking for a home on the range - say just for the weekend - then this 1985 VW Vanagon may just be your ticket to ride.
This van is offered with the Weekender package, which includes a flip-up table mid-ship, a rear-facing jump seat behind the pilot’s perch, and a pop-top roof for added head room and upstairs accommodations. There is no stove or fridge, meaning that this isn’t a full-on camper, but it’ll make that fishing trip to the lake a lot more comfortable.
Getting to the lake will be a pretty sweet deal too as this Vanagon eschews the standard 80-something horse 1.8 flat four for something a little more Subaru. The six cylinder now housed in the van’s rump is said to be from a ’96 Subie, which would likely make it the 230-bhp DOHC EG33.
Wow, that’s a lot of ponies to throw at a brick, and helping to get them to the pavement is what’s claimed to be a Porsche-sourced 5-speed gearbox. That sends the money to the back wheels only, as despite this Vanagon being jacked up like a dachshund on cold wet grass, it’s not a syncro.
It does have upgraded brakes however, and there are Go Westy burly man bumpers on either end for when they don’t quite do the job. Other add-ons include a rear swing away spare carrier and South African four-lamp nose because apparently eighties apartheid is a hot look these days.
No mileage is given for either Van or drivetrain, but the ad does note the inclusion of a new coat of paint in clown forest green, a re-suited interior, and a new Camo pop top in case you wanted to use the Vee dub as a duck blind.
The whole ball of wax also comes with an asking price of $40,000 which is an amount, no matter what the discussion, that’s cause for a pause. Of course the discussion here is this Subie-powered Weekender, and it’s now incumbent on you to say whether this green machine is worth that kind of cash. What do you think, is this Weekender worth $40K? Or, is this a Vanagon priced like a van Gogh?
You decide!
Ventura Craigslist in the moonshine, or go here if the ad disappears.
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