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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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 Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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| rsxsr wrote: |
Way to see a project through. That is a ton of work you have done so far. Should be fun when you get to start actually using it. I am going to use your thread as a reference when I deal with the d/s of my syncro. It was hit in the area just in front of the rear tire to about mid panel. I have a used clip, but have been on the fence as to whether I should have a body shop try and pull it or just remove the bad area similar to what you have done. Someone already tried to bang it out unfortunately and have super stretched the original metal.
One question about your welding. I can see where you spot welded, but on the large panels did you seam weld them or spot weld followed by filler? Also, How did you deal with the factory seams? |
Hi: With regard to the welding, along the top of the two large panels, I tried to run a seam weld. For the most part it worked, but the problem is when you are using a cable feed arc welder on panels that are only a few millimeters thick, you tend to blow right through them, even on low settings. So basically, the tops of the large panels are spot welded with seams in between the spots, as much as I could do them without ruining the metal. As it went along, I got better at it and I could run seams without blowing through. The problem was always the heat. You could weld for short periods of time, but if you kept at it, the metal would get hot, the weld would blow right through, the metal around the welded area would start deforming, and things inside the van would start to catch fire. So it was always, five seconds of welding, followed by thirty seconds of waiting for things to cool down.
The factory seams were another story all together. I had to make my own patch panels (made from the non-rusted parts of the rusted panels I cut out). I then beat them into shape and welded them onto the rusted out areas where the factory seams used to be. I had to beat the existing panels down to allow the patch pieces to fit over top. I then welded the "Bus Depot" large patch panels onto that, from the inside of the van and behind the wheel wells where I could get access, and then painted and sealed up the metal, and used body filler to make it into a smooth seam. I then sanded it smooth and used seam sealer to fill the hole. It worked to some extent, though when you look close up it isn't as nice a seam as the factory seam. I was dealing with factory seams that were no longer there due to completely rusting away, so I just rebuilt them the best that I could using available materials.
If you have the factory seams still intact, but your van has body damage, it is possible to separate the seams, remove the damaged panel, and then install a new panel, weld up the seams, seal them and then paint them. They are held together by spot welds which are easy to separate using a hand held grinder, a punch and a body hammer. I did a bunch of them on the kitchen wall, just manually separating them with the punch and body hammer, then hand grinding the welds out and removing damaged metal, then building new patch panel pieces, hand beating them into shape and welding them in. It works out OK as long as you are not looking for a concourse type show winning result. Once you have them seam sealed and a couple of coats of paint on them, you can hardly notice the difference.
Chris |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:33 am Post subject: |
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| rubbachicken wrote: |
nice job so far, keep up the good work  |
Thanks. I'm starting to fall in love with this old vanagon. Not sure what it is about these vehicles, they just grow on you. When I first started work on it, there was a part of me telling me that it was too far gone and not worth fixing. But now I am glad I tried as it is turning out very nice.
How many vanagons do you guys have? I count like six of them? Love the syncro.
Chris |
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MarkWard
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Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17114
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:58 am Post subject: |
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That is why I asked. Welding thin old sheetmetal will drive you to drink. I'd much rather weld 3/16ths mild steel.
Here is the side. The picture is not great, but you can see where someone tried to beat it back out. From inside though it looks like the pillar is still square.
I was going to tackle welding in the camper top first, but after your post am leaning to fixing this side first. I have an almost complete side that is taking up room in my garage and it will give me a chance to perfect my technique. Thank you for posting your project. mark
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 11:05 am Post subject: |
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| rsxsr wrote: |
That is why I asked. Welding thin old sheetmetal will drive you to drink. I'd much rather weld 3/16ths mild steel.
Here is the side. The picture is not great, but you can see where someone tried to beat it back out. From inside though it looks like the pillar is still square.
