Thingamajigger thread

[randywebb]

steering column bolts (after a certain year) are similar in German vehicles I've looked at, and I'm sure they are designed to shear on installation so as to create a theft deterrent
_________________
1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[DAIZEE]

HEY I have double rear running lights now too thanks to Danfromsyracuse parting them forward to me and delivering them to Watkins Glen. Now with the 3rd top brake light, my rear end is much more visible. I think that this doubling up of the rear running lights is an excellent upgrade for everyone to consider.
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[JoshG]

[DAIZEE]

I didn't do it, Dan did it some time ago and I inherited them when he was replacing his with another design.

It looks simple, Chef described it but perhaps he could post pics (when he has time) or Dan could describe it when he has time. The empty space is there already. So you have 2 bulbs per side rather than just one.
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[chojinchef]

[Timwhy]

Here's some pics of said tail light mod.

Chef you have been a very busy man, looks good!! Oh yeah Happy Turkey Day!!
_________________
'15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Timwhy&show_results=summary

http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee

[chojinchef]

[canasync]

A quicker, easier, and cleaner looking way to jumper the light is to simply jump the two together by jamming a washer or piece of metal between the two leads. Kind of hard to explain, I'll have to take pictures of mine.

To sort of clarify... If you look at the following picture you can see where the white stamp says V4439603.

Jam a washer in by the V thereby connecting the leads that go to the contact piece.

_________________
1987 Syncro
3 knobs
PumpeDüse TDI (17mm Garret Turbo, bigger injectors, stage 4 malone tune, intercooled)
Cruise Control
Remote Start/locks
Custom Lift
Custom Bumpers with receivers
Coast Mountain Hightop - Comming Soon

1985 2wd Vanagon Pre-runner in the making
soon to be powered by 2.5L Subaru
Custom Lift

[rubbachicken]

nice work chef
when i took lucy to pieces, i welded a nut on the end of the sheer bolts to take them off, much much quicker than drilling them out
as for replacing them with popper sheer bolts, pointless IMHO
if there was ever a front collision there'd be so many other things to get you without worrying about the steering column
if the bolts ARE there for their sheering properties in case of an accident, and they sheer, the whole steering column is going to hit you anyway, where else is it going to go
more likely they are there for security, potentially stopping someone taking out the column to move it when they shouldn't be, and again not much of a deterrent
_________________
lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

meet 'burni'


markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182

[DAIZEE]

That's it, my rear running lights are jumped together.
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[GrindGarage]

[chojinchef]

Couldn't deal with the decreased headlight lighting after having all the upgrades. Scored a pair of Hella replacements as part of a larger parts buy. The Thingamajigger came with H4's, so I had not even thought about them until the water incident. Some Autopal brand made in India, were fine until they started deteriorating.

I want two pairs of these up front.
_________________
Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

[rubbachicken]

chef, have you done your brakes yet ?
drop your spare wheel and check the metal brake pipes, mine had rusted/worn though and were leaking fluid into the spare wheel tray
vibration had worn the metal pipe rather than the plastic clips

they're tied up with cable ties so it'll not happen again
_________________
lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

meet 'burni'


markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182

[chojinchef]

[chojinchef]

Bought a couple doors off a 90 Carat. That way I can have the doors stripped and prepped without haveing the van open to elements.

Also started the process of rebuilding a heater box. Again for the purpose of having it ready to pop in when I pull the briken one in there now. Have some pictures I will upload later (after Dim Sum), but flaps have been blasted and painted. Deteriorated foam seals replaced with felt, everything scrubbed clean. Just waiting on blower motor to show up to put it all together again.

Radiorental stopped by yesterday to discuss some projects (his and mine). Good to see the progress he is making on his rust removal process.

LP
_________________
Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

[rubbachicken]

pictures, come on chef, we need pictures
_________________
lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

meet 'burni'


markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182

[chojinchef]

As I stated prior, I obtained a second heater box for the purpose of rebuilding it prior to the dismantling of the van. We call it Mise en Place in the kitchen, having everything in its place, or rather having everything you need ready to go before starting the job. Guess you can take the Chef out of the kitchen, but cant take the kitchen out of the Chef.

I am sure there are other threads on this very topic, but maybe my pics might help in translations?

Anyway, the box, out of an '85 I believe. Later model boxes are a bit different I think, as are those with A/C, but I could be wrong. I know Radiorental stated his was a bit different yesterday, but I do not know if that is due to a different year, or that his van came equipped with A/C?

I did not take any chances and got a close year. So the box was split at its seams. I found the best way to break the glued tabs was with a good quality razor knife and some gentle prying with a wide blade screwdriver.

I got all of the box apart as much as I could.

As you can see, it was quite dirty in there from sitting and 25 years of use. Some extensive cleaning, a couple toothbrushes for the crevices, and a bunch of cleaner yielded a nice clean box (insert off color joke here )

The heater core that was in it has seen better days.

And the new one that is almost ready to go in.

I pulled the flappers apart as the foam that was on them was deteriorating into dust in my hands.

I thought this would be easily taken care of with a wire wheel on my cordless, but it needed more than that. Here in the Northeast we get rusty parts, and need to know what to do. In my case, I hit up the neighbor for use of his sandblaster. 15 minutes later, they were clean and ready for some paint. I used a can of engine paint I had on the shelf left from a Suburban engine rebuild. Baked it hanging above my propane fired garage heater while I cleaned out the box some more.

From some other thread on this topic, I got the idea of using insulation felt instead of another foam product for the flappers. Thought that was a good idea (wish I could give credit to the one who suggested it), and procured this stuff from local Lowes. Given that it is a synthetic, I will worry less about deterioration and moisture holding.

This stuff stretches a bit, and planning for that I found I could get the ideal width for the flappers. Sliced small incisions in center of felt for the retaining plastic nibs to protrude through the felt and clip into flapper. I also used a bit fo silicone to lock the felt from moving at all after box is together.

Looks a bit like these:

and

The next process was installation of the flappers, which is reverse of what was just performed. I made sure no paint was left on the contact surfaces between the flapper shafts and the plastic of the box. I also added a bit of lubrication in there for good measure and to keep from rusting up right away now that I blasted those parts.

The heater core requires a seal around the perimeter of itself. This, I would guess is to prevent air from getting around, but I also see that as possible noise prevention. I used a single sticky sided foam of a 1/2 inch in width and height. Stuck well, and sealed up the gaps very well. No movement noted.

Now for the blower motor (when it arrives) and I can button up the box.
_________________
Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

[chojinchef]

Got the new front doors gutted, and the new rear hatch. Prepped the power mirror housings.

Worst part was getting the rear window out in tact, then once cleaned the glass I realized it has some deep use scratches (like someone sanded them?)

Sold 6 crates of Harley parts as a lot this week, so a few extra bucks helps pay for the paint edging materials and I have more space on the shelves for VW parts.

Now off to the body shop so I have floor space to completely strip and prep for new paint.

Picking up some other parts today with Radiorental - front door seals (both around door and wind stopper in front of dsoor), another set of rear bumper mounts, Westy kitchen cabinetry pieces, and some other miscellaneous crap.
_________________
Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

[vanagonjr]

[mtwrench540]

times at least 5,6 maybe more,THEFT DETERRENT!