There's a sweet spot, around the 90s, where the cars are still running fine, and are not yet too complex to steal with a pocket knife.

I was thinking exactly the same thing, except

① it was '83, not '85 (and thus air-cooled);

② it was an aftermarket camper van conversion with some slight design issues in the pop top, not a Westfalia;

③ after I rebuilt the engine a second time we sold it, so, blessedly, it's not mine anymore. My engine rebuild survived for a couple of years until the new owner drove it in second gear for an hour at highway speeds, overheating the engine to the point where it punched a pushrod through the crankcase.

Mine's an aftermarket high top, with what I believe were salvaged Westfalia interiror components, because nothing really fits right :)

Ha!

Ⓡ②⑤

|–|–|

①③④

Huh HN lets me approximate the shift pattern of a deuce.5

re ③, on...purpose?

I don't think he destroyed the engine on purpose, if that's what you meant. I did sell it on purpose though. I rebuilt the engine on purpose too, because without a working engine the market value of the van was scrap metal.

Came to write the same comment, except mine was a '68.