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Vanagon Westy Interior in a bay.
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RyanRodman
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:10 pm    Post subject: Vanagon Westy Interior in a bay. Reply with quote

I have been wanting to put a camper inerior into my bay for some time now. Problem is i cant find anything local and i dont want to pay to ship one out here. However, today i was at an auto wrecking place and they had a westy vanagon with a near complete interior in it. My question is how much modification would i need to put the bed from this into my bay. I found a couple threads that discussed this a little but nothing real concrete. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=300248&highlight=vanagon+interior+bay
Heres some pics.
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Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Who has done this and what mods did you have to do? Pics would help a lot. I also want to use the kitchen set (Stove/sink/fridge combo), and maybe the cabinets. I know that bays and vanagons have different dimensions but i have the ability to fabricate things to fit.
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Andre4
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used the Vanagon Sink/fridge/stove cabinet but the rest of the interior came from a 70s Westfalia. This probably won't help much but the main cabinet can be fitted as it is against the wall. I'm quite sure the width of the Vanagon is different, wider I think and the length is probably slightly different as well. You can make it work but those side cabinets will be tough I bet.

Andre
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VDubTech
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vanagon is definitely wider, but I would think you'd be able to make that interior work just fine with a little modification. I'd snap that interior up in a second and put it in a Bay.
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1303GT
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The rear closet and overhead cabinets will have to be trimmed, the vanagon is wider, and the rear load floor is lower on the vanagon.
the sink stove unit will be a better fit, but if you can do a little carpentry
it can be made to work. since the vanagon is bigger inside it will be trimming to fit, not building up cabinets with new panels.

snap it up and post pix. so we can follow along.
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RyanRodman
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1303GT wrote:
The rear closet and overhead cabinets will have to be trimmed, the vanagon is wider, and the rear load floor is lower on the vanagon.
the sink stove unit will be a better fit, but if you can do a little carpentry
it can be made to work. since the vanagon is bigger inside it will be trimming to fit, not building up cabinets with new panels.

snap it up and post pix. so we can follow along.
Sounds pretty unanimouse that i should do it. Ill swing back soon and see that they dont want too much for it and ill snag it. If i get it ill post pics of the progress. But still if anyone has pics i liked to see. Thanks
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BUSBOSS
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My two cents:

With all the modification involved, I vote for building your own with an existing template. The final product will look more finished than hacking a Vanagon interior and making it fit.
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1303GT
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BUSBOSS wrote:
My two cents:

With all the modification involved, I vote for building your own with an existing template. The final product will look more finished than hacking a Vanagon interior and making it fit.


It will only be a hack job if thats what you make of it.
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BUSBOSS
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1303GT wrote:
It will only be a hack job if thats what you make of it.


Settle down GT - I never meant to imply it would be a hack job but simply that it would require some considerable hacking given the significant differences in dimensions. All that hacking may not be worth the investment of time and energy when the original interior can be easily duplicated.

I think Andre4's might be a good compromise. Especially given his lamination job that gives it the nice finished look I think the OP is after.

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1970 Karmann Ghia Convertible
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Andre4
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Busboss.. Incidentally I didn't alter that Vanagon Cabinet at all except to fill a hole at the front inside edge (right behind the driver's seat on the 'wall') before I applied the new laminate. The hole up there is for the Vanagon seatbelt and doesn't apply to us Bay folks. It doesn't need to be filled, I just couldn't leave it there! Other than that it fits up against the side of the bus quite well.

Andre
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greenbus pilot
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BUSBOSS wrote:
1303GT wrote:
It will only be a hack job if thats what you make of it.


Settle down GT - I never meant to imply it would be a hack job but simply that it would require some considerable hacking given the significant differences in dimensions. All that hacking may not be worth the investment of time and energy when the original interior can be easily duplicated.

I think Andre4's might be a good compromise. Especially given his lamination job that gives it the nice finished look I think the OP is after.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.




I really dig those sexy Vanagon latches on the cabinets. that is a really nice job you dun done, there Andre4. Well executed and merged with the vintage Bay window era cabinets.I might have to take a long hard look at my '76 cabinets now, in a whole new light................... Think
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RyanRodman
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

greenbus pilot wrote:
BUSBOSS wrote:
1303GT wrote:
It will only be a hack job if thats what you make of it.


Settle down GT - I never meant to imply it would be a hack job but simply that it would require some considerable hacking given the significant differences in dimensions. All that hacking may not be worth the investment of time and energy when the original interior can be easily duplicated.

I think Andre4's might be a good compromise. Especially given his lamination job that gives it the nice finished look I think the OP is after.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.




I really dig those sexy Vanagon latches on the cabinets. that is a really nice job you dun done, there Andre4. Well executed and merged with the vintage Bay window era cabinets.I might have to take a long hard look at my '76 cabinets now, in a whole new light................... Think
Ya, i agree that setup looks really good. If i do go through with this i plan on putting some sort of vintage looking laminate similar to this and what they had back then. I dont want to keep that ugly off white thats on those vanagon parts now.
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1303GT
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All I was saying is it will be what you make of it, and yes I agree that is a good lookinh interior.

