1991 Tintop Project

zak99B5 · Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:19 pm Post subject: 1991 Tintop Project

I guess this is sort of a build thread.

I bought my 91 GL with a 92 Suby 2.2 this winter.

Vanagons are fairly scarce here in upstate NY and New England. This one has more rust than I was planning on, but the price was right, and the Suby motor was a big plus.

I had been wanting to get another Westy (had two bay window Westys back in the 80s and 90s) for a long time. But the wife wouldn't go for it.

We travel with our six kids to Minnesota every year to visit the inlaws. Flying and car rentals are a serious chore. And the wife is very afraid of flying. She wants to drive instead.

When she saw pics of Carat and late GLs with rear-facing jump seats and fold-out bed, she was in love. She can sit in the rear with the little ones (5 and 8 ) while the 15 year-old rides up front with me. The older three kids will drive my wife's 05 toyota sienna behind us.

This van ran and drove great when I checked it out. It had the rear facing jump seats, and a modern, reliable motor in it. I could see it getting us to Minnesota. So I pulled the trigger.

The tires had to be replaced as they were useless in any snow whatsoever. A coolant hose junction was leaking when it got below 10-15 degrees, which I had to get fixed at a shop during our snowy and bitter cold February. I had to change out the thermostat cover, which also leaked in the very cold weather. The resivoir was leaking, so I replaced that. I also replaced the pressure tank for good measure.

The right radius rod had broken on the PO, who had it welded as a fix. It was ugly, and he told me to replace it. So of course it broke on me as I was driving it one day, but I had already received all the replacement parts from Van Cafe.

The front windshield washer motor was kaput--changed that out yesterday.

Over spring break next week, I am going to do a brake job on it as well as oil change and gear oil change for the tranny. I will also install the headlight relay kit (thatvwbusguy) and Cibie halogen ecode headlights (the bus came with the SA grille already). I will also install the volt meter I got, as the Alt light doesn't work.

The PO had installed a Carat table in the van, so the bracket is still there. I want to reinstall a table. Debating on whether to make my own or just get a Carat table. Either way it won't fit into a recess like the original, but we want the utility of one.

Going to replace the carpet in the middle with vinyl plank "wood" flooring (Allure). And add curtains for the windows. Also make some screens for the windows, hatch, and slider for camping.

I am also going to start addressing the rust. That's going to be a lot of work. The steps are gone in the front. Right rear wheel arch is also done--going to replace that whole panel as per Ben Place's tutorial.

Pics to follow.

newfisher · Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:58 pm Post subject:

Pics or it didnt happen Laughing

TequilaSunSet · Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:13 pm Post subject:

YEA! Another tintop... so few everyday tintops in here... in the land of Westy's and Syncros. Very Happy

_________________
Don't harsh my mellow...
1985 Hightower Vanagon 1.8T- Gone
1972 Panel Bus- Gone
1967 Bug- Gone
1964 Euro Sunroof Bug- Gone
1969/72/63 Sunroof Bug- Gone
1975 Brazilian Bug in the Philippines 🇵🇭- New to me

geodude · Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:51 pm Post subject:

Feel the tintop love. Carat owner here with a 94 EJ22. Have also owned a tintop diesel which got converted to 2.0 inline, and a tintop 87 Syncro.
_________________
1988 GL Camper
1991 Multivan — the basket case

xoo00oox · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 4:16 am Post subject:

Looking forward to seeing another local van project. Pics are required.

Andrew-

zak99B5 · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 5:17 am Post subject:

Pics I took when I first bought it (I posted these on my intro thread as well):
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When I get a chance, I'll post more pics of progress and areas that need attention.

newfisher · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 6:45 am Post subject:

I like it! Love the lower SA grille.

zak99B5 · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 9:22 am Post subject:

zak99B5 · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 4:22 pm Post subject:

Put some time into the van today. Changed out the spark plugs. Ran 1/3 a can of Sea Foam In the oil for a 20 minute drive, changed the oil, redid the e gine ground, and installed the headlight relay kit.

Got the Cebie lights in the mail today, but I didn't install them yet.

Saw the pressure bottle as a little low. Removed the cap to find a tiny bit of oil foam in there. Boo. I am hoping it's just a little residual from using my multi-purpose funnel. All the spark plugs looked exactly the same, and there was no hint of coolant in the oil when I drained it.

Also filled it up. Drove 240 miles and bought 12.3 gallons to fill it. That's 19.5 mpg, mixed city and highway.

zak99B5 · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 7:16 pm Post subject:

I think I found the source of the oil in the pressure bottle. The shop that reseated my coolant hose removed the bleeder that was connected to the pressure tank. They replaced that with an old CV axle bolt to plug it.

That bolt is a bit greasy. So I think that's where it came from.

zak99B5 · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:04 am Post subject:

New eyes:

Next is to replace those driving lights with the proper inner SA lights. OE VW lights came with the van.

newfisher · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:13 am Post subject:

Its like a snowball that rolls down the hillside. Im running wire for my solar today

zak99B5 · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:51 pm Post subject:

zak99B5 · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 3:47 pm Post subject:

Drove down to Saugerties to get a jack from Westyseeker (Colin). Nice guy.

Van ran great. This trip paired with the ride to Saratoga have me at 200 miles with about half a tank left.

The tach did act up a bit. I've noticed here and there that it will read wonky, but for a decent part of the ride home, it was reading all over the place. I am not sure how the PO got a tach signal to the cluster, so I will need to investigate. It's really just an annoyance though.

zak99B5 · Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:57 pm Post subject:

Just drove it from Albany to Rochester for my daughter's accepted student day at RIT.

Drove beautifully the whole way. Got 22.8 mpg as well, doing 60-65. There was a pretty strong headwind, especially as we got closer to Rochester.

I could have gone faster, but I like to keep the motor under 4k. Had the fluctuating tach again for some of the trip.

Kids enjoyed riding in the van. Lots more room than in the wife's Sienna. The rear-facing second row really makes it a nice space. I will say it's a bit noisy with the motor humming along and the wind noise. It was a little hard for me to hear what was going on in the back. They could hear each other fine though.

zak99B5 · Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:05 pm Post subject:

Oh, I also replaced the front brake pads yesterday. Rotors were smooth and thick, and the wheel bearings turn easily.

I also bought gear oil to drain and fill the tranny. I bought two quarts of Royal Purple maxGear GL-4/GL-5 fluid and two quarts of Pennzoil Synchromesh, GL-4. I used a similar mix in my '02 Gti's tranny with great shifting (had problems with the GL-5 Lucas oil I put in it earlier with very slow shifts--had to granny it).

zak99B5 · Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 5:48 pm Post subject:

Drive home was equally smooth--and better mileage, with 23.9 mpg recorded.

Will post pics of the family in the back. Kids really enjoy the space.

newfisher · Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:21 pm Post subject:

Thats great mileage! Im about 18-19 with frankenmotor 2.5, yakima rocket box and +1 springs with an over driven 4th in my tin top. Its getting pretty loaded up with swings, bumpers, fridge, solar and a wet group 24.

zak99B5 · Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 6:54 pm Post subject:

Daughter napping in the passenger seat :

Son in the jump seat:

And the boys in the bench seat:

We were a tired crew.

zak99B5 · Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:13 pm Post subject:

iGot the proper inner highs installed:


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