Space Capsule 1995: Repairs, Roadtrips, Retrofits, & Wrenching

[Saturn]

Monterey Car Week

Late Monday morning Armando drops off the Weekender and it is off to the airport to pick up my brother in the early afternoon. After getting lunch at the Olde Clam House, return home to work on better window coverings. Two years ago my brother camped out of the Weekender at Laguna Seca and was not satisfied with the OEM curtains specifically around light leakage. About a week before his arrival items started to arrive on my doorstep; silver bubble insulation, silver duct tape, strips of velcro. I made initial measurements of the windows and we would need around 38 square feet of material excluding the windshield and front door windows. My brother took charge of construction & fabrication, about an hour later the middle and rear windows now have insulated coverings. During all this, friends who were joining us at the track stopped by to drop off their camping gear since they will be driving their 1972 Pantera down to car week. It will certainly not be a problem to bring it down in one of the Eurovans.

Early Tuesday morning started staging items in the living room and then it was back to the airport to pick up Bob, a long-time friend of my brothers and a professional Jaguar restorer/guru (1975 and older) who raced an XK-120 during the 1990s. Back at my place, finish loading the Weekender then drive over the hill to my friend Alex’s where the EVC is stored. Alex is driving his 1967 Volvo 122 wagon to the track and wants to caravan with us as this will be its first trip over 25 miles in many years. While he is confident the car will make the trip, Alex would feel more comfortable with friends around. Especially those who have experience with pushrod powered Volvos. (For some context, Alex purchased this Volvo wagon from me after rescuing and resuscitating it in 2022.) We make it as far as Pacifica where we stop to meet up with the 4th car of our southbound convoy. The gray marine layer stays off shore for most of the trip providing a scenic view of the hilly terrain and Pacific Ocean.

The remainder of the drive is uneventful and after stopping at the Costco and grocery store in Seaside, we continue to Laguna Seca. Less than 2 miles from the entrance there is another Eurovan Weekender off to the side of the road with its hood up and someone looking into the engine compartment. In retrospect I should have stopped to see what was up, though due to heavy traffic ended up continuing on to the track. Upon arrival, the vans are unloaded, and establish the campsite with a shade structure, power, lights, and chairs. Alex’s campsites which are just up the hill about 20 yards away are also busy doing the same thing.

During the drive, another issue becomes evident on the Weekend involving the sliding door. Actually two areas to solve as the door will not stay unlocked and it is unable to be opened from the inside handle. While this is not a significant issue during the drive, it does become one when sleeping inside of it. The temporary solution is using the sliding window to access the outside handle to open the door. My brother also relates there is a noise from behind the dash while he is driving. I will need to dig into this in the morning when there is better light and more room after the bed is stowed. Alex’s camp hosts dinner and drinks to a very receptive audience. Unfortunately the marine layer obscures the sky and any possibility of catching the meteor shower. At around 9pm the crew in the Weekender excuse themselves to retreat into the green van. A couple of us make it to about 11pm before also calling it a night.

Next: Digging into the Door

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[Saturn]

Getting the Slide Door to be Locking Properly

After enjoying a hearty breakfast at Alex’s campsite, Bob and my brother decide to walk down to the paddock to do some big game hunting aka finding vintage Jaguars. Besides racing old cats, Bob is a Jaguar guru as he runs a 1975 and older Jagu restoration shop near Denver. Opening up the rear hatch on the Weekender, I pull out my tool bag and start to work on the sliding door. Shortly after picking up the 1995 EVC, it suffered from a similar problem of not wanting to open from the handle inside the van. This turned out to be due to a broken plastic clip meant to align the rod going to the rear latch mechanism (P/N 171-837-199). Thinking the Weekender might be experiencing the same issue, start by removing the side panel off of the sliding door. Inspecting the latch and components, the plastic guide and rod are fine and do not seem to be the origin of the issue. I do also note the mechanism in the 1993 Weekender has a form factor slightly different than what is in my 1995 EVC. After manually working the pieces back and forth the issue becomes quite apparent and kind of feel stupid for not recognizing it earlier. Someone activated the child lock switch on the front side of the door jam. Viola! issue one is now solved.

