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Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:38 pm

My van has been at the shop since the day it got home from purchase needing an engine. Hasnt stopped me and the "add to cart" button from moving forward. I swung by the shop today at lunch and pulled the power mirrors that I had listed in the classifieds to make room for the new LT mirrors that showed up this morning. Driving up to Washington to pick up the .ew engine Saturday and rocket back to the shop. Hoping to get a few things done on Saturday with a running engine installed by mid week.

Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:25 pm

Eileen is back in the shop for a few days :( ... a couple of minor issues to correct.

Took delivery of my new tires a few minutes ago though :D

Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:32 pm

I'll be interested in your fitment of the 225/75/16 on your 84.
Both for the front rub and the rear clearance to the front arm.

Keep us posted. Is your van lifted? Running spacers (size?) both front and rear?
I hope you'll give us your center-to-fender lip measurements too...

Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:18 pm

levi wrote: I'll be interested in your fitment of the 225/75/16 on your 84.
Both for the front rub and the rear clearance to the front arm.

Keep us posted. Is your van lifted? Running spacers (size?) both front and rear?
I hope you'll give us your center-to-fender lip measurements too...

Yes, I recently installed the GoWesty 1.5" lift kit when I had the suspension rebuilt. Currently running Yokohama 356s, 195/70-14.

I thought I had read in a few threads that 29" diameter is the max one could go ... these Toyos are 29.3".

As for width, 225 isn't that much wider than 215, so I think it'll be OK. I have some 7mm hub-centric billet spacers to start off with. May need thicker ones, but they're easy enough to make. I'll wait on the results before purchasing any lug bolts or studs.

If it doesn't turn out well, I can always use these tires on my Toyota Tacoma and go with smaller dimensions for Eileen :wink:

Sat Jan 24, 2015 9:22 am

I got my Fiamma F35 mounted. I already had the F35 mounted on my 4-Runner so decided to see how it would work on the bus. Not quite as good as fit as the F45 but a low-cost solution.

I used a Riv-nut to secure the mounting bracket and hopefully prevent any fatigue of the raingutter metal.

Also got my Wasserstopper rainfly installed.

Sun Jan 25, 2015 7:54 pm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7530051#7530051

:)

Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:34 am

euro911 wrote: Eileen is back in the shop for a few days :( ... a couple of minor issues to correct.

Took delivery of my new tires a few minutes ago though :D

nice wheels!

Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:36 am

Here's what I did.. finally.

I used a 16.4' led weather proof strip, ran it underneath my Fiamma 11'6" Awning case and had enough left over to cover the main casing on the awning rafter... So far I like it, I just need to button up the wiring and add some TV adhesive/sealant to the LED strips so they stay in place.

Now i dont have to spend time stringing up led xmas lights everytime!

Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:36 pm

Replaced broken diff lock actuator valve in the dash.

Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:58 pm

Finally got the gas tank back in with new sender and hoses , definitely the most difficult thing I've done yet.
So I celebrated by buying a 2002 Subi Impreza for an engine swap.

Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:45 pm

Hoping to get Eileen back from the shop tomorrow. The material on one of the L/R brake shoes became un-bonded from the metal base, so a new set of shoes were installed.

Fri Jan 30, 2015 8:54 am

First project of the winter. T3 Technique stabilizer bar, stabilizer link bushings/hardware and strut bar bushings/hardware.

The T3 stabilzer bar was easy to install, the product is great and looks great. No issues on the driver side. On the passenger side I could not break the strut bar loose from the lower control arm. That thing is fused. So I could not replace the inside bushing, I will have to be creative here or take it to the pros.

driver side:

passenger side:

Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:16 pm

I installed wheels and tires on my '82 Westy.

Oz Racing 16 x 7 wheels, et 35 from a 2001 CLK
Hankook tires 205 60 16
5 mm 66.56 hubcentric spacers to allow center caps to be used. I did grind about 1/8" off my speedo cable too.
Front stud conversion
Rear 56 mm studs
Extra long black security lug nuts

Im happy with the ride and reduction in road noise.

Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:37 pm

Busy weekend. Changed the upper and lower thermostat housing and put in the 80 degree thermostat. Broke the lower housing trying to get the clip for the temp II sensor back in place. Pulled the hoses back off and bolted the new top to the old bottom after looking longingly at the aluminum unit online. Decided the hose from the thermostat housing the the coolant T felt iffy and ordered a new one. Then decided to pull the radiator and bolt up the new one I bought last week. Van in in the driveway on stands waiting on a mid week Van-Cafe shipment of a few things I needed and some that just sounded good while it was empty of coolant. Oh well, I had some fun and some frustration, and I'll be catching a ride from my wife to work this week...

Mon Feb 02, 2015 10:39 pm

Trying to get BOB (83.5 WBX Westy) ready for a road trip from ATL to SoCal this spring.

Last week I started out installing Jay Brown headlight relays and a new starter switch which led to some rewiring after replacing the #24 relay on the fuse box (tested bad) which got the rear heater blower working and in the process found the loose wire for the dome lights.

Somewhere during the process, BOB fell prey to the fatal no-start syndrome. FP was pumping, grounds checked and redone, relays checked good, and had had power to the solenoid, so I tried the Ford truck solenoid trick with no luck.

So today I installed a JB hard start relay and got him cranking like a champ again this evening! Thanks Jay - you are the man!

Ordered a new Go-Westy starter since the old one is on its last legs and the relay is more or less only life support. I played the replace-the-rebuilt-starter-every-6-months game with my 77 MGB for years until I finally shelled out for a new one and have never looked back. Lesson learned.

FWIW - The headlights are indeed noticeably brighter after adding the relays, but went ahead and ordered a set of Hella H4's from BD.

Almost forgot - a big THANK YOU to all who share and contribute to the immense repository of knowledge on this forum.

Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:46 am

Super stoked to pick up a good used tach, Lemfoerder Lower Ball Joints, and my AMC heads after the appropriate wizardry was performed on them.

I was originally planning on just doing the lower ball joints but after diving in I have decided to do the few bushings I haven't got to yet. Not so stoked to see the oval shaped hole in the chassis from the radius arm.

I have seen Neil's (VanagonNut) repair and also read some other comments suggesting this won't be a huge deal on a 2WD providing I do replace the bushings and sleeves. The bar itself is not damaged. Anyone agree that I could probably get away with not fixing this? The drivers side is fine.

Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:43 pm

Got Eileen back from the shop with the new rear brake shoes. Hopefully the brake material stays bonded on this set.

I measured the wheel wells from hub centers out to the fender lips ... the 225/75R16 Toyos aren't going to fit :cry: ... so they're going on my Tacoma 4x4 :D

Well, back to the drawing board - researching which tires will carry the load, look 'beefy' but still fit, and not break the bank ...

Tue Feb 03, 2015 11:04 pm

euro911 wrote: Well, back to the drawing board - researching which tires will carry the load, look 'beefy' but still fit, and not break the bank ...
Overland Journal rated the Cooper Discovery A/T3 tires very highly, and they're relatively inexpensive for a meaty looking tire.

Wed Feb 04, 2015 1:31 am

mariusstrom wrote: euro911 wrote: Well, back to the drawing board - researching which tires will carry the load, look 'beefy' but still fit, and not break the bank ...
Overland Journal rated the Cooper Discovery A/T3 tires very highly, and they're relatively inexpensive for a meaty looking tire.

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll play it safe and go with Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S (215/65R16).

Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:13 am

So, what started out as weekend project to replace a couple interior panels (rear hatch and sliding door - busted by the PO) turned into a month(s) long adventure to replace the entire interior with wood paneling. I salvaged some of the original panels (there's some surprisingly nice baltic birch under all that crappy contact paper!) but the rest got all new wood. Kept us off the road for longer than expected but we couldn't be happier with the results - makes our van ever more warm and inviting.

We did a few other simple upgrades as well - my wife put up a nice blog post with more details: http://www.intrepidor.com/10-van-dwelling-hacks-for-under-200/

First off; the ugly "Before" shot:

Photo of the rear panels:

Detail of the sliding door:

New map installed above sleeping berth:

Our new "bedside tables". holds books, iPhones, glasses, flashlight and our reading lights but can simply be snapped off for engine repair - super handy. Above that is a magnet/dry-erase board.