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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:41 pm Post subject: Eurovan "Blu.O" (2.0) |
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Just sold my last Eurovan build and I'm starting a new project Eurovan.
If you didn't read the thread on the other Eurovan Conversion from GLS to Weekender you can find it here.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=537597&highlight=
Here are a few quick pictures of that van finished.
Long story short, nearly every mechanical bit of that van is brand spanking new, its a GLS to Weekender conversion so it gains rear AC and 3 zone climate control that no factory delivered poptop came with. Then add the custom bits.
I've always loved the blue Eurovan and wanted to built a TDI (Diesel) with factory parts and syncro. So that is the goal with the new van. (I originally wanted a blue van)
I had so much fun building and using the first one and seeing how excited the new family is to have it that I'm going to build this one for my family but would be willing to sell it for the right price at any point along the way or possibly build one for someone that wants one.
I picked up a 1999 Westfalia Weekender with 235K on the chassis but only 17K on the engine. Since I end up making nearly everything on the van new the mileage on the chassis isn't going to be a big deal.
I actually bought this van from a really nice family and drove it over 1,000 miles home without issues.
Here it is at home! You may recognize the wheels from the black van. They were my snow tires that did not get sold with the black van. So on they went.
I've got my eye on a set of ML350 16" wheels that I think will work great with BFG 215/70/16s for a nice off road look. [/img]
Basically I'm planning on building this van but MUCH nicer.
Here is the list I have going in my head right now. Not complete but should give you an idea.
-2.5L Euro TDI with 5 Speed manual
-Syncro
-Diesel furnace
-Double DIN stereo in factory location
-All body work done, new front fenders (they are rusty), new paint...maybe more metallic but same color. Other custom bits and body mods.
-Ceramic window tint for heat reduction
-New 3 window top
-16" wheels and off road tires
-Lift and HD shocks
-Custom upholstery, and bedding.
-Poptop struts
-Roof rack.
-Bigger brakes
-New tie rods, CV shafts, brakes, hoses, etc, etc, etc, etc
-Rubber/vinyl floor
-Custom real wood table, upper and rear bunks.
-Custom interior painting of all interior steel to match the outside of the van. (seat bases, table leg, rear bed supports, door grab handles?, upper bed cross frames, )
-Custom curtains.
-Leather steering wheel.
-Euro cubby and/or glovebox for passenger side.
-Hazard switch relocation for boost gauge.
-Heated seats.
-Potentially dual house batteries.
-Solar
-Skid plate.
-LED interior lighting, all of it.
-Awning.
-Driving lights.
-Full insulation and sound deadening.
-Every little bracket and metal piece that comes off will get media blasted and painted or powder coated before going back on
......and potentially a carbon fiber top that we have started working on!
There is a lot about this van that will be simple restoration type stuff. Little things wrong with a car really bug me!
I've already started to play with it a little bit. When I picked it up it had a broken sun visor. Thankfully I had one laying around from the last van.
Notice that there are no Govt warning labels on the visors! I can't stand these nanny labels. Not so much the warning but the placement. They can make a very nice looking interior look crappy.
It literally takes 2 minutes to wipe them off with Acetone.
It's the little details like this that can make the difference between a cool looking ride and one that just looks off. This is a much cleaner look.
I also collected a few switches for future use. The two heated seat switches and the hazard switch are new additions. That radio is going away to be replaced with a double DIN one too.(fun with the welder)
My growing collection of leather steering wheels. The fat 3 spoke leather ones are MUCH nicer to drive with than the 4 spoke plastic one that comes in the Eurovan. But they are not nearly as plug and play in this 1999 as they were in my 2002.
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luVWagn Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2008 Posts: 1340 Location: Snoqualmie (WA)
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Gruppe B Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 1331
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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Woohoo!!
Looking forward to the next project and congrats on the new Euro! |
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DenverB Samba Member
Joined: July 23, 2012 Posts: 704 Location: Denver, Colorado
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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I've said it before, but thanks for the inspiration. _________________ -------
'77 Transporter/camper (Bussy - Reef Blue/Pastel White)
'67 bug (Santos - VW Blue)
'84 Vanagon Westfalia (Pink Flamingo - Pastel White/Pink)
'88 Vanagon GL Westfalia (Frankie Says - Wolfram Gray)
'02 Eurovan Weekender (Green Apple)
'95-'03 Eurovan full campers and weekenders (rental fleet)
'84 -'91 Vanagon full campers and weekenders (rental fleet)
'72 Porsche 914 (Greta - RIP)
www.RockyMountainCampervans.com |
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Zeitgeist 13 Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009 Posts: 12103 Location: Port Manteau
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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I'm a big fan of your builds. Given what you're envisioning, this one has the potential to be right in the sweet spot for what a lot of us have in mind as the perfect rolling utility box. It's aggravating that we have to build TDI Syncros from the ground up over here in NA _________________ Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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RollingDutchman Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2014 Posts: 28 Location: Corvallis, OR
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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Looking forward to the show! I'll be enjoying one of your margaritas along the way
_________________ Peter vT
1999 Eurovan
1999 Subaru Outback - ski car
2009 Prius - makes up for crappy van mileage
2013 Catrike tricycle for commuting |
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kernewek Samba Member
Joined: December 09, 2012 Posts: 44 Location: France/UK
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 3:21 am Post subject: Re: Eurovan "Blu.O" (2.0) |
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Xtremjeepn wrote: |
Basically I'm planning on building this van but MUCH nicer.