I've had two Vanagon westies now, and I have to say there are some things I'd change if starting from scratch.

my next project after my super bug willl be a 73 or 74 bus with a
partial westy interior.

this is still in the planning stage.
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RyanRodman
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1303GT wrote:


I've had two Vanagon westies now, and I have to say there are some things I'd change if starting from scratch.
Such as...?
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Andre4
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the positive comments, I would have liked to make the cabinet hardware all match but it would have meant re-laminating the 70s cabinets and I didn't feel like going that extra mile. The Vanagon setup requires the use of the later latches because they dont stick out at all on the back side of the doors and the fridge door wouldn't have closed properly with the 70s hardware.

As far as making your own cabinets vs modifying what you've got - it definitely becomes a worthwhile debate after awhile. Because of the stainless sink/stove piece in the Vanagon cabinet it can't be easily shortened. I had to shorten the cabinet next to the seat by something like 1 1/4" which meant completely disassembling it, cutting down one of the doors, it's hinge, making a trim channel, shortening the trim, etc. I also disassembled the closet cabinet because in order for it to fit over the spare tire it needed to be gutted and lengthened by 3/4". I made it easily removable to access the spare tire and for those times when you need to carry a 4X8 sheet of whatever. I wouldn't be keen to try building any of the cabinets from scratch (without the Westfalia cabinets in my hand to reference) but using them as templates it may have been easier in some cases to make the modifications to a new cabinet.

Andre
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RyanRodman
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Andre4 wrote:
Thanks for the positive comments, I would have liked to make the cabinet hardware all match but it would have meant re-laminating the 70s cabinets and I didn't feel like going that extra mile. The Vanagon setup requires the use of the later latches because they dont stick out at all on the back side of the doors and the fridge door wouldn't have closed properly with the 70s hardware.

As far as making your own cabinets vs modifying what you've got - it definitely becomes a worthwhile debate after awhile. Because of the stainless sink/stove piece in the Vanagon cabinet it can't be easily shortened. I had to shorten the cabinet next to the seat by something like 1 1/4" which meant completely disassembling it, cutting down one of the doors, it's hinge, making a trim channel, shortening the trim, etc. I also disassembled the closet cabinet because in order for it to fit over the spare tire it needed to be gutted and lengthened by 3/4". I made it easily removable to access the spare tire and for those times when you need to carry a 4X8 sheet of whatever. I wouldn't be keen to try building any of the cabinets from scratch (without the Westfalia cabinets in my hand to reference) but using them as templates it may have been easier in some cases to make the modifications to a new cabinet.

Andre
I called the wrecking yard today to get a qoute and they told me to call back tomorow. Anyway, anothern concern i have is the propane tank. It bolts to the bottom of the vanagon, im just wondering how hard it would be to get it to function on my bay or if i should find a different way of getting propane. Question
If i do this i think ill just use the bed and kitchenette set from the vanagon and build the rest from scratch, possibly a differnt layout instead of a complete westy duplicate. Maybe steal the latches from the cabinets already in the vanagon to use on the ones i build so i have a matching set, then laminate everything to match. It should look sharp.
Thanks
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RIOMX
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

volksjunky41 wrote:
I called the wrecking yard today to get a qoute and they told me to call back tomorow. Anyway, anothern concern i have is the propane tank. It bolts to the bottom of the vanagon, im just wondering how hard it would be to get it to function on my bay or if i should find a different way of getting propane. Question
If i do this i think ill just use the bed and kitchenette set from the vanagon and build the rest from scratch, possibly a differnt layout instead of a complete westy duplicate. Maybe steal the latches from the cabinets already in the vanagon to use on the ones i build so i have a matching set, then laminate everything to match. It should look sharp.
Thanks


Come on man, you have everyone watching eagerly and *now* you're going to throw in the towel and only go in on it halfway? Very Happy

You could be the first guy to be rocking a full vanagon interior and documenting the process!
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jure-slo
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am doing it right now. It's a lot of cutting and a tight fit in some places. Vanagon must be a few inches wider inside...


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RIOMX
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jure-slo wrote:
I am doing it right now. It's a lot of cutting and a tight fit in some places. Vanagon must be a few inches wider inside...


You rock so much! Thanks for showing the awesome pictures

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So no over-the-engine hatch access?
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RyanRodman
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks so much! This is exactly what i needed. Very Happy One question i have is how do the angles on that back cabinet fit with a bay?
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 4:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

volksjunky41 wrote:
Thanks so much! This is exactly what i needed. Very Happy One question i have is how do the angles on that back cabinet fit with a bay?


They dont Smile

I had to cut that rear cabinet all the way around. And when I get the headliner installed I'll have to cut some more at the top. I gets tight at the hinges for the bed and I still have to figure out how to open that hatch over the engine without pulling half the furniture. I think I'll modify the hinges so I can pull it out without opening it first.

It's not really a problem fitting it all in, because everything is too big for the bay so you don't need any extra material.


Also, I didn't put the rear overhead cabinet in yet. That will have to be cut too Very Happy

I'll make more pictures if you like....
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