TheSamba.com :: View topic - 86 Syncro Westy Re-Build Begins!

Thu Jul 14, 2011 6:18 am

Yeap, that's funny.
We had to fit the paint in the budget, there is no way we are going to do it a second time or work again on this rust.
For our time, let say we won't be out in the mountain as much as we love to but we'll be able to go there this winter and next year with a reliable and rust free van.

Hope your van will be out of the shop soon and you can enjoy it.

Have a good weekend.
Jerome

Wed Jul 20, 2011 6:45 pm

so stopped by to have the SCab speedo issue resolved, no go.

On a positive note, we are looking good on the 86

Gotta lot to do prior to flogging my ride at NWMF, but, I do not need a Westfalia interior to rock and roll now do I?

As overwhelming as this is, I am loving it!!!!! :twisted:

Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:49 pm

That's great progress. Looking good.

Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:42 am

Good news, bad news :o
Picking it up today. All rocker work done both sides. Smaller spots, @8, not done.
Work was more than bid originally, so over budget @700 :cry:

This means perhaps slower progress on the fruition of this, but, I have all the parts and get to learn a bunch of new things :idea:
Oh sh!t!
Oh, and Vwcampin, sorry about your ride. Good luck with things and hold your ground.

Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:18 am

carterzest wrote: Oh, and Vwcampin, sorry about your ride. Good luck with things and hold your ground.

You syncro is coming along nicely!! Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:50 pm

Nice!!

how the hell did you cut in the bottom track for the sliding door?

I have to replace mine,the lower track wheel has been through it,I was thinking cutting a window in the lower chassis tunnel to access to the track :roll:

Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:02 pm

ALIKA T3 wrote: Nice!!

how the hell did you cut in the bottom track for the sliding door?

I have to replace mine,the lower track wheel has been through it,I was thinking cutting a window in the lower chassis tunnel to access to the track :roll: He chiseled out every individual spot weld and used my donor panel to do the same. It was a fitment puzzle and unfortunately, I did not get any pics of the put together as my work schedule and funeral for a best friend got in the way... It looks really good with the exception of some seams that need some attention and look a bit caved in, but that is up higher on the panels.
Finished product came out really nice and I will post some pics tomorrow as it got dark too early tonight :cry:
Here is the donor slider rocker when he was done

Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:55 pm

Sorry for your loss :cry:

Thank you for your answer,I'm still scratching my head though :lol:

This is my donor part.
I have to replace the bottom part of the track,wich is a bitch how it's built,I think the best solution will be to open a window from the very underneath of the van,then have space to cut the rotten part and weld a new one back on from underneath and from track,grind everything from track,paint the inside of the beam,and reclose the beam.
The bottom seam is also rotten on top of the spot welds :evil: ,right under the U-channel for the sliding door seal.

That's the only part that is rotten on my syncro,but what a bummer,I think that's the most intricated part on the whole van :roll:

Good luck for the rest of the restoration 8)

Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:03 am

ALIKA T3 wrote: Sorry for your loss :cry:

Thank you for your answer,I'm still scratching my head though :lol:

This is my donor part.
I have to replace the bottom part of the track,wich is a bitch how it's built,I think the best solution will be to open a window from the very underneath of the van,then have space to cut the rotten part and weld a new one back on from underneath and from track,grind everything from track,paint the inside of the beam,and reclose the beam.
The bottom seam is also rotten on top of the spot welds :evil: ,right under the U-channel for the sliding door seal.

That's the only part that is rotten on my syncro,but what a bummer,I think that's the most intricated part on the whole van :roll:

Good luck for the rest of the restoration 8)
Thanks Alika....it is never easy to lose a 33 year old friend in the prime of his life. He passed away in his sleep.
@ your pic, That is a side cut of the same rocker issue I had and he stated that this area was where much of the extra time and effort was spent. He chiseled the metal away tack weld by tack weld until it was separated(may be some pics of that above from last week)and took what he needed and in some places, took extra where he needed for the more complex parts. He really appreciated the donor metal from the 2WD Van that I got for him. I had my rockers from wheel well to wheel well so he just cut out what he needed. Even then, he used some more donor metal for the tough parts to maintain the complex integrity of the track. When I saw iot last week, it was quite amazing the amount of work that he was doing.

Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:24 am

Ok bad light and dirty as heck, but

99% of the rust is gone and I can begin accessorizing!
Paint is a sandable primer so it looks lke ass cuz no sanding yet

Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:58 am

carterzest wrote: Ok bad light and dirty as heck, but

99% of the rust is gone and I can begin accessorizing!
Paint is a sandable primer so it looks lke ass cuz no sanding yet

Looks good and no rust, you must be happy.
Are you planning to repaint the van or only those fixed areas?

Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:41 am

bluefirefly wrote: carterzest wrote:

99% of the rust is gone and I can begin accessorizing!
Paint is a sandable primer so it looks lke ass cuz no sanding yet

Looks good and no rust, you must be happy.
Are you planning to repaint the van or only those fixed areas?

Hey Jerome...thanks so much. It is hard to look at all the work you are doing on your 86 Syncro and not drool. #1, you had the OG paint....mine has had 2 previous crappy repaints, and was originally the same color as yours, the metallic brown( I need to get the name for that color in my head). I still have about 4 hours of seam rust work to do and I will drop it off at the shop in a month or so after I get the interior back in, front Disc brakes and new rear brakes, mirrors and pop top seals and pop top painting........I will begin the rest of the rust repair.
My dream is to do what you are doing, take it out of service and bring it back 100% done and beautiful....my reality is that I need my van to be driveable on a regular basis for work and play. I have the Northwest Mog Fest in a couple weeks and I will surely scratch it up, so, I am rolling it as is for now. I will do the Rhino lining on the lower rockers, but, before that can happen, all rust must be repaired and paint down to there blended and matched. It will not be a show queen but a daily driver and trail flogger :D Isn't that what these things were made for :?:
Wish me luck on getting my brakes installed in the next couple weeks.

