Tristar Syncro RHD, 1 of 19.... for the second time!

[SyncroGhia]

Surprisingly to myself... or maybe not I have ended up buying yet another T3, except this time I know the van very well as I've owned it before.

Those who are into the Tristar Syncro know that they're fairly rare but did you know that VW actually made 19 RHD versions? They were so expensive (£25,000 in 19990 from memory) that very few people ordered them.

The best way from here is to copy/paste the previous posting from another forum (Brick-yard) so that the history is complete.

Turn the clock back to 2007

Ok ok, everyone knows I've already got 2 Syncros which aren't currently on the road aswell as a twin sliding panel van which is not much more than a rolling shell but now and again something comes up which you just can't say no to.

I've been after this particular Syncro for almost a year when a good friend down south first told me that he'd seen a RHD Tristar Crewcab sat on a street with tax which was about to run out.

I asked him to leave a note on the windscreen with my phone number and saying that I was interested in buying it. After about 7 notes and over a month of nothing I got a phonecall from a garage on behalf of the owner saying he wanted x amount for it and that he would sell it for that. I said ok I'll buy it and started getting ready for a trip to the capital city.

A week later I spoke to the owner for the first time and said I would come down the following day to collect and would bring cash. He seemed ok with it so I looked up train times and checked out the address etc. However when I phoned up the following day about to set off for the train station, he changed his mind and said he couldn't sell it and that he wanted to keep it!!

I said ok but please give me first refusal from now on if you want to sell it.

Over the next 11 months I pestered the owner every 2 months or so to check if he wanted to sell it. Then out of the blue I got a text from my friend down south saying that the owner wanted to sell it if I was still interested. I phoned up immediately and the deal was back on.

This weekend has been a stressful one with organising cash, lots of phonecalls back and forth, a day late and I had just about given up hope that the owner was going to part with this rare beast!

Come about 3PM today, I got a phonecall saying that the Tristar was in Leeds!!!

We met up, exchanged cash for V5, MOT and a clear HPi and I've bought yet another Syncro!

The pic is one taken by my friend down south as I haven't had chance yet to take any.

It's a 1990 RHD Tristar Crewcab. There are conflicting reports as to how many were actually made but it's something around 18 to 21. I will try to contact VW and get a precise figure. I think I'll probably find that Aidan has the info correct of 18.

This particular van came spec'd with the following:

Power steering, central locking, truck mirrors, headlight washers, dip rear view mirror, front and rear difflocks, Syncro westy towbar, spare wheel carrier underneath, spotlights. I'm still discovering things!!

It's present condition isn't fantastic though. Bodily it's very good. There's very little rust, a little on the seams, a few dings and dents here and there but mechanically it's a mess!

It has lost it's 4 wheel drive system and is currently running a 2.1 DJ engine with carb setup, 2WD 4 speed gearbox and 17 inch OZ racing wheels! Not exactly helpful for offroading . Whoever fitted the 2WD gearbox has even removed the propshaft protection bar mounting points so I'll have to weld some back on!

From the look of the engine, it's a Volkspares replacement which doesn't fill me with joy. It's not very happy at present but I'm hoping a good service etc will sort it out. The speedo doens't work at the moment which could be anything from the clock, speedo cable or speedo drive inside the front differential. I'm presuming there is a VC inside the front diff but who knows!

I'll have to build a gearbox for it, find a propshaft, engine protection bars, propshaft protection bars, reconnect the difflock system and fit a syncro exhaust system to the engine.

Atleast it's on the road and I can drive it around as I've been driving everyone elses cars around since I sold the Bluestar!!

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Ok update on manufacter date. After sifting through ETKA, I think I've got the date of manufacture to 4th May 1989. It sat around until 1st March 1990 to get registered!

Had a quick lookup of option codes too.

It came with rear mud flaps from the factory, rear heated screen, supposedly an LSD but I think this is an error with ETKA as this has come up before on other vehicles and it means rear diff lock.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Update on what else I've found out. The front driveshafts are missing and that's the reason that the speedo isn't working! Fairly fundamental

Also it's running 3 225/55/17 tyres and one 235/45/17 tyre , so I need to get that sorted pronto.

I think I'm going to buy another 2.1 DJ engine to rob the injection system from etc in an attempt to get it running as per factory. It has a rear heater under the rear seat and the rear doors had door pockets but they were missing. After a quick look in the locker area, they've been rattling around in there but are in great condition so they'll be going back on.

I'm ordering some small bits from VW just to replace stuff which is broken like seat fixings etc.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Small update on the Tristar.

I've discovered that the exhaust is blowing from Cyl No.2 flange to head joint. One of the threads in the head has been stripped so tomorrow will be spent stripping the exhaust off and timesert-ing that hole! Then hopefully it'll be nice and quite to drive.