I was going to tackle welding in the camper top first, but after your post am leaning to fixing this side first. I have an almost complete side that is taking up room in my garage and it will give me a chance to perfect my technique. Thank you for posting your project. mark |
Yup, you could fix that. Those are the two panels that I removed. To make it a lot easier, and because the rear wheel arch panel doesn't look that bad, it might be better just to hammer out the dent in that panel and fill it. Because otherwise, what you're doing is removing the entire wheel arch panel, which is actually two panels, joined by a seam that runs up the forward inner lip of the wheel arch, and then into and through the panel to where it connects with the rearmost body panel seam. To remove that you'd have to separate the two panels and separate them from the inner seams and then weld in a new panel (which you can get very inexpensively from the Bus Depot). The new panel is all one piece and has a fake "seam" where the body seam extends back to the rearmost panel.
I removed the kitchen wall panel on my vanagon. It is easy to do, and you have a window at the top, which you can use for hiding the welds on the new panel (just weld up to the two window arches and fill). You can separate the panels from the inside of the van once you take the kitchen out. Just hammer the welds apart and then cut them with a grinder. They are spot welded in intervals so this is not hard to do. When you put the new panel in place, just spot weld it back again, from the inside. The most difficult welds will be the ones on the two window arches which will have to be done from the outside and will cause you a lot of grief due to the before mentioned problems with metal warping, blowing through and overheating.
The camper is full of insulation and flammable materials. Get ready for some fires. I kept an extinguisher handy.
Have fun. It's a fun job to do on a weekend and really rewarding when you're finished and you see the results.
Chris |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 4:16 am Post subject: |
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So did some more work on the westy this past weekend. Put in new "european style" window seals at the front, with no chrome trim and painted and cleaned up the door handles. Results below:
This is the van as it currently sits. New roof seals are not installed yet and I still of course have to clean the pop top:
I took the rear suspension out to examine rust issues there. This is what I found: Top hats destroyed by rust on both sides (have ordered new ones) and some welding needed on the spring mounting points:
The rest of the rear frame and suspension components looked ok:
So will be welding in some patches for the frame damage at the back. And also welding in a strengthening bar for the rear mounting points for the diesel motor, as the bar that VW put there is very weak. Once that's done, I install the soundproofing I have obtained from a company out in Alberta, and then put motor and transmission in. I hope to have this thing running and driving by mid November. Then I have to rebuild the brakes and the front end and suspension.
Chris |
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BlueNorthWesty
Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2014
Posts: 348
Location: Calgary
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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Nice work on a tough project, and doing it all outside too ... wow, kudos to you!
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1984 Medium Blue Vanagon Westfalia 2WD w/ rebuilt Auto, Peloquin differential, 3.27 R&P gears, 2002 Subaru 2.5L engine, Girling G60 front brake upgrade, PS, power mirrors
Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=610481&highlight= |
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Kombi///M3
Samba Member
Joined: March 16, 2011
Posts: 427
Location: Vancouver, BC
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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Nice work! Good on Ya for saving her  |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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So haven't posted on this for a while. Canadian winter took over, temps went down to -30 and that was the end of my work on the westy. I did get some welding done on the back (have pics still to be posted) particularly welded in two new "top hats" for the rear suspension mounts and a 1/2 inch steel strengthening piece for the suspension mount subframe on the passenger side. Still have to weld a similar piece on the driver's side and also the strengthening bar along the rear valance to support the torque and weight of the soon to be installed diesel engine.
Work begins on this thing the weekend of May 1st, and will continue throughout the summer. I will post pics once things get going again. I hope to have it mobile by July at the latest.
Chris
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Wed May 20, 2015 4:47 am Post subject: update and progress |
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So have gotten some more work done on the westy.
Removed the very rusty rear suspension top hats and replaced with Go westy aftermarket ones:
Also got the soundproofing in:
And did some work on putting the kitchen back in:
The engine and tranny that are going into it next week:
Where I'm headed when this thing is finally put back together:
That's all for now. More to come next week.
