I bought this 1993 Eurovan (EV) Westfalia in ~April 2014, which originally came with a 5-cyl gasoline engine and the (problematic) auto trans, from a couple in Oceanside, CA after they bought it back from the insurance company. They rear-ended the car in front and the car behind ran into them; apparently it was a typical SoCal pile-up. Thus, the van has a salvage title, and had 110k miles on it when I bought it. If now has about 141,700 miles on the chassis, and over 30k on the TDI swap.
I replaced the front bumper cover and rear bumper (factory 3 pieces; the colors do not match) from a manual-equipped EV parts van that I subsequently purchased, and from some junkyard pieces. The replacement front hood is light blue; I picked it up at a local junkyard. I also picked up a white single-piece later-model rear bumper at a local junkyard; it is a common aesthetic upgrade that I haven't taken the time to install. The rear hatch still has some bent metal from the rear-end collision, but it doesn't leak and you really can't tell from ~20 feet.
Once I got the EV chassis back up to snuff, I bought a 1997 Passat TDI in August 2014 for the AHU engine, the ECU, the engine wiring harness, the accelerator pedal/potentiometer, and the gauge cluster (it bolts right in the EV dash!). I had the cluster reprogrammed to show the correct MPH due to the taller EV tires, and to match the total miles on the van. Even though the Passat had ~200k, the engine had great compression before I removed it and it came with a 3-ring binder full of maintenance records from the original owner (he commuted between San Rafael and SoSF). So I didn't pull the head. I replaced every gasket and seal possible, including everything inside the high-pressure injection pump (it had zero signs of wear or damage). I also upgraded the oil cooler to the VR6 system (common upgrade), as well as installed a full timing belt kit, and replaced the entire cooling system (radiator, hoses, coolant bottle, etc.). Europarts of San Diego is a great source for EV parts, as is GoWesty here in Los Osos where I live.
I sourced the factory VW swap parts from Frans at Dutch Auto Parts in The Netherlands (well-known source for swapping TDIs into EVs), including the EWB-geared transaxle, oil pan/pick-up, oil dipstick & tube, motor mount arms, and fuel tank pick-up.
I did all of the engine upgrades through Kerma TDI, including a Stage 1 chipset and blueprinted new DLC1019 injector nozzles. Kerma also supplied the South Bend Stage 1 clutch setup to handle the extra power; it feels like a stock clutch in terms of efforts -- highly recommended. In 2019, I replaced the stock turbo with a new Kerma-sourced K03/K04 hybrid turbo (all new gaskets and feed lines, too), and he supplied an updated Stage 2 chipset. That, along with a larger intercooler, lowered the EGTs by about 150 degrees when hammering on it and gave it even more oomph. I have a correctly-mounted EGT sensor in the exhaust manifold, with an alarm in the Auber dash-mounted gauge in case it rises above 1,450 degrees (only when fully-loaded and I REALLY hammer it for a prolonged period on a steep grade!). It typically runs between 650 to 700 degrees on the freeway. Kerma believes that my setup has about 150 horsepower and 300 ft/lbs of torque (stock is 90/149). The engine runs cool no matter if I'm flat-towing my Porsche 914 or if I'm stuck in traffic.
Ever since I did the swap, I get a check engine light about 20 seconds after starting for coolant glow plugs (using VCDS/Ross-Tech software). I talked with Paul -- the brains at Kerma -- about it, and he told me not to worry about it. The VCDS software loaded onto the Ross-Tech USB cable and the 3-volume Bentley manuals will come with the van, as well as a spare TDI engine (with a blown head gasket, but including wiring harness and extra ECU) bolted onto a custom skid. The spare AHU engine fell into my lap; my next door neighbor gave me his 1998 Jetta after he blew the head gasket from a failed coolant hose. He thought he shut it off in time...
The van has a few quarter-sized rust spots (not fully perforated) at the bottom of a fixed window on the driver side rear. There are also some rust spots here-n-there from rock chips. I cut out a metal piece from my parts EV that I will provide with the sale along with the side glass in case the repair "blooms" as you dig deeper. There's also some "parking lot" dents in the passenger door and the front passenger side fender (they appear to be unrelated). It really is a great candidate for a re-spray to make it perfect.
I upgraded the van to 16" alloys from a later-model EV; the 15' tires in the correct load rating are getting hard to find. The BF Goodrich tires now have about 25k on them, and have plenty of life left. I also replaced all the brakes (new rotors, bearings, flexible brake lines, rebuilt the calipers in front and replaced the shoes in the rear), and I rebuilt the suspension (Europarts SD sourced German ball-joints, tie-rods and bushings, new Bilsteins on all four corners, and new axles/CVs). Two sets of factory axles/CVs will come with the van -- I originally planned to rebuild the factory ones while temporarily using the aftermarket axles, but they've been great for 30k miles so far!
In 2018, I fixed the common no-heat problem in EVs by removing the entire dash and repairing the flap doors that allow heat to come through. While I was in there, I replaced all vacuum hoses and the heater core. That was NOT a fun job...
I've owned a range of VW vans -- from 60s split windows to bay windows to Vanagons. The EV is by far the best in terms of everyday use, even though it doesn't (yet) have the panache of the older units. The A/C actually works well, it has good heat/defrost, CC/PW/PB all work reliably, the seats are comfortable, you can hear the person sitting next to you and the stereo, etc. I upgraded the speakers (Polk front, Pioneer rear) when I installed the Alpine stereo head unit, and it has pretty good sound. I installed a ShadyBoy awning that is great for extra shade while enjoyed a cold one, and it comes with all factory window shades and mosquito netting. I'll even throw in the mattress pad we lay over the factory laydown bed when camping. The poptop canvas is hole-free and fully intact.
Nancy and I have camped in "Rudy" on trips up the coast on a trip to Oregon and then Washington, several trips to see our old neighbors in Tahoe City, one trip to Nevada and then Idaho, and used it for countless trips between the Central Coast and San Francisco when my mother was battling cancer in 2018/19. I regularly get 30 mpg whether on the freeway or around town, and I would not hesitate to take it across the country tomorrow. It even gets almost 20 mpg when flat-towing my Porsche 914. The only reason I am considering selling it is because we bought a Class A motorhome in February, and I'd like to help finance other car projects. I am asking $16k for it. It is legally registered as a diesel in CA, so no need for smog checks (ever!).