My syncro:

[Sir Sam]

Well the time has come for me to start a build thread. I've had this syncro since november of 09, and the project has just been on hold since then. Basically I picked up in town, drove it home and then around the neighborhood a couple of times, and then parked it.

 

So, this is what I am starting with, '87 7 pass syncro with ~225k, a broken odometer(perhaps the next thing on the list), single rear locker, plenty of minor body damage around(the kind that takes many hours for such a small thing), rust free body, minus the usual seams.

 

 

 

It had a "clutch problem" when I bought it that turned out to be broken rear lower bellhousing studs. In this video you can see that the greasy gap changing size is the transmission and the engine mating surface, they should be completely together, but with only the upper bolts in place the action of pushing the clutch in and out causes the whole shebang to articulate there, made the clutch engage super close to the floor and almost un-drivable, lots of throttle and slipping was required to get it started in gear.

 

 

This is the broken stud I was able to remove:

 

 

I wasn't able to find an allen head bolt that was long enough to replace the stud(the longest I could find was m10x1.5x70mm, and a 80mm is needed.

 

Because of the clearance a regular 80mm hex head bolt won't clear either.

 

Ended up using a 80mm threaded rod on the passenger side. The drivers side was tighter and I couldn't even get the old stud out, ended up threading the stud back in and leaving enough to get a new nut on the old broken part, so theres a little less thread engagement there, and theres now a threaded rod on the passenger side, but it sure beats a transmission pull, its much better than it was, and the van is actually somewhat drivable now.

 

The clutch still feels "soft" compared to the brand new one in my 91, and it feels like it "chatters" when engaging it, so I'm sure a new clutch would be good, but for now the van is drivable, which is the important part. Plus I don't really want to goto the PITA to drop the trans and throw on a new clutch when I want to convert to another engine anyway.

[Sir Sam]

So when I converted my 91 to a westy I just kinda lucked out and found a good fiberglass top on CL(from a guy who told me about the samba) at the same time that I bought the van. I figured I would make the top work while engineering my own hole opening and bunk rails. After getting that top and seeing how most people did conversions by drilling the spot welds I decided that would work better. I found a van at a junkyard, got all the westy interior out of it, then went back and cut off the roof. That worked nicely, and it looked stock. But that method is super labor intensive, I cut a corner by leaving the roof section over the driver intact, and making a seam/splice just above the B pillar.

 

Even so as anyone who has done a conversion knows, thats super labor intensive. The other option at the time was to take the roof skin to just outside the aluminum rail that holds the canvas top down, I think this is the method I am going to use on the syncro because:

 

A) it saves time, and labor, lots of it

B) the outer parts of my donor westy roof are mangled up in a few places

C) its just as strong and water tight if you weld the sheet metal fully around.

 

So this is the donor van, an 87 full westy that was rolled. It's still a nice driving van, none of the suspension was damaged, the engine still runs fine, has a rebuilt trans, was a super super clean westy, but the whole upper body is tweaked to the left, so it really is beyond repairable. Really though, I just want it for the pop top conversion and the newer grey interior(no offense to the guys with the exterior brown vans and brown interior vans, but yuck, the grey interiors feel clean and modern to me, despite being almost 25 years old)

 

[SubSonic]

What's the details on these Vdubs.... what makes them special? (In all seriousness) Seems like a cool project...

[Sir Sam]

What's the details on these Vdubs.... what makes them special? (In all seriousness) Seems like a cool project...

 

Full camper Syncro Westy:

 

4WD with rear locker, optional front locker and driveshaft decoupler(standard viscous coupler)

 

Sleeps 4, seats 4.

 

3 way refrigerator, 12Volt, propane, 120V AC, (which I will replace with a newer 12V unit)

2 burner stove with 9 gallon propane tank

sink with 12 gallon fresh water tank

swivel front seats

1 rear table 1 front table

rear closet and cabinets for storing all that stuff you need

 

Rear seat folds down into a bed about 50" wide(not huge, but enough for you and little honey to spoon in and be comfortable)

Pop top with additional bed for 2 people up top.

 

Takes less than 15 seconds to pop the top and less than 30 to lower it.

 

The Unibody, rear engine, RWD, with front seats over the front of the rear wheels means that there is a BIG large low "cargo" area. Stepping into the van is a single short step, stepping into a ecoline type van is a pita compared to this thing. Overall the van is 1 foot longer than a stock XJ, but has a tighter turning radius. The van is small enough and easy enough to see out of and drive that you can DD it, or its not a PITA to drive around like an RV is.

 

You can pull over anywhere, climb into the back easily, and have a nice bed all made up for you. You can 4wheel to the top of the rockies and then pop the top and cook up some food. With the top popped you can stand up and cook, or without you can hunch over a little and still be comfortable cooking.

 

This summer we took our 2WD to alaska, the fridge kept the beer cold(nothing like breaking canadian laws by drinking an american beer while going down the road), I cooked popcorn, eggs, and even used the pressure cooker to make stew while going down the road.

