Our second Westy!

minigoogoo

Member
I cannot say for sure, but we may be the only people in the US who have owned two Sprinter Westfalias! If 250 were imported into the US, we have owned 0.8% of the total available stock (compared to 0.4% for most 'single Westy' owners...).

A little over three years ago, we started with Westy #189, now living happily with a lovely couple down in California (and re-christened the 'Silver Flyer'). Aside from the Mercedes kit and decal removal, we didn't do too much to the rig. We owned it for about 16 months before (sadly) selling it to help fund a new home purchase.

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At that point, I bought an NCV3 cargo van, intending to do a self-built conversion. I made a few modifications and additions (windows, crew bench seat, etc.), but life and careers got in the way of finishing that project. Sold it a month ago, intent on buying another Westy.

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After nearly two years away from Westy ownership, we now own #59. Purchased on the east coast, and unable to swing enough time to bring it home in one trip, it has been hibernating with family in Michigan for a few weeks. I'm off on Saturday afternoon to retrieve it, and will bring it back to the moist Pacific NW next week. We're really excited to have a blue one (I've heard that there are only 5, 7, or 10 of the blue ones in the US...). We think it is a nice change from the previous silver body.

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This one is a bit of a cosmetic project, partly due to age, and partly due to a previous owner who was a bit sloppy with the wax. I've already ordered many bits of MB black plastic (all of which are surprisingly inexpensive), which will replace the wax stained (and/or faded) black parts around the body. New bumper covers are on order, the Mercedes kit is in-hand, and I have an extra set of steel wheels that will be sandblasted and powdercoated dark gray before going on the van. The Airstream decals and Dodge badging will go away, as will the silver and blue stripes. The days are numbered for the running boards and batwing antenna as well...

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For those who are students of such things, this van seems like a bit of an oddity in the Airstream import/update schedule. As stated, it is #59, so it is early in the US build sequence. It has the older 'italic' Airstream logos (falling off), which to me go along with the early build number. Yet, it also has running boards, which I had understood was an addition to later vans, along with alloy wheels (which ours does not have). It also has the Airstream installed grab handle on the upper cabinet (later addition), which our #189 van did not have... I guess none of that really matters, as it is in good condition, with relatively low miles, and ready for our family to use as much as possible!

Stay tuned, and I'll post updates as various parts of the clean-up are completed.
 

Troy

New member
How did you end up finding this Westy? I've seen 2 or 3 on ebay in the past 24 months or so, but 'stumbling' across one for sale seems a bit of a challenge... Any tips?
Cheers,
Troy
 

minigoogoo

Member
How did you end up finding this Westy? I've seen 2 or 3 on ebay in the past 24 months or so, but 'stumbling' across one for sale seems a bit of a challenge... Any tips?
Cheers,
Troy
Troy,

Unfortunately, I don't think you typically 'stumble' across these. In addition to ebay (where you are almost certain to pay the highest price IMO), there are the occasional ads posted on Craigslist (google search 'Airstream Westfalia craigslist' or 'Airstream Westfalia used' or similar). Interestingly, both of our Westys were purchased used from Airstream dealers, and in both cases I got lucky and happened to hit on their ads within a day or two of being posted. I can't recall the exact search terms I used, but they were the fairly obvious ones. You will find that most of the ads that come up are old and obsolete, but you will occasionally hit on a current listing. If you are serious about finding one, the key is to be patient and search often. You obviously want to find it before the next guy.

As a reference point, in the four months since we got serious about purchasing again, I managed to find seven for sale (not all at the same time though). Most of these have come and gone, but even the good ones weren't selling as quickly as in 2007 when we bought our first one. They are definitely out there, but you have to be patient and be ready to jump if you are serious about purchasing. Take your time, get a feel for the market and prices, and be prepared to travel for the right van. It seems almost a guarantee that the right van will be on the opposite side of the country from where you are. :smilewink:
 

minigoogoo

Member
Congratulations, minigoogoo, from the Silver Flyer.

Name suggestion - Blue Angel...
Thanks Brian. I was thinking 'Lottablu' or something like that. The surface area and amount of color on these things is amazing!

That said, I keep referring to it as 'Big Blue' without even thinking about it... Probably should go with that.
 

Zach Woods

New member
For those who are students of such things, this van seems like a bit of an oddity in the Airstream import/update schedule. As stated, it is #59, so it is early in the US build sequence. It has the older 'italic' Airstream logos (falling off), which to me go along with the early build number. Yet, it also has running boards, which I had understood was an addition to later vans, along with alloy wheels (which ours does not have). It also has the Airstream installed grab handle on the upper cabinet (later addition), which our #189 van did not have... I guess none of that really matters, as it is in good condition, with relatively low miles, and ready for our family to use as much as possible!
Hello minigoogoo -

Congrats on your recidivism!

