1986 Canadian Transporter Syncro Double Cab

[ajdenette]

Well after teasing about the purchase last year I figure it is about time for me to get a thread going on my latest Van which is once again a Project.

So I have wanted a Syncro Doka when I discovered them on Vanagon.com oh so many years ago (like late 90's) I had looked into importing one in collage but did not have the available funds when a running driving Syncro Doka sold on the European market for 3500 euro since then I have watched as prices have climbed and kept them out of my reach. Last year I found this Truck on The Samba not running for a price I thought I could make happen after figuring out the money I approached my wife with my desire and to my surprise she said I could .

So next I figured out how to transport it from Ontario Canada and found a place to store it until I had the time and garage space work on it at home My brother-in-law has a carriage house and a F350 Crew cab with a Diesel and I have another friend with a Car hauling trailer I talked a good Friend and my little brother to make the trek with me. While I was lining all this up I also was interviewing for a new job this truck gave me a little coverage for the interview saying I was taking it off to go get this but it cramped the schedule a little bit as I had the interview before we could hit the road and my little brother worked a full day. We ended up hitting the road late and drive to the middle of NY state Friday night after getting everything together stopping at about midnight for some rest. the three of us rotated through the driving duties getting to the truck at bout 3 in the afternoon. after looking the truck over a deal was made and it was loaded onto the trailer. next we turned around and headed back for the US boarder crossing at midnight it was quiet and easy they processed the paperwork and we were on our way.

on the way home I was having nightmares about the truck and trailer rolling over trying to make it up the Hill to my brother-in-laws house as it is complicated and it was icy so a call was made and my grandparents allowed me to drop it in the barn where using 2 winches as there were no brakes the shifter didn't move well and the e-brake didn't work right to where my Westy had been sitting since 2005 before I pulled it out.

_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

So one issue was that the rear wheel was missing a stud and the threads on the others were in fairly rough shape so a spare hub was in order I had also intended to start on the brakes but I at least got this one assessed and realized they would need complete replacement

this was all I managed to get done in the barn fortunately I didn't lock it up when I dropped it off as I lost the key by the time I got home so while working on the brakes I collected the 3 door handles to work on getting new keys made which I did I also freed up the fuel cap, the stuck treasure chest door and got the engine lid latch to work. I brought back the door handles and engine latch and re installed them before bringing it home

meanwhile My grandfather got tired of the electrical issues with his truck and replaced it my friend was interested in a cheap truck so he picked it up and I gave him some money for some use of the truck he fixed it up and has primary ownership but we did use it to go bring the Doka from my grandparents house to my house it was a long trip back as the Chevy is a 1992 2WD 2500HD with a V6 needless to say we took surface roads home.

_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

Once home I gave it a bath but first I spent a good amount of time pulling ass of the screws out of the bed that had been used to secure some plywood at some point I need to weld up the holes in the bed from the screws and the rivets that held the various wood to the bed over the years

Once home and cleaned up I decided to grab a photo of my three vans before the Westy got put away for the winter:

Being a Canadian Syncro the Speedometer is in km/Hr there had been a Syncro cluster on TOS clasifieds near a Friend so I payed the seller and he picked it up it was in worse shape than it looked in photos but fortunately I had picked up some MK2 clusters for the tachometers so the two MPH speedos got sent to Specialty Gauge to get the Vanagon speedometer rebuilt and use any MK2 components needed to get it working and set the mileage to match the body when it gets rebuilt.

The add stated it had a rear locker but the photo in the Add showed no console the seller did pull the heater panel and show the locker knob and vacuum lines before I made the drive and I did verify the transmission had the locker when we loaded it up so that was good news. fortunately some time in the past I had picked up a locker console and had one to install. To help feel like good progress was made I took some time using the 1990 dash as a template and a for measurement reference I got the console installed.

_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[old_man]

I like this.

[zimflux]

Awesome. Where did you find it? TOS?
_________________
84 1.9 Westy

[ledogboy]

What the heck is TOS?

I have major Doka envy... maybe someday...
_________________
1986 Westy Weekender
Now a full camper
1.8t Syncro conversion
Some people call him Maurice...

[ajdenette]

Sorry I built the post on another forum and copied it over here over there TOS is the other site referring to here on The Samba. but it was listed for sale her on The Samba last year.
_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

So some of you with a keen eye may have noticed the GL dash in the Doka it also hints to why there was no locker panel even though it had a knob and tubing behind the dash, turns out that this doka is a burn victim. I found out when filing the paperwork at the DMV when they ran the VIN through the insurance database that the Doka had at one point been declared a total loss by an insurance company, this is also why a number of other buyers had backed out of purchasing it after running a carfax or similar report. I was told about some minor damage that had been body worked poorly on the front end and that it had been parked due to a blown headgasket after looking things over I do believe it was running and driving after the dash fire was repaired.

the headliner was also aparently destroyed in the dash fire it looks like the windshield seal was re used but i'm betting the windshield itself is replaced. I was able to order a replacement headliner from Rock Auto so I will have to let you know how it fits when I install it it will need some sound deadening before that gets installed as even closing the door the is a lot of tin can noise

_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

while the last owner had possession of the Doka it seems to have lost its engine cover so I did not get one of those and need to resolve that issue I have sourced bolts and new emblems for the back as I had none of those either. At Transporter Fest this year there was a gentleman who had the unfortunate event of a tree falling on his Syncro and single cab as such the Syncro was for sale he was kind enough to let me take some measurements and photos of his wood slats and engine cover

after debating it I have decided to forgow the wood slats in the bed I will likely weld up all the holes and line the bed. in the Samba Galery are more photos of the slats and some relative dimensions.
_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

when ordering the headliner I specified without zippers not wanting zippers in the headliner though they mistakenly built and sent me one anyhow. The manufacturer and Rock auto made it right and replaced it with the style I ordered without zippers but am curious if any other Doka's out there have zipper sections in their headliner?
_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