Chris
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:48 pm Post subject: |
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Managed to get the engine put into the camper. It is now officially a 1.9 Turbo Diesel vanagon as opposed to a 2.1 wasserboxer. Some pics after successful installation:
With coolant system hooked up and working:
Turbo lines hooked up and turbo installed (purchased turbo from "Turboladerplatz" in Poland. It's a rebuilt K14. Got it for $400.00 CDN)
Oil line hooked up to the factory oil cooler. I used mostly the JX oil lines, with a kind of hybrid combination JX oil line port and the old AAZ line for the return to the block. Remains to be seen if the oil will drain properly. This motor is tipped over at a very odd angle.
How the diesel motor sits from under the van. This is cool. The weird wedge shaped oil pan is actually perfectly horizontal when the engine is in place:
URL=http://s490.photobucket.com/user/christophersevern/media/SDC10962_zpsjg5t3ia9.jpg.html][/URL]
Fuel filter in place:
The cool thing about this AAZ set up is that Volkswagen already did this, over a ten year period, with hundreds of thousands of Vanagons, using everything from a 1.6 litre VW rabbit diesel motor to a 1.7 turbo diesel motor. So everything just kind of fits. You have to modify a few things and change some things around, but basically this is a mostly factory engine set up that bolts into place with very minor modifications.
More to follow..........
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Got some more work done on the westy this weekend, unfortunately no pics as I forgot the camera. What was done:
1. Purchased and installed a battery. This involves, of course, building a battery tray (as the 2.1 wasserboxer had the battery under the front passenger seat, which is no good for a diesel as the wire is too long and there is too much resistance). I had to weld a cross bar along the middle of the tray, as the battery would not fit length wise, and then had to weld another two bars at one end so that it could slide underneath them. I then used the battery hold down clamp from a rabbit that I had lying around, drilled through the cross bar and bolted it down. Voila, I now have a battery located in approximately the right spot.
2. Tackled the exhaust system. I have heard horror stories about how difficult it is to install an exhaust system on a diesel westfalia conversion job. So I sat down at the back of the van, studied the situation, looked at some pictures of other people's failures (conveniently posted on the internet) and thought about it. Then I thought some more. What I came up with was this:
-Car exhaust systems are constructed with a pipe that comes off of the manifold, which then connects to a down pipe, which connects to a flexible connector (very expensive) and then to a long pipe that hangs off of rubber hangers and runs to the back of the car, where it meets a muffler, that also hangs off of rubber hangers. The purpose of the flexible pipe, is so that the exhaust pipe that is connected to the engine, can move independently of the rest of the exhaust system, which hangs off of the car body on rubber connector hangers.
People have been trying to do this to diesel westfalia vanagons. What they do is have the exhaust pipe come off of the turbo, connect to a downpipe, which connects to the same very expensive flexible connector, and then they proceed to connect this to more exhaust piping, which is held up by rubber hangers (much like in a car) and then is attached to a muffler (which is also held up by rubber connectors, like in a car). But in the diesel westfalia system, people connect the rubber connectors TO THE ENGINE.
This made no sense to me. I know that there is a lot of complaining about how much vibration the diesel motor makes, how it is impossible to connect a muffler to it because it vibrates too much. I have driven diesel rabbits and diesel golfs for 30 years and they have all had exhaust systems that have not vibrated loose. But the difference is that in the car exhaust, it is not connected to the engine, it is connected to the car body (which does not vibrate).
So it then dawned on me that if you are going to connect an exhaust system directly to an engine, for the entire length of its travel, and also connect the muffler to the engine, you probably should not use a flexible connector pipe (very expensive) which will allow anything past it to vibrate and you probably should not use rubber connectors.
So what I did is just bolt the entire exhaust system, muffler and all, directly to the engine. No rubber hangers, no flexible connector pipe. Just a downpipe from the turbo, to a series of 2 1/4 inch pipes, a free flow muffler and then a tail pipe, all bolted directly to the engine. My theory is that the exhaust system will move with the engine and will not vibrate loose or have problems. After all, every other engine component is bolted directly to the engine, and nothing is vibrating loose.
I have not run this set up yet so it remains to be seen whether I am right or not. My exhaust system cost less than $100.00 to build, including the free flow muffler, so if it doesn't work, then I guess I have to try again. We will see........
Pics next week........