Every dark blue Airstream Sprinter Westfalia that I have seen seemed to have "all the extras" as you describe yours. I am thinking that they were originally planned to be a higher priced package. I know that in Europe custom colors were available and often fancier custom interiors were specified when the custom colors were ordered.

I suppose another option is that it sat on a dealers lot for a stretch and the dealer added the extras in an effort to move it out the door, though.

Either way, you have a beautiful Westy and it is great to learn that it will be owned by someone who appreciates it's design and utility!

Enjoy!

Zach
 
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minigoogoo

Member
Thanks Zach. The blue ones are a (nice) oddball to me. For some reason, to my eye, the overall van appears smaller and shorter in dark blue than it does in silver.

Just out of curiosity, do you have any sense of why some of the units ended up gray on the bottom + silver on the raised top? I look at those and can't help but think they were finishing up the order with whatever parts/colors they had on hand? Maybe it was intentional? Thoughts?
 

Birdie

New member
I have some paint questions.
We purchased a Westy a few months ago and it is non-metallic gray top and bottom. It had WBCCI numbers on it and when my husband peeled them off he left several scrapes in the paint that revealed a bright metallic silver. The gray paint seems very delicate on the fiberglass top like it was painted over a previously painted surface without the proper preparation.

The top has the two large side and one small rear swooshes. It does not have the small hood or top front swoosh. Thankfully. We would like to remove all the swooshes but are reluctant because of the high possibility of paint damage and fading due to age.

We have only seen three Westies up close. Our sum total of family Westy sightings have been five.
#1. My sons and I see one heading north from FL as we are heading south.
#2. My husband and I see one heading south from TN as we are heading north to TN on a Friday to see a Craig's listed Westy.
#3. On Saturday we checked out the Westy but did not purchase. It had a contract on it but we just wanted to see it so we would know what they were like if we had to purchase one sight-unseen. (The contract fell through and this one would come home with us a few weeks later)
#4. That same Saturday at a MB/Sprinter dealer in Atlanta. We stopped in to test drive an Interstate and there was a Westy in the service lot. It was a gray top and bottom with a dark gray stripe around the bottom. All the swooshes were removed, it had the full MB treatment, a door mount spare and after-market front seats. That was all we could see. The paint was a lot more sun damaged than the one we had just looked at.
#5. On that Monday my husband saw one in the Grovetown Cracker Barrel parking lot. This Westy was gray but I have no other particulars since I get the info second hand from my husband. It was licensed in AL and had a store sticker on it with an email. My husband exchanged a few emails with the owner and I have read his posts on one of the forums.

#'s 2-5 were seen in a matter of four days! We have been aware of these since our RV days began in 2007.

Other details about our Westy...It sold the first time in October of 2007. It is #244. It does not have the painted dark gray around the bottom. It has both pull bars in the kitchen. It has running boards. No rear view mirror.

We have removed the following: TV, safe, garbage can, silverware tray and the antenna is the next casualty. A few other things too.

Now for the big questions
Since you have seen some units that are non-metallic gray on the bottom and silver on the top, do you think our top was shipped to Airstream silver and painted gray during the US up-fit? This would explain the bright silver damaged areas.

How likely do you think it would be to remove the swooshes with a craft grade heat gun and not damage the gray paint.

Concerning your rig...do you think they painted over silver on the blue ones too? Have you removed your swooshes yet? If yes, did you do it without damaging the paint and did you experience a significant amount of paint fade?

We have been removing the Dodge badging in preparation for a MB kit and we do have fading and a fair amount to paint oxidation.

Thank you
 

minigoogoo

Member
I have some paint questions.
We purchased a Westy a few months ago and it is non-metallic gray top and bottom. It had WBCCI numbers on it and when my husband peeled them off he left several scrapes in the paint that revealed a bright metallic silver. The gray paint seems very delicate on the fiberglass top like it was painted over a previously painted surface without the proper preparation.
Sounds like you bought the Westy that I was after earlier this past fall! Knoxville, right? According to the PO, you beat out our offer by a couple of hours... no hard feelings though! :smilewink: It looked like a really clean unit.

Since you have seen some units that are non-metallic gray on the bottom and silver on the top, do you think our top was shipped to Airstream silver and painted gray during the US up-fit?
I never thought of that, but I suppose it is entirely possible. It could have also been painted gray in Germany. I don't really know my way around the top of the Westy that well, but maybe there is some non-destructive way of removing a fitting or two and verifying color beneath/around the edges?

How likely do you think it would be to remove the swooshes with a craft grade heat gun and not damage the gray paint.
On our first Westy, I used a heat gun (on low and held quite far from the body) and lots of 'goo gone' solvent to clean off the adhesive (followed of course by thorough cleaning and rewax). On the new one, I'm using an 'eraser wheel' chucked into a cordless drill (google 'Astro eraser wheel'). It works fairly quickly, saves my fingernails from abuse, and is safe for (my) finish. If your finish is as delicate as you say, you might try an eraser wheel on the top of the roof or some other inconspicuous spot before attacking the decals.

