Converting a 2WD Westy into a Syncro Westy

[MarkWard]

Well transferring the syncro engine and transmission has proved to be more of a task than I anticipated. Trying to locate the transmission brackets has had me scratching my head. If I were doing these for a living, I would make a drill jig that bolted to the 4, 8mm captive nuts in the 2wd chassis.

I tried using a laser level to transfer the syncro bolt holes to the 2wd chassis using common reference points. I was just not happy how they were coming across. So, I bolted a bare bracket back onto the donor syncro chassis multiple times. Using flat stock, a short piece of angle as a stop, I clamped my scrap metal to the transmission bracket flush up against the inner control arm bracket. Removed the bracket with my rig from the syncro.

Next step was to put masking tape on the 2wd crossmember. Then using my rig, I clamped the syncro transmission bracket to the control arm inner bracket. This effectively positioned the bracket in the correct spot of the crossmember. I used some black spray paint to mark the hole locations on the masking tape. I repeated this process for the other side.

I then rehung the engine and transmission. I took the time to replace the 4 engine mounts with Meyle mounts. The others were failing. I wanted to be sure the moustache bar and engine were as square as they could be. This all started because one of the 10 mm bolts that holds the aluminum adapter to the case was snapped off flush. Luckily it came out using a Grabit. I also replaced the oil pressure sender while I had easy access.

I have a piece of "C" channel that I slid across the top of the frame rails above the transmission nose cone and ran a ratchet strap over the channel and under the nose cone. With the engine bolted to the chassis and the transmission supported, I installed the transmission mounts and brackets. I wrapped electrical tape around the 10mm bolts where they slip into the trans case so that there would be zero play and left the heavy washers off so I could see visually that the bolts were more or less centered in the nose cone brackets.

I then used a carpenter's lazer level to center the transmission nose with the front differenctial using the casting mark of the transmission case for center. I ended up with another ratchet strap to pull the nose cone into center around the output flange section and the jacking point on the l/s. The two straps are holding the transmission in both the vertical and horizontal position.

With the brackets and mounts assembled, my paint marks from earlier are almost spot on. The 10 mm bolts in the nose cone have some clearance side to side as well. Time to drill my 6 holes and move to securing them. Have decided to remove the bed and access the cross member by cutting access holes that will be welded back up when done. A member pointed out that Burley sells some tapped brackets, but I'm going to fabricate my own. For one reason, the picture on the website shows 6 bolts, and 3 plates with a total of 5 tapped holes. I wonder about the 6th hole, but their website says specifically no directions are offered and if I am confused by starring at them on the web, no telling how I will do with them in hand.

Time to go drill some holes. I wanted to post my thoughts while they were fresh in my head. Thanks for reading this far if you made it. I believe some of the trouble is that something from the syncro is slightly tweaked after years of use. Transmission mounts are pretty sagged out too. Not ready to replace them at the moment.

[MarkWard]

Update.
I made up 2 nut plates using 1/8" steel plate with 8mm flange nuts welded to the backside of the plates. I made paper templates off of the holes I drilled into the crossmember. I transferred those to folder material and then transferred those to the steel plate, drilled, and welded 8mm flange nuts to the plates. Lots of test fitting. The R/S nut plate required heating with a torch and bending it to match the r/s transmission mount.

My intention was to pull the back seat, and cut out access holes to install the nut plates. There would have been a lot of grinding and sparks inside the van. The camper interior is still installed.

I was not big on the idea of cutting and welding, but seemed the only way to do it. I put that on hold while I dealt with the powersteering lines. I had removed the battery cable for access which allowed me to notice the oval hole in both sides of the r/s of the crossmember.

With very little modifying of the nut plates I made, I was able to insert the plates into the crossmember. I used mechanics wire through one of the new holes in the crossmember to pull the nut plate across to the l/s. There are a few holes you can get your fingers in to move the l/s plate around to get the bolts started.

The nut plate for the R/S mount could be slipped into the crossmember without any mechanics wire. To secure these, I drilled a hole into the middle of the new bolt pattern of each mount, bolted the nut plates into places and rosette welded the plates to the bottom of the subframe one weld each.

It was a bit frustrating because I had to modify the l/s nut plate 3 times to get the fit correct, but way less work than cutting open the crossmember and I have no doubt these will outlast the van.

Decided to make a fuel tank mounting bracket using some lengths of 1 inch box and bolting to the firewall. I mimiced the factory stamped sheetmetal dimensions and I believe this design will retain less dirt and moisture. My factory tank mount is in very good shape, but just did not seem worth the effort to swap and the design is poor at best.

I believe the design I copied was Mark's "crazyvwvanman". Thats about it for now.

[MarkWard]

Last update: Well, stage 1 is done. There did not seem to be any interest in my conversion and since it's been done multiple times I stopped documenting the project back in Aug.