1995 EVC Mechanism with Broken Plastic Guide Pin

1993 Weekender Mechanism

This door remains in a locked state if the knob is manually lifted, it can be opened but once let go it returns to the locked position. Since the actuator needs power to work, this is the first area I dive into. Power is routed through the door jam connector so I unplug the wiring there. Nothing changes with the lock’s position and then I realize with the door open this system is already disconnected. Undoing the two mounting screws, extract out the power sliding door switch (701959375). Remove the plastic shield/cover and wiring harness off of it and dig out a multimeter to check continuity on each of the three retractable pins. Hooking up the meter, there is no real consistency in when these connectors are able to close the circuit. One registers only when fully bottomed out, another just in a small spot in the middle of its travel and nowhere else. Inspecting the switch casing to find it is designed to be opened up which means field stripping will commence immediately.

Gently unlock the four tabs securing the two sections together. Carefully and slowly separate the cover from the body not knowing what the inside mechanism looks like. Because the three pins retract and return, there are definitely springs which may or may not want to eject themselves. There are three sub-parts for each one of the contacts in the body, a plunger, spring and tab. The plunger’s base sits directly on the tab which rides along the contact strip mounted on the top cover of the switch. The spring fits below the tab providing tension to the plunger when the sliding door is closed allowing it to transfer power to the locking actuator. All of these parts and contact points require a thorough cleaning. Unfortunately, I did not bring a brass brush along so resort to utilizing a small screwdriver as a scraper. (It was later in the day I realized there are several Scotch-Brite pads amid the kitchen items I could have used.)

Once all the contact surfaces are cleaned up, close up the two halves of the switch. The tabs are locked in place and ensure each of the contact plungers move smoothly as well as return to their extended position. This time when checking continuity, all pins pass with flying colors. Additionally, measure the contact assembly on the opposing door jam to see if there is power registering on its contact pads. When the system is unlocked, the bottom pad reads 12.4V. Turning the key in the door to lock the van, the middle pad now provides power. Makes me think the contact assembly could be an easily accessible source of 12V power if needed in a pinch.Reconnect the wiring harness and slide the plastic shield back in place. Install the switch back into the door jam and plug in the wiring to the actuator. Test the system a few times and the sliding door is back to fully operational status with no more issues with the locking functionality. This cleaning also solves a “lazy lock” situation happening over the previous few months when the sliding door would not always lock/unlock while activating the central locking from the front doors.

With the resolution of that issue, start up the van to look into the dash noise my brother previously reported. As the 2.5L engine idles I do hear a noise, though it is more of a rapid clicking sound. Putting my hand on the relays above the fuse panel quickly find the origin of the noise, it is coming from #53. Turn the engine off and pull the relay, Open up the Bentley manual and find it is for the horn. Ponder this for a minute and realize the lead must have fallen off of the horn pad and is contacting the metal plate in the steering wheel. Remove the pad off the steering wheel and reconnect the wire. This also means the horns themselves are most likely DOA and will need replacement. Start thinking about if I should look for something loud out of a 1990s or older domestic landbarge while on an expedition to the junkyard.

A little bit later Bob and my brother land back at the campsite from the paddock tour and are quite happy the contemptuous sliding door is working properly. The van is converted back to transport mode as we are headed into Pacific Grove to attend the Little Car Show (vehicles under 1.8L displacement) then drive down south along the coast. The LCS is one of my favorite events during car week. VW/Porsche have a significant presence there with all of their air-cooled powered conveyances, one of my favorites is a Tiki-themed Type 1. After refueling at a British Pub along the main street, start the drive down Route One. We make it as far as the photogenic Bixby Bridge. Looking at the time we decide to turn back to hit the grocery store for dinner fixings of burgers and brats. Wednesday afternoon/early evening is when most of our friends will have arrived. Another evening sitting around a campfire with lively conversation and cocktails taking the edge off the crisp Pacific Ocean breeze. This time we remember to fold up the chairs and under the shade structure to prevent them from being soggy in the morning.

