La Aduana: VW Syncro Westy Wolfsburg Edition

The advert reads, “This is a particularly good buy.” At $70,000 for a Reagan-era hippy hauler it’s a lot of schnitzel, but then again, building a similar van would probably cost well over $90,000. These numbers are enough to put a twist in my lederhosen, but the restoration experts at Go Westy regularly transact these amounts and often with repeat customer loyalty. If you’re not familiar with Go Westy, their vehicles are often restored with mind blowing attention to detail. Not just brought back to factory condition, their projects include attractive updates making these vans premium platforms for the most ambitious of travelers.

As is the case for many Go Westy projects, this van is on its second restoration. With each visit to their van-lab, a Go Westy van is effectively reset to zero miles with every component inspected, repaired, replaced, or improved. This van was already cool as a Wolfsburg Edition fitted with the full Syncro 4×4 treatment and weekender pop-top package. Now twice improved by Go Westy, I suppose $70,000 is a reasonable amount.

From the Go Westy listing: GoWesty super thorough major service Fresh GoWesty 2.5 liter engine with 48/48 limited warranty Decoupler and solid shaft instead of viscous coupler All vehicle systems gone through thoroughly Fresh GoWesty rebuilt Syncro transaxle with 48/48 limited warranty Ratio of 3rd gear raised by 4% (1.18 instead of 1.23) Ratio of 4th gear raised by 9% (.77 instead of .85) Final drives front and rear (12% lower) to correct for: 16” wheel package with 225/70-16 BFG All Terrain tires (12% taller) Entire drive train rebuilt GoWesty progressive lifting springs Syncro air-locker added up front (newest member of the triple knob club!) Suspension, wheel bearings, and brake systems all gone through as needed GoWesty big brakes up front GoWesty Hot-Wire system Super thorough cleaning and detailing inside AC system converted to environmentally-friendly R134a refrigerant New acrylic pop-top tent GoWesty “pre-runner” bed liner black texture coating all around GoWesty steel plate bumper set South African grill and high-powered headlight system More powerful automatic lighting for backing up Nice Pioneer 4900 stereo system AM/FM CD/MP3 with remote All new speakers iPod interface adaptor XM radio Rubber rubber floor mats throughout Fiamma F45 10’ awning, painted satin black GoWesty deluxe 2nd battery kit with extra 12V outlet, built-in charger, and flashlight GoWesty solar panel system DVD player flip-down and turn-around screen infrared headphones sound also wired to stereo Super efficient MT45 Engel freezer/fridge quick release platform added inside/outside digital temperature readout Black leather Recaro seats with dual arm rests Extra interior lighting Power window added to passenger side Swivel seat added to passenger side Extra grab handle added to drivers side Power door locks added to front doors, with keyless entry Factory cruise control system added Brand new GoWesty swing-away spare tire carrier

Peter put barely 13,000 miles on this Weekender, and took excellent care of it. It still has all original paint, which is in pristine condition. He has agreed to accept a $50,000 net to him, which is very fair. The advertised price for this vehicle includes that amount going back to Peter, plus a 10% consignment fee for GoWesty, plus the cost to do the following service and upgrades:

GoWesty super major full service—all service items back to zero miles Full page of reliability-enhancing items, including GoWesty GW-EFI components replacement kit All new GoWesty stainless steel exhaust All new cooling system from front to back Super thorough detail inside and out All dings removed without breaking paint Touch-up, polish, wax original paint Pop-top and luggage rack cleaned and sealed Everything that is supposed to be there is there, guaranteed Everything that is there works, guaranteed! Latest version GoWesty rear bumper with hitch Current GoWesty swing-away arm and universal carrier

What else could you ask for? What? FOX shocks all around? Well, yeah, OK, that would be cool, too! But, that is not included in the advertised price, sorry!

It is back, it’ll be better, only 12,615 more miles have been added, and it’s priced less than it cost back then! This WB WE Syncro would cost well over $95K to build from scratch, and that is IF you could find one this nice to start with!

Yeah, this is Syncro Wolfsburg Weekener is a particularly good buy….

gowesty.com

Christophe Noel is a journalist from Prescott, Arizona. Born into a family of backcountry enthusiasts, Christophe grew up backpacking the mountains and deserts of the American West. An avid cyclist and bikepacker, he also has a passion for motorcycles, travel, food and overlanding.