Annie-other Subaru Swap - Build Thread

[deathman68]

[Shonandb]

[deathman68]

A lot of planning went into the folding seat design to make it practical and safe while still maximizing storage space. There were many moments where I thought it couldn't be done for one reason or another, but here is a preview before I pull it all apart to final weld and add the safety goodies.

Started by tacking up the main seat frame:

Then bolted it all together:

It sits ~2" higher than the original, but I managed to get the seat back flush with the vertical surface ahead of the engine hatch so as to maintain a factory gap:

Invoked my German heritage to ensure space was maximized without any interference. Tight fit!:

With my seat rails, the whole shebang slides back just far enough for the mattress to lay flat without contacting the cabinet:

Here you get a sense for how it's setup. The bigger of the two motorcycle jacks is temporary simply to get me the height measurement so I can tack up the smaller of the two jacks for the final setup:

Next up:
I need to order up some more steel to fab up the cross bars for the fixed frame and weld the smaller motorcycle jack (orange thing in the pic above) to it. Then I'll add some grade 8 locating/locking pins so when in the seated position and the upper frame is resting on the lower frame, it's all tied together for safety. Lastly, I'll weld on the leveling feet so when it's in the bed position it's resting safely on non-marring plastic feet and leveled for sleeping.

I'll post up a video when it's all said and don't which should be a bit clearer.
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1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[deathman68]

Finished my "weekend" closet build...in only six weeks Spent countless hours getting it exactly the way I want it and then hand sanding, laminating, and putting three coats of poly on the innards for good measure.

First pic gives you a bit of a sense for how the sausage got made. You can see the "chimney" in the middle which will plug into my rear evap unit duct and run up through the headliner where two vents will dump over the rear seat. Also, you can see the solar controller, Espar thermostat, two USBs, 120v outlet, and ovular cut-out for my rear HVAC controls. Lastly the quick disconnect for the rear shower which will hang on the rear hatch:

Pic after the wiring/pluming got mostly done:

Test fit (hence the big gaps) ONLY. Fits great!

With the spice drawer extended:

Next up:
- Remove all the contact adhesive from the exterior that makes it look like garbage in photos (and in person)
- Laminate the spice cabinet face
- Laminate the headbanger and fab up permanent mounts to affix the closet to the body.
- Then I'll finish up all the sound deadening and aesthetics and do the final install once my curtains arrive from SewFine.
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1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[Shonandb]

It's coming together and looks good!
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76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
Click to view image

[W1K1]

Lots of work to get there
What are you doing with the back window behind the cabinet? Tint, blackout, curtain?
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1973 super 2110cc
1965 squareback 1500E-sold
1971 bay window westy- EJ2.5 subi swap

[deathman68]

The window that is covered will have the same curtains as the rest of the bus. I’m undecided whether or not to have the curtains permanently drawn so as to completely block the view to the rear of the closet which has been painted white. I’ll test fit to see what looks the least strange.

We looked at painting the window opaque, vinyl wrapping it, tinting it, or my favorite was a decal of Bigfoot lying on his side but a bit too suggestive for public display and not “on brand” according to the family.

More pics to follow when my curtains arrive.
_________________
1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[W1K1]

[deathman68]

W1K1, I wore out the VHS for Harry and the Hendersons when I was kid. Used to love that movie! Here's the one I had in mind but it was quickly nixed by the family as being too suggestive:
https://www.amazon.com/247-Skins-Universal-Tailgat...&psc=1


Thought about the insulated magnetized window screens...super cool and "easy" to make...but also added to the list of things that did not meet family standards, so we will try plain old boring curtains until they see the light...literally.

Looking forward to getting back out there over the weekend and getting the window knocked in so I can dry fit the rear seat for the thousandth time and measure/cut my mattress foam in order for it to be shipped off for upholstery to match my front seats.
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1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[metahacker]

the Taj Mahal of campers

[deathman68]

Pretty excited with spring right around the corner. I got the closet final installed minus finishing up the wiring for my Renogy One control panel.

Rear seat fits with 1/16 clearance on either side. Got it all bolted back together so I could finalize my seatbelt weld points and fab my mattress foam:

Makes the seat look GIGANTIC...which it is, but in this pic it's still jacked way up in the air

Rear Mattress cut from new 4" foam that is the same density as the foam on the seat mattress:

There will be a 4" tall drawer box under the rear mattress for additional (removable) storage over the rear hatch

The upstairs mattress also got cut from new 2" foam. Daughter approves!

With everything done, I'll haul the seat and mattresses off to my upholsterer. While he works on wrapping everything in vinyl and tweed, I'll get the other windows knocked in and electrical done. Camping by April with any luck!
_________________
1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[deathman68]

Progress on the bus has been slow, but for good reason: I decided to finally pull the trigger on installing my in-ground/flush mount scissor lift. I purchased it from Alibaba during COVID foolishly expecting it to arrive before we closed on the house in 2021. It allegedly left the port within a month of ordering it and then it took nearly a year for it to go through various importation processes. Honestly I got a hard-earned lesson in the risk vs. reward of paying a third party integrator to handle all the customs/importation process. In the end, I did it through the Turbotax equivalent of international freight forwarding and it was a NIGHTMARE. Different players, different forms, no standardized requirements and in the end I did EVERYTHING myself and manually. The result: lift has been sitting in my garage since 2022....until now.