Concerning your rig...do you think they painted over silver on the blue ones too? Have you removed your swooshes yet? If yes, did you do it without damaging the paint and did you experience a significant amount of paint fade?
Again, I never thought that the blue (or gray for that matter) might be paint over a silver top. I just removed all of the decals from one side of the top this weekend, and had zero issues with the blue color. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any significant fading or oxidation, despite other evidence that this van has seen more UV than our previous Westy had. Based on this, I have a feeling that our blue is a factory finish. On a related note, I had assumed that the Westy tops were a 'gel coat' type finish from the factory, much like a pick-up truck shell, where the color is sprayed into the mold and integral to the structure.

I'm planning to do the other side next weekend. I'll try to shoot some photos to document the process, and to show you the end result on the blue finish.

We have been removing the Dodge badging in preparation for a MB kit and we do have fading and a fair amount to paint oxidation.
Good for you, returning it to its proper look and brand!
 

Birdie

New member
Are you the Nike Guy?

What was wrong with the one that was for sale forever at a dealer near you? Besides the price.

Ours is a very nice unit. It had less than 7k miles when we purchased it. We just broke 9k on a trip to Birmingham last week.

There was a rough coating all over the exterior paint. My husband spent weeks buffing it off and waxing. We think it was due to the coal power plant within 5 miles of its home.
The AC was not working properly at purchase. My husband unfroze the motor but it seems to still need a charge. Getting the proper specs has been difficult.
We had to order a remote for the sky light as the PO had misplaced it. That was expensive.

One thing I forgot to mention is that we have the alloy wheels.

Some mods we have made:
We put a second storage pipe parallel to the black tank pipe for our slinky. Purchased it at Camping World and painted it black like the black water dump. It looks original as it has the same cover fitting.
We removed the "old man" style spare carrier and added the sportier door mount.
All new tires. The original tread was almost like new but they had a lot of age and UV damage.
We added extra weather stripping around the front doors.
We replaced the mechanical meter on the generator with an LCD meter (No more clicking)
We moved the fire extinguisher to the base of the driver seat. It sits just behind your feet and is not in the way at all.
We covered the metal plate on the passenger seat with a trimmed commercial carpet square.


An interesting thing happened as we were heading to the airport to return our rental van within 30 minutes of taking ownership of the Westy...the turbo resonator failed!
I was in a rental following my husband in the Westy and he pulled off at an unexpected exit and parked on the ramp. I parked behind him and ran up to the Westy. He informs me that the Westy had suddenly lost power and would not accelerate over 40mph. He was so depressed until I reminded him that it must be the turbo resonator. Thank goodness we had spent weeks combing over the Sprinter Forum! We called MB and they transferred the warranty on the spot and gave us the address of the nearest service center. It was a Dodge dealership within 5 miles of the exit ramp on that same road! We limped along on the 45mph road arriving at the service center 1 1/2 hours before closing time. They slipped us in and we were on the road again by closing time after the warranty covered repair. What a blessing. We even found a rental office closer than the airport to return our rental on the same road. What a double blessing! This all happened on a Saturday afternoon.

Two additional things I am considering for removal:
The running boards. I am not sure they make for easier ingress/egress. I am hoping to get opinions from others who have first hand experience.
The clothes line. The lines sag and things get in the way of using the bathroom. We have added three hooks and I don't think we need more than that. I would like the extra storage space.

We have dedicated a space in our storage area as the Westy graveyard for all the original equipment we have removed.

I look forward to seeing the pictures of your clean blue Westy. I love the blue ones.
 

Birdie

New member
Thanks for all the good info.
The gel-coat top makes sense.

Sorry for writing my life story but we are having a slow day here in GA. We are coated in ice and snow.
 

minigoogoo

Member
Between rain showers this morning, I managed to finish removal of the decals on the second side of the top.

While I used only the eraser wheel on the passenger side, the decals on the driver side were in good enough condition to peel in bigger pieces. I used a quick flash of the heat gun to soften the adhesive, and then gently pulled the decals off in sections. I used the eraser wheel to quickly remove the leftover adhesive and any stray pieces of decal. A quick wipe with Goo Gone, and the decals are history. No fading or any indication that they were ever there! :thumbup:

While some love the decals, I despise them and could not be rid of them soon enough! In prep for the Mercedes kit, I pulled the Dodge 2500 logos from the doors, as well as the Ram from the hood. The big Airstream logos are gone as well (those were easy since they nearly fell off on their own). I also removed the various Airstream function labels (fresh water, etc.), since I'm pretty sure I can keep those straight... :smilewink:

Many more improvements planned, just can't catch much of a break with the weather right now.
 

