A little ASI Riveria information

Having now spent almost a year driving my 1984 VW Vanagon - i knew this was the vehicle for me. I love sitting over the front tires. I love the panoramic view, the engine access, the mechanical access to everything, the support via thesamba.com, the unlimited customizations that you can do. I can make this vehicle my own... but i always had a vision of what i wanted my van to be...

a camper

With the spacious interior, wood floors, comfortable seats, and all the other awesome amenities that Vanagons offer, who wouldn't envision amazing roadtrips with their family. I imagine taking 2 weeks off - and getting on the road - trucking down the freeway, confined to the left lane due to the woefully underpowered van - but enjoying the journey nonetheless - being forced to take things at a slower pace. But a self contained camping unit inside this magestic vehicle that we've built would be AWESOME!

A few weeks ago i posted on Craigslist - WTB - Westfalia VW pop top - $100. After only a few hours i got a call. There was a fellow Boiseian who had talked with a person about a year ago about his camper van. At that time he was willing to sell it for $500. It was a Riveria.

For those who don't know - there were 2 types of VW Vanagon Camper vans. The most popular by far was and is the Westfalia. From my understanding - the vans were sent unfinished from the VW production line over to Westfalia. There they received a custome reinforced top and excellently crafted RV interiors.

As the demand increased for these camper vans - providing the comfort and amenities of an RV in a driveable, city-worthy vehicle like the vanagon - Westfalia couldn't keep up with the demand - so ASI (American Standard Inc.- i think) began to pickup the increased demand. VW would have the passenger vans sent to the US. after landing on US soil - the vans would be sent over to ASI for camper conversion. I'm uncertain at this point how and where the link between Bend, OR and Vancouver, WA comes into play - but this northwest partnership produced the ASI Riveria models. The Riveria's are distinguished quite easily from the Westy's as they pop straight up rather than at an angle. their tops have a stair step look rather than the smooth angle of a Westy. BUT unlike a Westy - these tops can be mounted on a passenger van top without the need to cut and weld the entire top off the van - after all - thats what ASI did initially.

Anyway - I posted on CL - got a lead on a Riveria - so i went to check it out. It was a total beater - flat tired, totally oxidized, engine halfway between where it should be and the ground - definately a lot of work to rehab it - but an ideal candidate for a transplant into my 84 wbx (wasserbox) and hopefully a good price given the fact that it had been sitting there for a year with no action in sales or the physical location of the van. So i left a note on the door to let the owners know i was interested in buying if they ever considered selling the van. It honestly looked like it had been used as an onsite storage unit more than anything.

Last week - my beautiful wife and I had a date. Kids were at grandparents - so we went to a fantastic itialian restraunt that happen to be in the area. My wife picked the location - honest! on the way home i thought it would be great to give her a look at this eye-sore i had been scoping out. As we journeyed through the seedy neighborhood that was of course under road construction (thank you ACHD) - i was surprised (A) that she didn't seem to mind the hood and (B) that she seemed OK with the intrigue with the van from 1/4 a mile away. Good signs...

There we were - in front of the house with the Riveria - I asked if she would come and talk to the people with me. My wife - she is irresistable. If she starts to talk to you - she captivates you. Her smile vrightens your day - that face is mesmerizing, her demeanor is so friendly and inviting, so personable, so warm - you can't help but be drawn in by whatever she is saying. I'm biased - but if you approach someone out of the blue with an extremely cute girl by your side - success in inevidable. I asked if she'd come along. Thankfully she did.

A teenage kid answered the door - holding back the guard dogs. I was a bit dumbfounded - searching for words to see if there was someone who i could talk to about the decrepid vehicle adorning their driveway - byut my wofe knew exactly how to approach the teenager - DAMN - asking in her warm voice if there was a parent of his we could talk to about the van. Sure enough - the owner came out - and we took a look. As I was imagining the possibilities - my wife was all business - negotiating the price and details of the deal while i was stuck kicking tires and awestruck by her prowess.

So now - i've gpt to get this POS home to begin the work. I need to decide if i should resurect the 1980 Riveria or swap the innards and the poptop over to my 84... still undecided.

In March of 2014 I purchased a 1984 Vanagon GL passenger Volkswagon Vanagon. This was a GL passenger van. I've wanted a vanagon since i was a kid. I remember my childhood friend Jason Gibbons and his family had a two tone orange and creme colored vanagon that - even in elementary school - i was drawn to. I always thought IF i found a vanagon at the right price, i would love to get one.

Now - with that being said - another fact - I love to shop at Thrift stores. a few months before i purchased the van, i happen to be shopping at a local thrift store and I ran across an RC Helicopter - not a crumby Airhog one, but a competition ready Align Trex 250 for the price of @15! i didn't know anything about Heli's, but i knew enough to realize that if a large RC helicopter (like 22" long) with large Carbon Fiber blades, batteries, aluminum case, controller, etc. was there for such a measley price - you should buy it.

So I did. For about 2 months i attempted to fly this beast. If you've never flown a larger RC Heli - they take an amazing amount of skill to fly. Each time i attempted to just hover with this contraption - inevidebly, it would end in a part breaking - which would then result in a $50 repair. After MANY visits to the local RC store and numerous custom orders - i came to the conclusion that perhaps RC helis were not for me.

About the same time i came to this conclusion - i happen to stroll into yet another thrift store. This particular establishment - in addition to selling the standard old tired clothes, used tire chains, broken camp chairs and other whatnots - also had a 'donated vehicles' lot. It was within this area that i stumbled across a 1984 Volkswagon Vanagon GL passneger van. The price was quite attractive - $500 as is. It certainly presented a conundrum.

After looking over the van - i thought - MAYBE i could sell the damn RC helicopter for half the funds needed to purchase this van. Sure - there was a TON of work that needed to be put into it. the engine was completely disassembled. I CANNOT understate the state of disrepair this van was in. The engine was literally torn apart - down to the connecting rods separated, the crankshaft laying in a pile of metal pieces that may or may not have consisted of a complete engine, VW parts, subaru parts, some engine related, some not - laying in the middle of the van. but there was ALOT of parts and pieces there, maybe enough to assemble an engine - but probably not...

There was a cavernous hole where the engine went... either that or several kids that could power this box Fred Flintsonte style, with their short squaty legs through the bottom, moving the beastly van at 5mph through traffic. Tires, various parts struined about in all places of the van. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but i was still intrigued. I thought i would wait and see if the price lowered consindering the vast amount of work that would be entailed to get this thing running - muchless roadworthy.

After a ferw weeks - the van was finally available on a 'Half price' day - so i took the plunge - taking my proceeds from the RC Helicopter that i sold on ebay for $240 - and purchasing the vanagon. And so - the journey began.