Thanks to the wonderful people of the Vanagon list, I was able to find the parts I needed to rebuild our 1982 air-cooled engine last year, and our beloved Magic Bus has served my mother-in-law faithfully for about 2000 miles in the intervening year.
My wife and I have been visiting the San Francisco Bay Area during the last few months, and sometimes using the van. Unfortunately, this last week, the transmission died --- it feels pretty dead, really. The van is now at Valley Wagonworks in San Rafael, where Larry's Towing carried it this morning on a flatbed.
So now I'm faced with the choice of what to do with it. We need to sell it, because we're about to go back to Argentina in another month, and it won't do us any good there, and I think it may be telling us it's too tired to go on.
Paul at Valley Wagonworks suggests that he could put an overhauled GoWesty tranny in it for $1400, plus the $700 core charge (minus whatever is left of the old tranny --- synchro wheels and the casing, I imagine), plus I think some other incidentals. So that would cost around $1400. GoWesty would warrant the new tranny for four years. So then I'd have a fairly-good-condition 1982 Vanagon to sell.
Or he could put in a used transmission in exchange for the canopy and those 15-inch alloy rims that some previous owner put on it. This would also result in a fairly-good-condition 1982 Vanagon --- if the tranny is any good.
Or we could try parting it out. I just rebuilt the engine last year with a new Chinese head and set of pistons and two cylinders, and the engine sounds good, so that might be worth something; the battery is new; there's also the starter, the alternator, the 15" rims, a Dometic dual-power fridge, the propane stove, the aftermarket pop-top (this was an aftermarket camper conversion by some shop in Oakland), three good (but orange) doors, and I don't know what else.
But I don't know what's the best thing to do. Maybe I should try selling it for $5000 with the used tranny (and normal 14" rims, and no canopy), or $6400 with the GoWesty one? Are these realistic prices? What are the parts worth?
These are sad questions to be pondering, but perhaps their resolution can bring some joy to the new owner.