The engine has always run badly so I've replaced all the servicable (not sure if that's a word!) parts, HT leads, Plugs, Cap, Rotor arm, Vacuum unit for dizzy, Air Filter (was thoroughly black!). As it's a volkspares engine, it has solid followers so you have to adjust the tappets so that's been done and it's quitened down a lot and is now running smoothly at tickover.

The van has been drinking fuel like it's going out of fashion so I put it on the gas anyliser. Even though the exhaust is blowing, it was running 6.3 CO%!! A bit rich and probably the reason that it used to bog down (flat spot) from about 1850rpm to 3,000rpm. Once done it ran better but was still running very cold. Sitting in traffic, the temp guage would not get above 1/4 so I suspected that the thermostat had failed open.

After 4 attempts of getting the bolts out of the thermostat housing (syncro housing is aluminium and bolts are steel!), they eventually gave in and I removed what was only the top of a thermostat and the rest had been removed! One VW thermostat and new seal later, I have a van which runs up to temperature, the radiator fan cuts in and out and atlast I have a heater in the van which works!!

Plans for working on it tomorrow include fitting front driveshafts, fitting a different set of wheels and tyres, timesert-ing the cylinder head, refitting the drivers seat arm rest (previously had a snapped bolt so was hanging down), refitting the cup holders, generally cleaning the vehicle inside and out, adjusting up the rear brakes, fitting lots of little bits and pieces which I've ordered from VW.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

A quick sneak at what wheels will be going on instead of the OZ Racing wheels. This is just temporary as I have something else in mind long term for the Tristar.

These will eventually be the street wheels for Limey.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[dobryan]

"I can quit any time I want to....."
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Bman]

Sounds exciting and I'm eager to follow along. Your photo did not appear on my feed though, you may want to check that link as we all like our TriStar porn!
_________________
~Bryan
1990 Burgandy Tintop (Wife's Daily Driver)
1989 Tiico Westfalia "Taj"




2WD Doka build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=503578&highlight=
FaceHook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/VW-T3-DokaSinka/129026087217120?ref=hl

[SyncroGhia]

The Audi wheels are on now with rather large 225/75/16 Cooper Discoverer A/T's. I think they're really a little big for it and have a huge effect on gearing etc.

I've finally got around the hoovering the interior and giving the dash a quick clean. I think the only way to get the carpets clean will be to hand the van over to the valeters and pay to have it professionally cleaned.

The engine has really come to life over the last week as I've been giving it death . However I have another DJ engine on it's way complete with Injection system to transplant over. Let's hope the difference in power is as much as I expect!

The wheel fitting required 10mm spacers up front, 20mm spacers at the back and 60mm studs all round, thanks Baxter

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

A few pics as I start to pull everything off the engine.

Bodge it and Scarper have been at the cooling system!

And the electrics...

Oh.. the offending sheared off bolts

Looking a lot smaller... amazing how small these engines really are!

And the dreaded sticker which confirms my worst fears!!! I guess it's still running!

I've bought a spare 2.1 DJ engine with known head gasket problems just to get all the bits I'm missing for the injection system. CJ @ syncrospares will be supplying the syncro specific exhaust front pipe, fuel pump and inlet pipe from the throttle body to air filter housing.

Onwards! Time to start cleaning everything.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Right, the engine is on the stand and cleaned.

I managed to get the studs out of the block, one of the few times which Snap-on easy out's eactually worked!

The injection system is now bolted on along with some water pipes. Hopefully the parts will arrive from CJ tomorrow so I can complete the exhaust system, get it all back together and have it running soon.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Update on the engine, I decided to replace the engine mounts as they were starting to seperate. Also fitted seals to the crank pulley and flywheel.

Oh, I've ordered the correct syncro dipstick and dipstick tube from VW and have temporarily fitted a 2WD until they arrive.

I took the oppertunity to take pics of the difference between the syncro silencer brackets and 2WD brackets as I had both to hand. The Syncro brackets place the silencer higher up (about 2 inches) to help wtih ground clearance.

Horror in the next pic... the engine has always made a fairly nasty noise which no one has heard before... I put it down to the release bearing (which was about to fall to pieces) but after having removed the flywheel and seal, the remains of the shims fell out on the floor

Happily the flywheel, crank and bearing are all in great shape so I think it's just that whoever fitted the flywheel didn't check for endfloat, there wasn't enough and it's killed the shims!

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Update...

The Tristar is up and running again with the correct injection system and a Syncro AKG gearbox. I figured while I had the engine out, now would be a good time to build a gearbox out of the endless bits and pieces of gearboxes I have lying around!

Next thing to do is add the propshaft and I'll have a working speedo. Front driveshafts will be fitted when I fit the matching AKH front diff as there's an ADH (4.86) front diff in there at present.