To do it right, there is a ton of detail, that gets glossed over. I won't elaborate, but one thing I needed to resolve was the clearance for the driveshaft. I removed the cross brace from the donor syncro, but decided to modify the 2 wd cross member instead. This way all of the factory spot welds are retained and I could leave the camper interior installed. I could find no reason not to modify the existing, so I did.

I first welded in a patch to fill the cutout for the original air cooled f to r duct. I then, using the syncro cross piece as a template, cut a new relief for the driveshaft and then welded a 1 inch piece of flat stock to reinforce the edge. I primed, painted and then undercoated the area. After a few dirt roads, you won't be able to notice it.

Unfortunately my phone died with many of the pictures I was taking during the conversion. For the original 2wd filler neck. I cut 2 round plates from sheetmetal and welded them on both sides of the frame just inside the opening to fill the factory hole. I ground the welds flush primed and painted. I needed to do this mainly because the synrco power steering lines pass over this area on the inside. I left the filler and cap since the van may get an auxilary tank at some point.

These pictures are proof it did get the conversion finished.

I finally have the syncro camper I always wanted. Well at least the start of one. I'm glad I did not do this to our 82 camper. There were times during the conversion that it seemed I bit off more than I could chew. Doing the conversion to our complete camper would only added to the stress.

I ended up rebuilding the rear transaxle. It started with a simple reseal job only to find a cracked G and R case, then a broken 3/4 hub, worn gear carrier section. With parts from "Gears" and Weddle, I was able to rebuild it with upgraded parts including a main bearing retainer, GT 3/4 slider, and both splash plates.

Front differential was done a few years ago by AA Transaxle. It is fitted with a Peloquin TBD with locker upgrade. I resealed the VC myself. Idaho Doug had some fluid left over and I found O rings using the dimensions online. Decided to hold off on the decoupler for now.

Next step is to decide what I want to do with the syncro. Lots of ideas floating around. To those that come across this thread, as I said earlier, its a lot of detailed work, but with a donor on hand is completely doable. Here it is parked outside my bay. If someone goes down this path and has a question, feel free to reach out to me.

P.S. I know the shield from the propane tank is missing. I have a WTB add in the classifieds.

[joetiger]

Congratulations!! Bring it to Moab in May

[MarkWard]

Thanks Joe, I read, bookmarked and saved as much as I could before starting too. I did save a section of the transmission crossmember. I have an idea how to make a drilling jig that could be bolted to the 2wd crossmember 4 mounting bolts. No time now, but I'll hold on to it. I spent a ton of time getting that correct and not sure if I posted, but was able to fabricate nut plates and slip them into position without cutting any part of the cross member. Once the nut plates were bolted tight. I rosette welded them into place from below. This saved pulling the interior also.

I used Crazyvwvanman's method of fabricating a syncro fuel tank bracket. I believe it is better than what the factory did. This bracket should not catch dirt and water. Again, I bolted it through the rear firewall to save welding on the factory sheetmetal. I used 2 pieces of flat stock on the inside and sandwiched the firewall between the plates and the tank support. Those pictures were lost as well.

[xoo00oox]

Looks like a really nice job you did here! Now time to get out and enjoy it! I agree with you on the posting here, not many people seem to care much anymore and it makes it feel like it's not worth the time posting your work. It's too bad, I still like following the different builds people do and seeing them adapt their vans to work best with the way they want to use them. Thanks for donating your time here.

[DanHoug]

great make-do engineering. incredible feat of persistence and ingenuity. congrats.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[BavarianWrench]

Congratulations Mark, all the work and advise you have offered to Samba members over the years, it's too bad the site couldn't just offer you a Syncro Westy! I'm happy you have yours now. Enjoy and thanks for sharing. I was enjoying your posts. I think TheSamba should put a like button. So often I do not reply because I hate to clutter a technical thread with, thanks thats cool, or nice work. I'm not on often anymore but always enjoy your well thought out posts when I see them. I'm happy you have your Syncro Westy. It's a beauty.

[Jake de Villiers]

I'm with Bavarian Wrench: I find these build threads very interesting but as I'm not ever going to turn my van into a Syncro, generally just keep my mouth shut as I admire your work.
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'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7.5 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

[El Chorrito]

So this thread has my brain whirling... I have two syncro projects and one wrecked donor 2wd westy. I originally planned a pop-top swap, but now I wonder if I found a nice 2wd westy, would the syncro swap be easier than a poptop swap... anyone have an opinion on this?
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Insta: @el_chorrito_project

[joetiger]

I have no skin in the game, but I think a Westy roof transplant to a Syncro would be far easier.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'91 Wolfsburg Carat "Barchetta"
'02 Baja-ish Beetle "Bubbles"

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Justice for Megan: https://linktr.ee/justiceformegantrussell

[MarkWard]

It really depends on your skill set. I'm more of a mechanic, welder, fabricator, than a body man. It also depends on what you want to end up with in the end.