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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So it's been a long time since there was an update. The 1.9 AAZ engine now runs. Here's a video of it started and running:
[IMG]http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr261/christophersevern/th_SDC11022_zps8ru2fbcj.mp4[/IMG]
The hook up for this engine set up was very simple. There are existing wires back there, in a gasoline vanagon, to simply hook up and run a diesel, including running the glow plugs. I did not need to introduce any additional wires. The stock vanagon harness will run diesel or gasoline. I just turn the key, the pre-glow ignites, I wait for the glow plug light (formerly a dummy light) to go off, and then start it up.
The gasoline tank also can be converted to hold diesel fuel, by simply removing the fuel pump and running a fuel line from the tank to the diesel fuel filter, and then from the return line back to the tank. No other modification was necessary. I replaced the gasoline fuel filler hole with a diesel one, so the larger diesel nozzle can get in.
I was able to modify the stock diesel engine accelerator cable (by shortening it) so that it hooks up to the kick down lever on the automatic transmission. The kick down lever is then hooked up to the accelerator pedal inside the van (like on all automatic gasoline vanagons). I now have an automatic 1.9 turbo diesel vanagon.
Pics of the accelerator cable set up:
I took the van for a test drive around the parking lot and up a hill where it is parked at our cottage. Runs great. Sounds like a large diesel bus (turbo is very audible). It has good pick up and has power in first and second gears. I was not able to get it into third gear as the area I was testing it in was not big enough to do that.
It has the modified 3spd automatic with the Country Home Campers 3.27 ring and pinion, for better highway RPM.
I bought a free flow air cleaner and mounted it in one of the rear boxes:
K&N filters- apparently to be used on race cars? Oh well:
So with the work on the engine done, I turned my attention to the front end. It is very rusty. All four ball joints are bad. All of the bushings are bad. The shocks are shot. The brake lines are rusty. The calipers are mostly seized. Why did I bother trying to fix this van, again?
So at any rate, I have gone this far might as well finish it. I ordered rebuilt calipers, all new brake lines, new brake pads, new ball joints, new bushings, a rebuilt power steering rack, new control arm rod extensions, and various other bits and pieces necessary to return the rusted hulk of the front end back to its former glory.
New lower ball joints pressed into the hubs:
Rusty horse shoe upper ball joint carrier removed. You have to grind the bushings out of these things, and then weld new bushings in.
With bushings removed, and painted, ready to accept new bushings:
The wreck that is my shock absorber and spring set up:
I was actually able to save the springs and clean them up and paint them. They are a bit pitted, but not in bad shape overall.
I have not in my life ever done so much cutting, tearing apart and hammering at a front end of a vehicle. This is probably the worst condition front end I've ever seen.
It'll be perfect when I'm done with it.
However, this vehicle really was not worth the effort that went into restoring it. Oh well, it's been quite the challenge and more to come....
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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Phishman068
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Joined: February 19, 2007
Posts: 1867
Location: Pittsburgh PA (ish)
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:09 am Post subject: |
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So the westy is finally finished. I will post pics once I upload them.
Had it appraised and am getting the safety standards certificate this week.
Have run into a new problem. No one will insure it. Have called about 15 places they all say it is too old. Apparently it has to have a computer (for some safety reason I am told?) and it is a westy so it has a fridge and a two burner stove, which makes it too dangerous to use or drive.
So I am thinking, wonderful. No longer possible to insure older vehicles without computers or with camping equipment.
Will keep calling.
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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cyrus #1
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2013
Posts: 41
Location: St. Albert, AB
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:39 pm Post subject: Re: 1986 Westy Campmobile Build |
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This is a great build Chris! I'm sure most people would have backed out long before they saw this project to completion.
Have you looked into insuring the van as an RV? Mine is insured that way (likely for the reasons you mentioned). The plus is RV insurance is quite cheap compared to car insurance.
I don't think you can use the van as a daily driver if you go that route though. Also not sure how valuation would work either but it never hurts to ask.
Good luck getting insurance sorted out and getting some miles on the beast!