I'll take some pics of the engine bay again once I've had chance to clean it properly after installing everything.

It's nice to be driving a syncro again

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Right, it's been a busy weekend but I now have a 4WD Tristar

The difflocks are taking some encouraging to get them working again (I think it's lack of vacuum) but I pulled out my spare pair of front driveshafts, the AKH front diff and spent today fitting it all up.

I had a good look at the VC's I have sat about and found that the one which was in the ADH front diff looks to be the original from the Tristar as it has a 1989 manufacture date on it. Even better, it hasn't failed and works well

Once I've got the difflocks working and some protection bars underneath I'll be happy to do some 'light' offroading with it.

Quick update, difflocks now working well. The vacuum feed to the difflock system had been glued up!! Plus a bulb or 2 out and the usual front difflock knob threads screwed up. Just the protection bars to sort now.

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Well it's been a week of ups and downs,

The fuel pump I fitted decided to spill the contents of the tank all over the floor! It was sent back and another bought.

It seems that these fuel pumps suffer from corrosion between the aluminium body and steel bracket which holds it. The result is a holy body, a fuel pump which still works but also leaks fuel all over the place. The worst thing about this is that the extent of the corrosion isn't always obvious until the pump is removed from the bracket and until it is used again and under full pressure.

The replacement fuel pump has been cleaned up, taped up to stop corrosion and new brackets have been used.

A new top balljoint has been fitted (stopping an annoying suspension knock and the steering pulling). A new rear wheel cylinder has been fitted thankfully before brake fluid had a chance to ruin the shoes.

After refitting the engine with the injection system and trying to tune it, the idling stabilising circuit wasn't functioning. This only really presents itself as a problem when the engine is cold by not idling. Also when trying to setup the mixture on a gas anyliser, despite adjusting the mixture correctly at idle, the result is that the engine runs very rich over the rest of the rev range. Another injection system has been bought for spares, the idle stabiliser control unit was changed and the system came to life. The mixture was reading 4.8% despite having been set at 2.3% previously.

As a result of all of the systems now working on the engine, it has really come to life, especially in the 1500 to 3000 rpm range.

I've fitted some 225/60/16 tyres (factory size in the Tristar brochure) which have made the gearing and handling much better.

A new set of Audi specific wheel nuts have been ordered from U.S for both the Tristar and Limey. I think I'll be out looking for snow tomorrow for some fun

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

It's nice and clean again and back on street wheels.

I managed to get hold of the factory Cyclone air intake system for it. Aidan supplied the Cyclone and obsolete rubber tube from it to the air filter housind the rest came from VW so now I can go wading or driving through water fast without wondering if it's going to suck a load of water in

Only things remaining to do are fit the protection bars (waiting for brackets from CJ), fit a new O/S/F CV boot (old one has split), get the wheels from Germany (January) and get the aluminium dropsides on.

The dropsides are needing a bit of tlc. They are in generally good condition but the design of the brackets which hold them onto the van isn't fantastic and as a result they get broken. My set have one original which I will have copied (billet aluimium) and the rest have been make out of steel. They bolt on so it's an easy thing to fix. Then I need some factory handles/levers as some of mine have been homemade and the factory ones from steel dropsides are correct. I haven't decided yet whether to have them painted the same colour as the van (as they are in the Brochure) or just leave them as they are.

What do you think?

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Update on tuning the stock 2.1 DJ engine.

I've been fairly unimpressed with the engine ever since I bought this van. It was clear that there were plently of things wrong with it externally but all gas anylising results and compression tests showed that it wasn't worn, in fact the opposite, it had very low HCs and the compressions were well within spec for a new engine.

My first major trip in the van over to Wales and back (mostly motorway miles @ satnav 65mph @ 3,200rpm) returned 18mpg. Not great! Ok so the only thing I hadn't replaced which was a serviable item was the injectors so I took the spare set I had and had them cleaned by Sewells in Leeds. At £15 each plus v.a.t, I think that's fairly cheap to say that replacements are a minimum £70 each plus v.a.t.

The injectors weren't too bad but 2 of them failed the Leak test and all were down on flow rate. An improvement to say the least.

I've been keeping an eye on emissions etc as the engine has only been in a few weeks and adjusting it accordingley.

I had a call from a friend of mine the other day who has started up his own tuning business called RS Tuning. Paul said that he had just bought and installed a rolling road dyno and invited me to bring a vehicle along. Cool, just the thing to find out why this engine doesn't seem to want to go.

Even with everything I had replaced (without injectors) the first run produced just 77.7bhp . Not good. I was hoping for atleast 85bhp with improvement from there. Hmmmm.

The fuelling wasn't far out but Paul felt that the timing could be advanced so I checked it and he was right, it was running about 3o @ idle (should be 10o). How in the world it had lost 7o in 3 weeks I've no idea. However I reset the timing, swapped over the injectors and checked the mixture at tickover and went for another power run.

