TheSamba.com :: View topic - Homemade Double Door? Has anyone done it on a Vanagon?

Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:26 pm

I know lots of Splits have been converted. I have been fixing rust and dents down the drivers side of my Syncro and I am thinking about trying to put a slider on the drivers side. Does anyone know if VW made double door Syncros? How about Double Door Sunroof Syncros? I am pretty sure I know the answer to the Sunroof option.

Anyway I will post some pictures as I go.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:38 pm

it'd be interesting to see it after a ride through moab, i'd guess it wouldn't be quite the same shape it was before.

bring it on 8)

Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:45 pm

The lower slider rails are already there on both sides from the factory.

Will still be tough, but at least some of the work is done.

Would love to see someone tackle it!

Neil2

Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:52 pm

Saw a double-door syncro just recently. Don't know if it started out that way though. I do know it was an European import and was originally a panel van, it had the partition between the cab and the rest of the van.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:53 pm

There is a member here with a factory double slider Syncro. He is registered for SyncroFest so maybe you can get a close look there. I think it also has some kind of bulkhead behind the front seats.

Mark

Rocky Mountain Westy wrote: I know lots of Splits have been converted. I have been fixing rust and dents down the drivers side of my Syncro and I am thinking about trying to put a slider on the drivers side. Does anyone know if VW made double door Syncros? How about Double Door Sunroof Syncros? I am pretty sure I know the answer to the Sunroof option.

Anyway I will post some pictures as I go.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:55 pm

Rocky Mountain Westy wrote: I have been fixing rust and dents down the drivers side of my Syncro and I am thinking about trying to put a slider on the drivers side. Does anyone know if VW made double door Syncros?

They built double door Syncros. In fact, there was a Syncro fire brigade van for sale in the classifieds last year that was a double door. I haven't seen any sunroof double doors, but I think they probably built them.

The biggest challenge with converting to a double door will be modifying the rear driver's side quarter panel to accept the slider track. On the old Bay Window vans (at least on the 71 we had when I was growing up), the driver's side had a covered unused track. But no such luck on Vanagons. It might be worth trying to source the actual factory parts from England since the right hand drive vans had the slider on the opposite side.

Dave

Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:00 pm

rubbachicken wrote: it'd be interesting to see it after a ride through moab, i'd guess it wouldn't be quite the same shape it was before.

bring it on 8)

Yeah, I will throw a little extra metal at it. It is funny how little metal is in Uni body construction. I am basically only cutting out some sheet metal. Other than the window frame, it is all just single layer sheet metal. The slider rocker panel is super tough. It will take some creative modification to make it work on the drivers side. I am pretty sure I can make it look factory. Other than I am thinking about eliminating both sliding door outer handles.

There is gonna be some head scratching for sure. But it is really hard to put just a rear driver quarter on at factory seams too. I hate long horizontal or vertical panel splices. I always warp the crap out of it when welding it. I just prefer replacing at factory seams if possible.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:06 pm

Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:16 pm

crazyvwvanman wrote:

Yeah, the panel is pretty sweet. I think I will leave that for a different project.

Well, glad to hear they are out there. Hopefully within a month or so there will be another. My syncro is going to be more set up for utility use rather than camping. So the double sliders are going to be great.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:25 pm

furrylittleotter wrote: The lower slider rails are already there on both sides from the factory.

Will still be tough, but at least some of the work is done.

Would love to see someone tackle it!

Neil2

Yeah I don't think the slider rail is in the rocker. It is very similar dimensionally but I am pretty sure it is not in there. I haven't started cutting that out yet. I will keep you posted on what I find. I think I can use quite a bit of the passenger side on the drivers side. I will have to make or modify the front part where the roller goes inward. One step at a time. First I have to weld on the rear quarter panel.

looking for European parts or factory used parts is more time consuming and expensive than I would want to deal with. I have plenty of used sheet metal to do this at zero cost. Although I may have to buy right side rollers. I haven't studied those yet. Shouldn't be a big deal though.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:48 pm

yeah, actually both rails ARE there. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't know it.

Have fun.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:40 pm

If you mean the slider track down at the floor, then no, it is not present on the left side. The left side is hollow down there, at least on the 86 Syncro I cut in half.

Mark

furrylittleotter wrote: yeah, actually both rails ARE there. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't know it.....

Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:55 pm

crazyvwvanman wrote: If you mean the slider track down at the floor, then no, it is not present on the left side. The left side is hollow down there, at least on the 86 Syncro I cut in half.

Mark

furrylittleotter wrote: yeah, actually both rails ARE there. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't know it.....

