TheSamba.com :: View topic - Build thread

Mon Jun 15, 2020 3:54 pm

Hi all,

Starting a build thread to document the progress on converting a tin top syncro to 50 degree AHU TDI with valvecovergasket's help and then grafting on a Westfalia pop top roof.

I've owned a syncro Adventurewagen with RWM 2.5 subie for about 10 years and have been looking for a van to convert to TDI after seeing my friend Tony's TDI conversion. I want that FE and sweet turbo whistle. I also wanted a pop top to compare to high top life (which I really enjoy for winter camping).

I picked up pretty neglected/barely running syncro "parts" van off craigslist last April (2019) for cheaper than imaginable for a syncro in any condition in the current market thinking it would be a great grab for a syncro drive train. I also bought a rust free but not complete 1982 diesel westfalia that the previous owner screwed up a paint job on and had given up on.

Turns out that it was pretty rust free and a great base for building a new camper off of so the tear down started. I had the underside 'blasted (flash rust from the basting below, it all got scotchbrited off before painting) and painted it with two layers of masterseries silver and top coated with their chassis black coating. I then sprayed a layer of 3M body schultz to seal it all up. All the unboltable pieces got sandblasted and painted with POR15 and topcoated in their black topcoat.

The suspension was rebuilt with Schwenck lift springs, old man emu shocks, lots of new bolts and bearings and Burly disks front and rear. I also upgraded to the bigger BMW booster.

The transaxle got taken to German Transaxle to get rebuilt with a TDI appropriate 3rd and 4th gear along with a decoupler, diesel bellhousing and input shaft from Bernd Jeager in Germany for more than double the price of the entire van (photo of the fancyness somewhere later). The front diff got taken to AA transaxle for a front locker and solid shaft (again, for more than the cost of the van). Surprisingly with the unknown condition of the van both builders were happy with the condition of everything they saw inside. Stoked!

Once the chassis was rolling again I moved from Portland, OR to Bellingham, WA to start a new job and moved it into valvecovergasket's shop. Over the winter things went pretty slow (because snowboaring, duh) but did get started on motor work. I had the head rebuilt by Piston Service in Anacortes, WA, installed ARP head studs while freshening everything up along with a PD150/VNT17 Garret turbo and bigger 0.26 injectors as recommend by David at FastFoward (he supplied the wiring harness and the 120 pin ALH ECU that will be flashable over OBD port) and Owain at Malone. A fluid damper from ABED industries was added to hopefully reduce the shock loads to the transaxle. The goal is 21psi of boost with no smoke and low egts with a maximum torque of 240ft-lbs to protect the transaxle. Think of it as a modified stage 4 clutch saver...

To clear the bigger turbo and keep rattling down a little bit I picked up some hydraulic motor mounting plates and driver side arm from Tony at TSI engineering along with some diesel syncro carrier bars.

And now after way too much time wasting the motor and trans are in the van. Now its time for wiring and auxiliary systems work to start and then I can cut the roof off once it is running!

Up next is wiring with VCG's help (including cleaning up the mess under the dash from the PO and a little melting around the fuse box), AWIC install, exhaust welding and complete coolant/heating system refresh.

Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:48 pm

Great stuff.

Intercooler?

Tony’s engine bars are great bits of kit. Nice guy too.

Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:54 pm

Looking good man!! 8)

Where did you buy the blanking plate for the oil filler at the oil pan and the new passenger side plate for the exhaust?

Aloha!

Mon Jun 15, 2020 10:16 pm

Intercooler will be air to water (awic as stated above). Type 9 core behind the drivers side tail light like out westy has his placed in the zincro build and a decent sized heat exchanger up front.

Oil filler blanking plate and exhaust hanger both came from brickwerks.

Tue Jun 23, 2020 9:29 am

More photos from the archives.

Before buying the tin top syncro I bought a 2wd diesel camper off of craigslist. The PO had dismantled the van for a full repaint and AAZ swap. As he was putting the van back together the primer started to fail. He was motivated to sell just the roller and keep the trans and diesel parts for a different project.

Despite needing a full re-sand and repaint this van was CLEAN. No rust and no bondo. I decided tin top to pop top seemed easier than 2wd to syncro. I tried to find a local deal to swap this entire van for a westy roof clip and pop top or a rusty westy roller but never found a trade.

They say you have to break some eggs to make on omelet. It felt really weird to cut such a clean van into pieces.

I was able to sell the scalped roller w/ title and some other parts off the van and the roof clip and pop top only ended up costing me $300.