I tried to turn the engine over but all I did was loosen the pulley bolt so I figured the bad headgasket had resulted in water in a cylinder and locked up the engine its time in Canada had not been kind to the engine, the exhaust was rusty the spark plugs were corroded and tough to get out I tried the Marvel mystery oil with no luck so decided to pull the engine

On the way out

Engine out:

Parts coming off of the engine

Engine out of the engine bay felt good

as I began pulling parts off of the engine I got to the starter and that gave me a look into the bellhousing to see a lot of corosion I also removed all 4 fastners holding the two together but they stayed stuck as a unit then there was torching and lots of chisels and screwdrivers to separate the two it took a few hours just to get the gap starting and moving it around the bellhousing

in the process of fighting with rusty bits and trying to geth the engine and transmission seporate and working on the asumption that the engine was stuck I did not have a lot of hope for the block and got a bit rough with it.

_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

while the Doka was up on the jackstands I had pulled apart the rear brakes and had all the parts to build them back up and get the ability to roll it around and stop it while in there I also found that both rear springs had broken coils so spares out of my stash were grabbed and installed

I built them up and got my best two drums turned and installed but the one I used on the drivers side kept locking up when I tried to tighten it down to the hub, while doing this I did end up finding the e brake cable was seized at the bushing under the floor on top of needing both cables the only original part to the e brake system is the handle as I used a balance bar from a spare cable so I could swap it out all at once. it turned out one of my 2 best drums was a bus drum and even though they look identical and have the same internal dimensions the outer lip on the Vanagon is bigger and the smaller lip on the bus drum kept binding on the backing plate so new drums were ordered from Napa.

now that there were drums and an E brake was done it was time for some wheels, last year a good deal on 4 Vanagon alloys with good tires came up cheaper than I could get tires for it and since I still need to deal with a driveshaft before I worry about running in Syncro (it came with 2 dismounted shafts in rough shape) these will be it for now. when I bout it it have 4 mixed very rough tires that didn't hold air well and were badly cracked in fact when we went to pick it up I brought some spares and good I did as it had one that did not hold air due to a nail. once I got it home I put it on 4 tires as old as I am that have been moving from project to project as they roll well and hold air though the crack in them are getting large.

So excited that it finally had wheels and brakes onto the ground it went with the fresh tires I adjusted the brakes and torqued down the axle nuts. just in time to help a friend with a patch to his floor. this also gave me a chance to cut some metal for the 2 floor repairs I need to do on the Doka.
_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

Knowing my Syncro's and especially ones from the salt zone now was the right time to pull my gas tank though I have removed one other from my parts van this will be my first time re installing the Syncro gas tank, I know I have a lot of clean up to do but I was happy to find solid metal behind tha tank and not Swiss cheese though the tank straps did come out with no tools.

one of the next projects will be removing the bellhousing from a spare bad 2WD transmission I had picked up to install on my spare 2WD transmission but think it will be better off on the Syncro transmission I did just pick up a bus bellhousing in good shape to rebuild with the clutch arm from the Syncro bellhousing to be able to finally fix that

new fuel tank straps for this one pair I need to get to a friend who needed them and one set for another project we will see what happens with that.

and the pile of parts I have been gathering and pulling out of my spares to build up this Doka man there is a lot of work ahead of me.

_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[ajdenette]

So this came up on the book of faces the other day so while I have everything apart and access to everything some one asked about the Syncro doka breather system so I thought I would include a post with that same specific info. This set up is for a north american 2.1 MV engine in a Doka, this set up uses the same stock air box coupling and I believe dust collector

from other photos I have seen there is an added piece in the box section for the bed that sucks from behind the cab there is also a mounting tab for the elbow that is in the lower corner I sill need to get the bolt out but broke the elbow removing it.

I was able to find a new elbow on Ebay from OE245 unfortunately the tube that connects the box section to the elbow broke from handling due to its condition so I will need to try to find a new one of those

_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[4Gears4Tires]

Man you have a lot of work cut out for yourself but this is an awesome project!
_________________
'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[garbaldie]

It seems I have it's twin, also an 86 Canadian Syncro Doka in the same Medium Blue... bought it in Quebec 3 years ago, though mine wasn't in quite as rough shape. It's been in the garage for 2.5 years since then slowly restoring it. Just finally installed an ALH 1.9 TDI in it this weekend (was originally a WBX, which the privious owner had taken out and swapped in a 1.8 I4 from a mid 90's Golf)

This is it back in the summer once I finally got it back on it's wheels, and before the doors went back on.

[ajdenette]

The engine compartment is the roughest and looks worse than it is most of that is surface rust that I will be cleaning soda blasting and painting before anything back there goes back together I ordered rear control arm bushings so those will come off and get some love I am not going to do a full restore on it before it goes back together as I tend to use them for what they were built for so not going for the full tare down.
_________________
1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
1986 Syncro Doka Project next in line
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work

[erste]

Looking forward to more updates.
Amazing progress so far.

[pburkeame]

MayI ask how much you got it for? If this rude of me, please disregard. I’m looking at one right now and would like to get a ballpark figure. Thank you.
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1987 Vanagon Syncro, Manual
1987 Vanagon 2WD, Automatic
1986 DOKA Syncro, Manual
1980 Westphalia, 2WD, Manual (Under Construction)

[CdnVWJunkie]

Nice progress so far Alex.