Odd, I've seen it on other models. Must be on some but not all. They weren't Syncros. That may be the difference.

Yet another reason to not own a Syncro.. :wink:

Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:04 pm

crazyvwvanman wrote: If you mean the slider track down at the floor, then no, it is not present on the left side. The left side is hollow down there, at least on the 86 Syncro I cut in half.

Mark

furrylittleotter wrote: yeah, actually both rails ARE there. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't know it.....

Yeah otter, step it down a notch. Nobody likes a "KNOW IT ALL" with your caps and attitude. I have cut apart a lot of vans. I am pretty sure the left rail is only in the double doors.

Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:52 pm

Here's a factory syncro double slider sunroof. I saw this van at tunning treffen in Germany. The owner told me that there are a few of these in Germany that are ex German police vans. I can see why the police needed the double slider but not sure why they ordered them with a sunroof?
[/img]

Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:16 pm

Syncrozilla wrote: I can see why the police needed the double slider but not sure why they ordered them with a sunroof?

Because this is much easier with a sunroof!

On topic, it looks like all the right hand drive vans have the rail cover and middle track on the right hand side of the van even though their sliders are on the left hand side. Don't think I have ever seen a left hand drive with the extra slider parts unless it came factory with it.

Would a Doka door work?

Definitely best bet is to import the parts from a breaker in UK or Australia

Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:18 pm

Syncrozilla wrote: Here's a factory syncro double slider sunroof. I saw this van at tunning treffen in Germany. The owner told me that there are a few of these in Germany that are ex German police vans. I can see why the police needed the double slider but not sure why they ordered them with a sunroof?
[/img]

I'd love to see more pics of this van if you have them.

Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:19 am

The slider channel is certainly not there on any van, 2wd or syncro that I have cut up. I've actually never heard that it was on any van that anyone's cut up, as it would be quite a surprise to anyone cutting one and would certainly have been mentioned over the years, considering how many people have had to cut out the drivers side rockers due to rust, no one ever mentioning a slider channel being discovered there.

I can't imagine that the double door busses were simply missing the sheet metal on that side though. Yes, the unibody construction is quite strong to begin with, but if you pull that sheet metal off, it will loose quite a bit of strength (I know, thin, seemingly non structural, but still....)
I know for the case of the sunroof vans, the roof structure and pillar supports are quite different and strengthened to reduce flex from the newly introduced giant hole, I can't imagine for a second they didn't do similar things with a double door (And man, a double door sunroof syncro is a ridiculously rare thing!)

I can't see why you couldn't do it though....
You'd probably need to get a european left hand slider, channel, hardware, etc but I imagine just a few reinforcing plates placed well (similar to what was done on the 16'' syncros) would handle it well. Sourcing these parts is probably going to be mega tough though, as many european vans that would be cut up are cut up due to rust, and slider channels are a known weak point for rust.

Do it.
Make it rock!

Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:23 am

Rocky Mountain Westy wrote: crazyvwvanman wrote: If you mean the slider track down at the floor, then no, it is not present on the left side. The left side is hollow down there, at least on the 86 Syncro I cut in half.

Mark

furrylittleotter wrote: yeah, actually both rails ARE there. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't know it.....

Yeah otter, step it down a notch. Nobody likes a "KNOW IT ALL" with your caps and attitude. I have cut apart a lot of vans. I am pretty sure the left rail is only in the double doors.

I will second this Otter.
I am no stranger to inspecting vans and cutting them apart just like Mike.
The second set of rails needed for a double door are not found on USDM vans, period :!:

Mon Apr 14, 2014 8:15 am

Phishman068 wrote: I can't see why you couldn't do it though....
You'd probably need to get a european left hand slider, channel, hardware, etc but I imagine just a few reinforcing plates placed well (similar to what was done on the 16'' syncros) would handle it well. Sourcing these parts is probably going to be mega tough though, as many european vans that would be cut up are cut up due to rust, and slider channels are a known weak point for rust.

Do it.
Make it rock!

Yeah, I agree. Sourcing the parts from Europe would be near impossible plus I am to cheap to even pay the shipping.

I am just going to use US spec factory right hand slider stuff and modify it for the left side. A little bit of imagination, metal grafting, flipping stuff, turning it inside out and upside down. No big deal, it will work, plus all the parts are free. More work than just welding a 1/4 panel on...yeah but that is why I am a self proclaimed project idiot.

I am definitely going to throw a bunch more metal at it to stiffen it up. I will start posting pictures soon.

I am always up for a challenge.