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That Spanish Seikel-equipped van is the biz, can't wait to see yours when it's done ....
~ Craig _________________ 1998 T4 2.5 TDI with Timber Technicians high top
1985 T3 1.6TD hightop camper |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 6:39 am Post subject: Re: Eurovan "Blu.O" (2.0) |
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kernewek wrote: |
Xtremjeepn wrote: |
Basically I'm planning on building this van but MUCH nicer.
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That Spanish Seikel-equipped van is the biz, can't wait to see yours when it's done ....
~ Craig |
Not a Seikel! It's a factory 1999 Syncro California.
Here is a link to it, unfortunately the image links are now dead. But it's the same van.
http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=122649 |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 6:43 am Post subject: |
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Fortunately, I saved many of the images before they went dark
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kernewek Samba Member
Joined: December 09, 2012 Posts: 44 Location: France/UK
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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My bad. I thought I read elsewhere the owner saying it had a Seikel lift kit? Whatever, it's a fine benchmark to choose. _________________ 1998 T4 2.5 TDI with Timber Technicians high top
1985 T3 1.6TD hightop camper |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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kernewek wrote: |
My bad. I thought I read elsewhere the owner saying it had a Seikel lift kit? Whatever, it's a fine benchmark to choose. |
Oh! No worries! Please don't take it as a correction. It's all just friendly conversation about the van in question. |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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Just picked up 5 of these 16x8 Mercedes wheels. Might need some spacers though.
Picture of them on another T4!
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kernewek Samba Member
Joined: December 09, 2012 Posts: 44 Location: France/UK
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice. M Class wheels? _________________ 1998 T4 2.5 TDI with Timber Technicians high top
1985 T3 1.6TD hightop camper |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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kernewek wrote: |
Very nice. M Class wheels? |
Yep! Taken off a 1998 ML350.
I personally like the durability and clean look of factory wheels. These were also designed for an SUV that weighs about what the Eurovan does which is a nice bonus! |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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So the 5 wheels I picked up were not in that pristine of condition. Not all of them needed work but I figured I'd work on the worst two first.
Into the blast cabinet!
Same wheel after a little media blasting and sanding with an air sander. Got rid of all the curb rash. I didn't strip these down to bare metal as that would be just too much work. The factory primer is really durable and will actually still work well. Really only need to get them down to a stable surface that the new paint will stick to really well.
First two wheels with just the first coat of paint. Closest one is the same wheel.
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benandmj Samba Member
Joined: October 29, 2012 Posts: 550 Location: Atlanta
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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Looking forward to an update here! _________________ 85 Westfalia Weekender
91 Syncro Westy |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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benandmj wrote: |
Looking forward to an update here! |
Me too!!! I'll let my holiday guests and European shipper know |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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Now that guests are gone I've been back to thinking about the Eurovan.
I can get a 2.5L Diesel here to install but getting it past Colorado emmissions isn't going to fly. They won't even talk to me about it since it's not a "certified configuration" by the EPA.
Though, if I didn't live in an emmissions controlled county no one would ever know or care.
I've read most of the EPA rules and it's interesting to say the least. Technically according to the EPA "ANY SWAP" that is not an IDENTICAL engine is illegal. But.....in another document they elude to there being exceptions for light vehicles as long as it "reasonably" fits the standards. Each state of course then has its own interpretations of what is or isn't allowed.
I need to go buy 1 sq foot of land in Wyoming :lol3
Pondering....... |
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RollingDutchman Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2014 Posts: 28 Location: Corvallis, OR
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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Ill loan you the use of 5 acres in Alaska Alaska won't care what engine you put the EV! They have enough trouble just getting cars in the state registered I all the remote villages _________________ Peter vT
1999 Eurovan
1999 Subaru Outback - ski car
2009 Prius - makes up for crappy van mileage
2013 Catrike tricycle for commuting |
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmmm.....Alaska.... |
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