I basically ended up with a 90 syncro westy as it rolled off the syncro assembly line. I spent more time thinking about which direction to go than to do the job.

There are some really good threads on roof grafting here, a current one is in Australia I believe where he grafted in a complete westy roof skin. You can get a sense of the incredible amount of detail involved in a proper roof graft. There is also another thread where they are grafting a sunroof top to a plain tin top.

If the end goal is to just gain head room, the method of cutting out an opening and bolting the fiberglass roof to the tin top is probably a weekend job and doesn't affect the structure that I can tell.

There is also a thread or 2 with a partial grafts. My concern would be sealing the two and getting some nice invisible welds at the gutter edge.

Now that I am done, I wish I had gone through with converting our 82. I just didn't have the confidence I'd see it through. And there were days, I was glad I did not go after our 82. But now that I am done with the conversion, I see the long road to make it an equal to our 82. So, I'm actually considering selling the syncro now. Same old story. Wanting and having. Currently resurrecting the factory AC.

I posted this picture of the fuel tank support I made. Didn't bother to swap the original over. This should collect less dirt and moisture. It also avoided welding into the factory paint and sheetmetal. Not my idea.

[El Chorrito]

Thanks for the detailed info... I have researched the roof graft and decided on "drilling the spotwelds in the gutter" method. It looks like a possible 6-in-one, half-dozen in the other... I guess, ultimately, I will go ahead with the pop-top swap... I think I'm already in too deep...
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Insta: @el_chorrito_project

[MarkWard]

Naw, your not in to deep. Here is the syncro tin top donor I intended to use. Below I am replacing a flatened C pillar.

Here is the 90 camper donor I intended to use for the graft no engine. It was a rust bucket and not totally straight.

In the end, the syncro was just too twisted.

Got the donor camper running and sold it on. Stripped the syncro tin top and had it crushed.

Bought a solid straight 90 camper for the conversion. Good luck with the conversion. Hope you post up a thread. I really enjoy some of the craftsmanship here. Mark

[El Chorrito]

My first 87 syncro needs a little body work to correct rust and the PO paneled the rear windows and hatch window.

The second 87 is solid, with some small dents in various places from pulling from the woods... it is rust free, but the windows were busted out so the interior is trashed otherwise.

The 86 donor was t-boned. the flooring is unusable and the cabinet under the z-bed is cracked. I am still not sure If I really want the west interior... I would rather have a weekender setup as I do not need the full stove, wardrobe, etc.

I also have an EJ22 and an EJ 25... I have too many options, and I am not sure which way I will go... I am just ready to start!

I did plan to document on Instagram account (@el_chorrito_project) ... maybe make a few videos... I might start a build thread... I need more time!!
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Insta: @el_chorrito_project

[MarkWard]

Just dig in. If you decide to change directions, you just change directions. Too many options can be paralyzing.

We don't live in either camper, but for the type of use it gets, would not, not have the complete Westy interior. Its really well thought out, and my wife loves "her kitchen". Our previous camper was an 68 with the original ice box and pump sink. Our 82 is like a mansion by comparison.

Sorry Instagram, Facebook are just not places I would go. Best of luck with your project.

[tjet]

I have a couple of questions on this conversion.

I have a rust free '85 that I want to make it a syncro, so I'm collecting some key parts.

1. What is the absolute bare minimum syncro front end parts I would need to install to keep the van drivable in it's current 2wd & 1.9 wbx state?

2. Will the syncro cradle / subframe clear the factory '85 2wd tank?

There is an old thread where someone had the front diff, front axles, and driveshaft removed from their syncro and he was driving it around as 2wd. That's how I want to proceeded until I get the front diff, syncro trans, gas tank, etc.

Cheers

[MarkWard]

You will need the cradle, the upper A arms, assembled bearing housings, lower control arms, caster rods, brake calipers, lines, and discs. Syncro sway bar would be nice.

You will need the syncro steering rack support brace and the longer steering rod. You can reuse the steering rack and tie rods from the 2wd.

If you are getting the cradle, try to get the nut plates that go into the chassis frame for bolting the rear cradle into place.

Every detail you need is in this thread. Read it and reread it. If you have a specific question, best to ask here. I have this thread "watched" so I'll get notified if you or someone posts.

You won't have a speedometer at first and yes, two outer CV's will be necessary to properly hold the hubs and bearings together. Something could be cobbled using a very large bolt, nut and some heavy duty washers. Hope that helps.

Edit, missed the question about the fuel tank. I'm relatively sure, the 2wd tank does not fit once you start cutting and welding. I rigged a fuel jug under the van, so I could move it around the shop and parking lot.

[tjet]

Thanks Mark. I picked up a Burley weld-in rack mounting flange for the steering a few years ago as I was anticipating a swap down the road.

[charleslabri]

I did a tin to pop top where i fabricated a new C pillar support that was flat like the westys.. worked out purdy nice