Saving the '84

[fxr]

Is imgur the slowest responding image server on the planet? It's like going back to dial-up days. Sorry, I just don't have the time.
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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300

[dobryan]

[Xevin]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

agonizing over the little details is killing me, as it usually does with a personal build.

i took a giant detour and after looking at photos of some of these swaps i know i can do better and set out to do just that.

i'll be running a k&n filter with the 'sock' to keep the fine shit out of it. i just hate how they kind of hang out in the engine bay so i decided to bust out the plasma cutter again and pound this out

which ultimately meant doing more paint work

the final product

not sure how i feel about the polished intake pipe. i may powder coat it in a wrinkle finish. the plate i made lines up with all the preexisting holes which was done by design. i really hate making holes if i don't have to

while i was making stuff and painting stuff i decided to use the OE overflow tank and made a bracket for it

peek a booo

trying to tie up loose ends i set out to get the trans cooler dialed in which involved making hoses and brackets. i spent more on the -6AN fittings than i did the cooler and thermostat

then it was on to finalizing the brakes. that's when the fight broke out. mind you, this van has about 112k on it. other than being neglected it was reasonably unmolested.

i ordered new wheel bearings based on measuring as the 84 has a split...19mm or 22mm outer bearing inner diameters. so, i measured and came up with 19mm. perfect. until it wasn't

turns out the left is 19mm which i measured. the right was 22mm which i didn't measure. fuck me. anyway, i ordered the 22mm for the right and continued on.

talking to my parts guy who has been with vw since 1978 i gave him my vin. he laughed...said yep you're literally last in line for the split and he remembers vw doing stupid shit like this back in the day.

i have no reason to believe that either spindle was swapped out. that was a bit of a pain in the ass and of course, a last minute discovery

anyway...

new backing plates

calipers/pads/rotors or 'CPR' as we use to say at the dealer. new hoses and new shorty lines too

drums all dialed in

whoever designed the brake adjuster should have his sack (or clam as it may be) dragged over a high velocity wire wheel. good idea, bad execution. i really don't see how you could really adjust the brakes with a tire in the way.

another detour was pulling the shift rod and cable assembly out which resulted in the shift rod getting sand blasted and painted

while the unobtainable cable was out i did some brainstorming on a replacement cable and it looks like the fine folks at B&M have a cable i could adapt should the need arise.

i also took the time to hang the cable by it's toes and flush out any shit that was in there. took about a day of hanging it like a gutted deer but once the oil came out clean i put it all back together. it was fairly smooth before buy holy shit, WAY better now.

tires should be here by the end of the week. took a bit of figuring out and i really didn't want to do staggered sizes but due to lowering and wheel choice i really had to split hairs. i wanted a bit of a taller tire to fool with the cruising RPM's so it was a bit of a balancing act to say the least.

getting close now, but still have a bit more to do
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[coqcitywesty]

While I marvel at the mechanical and fabrication prowess that accompanies this particular build, I am equally impressed by the unfiltered and entirely amusing prose of the builder. I thought I was the only one left that used the term ‘clam’. Thx for making me laugh and keep up the great work!
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1991 Westfalia EJ251, 1972 Volvo 1800 ES

[4Gears4Tires]

The air filter block off plate is pretty slick. Nice progress.
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'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[jlrftype7]

No issue to adjust the brakes with the small brake spoon I have from Snap On.
Very short, right curve to it, and you can leave your tires on.
I’ll try and post the tool. Blanking plate does look nice, along with the rest of the work.
Now my Automatic shifter rod feels ashamed to be seen in Public..l

Should be this one- whoops, wrong one listed, it's this one

https://shop.snapon.com/product/Automotive-Brake-Adjusting-Tools/Brake-Adjuster/S6004
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Abscate]

There aren’t too many guys left like this anymore. One day I’ll get a restoration done before we both dirt nap.

I’ll tell him want I want , and the budget will be materials plus hours times rate paid in cash each week.
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.ssS!

[whafalia]

Paint can opener is the ticket,
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84 westie 2.2 w/ digijet, AT

[skills@eurocarsplus]

bit of an update....

dialing stuff in doing the "final" checks. decided to use one of the NOS radiators i came across

take me back to the 90's

also replaced the rear heater core just because and did the updated shut off from go wEsTy

with the cooling system out of the way (for now anyway) my tires came in. wheels have been kicking around for a while but i wanted to get them mounted.

i went with 17" fuch reps because i wanted size options and until i figure out what wheels i really want these are a bit more fun than what everyone else runs on these

a recent parts score yielded me some old stock lobro joints. i bought 3 from a guy not too long ago but for some reason they just would not fit the splines on my axles. no idea what they fit, but it sure as hell wasn't this application.

was glad to score the 4 in the photo here. the bigger boxes were "service kits" with the boot and joint and the smaller were just the joint and hardware. also got some ATE wheel cys (amongst other stuff) in that haul

went digging around and came up with enough NOS axle bolts too

all dressed up (no photos of building them because you know....grease)

also decided it was time to get the water pump and timing belt on seeing i'm close to hitting the key

i was waiting to install the sink/fridge cabinet until my wife could man the water hose. wanted to make sure i had no leaks before plopping the fridge back in.

much to my surprise, the water tank level sensors actually work

that of course was an ordeal. i went to take the old water hose off of the original faucet and the fucking nipple broke before i could even get a 1/8 turn out of the clamp. fine.... i have another sink unit.

wouldn't you know....that one broke just moving the hose 'hello go WeStY i would like your *finest* shurflow faucet kit' so that came in and got installed.

nice unit and seems to work well. i have a few things to tie up in the fuel system and dump in some ATF and hopefully hit the key here in the next few days. still a bit of a grocery list to deal with but close now
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[dobryan]

So close.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[4Gears4Tires]

Looks like summer trips are in order!
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'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[Xevin]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

^^^^



yea. it's close. i may try and run it tonight. got to sort a few more things
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[skills@eurocarsplus]

well, it's alive


Link


not sure WTF is going on with the alt light. went off just fine while i was cranking it to get oil pressure but it's on while running (charging just fine however )

i was dreading filling the cooling system. ended up using my air vac tool and it sucked in about 4 gallons. topped up the expansion tank then used my cooling system pressure tester. put about 15 psi in it and opened the bleeder on the radiator. got some air. did this x2 and seemed to be ok.

ran it for a long ass time. had good heat once stuff got moving. fan kicks on at 193-195* on low and continues to cycle in that temp range. took a long time to hit those temps but it's got a massive amount of coolant to warm up.

gotta figure out the alt light. i know the issue with the aux battery but this van doesn't have one, only the relay to switch power to the fridge/cabinet unit so not sure whats going on there.

also a tad high on the ATF. so i'll have to suck some out.
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[Schnippzle]

That's awesome. Well done! Huge step forward.

Big fan of the "That's how you turn a whole bunch of money into exhaust". Can empathise.

[dobryan]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

thanks. video kinda sucked but i was up for about 18 hours at that point. spent some time cleaning shop and thinking about my alternator light then it dawned on me that the subaru alternator doesn't like tripping relays like the bosch does

shoved the driver seat forward and disconnected the exciter wire from the relay...no more alt light that was probably my last cognitive thought for the evening other than some text message banter from Xevin

checked the coolant level this morning. down about 1/2" in the expansion tank. overflow is right where i left it...in the middle of the MIN-MAX lines. think i'm in the clear but will have to road test. next hurdle is registration and insurance
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