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Zach Woods

New member
<snip>

do you think they painted over silver on the blue ones too? Have you removed your swooshes yet?

<snip>
Hello Birdie -

When I have removed and replaced the septic stack vent on the passenger rear side of the fiberglass roof of my more common silver Westfalia, I have noticed the following:

1. The "upfits" contracted by Westfalia to some outfit in Florida were completed to a quality level that would have been considered embarrassing by most Junior High School shop class dropouts (the "very generous" use of caulking, often not exactly where it was needed, on the wiring forward from the vent stack to the batwing antenna being a prime example).

2. Without looking carefully, it appeared that the silver color was a thin gel-coat on the exterior surface of the outer wall of the fiberglass top. The fiberglass top is two layers with an air space (perhaps as wide as an inch in places and with some loose fiberglass batting insulation in some of the space) and other than the outer layer it is colored basically the same as the color on the inner surface of the inner layer as seen on the ceiling of the vehicle.

Given all of the above, we might be able to determine if blue or gray Westfalias were painted (or even gel-coated) before or after they were "upfitted".

If either the wiring to the batwing antenna or the caulking used to "attach" that wiring to the roof" were colored the blue or gray of the fiberglass top than the painting was done after at least some of the "upfitting" was completed.

If you were to remove one of the stray caulk marks and clearly saw blue or gray underneath than I would bet the entire Westfalia was painted in Germany before it was shipped over.

The batwing antenna will rotate at least slightly and could expose an either painted or un-painted surface below as another way to perform some forensics . . .

Has anyone looked at this stuff carefully? Anybody with a blue or gray Westy interested in taking a look?

Zach
 
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janiner

Member
I have some paint questions.
We purchased a Westy a few months ago and it is non-metallic gray top and bottom. It had WBCCI numbers on it and when my husband peeled them off he left several scrapes in the paint that revealed a bright metallic silver. The gray paint seems very delicate on the fiberglass top like it was painted over a previously painted surface without the proper preparation.
I vaguely recall hearing a story about someone whose Westy was being towed on a flatbed truck and had its top removed by an overpass. I wonder if that could have been yours, and the repair shop used paint on the top instead of the more appropriate gel coat?

I just searched the Yahoo group and the only mention I could find was one that got tangled in telephone wires while on a flatbed, which doesn't seem like it would have done enough damage to necessitate repainting the whole top. But at least that is proof that it does happen. I don't know where I heard the story, so don't take it too seriously, but that is one possibility.
 

Zach Woods

New member
I vaguely recall hearing a story about someone whose Westy was being towed on a flatbed truck and had its top removed by an overpass. I wonder if that could have been yours, and the repair shop used paint on the top instead of the more appropriate gel coat?

I just searched the Yahoo group and the only mention I could find was one that got tangled in telephone wires while on a flatbed, which doesn't seem like it would have done enough damage to necessitate repainting the whole top. But at least that is proof that it does happen. I don't know where I heard the story, so don't take it too seriously, but that is one possibility.
Hello janiner -

I have passed on the story I heard from Westfalia in Germany (when I was there for a visit in 2006) that an Italian man had to have his Westfalia transported back to Rheda-Wiedenbruck in Germany after crashing the top into a low bridge.

It's a safe bet that this Westfalia has not made it to the US, though.

I do recall someone having relatively minor damage occur to his high roof while it was being flatbedded, though. It seems like I remember the damage being limited to areas close to either the batwing antenna mounting point or the A/C mounting hole.

I think the key to Birdie's top color questions are more closely related to how Airstream altered the color of the dark blue and dull gray Westfalia's that were offered in small numbers.

Zach
 

Birdie

New member
Our Westy has never been damaged.
Removing the antennae is next on our list.
While up top we plan to test the paint adhesion in a less noticeable location.
I would love to lose the swooshes if we find that the paint can handle the process.
Thanks for all the info.
 

minigoogoo

Member
I think the key to Birdie's top color questions are more closely related to how Airstream altered the color of the dark blue and dull gray Westfalia's that were offered in small numbers.

Zach
I'm fairly confident that the blue is a factory finish at Westfalia, and Airstream had nothing to do with it (aside from importing it, of course). I base this primarily on the fact that Westfalia makes/made the European James Cook model in many different colors, metallic blue being one of them. Also, not terribly scientific, but I really went at the decals with the eraser wheel with no ill effects of any kind. In my opinion, the blue is either gel coat or a very good paint job. I highly doubt that it was sprayed at the importer in Florida. I'll look further as I work my way onto the top of the van in the coming weeks/months.

FWIW, I always assumed that metallic silver was the primary color chosen for the Airstream Westy builds, simply based on the obvious brand equity associated with the (silver) aluminum skinned trailers. Not sure where/why blue and gray fit into this-- possibly just to fill out the order?
 

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