Project Crunchie '87 Syncro Tin Top Overlander. (Pic Heavy)

[Signalocity]

[Signalocity]

I have read the seemingly endless discussions on axle brands and quality. I ended up going with the EMPI axles, simply to test them out for myself. It was cost effective to give them a shot and I will be refurbishing my originals to have on hand for spares, should it come down to that. I also gave a fair amount of consideration to the stronger axle upgrade options available, but decided to stick with the standard ones. At the end of the day, I would rather break an axle that I can replace in a pinch and not something more expensive. Once again factoring in the fact that I do not plan to do any super heavy off-roading and sticking with reliability/simplicity agenda. Black positive battery cables are a pet peeve of mine and my original cable ends were showing significant corrosion, so I made up a new insulated one. I also like to use military spec battery terminals, which requires lug ends on the cable. This just makes it a little easier when doing electrical work and upgrades down the road. I will also add in a battery kill switch at some point. Thanks to Hodokaguy and others …

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5...;start=160

I pulled back the boots on the ball joints to inspect the grease and came up with similar results on the Febi/Bilstein, there is no excuse for that. The Lemförders however, were spot on. I picked up a rebuilt power steering rack, and set about detailing it. The vent fittings on the rebuilt unit were rtv’d into place and one of them had been kinked a bit. I swapped them with my original ones and installed them with new o-rings.

TIP:

Save the dust cover where the steering knuckle/joint attaches to the rack. It would seem most rebuilds do not come with one on there.

[Signalocity]

I wanted to get as much prepped as possible before removing the rest of the suspension, so broke out my inner contortionist and worked my way around the front sub-frame. I also hit up the fender wells. I had been brainstorming for a while, on how to achieve a better lifting point for the front. These vans were built when in-ground lifts were more common, where the lifting arms would stretch out from the center. More modern above ground lifts reach in from the outside, making it much more difficult to hit the right spot. I would usually find myself searching for a riser and lifting farther inboard. My solution was to fab up a ¼” plate steel gusset to bridge the gap between the forward frame members and box it in. I left the back side accessible, so I could get a wrench in there. I then took a BMW lift pad (part number 51-71-7-039-760) and pushed out the center pin and lopped off the protrusions on the back side. This let me simply attach it with a bolt and lock nut. It is the perfect size to lift the van uniformly and level without any fuss. It is always nice to have an extra jack point as well. This quickly turned out to be my favorite modification.

DISCLAIMER:

Safety is paramount when lifting a vehicle and modifying any part of the body to accommodate lifting should only be performed by a professional. It is the responsibility of the fabricator/installer to verify feasibility and safety of such modifications.

[Signalocity]

I needed to address the insulation on my engine cover, as it was crumbling and falling apart. Every time I would shut my engine lid, it would shower the engine compartment with black dust. It was also pretty well saturated with soot, oil and who knows what else. I wanted to give myself a little extra clearance for the oil cap/air circulation with the contour valve cover and some added all-over heat protection. I stripped the factory insulation and cleaned it up with some adhesive remover. Since the cover was permanently stained in several places, I painted it white and then clear coated it. I had no idea there was an o-ring in there lol. I used a Boom Mat product (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/dei-050508) to replace the factory insulation and I covered the seams with heat resistant tape (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-350114 not pictured). I will lose some sound deadening properties (not as much as one might think), but there will be carpet and a rubber mat later on, with a mattress. It was an acceptable sacrifice to me, for the gain.

DISCLAIMER:

This has nothing to do with the Bostig conversion. Bostig supplies their heat shield for the engine cover, designed to work with factory insulation and the Focus Zetec valve cover.

[Signalocity]

I decided to mount the indicator lights in the switch blank for the time being, as I did not want to modify the cluster at this time. That might change at some point in the future though. I opted to go with the Small Car Performance big brake upgrade for the front and modified Eurovan steel wheels from GoWesty. I wanted to steer clear from wheel spacers and still have enough room around the caliper to run wheel weights on the inside. I will however, most likely need to run ball joint spacers. The wheels come in an argent silver type of color that I was not crazy about. I ran them through the media blaster and painted them BMW Space Grey Metallic (Paint Code A52). An advantage to this color is that I can keep a paint stick on hand for touch ups, if needed. The tires are 215/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S, which I have been very happy with on other vehicles.

TIP:

The Eurovan wheels are currently not listed on GoWesty’s site as they are looking for a new supplier (last I heard). You can still get the wheel directly from VW (part number 7D0-601-027E, the E makes a difference), but the hub center will need to be machined out.

[Signalocity]

I finally got to the point of pulling the rest of the suspension and everything went pretty smooth. I had been soaking some fasteners for a while, that I thought might be problematic. I have never been a fan of drum brakes. I honestly do not think you gain much in actual braking performance by changing to disk, but the ease of maintenance and simply being able to keep them clean is enough for me. I also boxed up the front diff, for its journey out west.

[kybishop]

This is one of the most beautiful threads I've seen; thank you so much for all the pictures! Pretty much every part of your van looks clean enough to eat off of.

[Signalocity]

[Signalocity]

I carried on with breaking down the suspension components, while cleaning up the last few rough spots on the van. Whatever I could not fit into the press, I managed with a bench vise and some sockets. I added a little extra weld on the upper rear spring perch/bump stop, as they have been known to come loose.

TIP:

I engrave the passenger side components with a “P”, so everything goes back in the same place. Any distinguishing mark will do, of course.

[hans j]

I'm running unmodified Eurovan 15" wheels on mine. I have no issue with running spacers with T3 Technique lug bolts and I have driven over stuff that 90% of the vanagons here will never try or consider a road...

I wanted the Eurovan wheel because it's extremely tough and thick. More metal, less taco. Stock they are 44et and I added 15mm spacers to make the effective et 29. Very close to stock! Your 16" are probably et49?

I didn't want to modify them because if I did happen to taco one (or three since I carry two spares), in a pinch I can get a stock VW wheel 5x112, 15x6 et44 nearly ANYWHERE in the world, and only have to change tires. Likely overkill, but just trying to think ahead.
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1986 Canadian Syncro Westy TDI - 1989 Syncro Single Cab - 2001 Audi S4 - 1981 VW Caddy ABA - 1980 VW Caddy EV - 1973 VW T-181

[Signalocity]

[Signalocity]

I finished up the underside, while waiting on parts to get back from powder coat. I decided to black out the wheel wells, as I will most likely Line-X the bottom section of the van. I am not 100% on that yet, but I can change it later if I decide otherwise. It was a long road to get to this point and to finally start making the turn to putting parts back on was pretty awesome! The green section on the rear cross member, is just a detail, in case I ever need to indicate to someone else where it is ok to lift.

[danfromsyr]

unfarkin beliveable
outstanding work. should be on display in a museum.. to those of us fromthe rust belt.
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[hans j]

[Signalocity]

[Signalocity]

[Christopher Schimke]

Man, what a nice build! I'm really enjoying watching this come together.

[benandmj]

We've never met but - I'm proud of you.
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85 Westfalia Weekender
91 Syncro Westy

[Signalocity]

[Signalocity]