Next: Car Week Continued

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[borninabus]

just wanted to give some props to you for such a great thread

as a Eurovan neophyte, i found your procedures, explanations and photos very helpful and also inspirational. being new to these rigs and owning one that has been taken care of, but also aged can be intimidating. you show a great example of taking things one at a time, or as priority dictates. many of the common problems of a well loved (used) Euro are in here. many of my basic questions are answered in here, such as: where is the thermostat? why are my gauges all over the place? where is the shifter bushing? how do i get a switch out of the dash?....etc. your industriousness is admirable. thanks so much taking the extra time to document your time spent as not a lot of this hands-on type of info is out there like it is for other VWs.

i will be taking on my own instrument cluster here soon and will use your techniques to (hopefully) isolate the problem. if i may offer a few bits of advice on some of your nagging problems that seem difficult to resolve: have you tried a NEW voltage regulator in your cluster as opposed to old used ones? they are available and not expensive. regarding the loosening CV bolts on EVC: this is one of the areas where i feel a torque wrench is required. the torque specs for VWs pretty much across the board are 33 ft/lb for 8mm flange bolts and 59 ft/lb for 10mm. try giving them a snug-up with the proper torque and see if it holds. if they don't then the threads in the output flange are most likely damaged (from being run loose) and will require replacement.

hope you had a great time in Monterey this year. looking forward to hearing the rest

--Pete
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88 Van WBX, A/T - 93 Multivan 5cyl 5M/T - 13 JSW TDI 6M/T - 2012 Touareg TDI Sport

[Saturn]

[Saturn]

Car Week Concludes and a Trip to the Boneyard

Saturday Bob and my brother head out to check out Concorse d’Lemon and with Armando’s passes hit the Mecum auction. During the late morning Armando and I walk though the paddock. While going through the parking area, spot a VW ID Buzz. While I have seen these on the streets of SF it is my first time seeing one up close. After peering in the window, damned it if didn’t make me appreciate my Eurovans that much more. It most likely drives and handles better than the T4s, though not really interested in it unless there is a poptop. Stop to check out the F1 cars on display which is the featured “marque” of this year. Go up into the adjacent campsites and come across a VR6 EVC, a round fender Volvo and several Vanagons. Spend the rest of the day at the campsite, taking in the races and enjoying the sunshine.

As the last race concludes, Bob, my brother and I start to get prepared for our excursion into Monterey. Several weeks previous, my brother secured invitations to a Jaguar open studio event for their new brand proposition the Type 00 concept car. Immediately the three of us were dumbfounded when seeing this vehicle on display. After securing a cocktail which matched the color of the car we end up retreating to the outside area where there was a least a E-Type, 220 and XJ-S to look at. Totally feeling like we were the skunks at the garden party, we do our best Irish exit and head back to the track. My brother has a more detailed write-up over on the Vanagon forum. (https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10426105#10426105)

Sunday morning starts with breakfast and then the inevitable task of breaking up the campsites. Around us large RVs wake up and eventually lumber out of their parking spots. Loading the vans begins and the Pantera crew happily drops of their large duffle bag of camping gear next to the Weekender. Just past 10:30 bid the campsites adios and start the drive northward. As with the ride down, we will be driving/escorting the 1967 Volvo 122S back to San Francisco. It turns out to be an uneventful trip back home, no hiccups, issues or calamities.

Since Bob doesn’t leave until late Monday afternoon, we plan a morning excursion to check out the Junkyard across the bay near the Oakland Coliseum. Some interesting car-casses to see in the rows there but unfortunately no old Volvos or Eurovans. Heading back to SF end up doing some sight-seeing and picking up Gyros at a Greek place near Golden Gate Park. Navigate the Weekender over to Fort Point and the base of the Golden Gate Bridge for a scenic lunch. Open the slider door for a view of the Bridge and the water, along with the ship traffic coming in and out of the bay. As we finish our lunch, it is about time to get Bob to SFO to catch his flight back to Denver. My brother leaves Tuesday morning signaling the end of the car week festivities. Once again the Eurovans made the experience in Monterey fun and interesting serving both as a base camp, troop transport and cargo conveyances.

A couple days later checking the junkyard inventory see a 1993 MV tin top is now at the Richmond, CA yard. The van actually was posted on Monday but since I checked the inventory on Sunday afternoon, the van didn’t show up. Make the run across the Bay Bridge to the boneyard. Thankfully, I am able to find and pull a few needed parts. One being an intact passenger side A-pillar plastic trim for the Weekender and the drivers side headlight assembly since the lens glass on the EVC has damage. The interior is pretty gutted though do find a few relays to for the spares collections. Grab the turns signal stalk as it includes the cruise control switch, instrument cluster and the climate control face/fan switch.

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