Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Here we have a single cab Transporter that looks to be in great condition but is lacking some info after spending 15 years sleeping in a shop. The braking system is new and the cooling system has been gone over, which address two of the big worries when a car sits. The interior has a few worn out spots but the exterior looks very straight. Mellow beige and unpainted steelies help this SinKa look ready to get to work for decades to come.
An old friend emailed me the other day for advice on getting his own adventure van. We ran through the whole gamut of options, from the classic Westy to Sprinters to Ford Sportvans to Transit Connects. We had some good discussions examining various priorities and rationales, and he had a hard time envisioning shelling out $35k for a nice 25 year-old van, even if Volkswagens are clearly the most stylish and sentimental choice. So, we looked at some other options and kept the discussion going.
Then this van came onto eBay, and I was right back in a puddle of Vanagonlove. The High Tops have grown (no pun intended) on me a lot recently with even greater sleeping and storage space than the standard Westy. They still have a small-van footprint, but bring big-van capability, especially with Syncro. This van has had some very interesting modifications, most importantly a turbocharged Ford Zetec conversion by well-known Van converters Bostig mated to a rebuilt transmission. You could spend days reading the aggressive arguments on forums debating the pros and cons of different engine swaps – 1.8T keeps it OEM+, Subaru has the most power potential, the Ford has the most parts availability, and then there’s the one guy in the corner shouting “911S! 911S!” I move on as soon as people start saying THERE IS ONLY ONE GOOD OPTION, as it seems like all can result in awesome vans as long as the work is well-done and holistic. All of this to say that I have no issue with a Ford engine in a Vanagon and see it as a reliable, reasonably efficient way to more power.
The other modifications are not nearly as contentious or involved as the motor swap, but they do contribute to creating a unique and attractive van. The interior has been swapped out for that from a top-of-the-line Carat, creating an OEM-plushness the Syncro never received. One of the coolest and most resourceful modifications is using the passenger-side jump seat mounts to hold the stove and fridge combo but leaving it detachable, so it can be placed outside the van under the awning when camping. Genius! Other aesthetic and mechanical bits abound, from the always-lovely (and trendy) South African grille and headlights to big brakes and Emu shocks. A very tidy and sorted package that, despite hot bidding even as I type, is way below normal Syncro Westy prices.
Just a little late for Halloween, today’s examination of my new favorite eBay seller’s offerings is quite the pumpkin. Another low-mileage DoKa Syncro, this one also has a factory 1.6-liter turbodiesel churning out a whopping 70hp, 16 more than the naturally-aspirated 1.7-liter diesel. When you’re counting horsepower by the dozens as opposed to the hundreds, 16hp can make quite a difference! With just 37k miles, it should still be making close to that amount. The oil-burner is a nice addition to the real meat of this T3 that makes it exceptional: the 4WD and truck bed. No matter how many this New Jersey outfit imports, DoKa Syncros are going to remain extremely rare in the US. The color and condition are both outstanding, and the impeccable black undercarriage completes the Halloween (or SF Giants?) theme. As usual with this seller, there is no reserve, so have at it, people! You too could have the near-twin of Grandpa’s Adventure Truck.
Coming from what appears to be the same New Jersey importer/seller as yesterday’s Golf Country is another Syncro special, the beloved Transporter DoKa. This one eschews common add-ons like lights, bullbars, and bumpers for a unique aluminum rolltop utility body over the bed. The rest is just clean, straight, and like-new. Bucket seats up front give a slightly more comfortable look to the interior than the common work-truck bench seen in DoKas, and from the roof to the undercarriage and the under-bed storage bin in between. One thing I can’t figure out is the zippers in the headliner; any ideas, readers?
Overall, it’s as nice as T3 VWs come without too many frills but plenty of capability. With no-reserve, we should get an interesting look at how hot the market is getting for the now easily-importable DoKa Syncros.
Though sometimes a certifiably blah color, on certain cars brown can really hit the spot. See Steve McQueen’s 250 GT Lusso. The log-shaped Vanagon is no Lusso, but it’s the kind of color that helps it blend into its chosen habitat: the forest. Black Benz wheels and other details blend into the forest floor while a new-to-it wasserboxer of unstated mileage helps it get into the wild. Plenty of reasonable maintenance and replacements make it ready to go immediately, but small rough spots around the edges keep it from being anything more than a like-original, slightly dinged van. In the days of $100k Vanagons, how much is that worth?