Tue Jun 23, 2020 10:24 am

Looking forward to watching your build. I went back and forth deciding which way to go. Graft a camper top or convert from 2wd to AWD. In the end, decided my mechanical skills exceeding my body man skills and did the drive train conversion to a straight camper chassis. Since the donor was twisted pretty good, I believe I made the correct choice. It was sad to see the donor go.

Watching. :popcorn:

Wed Sep 02, 2020 9:29 am

Slow but steady progress over here.

Wiring harness routed and installed (but not tied into the cluster up front yet)
Exhaust welded (?Waldo? - don't worry I got the third mount brace welded on after this photo).
Intake mostly wrapped up.
Rebuilt front and rear heater cores and installed 10cent's bleeder heater valve (super nice!).
Implemented Karl's oil cooler re-route.
Coolant system pressure tested and filled using the newer harbor freight coolant system test and refill kit - super slick!

Still need to finish my AWIC install, vac system, two power steering hoses and ALLLL the gauge wiring.

Lots of chassis work coming up too.

Wed Sep 02, 2020 3:39 pm

Nice update!

Which Donaldson is that?

Wed Sep 02, 2020 4:07 pm

The Donaldson is part# is g065433 as recommended by Outwesty in the Zincro build thread.

Wed Sep 02, 2020 4:12 pm

pjn_wyo wrote:
Exhaust welded (?Waldo? - don't worry I got the third mount brace welded on after this photo).

Glad to hear it. I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but the isolators are somewhat prone to failure. Be sure that if the rubber fails and the two parts become separated that the exhaust will not fall far enough to damage itself or anything else.

Mon Sep 07, 2020 7:21 pm

?Waldo? wrote: pjn_wyo wrote:
Exhaust welded (?Waldo? - don't worry I got the third mount brace welded on after this photo).

Glad to hear it. I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but the isolators are somewhat prone to failure. Be sure that if the rubber fails and the two parts become separated that the exhaust will not fall far enough to damage itself or anything else.

Yeah we definitely applied all your recommendations on exhaust mounting you'd pointed out in my thread, it's a lot more stable with 3 mounts as you said, and won't hang far if one fails now. The dual flex joints also should give it plenty of wiggle/expansion room too

Mines been hanging on strong for over 1000 miles now, no sign of issues.

Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:27 pm

I'm a big fan of the flex joints on both axes. Years ago I installed a FAS exhaust hanger kit, and it really had a profound influence on my thinking. Their system has the hangers designed with a lot of up/down adjustability. This has made custom exhaust systems so so much easier to fab up and inevitably modify over time.

Mon Nov 03, 2025 3:47 pm

This has been a dormant project for 5 years but its back on the lift and needs to get running soon.

Tue Nov 04, 2025 10:24 am

some pictures so far...

both front bearings got roached while it was moved around between shop spots, so those got replaced

pretty nice working on clean parts without seized bolts :lol:

subframe down for diff fitment and to swap those radius arm washers around a bit easier

and now i think we're not too far off from having the front sorted.

a long time coming!

Thu Nov 13, 2025 8:02 pm

more shiny bits!

fronts nearly done

its been entertaining to work on a vanagon again... and a clean one at that! without even getting greasy haha

Fri Nov 14, 2025 7:35 pm

It blows my mind that there are people out there with the skills to take on such a project!

Mon Nov 17, 2025 3:46 pm

Is valvecovergasket back with another TDI vanagon, just a syncro this time?!?!

Mon Nov 17, 2025 7:41 pm

No no I'm happy to spend other people's money on vanagons :lol: but we're van less for the time being.
I've moved on to even more reliable projects - 60s Land Rovers :P

This one is PJs but just finally getting sorted so we can see it move under its own power.

Tue Nov 18, 2025 2:12 pm

Yeah - I rent space from VCG - this van has been dormant for too long and needs wrapped up to make space for his stuff so he's helping me move it along.

Thu Dec 04, 2025 7:54 pm

believe we have nearly all the big heavy bits underneath sorted now. shifter, driveline, axles, suspension, brakes, all the wheel bearings and spinny stuff.

the 930 axle swap at the back end has been kind of a battle. the stub axles wouldnt fit through the control arms so that all needed redoing.
and seems like the axle itself is just a few mm too long... but maybe the motor needs centering or a recheck of the alignment and itll square up again.

and we'll be reworking that turbo oil drain line to add in a scavenge pump tucked in along the top of the d/s motor mount
since with how it sits now the turbo center housing sits nearly below the running oil level
i have no idea how folks get vgt turbos to work on these without a pump?

and just some wiring and couple odds and ends to work out before we can key on.

lets see if we can fire it up, or maybe just power it on :lol: , before the end of the year