Hey Frankensubysyncro, got any free time coming up :lol:

Fri Aug 05, 2011 3:28 pm

Lookin good, my man. 2 weeks til MogFest! :shock:

Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:41 pm

jkidd152 wrote: Lookin good, my man. 2 weeks til MogFest! :shock: Tell me :shock: at this rate, I may get my mirrors installed. I can't wait til Mogfest Brother. That will make this all worth it, regardless of what the status is on my ambitious endeavor and where I am at on the reassembly.

Been having intermittent no start symptoms that seem to be getting worse. This morning, had to turn the key 3x and finally started on 4th attempt. Tonight at work, had to turn the key 5x and finally started on the 6th attempt. Seems like I may need a new starter soon, or, maybe if I just hit the starter with an Axe, errr, hammer? After it is warmed up, the problem seems to dissapear....
Let me know what you guys think. If it is just a loose wire on the starter, or, even if it is a starter, this is an easy fix.....time is my only enemy now. I have some playing to do in two weeks. 24 hours off, then 3 night shifts followed by 4 days off, then my last 4 day shifts, then, 13 days off with Mogfest as my anchor.

Sun Aug 07, 2011 10:27 am

Hey it is looking really good! Look forward to seeing you and the rest of the PDX Westy folk at Mog-Fest! Are you going to let all of us pile in the back of new ride while you take it through the course?

Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:46 pm

PNW Westy Owner wrote: Hey it is looking really good! Look forward to seeing you and the rest of the PDX Westy folk at Mog-Fest! Are you going to let all of us pile in the back of new ride while you take it through the course? Sure, we got you covered. Between the PDX Westravaganza group, you will not be disappointed.

Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:17 am

Cool Decal "Eat -sleep -VW"

:lol:

Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:02 pm

carterzest wrote: jkidd152 wrote: Lookin good, my man. 2 weeks til MogFest! :shock: Tell me :shock: at this rate, I may get my mirrors installed. I can't wait til Mogfest Brother. That will make this all worth it, regardless of what the status is on my ambitious endeavor and where I am at on the reassembly.

Been having intermittent no start symptoms that seem to be getting worse. This morning, had to turn the key 3x and finally started on 4th attempt. Tonight at work, had to turn the key 5x and finally started on the 6th attempt. Seems like I may need a new starter soon, or, maybe if I just hit the starter with an Axe, errr, hammer? After it is warmed up, the problem seems to dissapear....
Let me know what you guys think. If it is just a loose wire on the starter, or, even if it is a starter, this is an easy fix.....time is my only enemy now. I have some playing to do in two weeks. 24 hours off, then 3 night shifts followed by 4 days off, then my last 4 day shifts, then, 13 days off with Mogfest as my anchor.

I am not sure if it is loose wire, otherwise you might have problem even hot.
I had that happenning in the past on another car, it was only those brushes being sticky, unfortunaltely, you need to get the starter out to clean them.....

Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:15 pm

carterzest wrote: bluefirefly wrote: carterzest wrote:

99% of the rust is gone and I can begin accessorizing!
Paint is a sandable primer so it looks lke ass cuz no sanding yet

Looks good and no rust, you must be happy.
Are you planning to repaint the van or only those fixed areas?

Hey Jerome...thanks so much. It is hard to look at all the work you are doing on your 86 Syncro and not drool. #1, you had the OG paint....mine has had 2 previous crappy repaints, and was originally the same color as yours, the metallic brown( I need to get the name for that color in my head). I still have about 4 hours of seam rust work to do and I will drop it off at the shop in a month or so after I get the interior back in, front Disc brakes and new rear brakes, mirrors and pop top seals and pop top painting........I will begin the rest of the rust repair.
My dream is to do what you are doing, take it out of service and bring it back 100% done and beautiful....my reality is that I need my van to be driveable on a regular basis for work and play. I have the Northwest Mog Fest in a couple weeks and I will surely scratch it up, so, I am rolling it as is for now. I will do the Rhino lining on the lower rockers, but, before that can happen, all rust must be repaired and paint down to there blended and matched. It will not be a show queen but a daily driver and trail flogger :D Isn't that what these things were made for :?:
Wish me luck on getting my brakes installed in the next couple weeks.

Hey Frankensubysyncro, got any free time coming up :lol:

Good luck with everything, too bad you don't have another car to go to work (we have a Pontiac Firefly (newest car we have, a 1998) to get to work, cheap and unconfortable but still drive...).
Our van has been repainted, primed and repainted, not too bad but since everything has been masked, some paint was "flaking" and the color was a little differente so we had to sand it down to the original paint to make sure to get a good grip.
The front was bad, not too much salt during the winter but a lot of gravel so we had to sand down to the metal and we will use some paintable rubber undercoating to paint it, the surface won't be nice but I don't want to see rust, it is not factory paint anymore, it won't be as good.

Again, good luck and get some pics of the Mog Fest.

Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:38 am

So, we are rolling the stock discs for Mogfest, Fronts replaced, not many pics as I was sidelined :shock:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=475035&start=20
Lord help me :lol:

YOU ROCK DAVE!

Spent some time troubleshooting the Rear Locker to no avail. Pin stuck. Glad I have a replacement, but, got some more fiddling to do.