 

Dogs sleeping in the back:

 

Cooking some lunch:

 

Co-pilots while my dad was sleeping in the back:

 

Van at the arctic circle(this was at 10:45 PM, local time)

 

A few mins later the sun broke through the clouds in time for the sunset sun to hit the van:

 

 

The next day a little further north:

 

Further north still:

 

Later that day, my foot in the arctic ocean:

 

Getting gas in deadhorse AK, as far north as you can drive in North America:

 

My dog crapping north of the arctic circle:

 

Under the AK pipeline:

 

That big white mountain in the background is Mt Mckinley, the tallest mountain in North America:

 

In Chitina AK:

 

In Valdez AK:

 

By Lake Kluane, Yukon Territory Canada:

 

Some tiny unnamed glacier in Canada:

 

In Hyder AK:

 

MT Rainer National park:

 

 

 

Pretty much the ultimate excursion/4wheeling/camping rig to me. It's not so much about the vehicle, but what you do with it.

[SW86]

only thing about Vdubs is if you wrecked them, your dead. period. ive got a 72 bug and theres no surviving a head on at normal highway speeds. damn tin can death mobile but i still love driving it

 

 

cool pics man :thumbsup:

[SubSonic]

Wow, I definitely see the appeal. Those were great pictures and it shows how much space is in one of those small (looking) vans...complete with all the amenities. That was the exact answer I was looking for, and it more than proves the coolness/functional aspect of those vans. Definitely wish you the most of luck with the project, and I'm sure it will be a great thread since it looks like you're great at photo documentation. :cheers:

[terrawombat]

I remember seeing those pictures when you first posted them. Still just as cool the second time around.

 

I have a friend who just bought some type of van/RV and is looking to permanently moving into it and selling his house. Similar plans?

[kro10000]

Awesome ride, my high school auto service teacher had a RWD Westfalia one in that style that he did a subie motor swap in, but he sold it and got an old Split window Westie that we worked on restoring my senior year.

 

He also took his Westy to Alaska the summer before last, I've always wanted to make an adventure like that.

 

With that bellhousing shifting back and forth you have guaranteed pilot bearing issues, and probably a cracked clutch disk hub. I'd definitely pull it before it explodes, or your input shaft bearing grenades.

[Sir Sam]

only thing about Vdubs is if you wrecked them, your dead. period. ive got a 72 bug and theres no surviving a head on at normal highway speeds. damn tin can death mobile but i still love driving it

 

 

cool pics man :thumbsup:

 

I'll agree with you about the bug being a death mobile, and I used to think the same about the vanagon, but the other vanagon owners convinced me otherwise. They found statistical crash data from the 80's showing vanagons had a much lower than expected death rate. That combined with anecdotal evidence from owners who survived crashes:

 

 

That guy walked about without any real injuries, mostly bruises, soreness and a broken heart from having his baby destroyed.

 

Now sure I would rather be in an accident in a brand new mercedes, but between the van and an XJ I think its a toss up.

(and for being a unibody vehicle it sure is quite a bit stiffer than the XJ is).

 

Wow, I definitely see the appeal. Those were great pictures and it shows how much space is in one of those small (looking) vans...complete with all the amenities. That was the exact answer I was looking for, and it more than proves the coolness/functional aspect of those vans. Definitely wish you the most of luck with the project, and I'm sure it will be a great thread since it looks like you're great at photo documentation. :cheers:

 

Ya somewhere in the archives are the photos from the white van buildup if you want some casual viewing. This is also the gallery for my AK trip:

http://colorado4wheel.com/content/ak/index.html

 

 

 

I remember seeing those pictures when you first posted them. Still just as cool the second time around.

 

I have a friend who just bought some type of van/RV and is looking to permanently moving into it and selling his house. Similar plans?

 

I look back on the photos and it makes me long to go back, the trip was epic, with amazing scenery and I wish I had had more time.

 

I don't plan to live in it fulltime, my dad sorta does, he has a job in LA but a house in colorado, he lives in the van during the week, and between work travel and personal travel he manages to find a good deal of time back in colorado, so maybe half the week he lives in the van, the rest of the time he gets the hell out of LA.

 

 

Awesome ride, my high school auto service teacher had a RWD Westfalia one in that style that he did a subie motor swap in, but he sold it and got an old Split window Westie that we worked on restoring my senior year.

 

The subaru engines are real popular, I've toyed with the idea of doing a SVX swap(3.3L 220hp 210torque), I lucked out and found a van that had a subie conversion, so I yanked the adapter plates and exhaust and have them sitting on a shelf(though the exhaust fits a 2.2, the adapter will fit any subie).

 

The white van will probably get a subie at some point, but its got a real strong engine in it for now.

 

I really want to do a diesel swap on the syncro, TDIs are pretty common swaps, but will eat up a big chunk of cash compared to the subie. There is a guy doing a subie diesel swap right now - the first one ever, and I think that would be the ultimate engine swap, but its super expensive and looks like it will require lots of fabbing.