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1982 Westy TDI
2005 Jetta Wagon TDI
2005 Touareg V8 |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:09 pm Post subject: Re: 1986 Westy Campmobile Build |
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So just a very long overdue update on the Vanagon 1.9 AAZ with 3spd automatic engine conversion.
The van is on the road and driving. The auto shifts quite well. I was a bit worried about how it would behave considering I modified so much of its working parts, however the kick down works exactly the way it should, and the shift points make sense.
I had a bit of a problem when I first started out in that the auto would hunt back and forth from second to third when being driven. When I checked the fluid, it was always dry, even after I filled it using the method in the Bentley (warm up, then check level on a flat surface). Turned out that the entire system was just full of air bubbles. After quite a few short drives with tranny fluid refills, it was fine and now shifts well with no hunting.
I also managed to get the Go Westy automatic transmission cooler thermostat to open up and let fluid in, and refilled once that happened, so it now is a fully functional fluid system that holds its levels without any movement on the check stick.
The next problem I had was with the radiator. It is really, really, really hard to fill a Vanagon radiator if you put in a diesel motor. With the wasserboxer motor you have to lift up the front of the Vanagon, then run the motor to normal operating temp, open the bleed screw and then run it until you get a steady flow of coolant.
With the diesel you have the added problem that it does not seem to circulate the coolant as well, so the bubbles remain. I don't know how many times I had to purge it before I finally got it to the point where it didn't have any bubbles in it. Added to that problem was that I replaced the heater core (it was leaking) so that had to be filled with coolant also. I would get all the bubbles out, then the heater core bubbles would get into the coolant flow (it sits as high as the top of the radiator) and I would have to start over again.
I now have a bubble free cooling system.
The third problem, I am still working on.
When I put this thing together, I basically cobbled together an intake system that would work, but is not very pretty or useful. There is no intercooler, the air flow pattern frankly sucks, the pipes are not big enough and the output of the turbo goes through a pipe that is narrow and pretty useless.
This, it turns out, creates a power problem. Ie, I am not getting 75 horsepower out of the AAZ. With the AAZ connected to the automatic and the 3.27 ring and pinion, this means that the Vanagon has trouble getting past 100km/hr.
So now my work is turned to fixing the intake. I need more airflow. And I need cooler airflow.
An AAZ is a de-tuned motor which is capable of many more than 75 horsepower. They can be made into power monsters with minimal modification. Basically what I need to do is fit a proper intercooler, turn up the boost, add fuel and monitor the EGTs and boost levels.
I already have a 2.5" free flow exhaust so at least that problem is taken care of.
So I have ordered a SAAB 900 all aluminum intercooler and will be ordering and installing the usual EGT and boost gauges. The idea is 20psi of boost, monitor the EGTs, intercool the crap out of it and add fuel till I get the power where I want it.
I don't need a lot more power. The AAZ works fine in the city and it has a lot of low end kick to it. It's just the highway power curve that really sucks. But I did expect that. I am running it at less than stock horsepower right now due to the really badly put together air intake set up, which was really just a patch set up so I could get it running and fix everything else.
Now that I have it driving and on the road and the fluids and mechanicals work, I can work on the intake and test it "in situ" while the Vanagon is actually driving at various speeds, rather than trying to figure out whether or not it works with the Vanagon inoperable in my driveway.
So when the SAAB intercooler shows up, I will begin the next (and hopefully final) phase of this conversion.
Stay tuned.......
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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chrissev2
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:28 pm Post subject: Re: 1986 Westy Campmobile Build |
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For those who are wondering what I'm on about, this is what I'm doing:
https://billwildenberg.shutterfly.com/vwvanagon/66
SAAB 900 all aluminum seems to work best because it fits in the side pocket of the compartment, so you don't need to run a lot of pipe work under the vanagon (engine is at the back, which makes intercooling difficult).
_________________
1986 westfalia auto 1.9TD
2023 VW Atlas 3.6 VR6 Highline
2019 Golf Wagon 4 motion
1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible
1992 Eurovan 2.5 5spd westfalia |
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