84bhp. Ok a definate improvement but still a long way short of the 112bhp which these engines are supposed to have. Paul suggested adjusting the timing while under load to see if anymore power/torque was to be had so while he held the engine @ 3,000rpm, I moved the dizzy to advance and retard the ignition and watched the figures as I did. It turned out that it was already at it's optimum timing and anything either way dropped off power.

Ho-hum. I was so unhappy about the lack of hp that as soon as I got home I whipped a plug out and measured the stroke of the crank. 76mm. Hmmm well it's a 2.1 alright. I think I'll just have to put it down the fact that it's a Volkspares recon with solid followers and I've no idea what camshaft they use when they rebuild them. As a result I'll either be tearing down my spare 2.1 DJ engine and rebuilding it or looking for something else to put in.

Onwards!! now then, Audi Turbo 5 Cyl... 1.8 20V Turbo... TDi... hmmm

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Hmmm, more news from the world of Volkspares. A good friend recently spoke to Volkspares and asked what camshafts they fit and got the reply that they're 'some beetle cam mate'!!

As all Volkspares engines come with solid followers (WHY??!!) so they can't use the stock hydraulic camshafts.

Looking at the stock VW torque figures, I'm not that far off the 128 ft lbs which they should have but to lose 28bhp?

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Ok onwards and upwards. This has been a shit year for me but hey, life goes on and I'll not be dragged down!

First the good news, the cross member arrived from Syncrospares, thanks CJ. I hope you get Cat's van sorted soon and have a chilled out Christmas time mate. Merry Christmas to the whole family.

I got the spare engine on the engine stand started stripping it down to check out just how bad it was. I bought this as a known problem engine for it's injector system and loom. Ever since it arrived, there has been emulsified oil coming out of both the oil system and the water system.. not good!

The extent of the head gasket leak became apparent the further I got into it.

Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is covered in this 'orrible oozing gunk! When I first removed the sump plug, nothing happened for a few seconds, then it started dribbling out. That's how thick it is!

Finally I got the case halves split and.....

EEEeeeewwwwwww

I lifted the crank out, removed the rods and pressed the timing gear, spacer and dizzy drive off the end of the crank.

I'd say it's been running like this for a while and knocking. This is the rod journal from No.1 Cylinder. All the other rod bearings had picked up but this was the worst.

No.1 and No.3 main bearings has picked up some shrapnel but weren't bad. Both No.1 cam bearings are into the bronze material. The pistons and cylinders don't look that bad but until I clean everything off and do some measuring it's not really possible to say. The same goes for the crank. I expect No.1 rod bearing will be low but there's no scoring on it.

Cylinder No.4 inner top stud had snapped at the top so if I can get the stud to come of the case, then it's savable.

The question comes as to once I've measured everything and added up how much all the parts for the spare DJ, will that cost more than fitting this Audi S6 2.2 20V 5 Cylinder Turbo engine have sitting here...

I have the majority of the parts I need to fit it, bellhousing, engine mounting bar, clutch and flywheel (needs timing ring fitting for crank sensors), water pipes, loom and ECU and Pace Charge cooler.

Hmmmm...

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD

[SyncroGhia]

Hmmm the jury is out on the which engine to fit. For the moment it runs, albeit slower than it should be. I can't afford to take it off the road (make it yet another project!) as it's my only running vehicle.

In the mean time, I spent yesterday and today sorting out the protection bars and mountings.

The Tristar has been missing all of the underbody protection bars and front bash plate since I bought it. I have a spare wheel carrier bash plate waiting for me in Germany but the rest of the parts I had ready to fit... but there was a set of brackets missing. CJ supplied the chassis cross member with the brackets on.

I drilled carefully through the large diameter welds to remove the brackets, then cleaned them up and concentrated on where they had to go.

Here are all the parts laid out on the floor including gear-rod tube.

The chassis leg has a few bits of metal missing from when the brackets were removed.

I removed the gear shift rod completely as the tube won't go over the gearbox end.

A bit of cleaning up with a dremel (couldn't get the grinder in!)

All ready for welding.

I loosely fitted up the engine protection cage, propshaft bars and cross piece and bolted them all together including the brackets.

With everything in a happy position, I tack welded the brackets onto the chassis leg, removed all the bars again and fully welded the brackets on. A bit of zinc primer followed by Tectyl underseal and everything was bolted back up.

A new gear coupling boot was fitted to keep all the crap out, especially when offroading.

All finished and ready for some offroading on the 30th!

MG
_________________
T3 Syncro 16 S6 Westfalia Limey SOLD
T3 Syncro 6x6 SOLD
T3 RS6 Bluestar
T3 Tristar Syncro 16 SOLD
T3 Tristar Syncro RHD SOLD