I have worked on multiple slabs in my life and never have I encountered anything thicker than 6-8" worst case. Sadly, someone had a bunch of leftover concrete and decided to pour the slab 12" thick!

Guess my labor cost just went up. A rented concrete saw, jack hammer, and a backhoe took care of the rest in order to excavate down to 24". Tamped and added 4" of crushed rock, vapor barrier, and rebar tied and pinned to the existing slab left me with a giant hole ready to pour the forms:

I also had an engineer draw up the plans and shore up the roof before creating an opening in my attic space as you can see in the below pic:

Opened the box and used a cherry picker to lift one of the sides to first safety tooth. This thing is SOLID...800+lbs per side:

The finished result are two pits 13" deep, with 9" of reinforced concrete under with less than 1/4" clearance to my lifts around the perimeter.

Next up, I'll try to make some progress on the bus and bring this thread full circle, but in the interim, hoping I'll land somewhere like this:

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1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[Shonandb]

Nice, very nice!
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*******************************
76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
Click to view image

[deathman68]

So I’m pretty excited about this. The lift is in and working great and the garage is done after four grueling months.

The bus fits like a glove. Plenty of room to spare front and back without having to wheel my tool chests out of the way up front:

Can’t lift the bus until I fab up some crossbars thx to my low-hanging propane tank.
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1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[superman73]

looks awesome!
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Chuck

Jesus Saves

70 deluxe bus
67 manx clone
various other parts cars.


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=228364&highlight=superman73sb+bellsouth

[Gashog]

Garage envy … I has it.
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1972 DeLuxe, Skillsafied 2.5 Subaru
1960 Single Cab
1967 beetle (sold)

[deathman68]

Can finally put a bow on the garage project. Took me a min to figure out how to safely get around the propane tank. Going to get a couple tall jacks for safety before I put this thing to good use but I still have about two more feet I can go up if I dare. I pushed really hard on the bus at different heights and there was no perceivable wobble or safety concerns. Here’re some pics. Enjoy!

I started with basic screw jacks which I added some 1x1 steel tubing to:

And I used 2x4x.25 steel tubing for the crossbars:

_________________
1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[deathman68]

After a much needed 10 days of camping with the fam in PNW, I'm excited to be back in the saddle and reenergized to get this thing over the finish by early fall.

Finally got my Espar B4 (gas, not diesel) heater installed. To avoid interference with the main loom and so as not to take up more space than needed, I decided to space it 4" off the floor. In doing so, I had to get creative w/the potential for heat generation from the exhaust tube, so I wrapped it in a fiberglass sleeve that's rated for 1600F continuous and then for good measure I put a wrap of flame retardant fiberglass hybrid around it which is good to 2500F continuous. Cutting a big hole with a inverted top hat pass-thru was NOT an option since I'm directly above a cross-beam in this location.

Fuel pump mounted at the requisite ~30 degrees and everything piped nicely to the exterior:

Was bummed to learn that they sent a timer, NOT a controller when I bought this thing over two years back, so if anyone needs a timer let me know! New controller on order.

Nice clean exit out the side of the bus:

Now for the really BIG news: the rear seat is in and the belts are installed! This thing is an absolute TANK. It's predominantly 1" square tubing and bolts to the four original belt points along the firewall, the two wheel tub belt mounts, and then 8 additional thru holes in the cab floor backed by fender washers and high end hardware. You can see the Espar B4 mounted to the extreme driver's side of the seat frame.

Next up I'll prob turn my focus to finishing off the electrical and building a box for my 10" sub.
_________________
1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker

[deathman68]

I'm literally days out from putting a bow on this thing...after almost six years. Had a massively productive weekend:

Finished up the under bed storage area. The little black outlet on the LH side of the bus is the lower a/c and heater vent for my rear HVAC unit. Next to it is the Espar B4 gas (not diesel) parking heater outlet, followed by my speaker with the CO/Propane alarm mounted directly above it. Did I mention the massive subwoofer in the kitchen cabinet? Hoping my magnetic cutlery and pots/pans won't rattle too much. Back to the storage area: The middle portion folds down...just need to add a latch which is why it looks off kilter in the pic.

I finished the rear mattress setup with slide-out drawer as well. Pretty slick and I can still easily access the engine hatch (not pictured) when needed:


Link


Got the slider R&R'd. Crusty hardware:

That's better...all shiny and new and mocked up:

New slider door seal installed and got the door hung...then took it off to clean up my wavy track and file the nylon runner slightly. Greased/oiled everything up per the SOP and now it slides like butter.

Per the forum's advice, I'm going to pull the front and rear strikers, adjust all the points to get the door to sit properly within the frame and then reinstall and final align the strikers. Hoping for something similar to what Skills did here, but he's left some big shoes to fill:

Link


After that, just need to knock in a few windows and finalize some aesthetics and then I'm ready to hit the road (after I pull the top again to fix a few things I'm not happy with)!
_________________
1973 Riviera “Annie”
Build Thread: 1973 Riviera+Subaru 2.5+5 Speed
EJ25+5 Speed Conversion Part/Cost Tracker