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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:29 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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coqcitywesty wrote: |
Looks fantastic - congrats on getting it on the road and for sharing the build - I have learned a lot from this thread. All the best. |
thank you, much appreciated.
welp, figured out this mystery
skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
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
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turns out, in july of '98 the thing smoked a right wheel bearing and the dealer replaced the knuckle
decided to quiet down the interior and take care of the dead foam on all the doors
the first road test had some rattles. i'll lend a deaf ear to some of this shit but my goal here is to hear a gnat queef. clattery old doors won't help that goal
back seat bottom had some interesting stains, so dug out old stinky
this is what came out of the back seat bottom
fuck, there's chunks in it
after 4 sessions with the hottest water the machine could handle i think i sucked every fart that has been deposited the past 37 years out of it.
hit the carpet too. really didn't need it as i hosed it out already
i hope to get a few more miles on it tomorrow _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16474 Location: Brookeville, MD
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xoo00oox Samba Member
Joined: February 11, 2010 Posts: 2672 Location: East Nassau, NY
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 6:23 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
xoo00oox wrote: |
Beautiful job! I love to see your attention to detail with everything you do. Will you be going to Terryville this weekend? |
Thanks Andrew! I was going to give you a call/email and see if you still needed those bay window parts we chatted about. I hope to bring this to terryville as long as i can get a few more shakedown miles on it. as of now, i plan to be there
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Yes, I still need the Jalousie window for the sliding door of my '72 Bay. Great job on that carpet! |
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TurtsMcSlow Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2015 Posts: 78 Location: Derby City, Cantuckee
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 9:28 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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Hey there Skills, just wondering how this project was going. |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 9:50 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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TurtsMcSlow wrote: |
Hey there Skills, just wondering how this project was going. |
for all intents and purposes it's done (ish)
been driving it as time permits.
i was able to get a set of front seats from a later van with adjustable arm rests for the non swivel seat bases.
the extra height has changed the driving comfort 10 fold. i've had fucked up knees since i was a kid pushing trucks in my grandparents gravel pit so finding a seating position i can tolerate for more than an hour at a time before i have to 'walk it off' is kind of important.
only real complaint is i need to figure out a way to adjust the 'rake' of the seat bottom. i'm more comfortable in an 'ass down' position like the MK2 golf/jetta/scirocco/corrado seats did. in fact besides the Audi's in the fleet my 82 rabbit truck with corrado seats is one of the most comfortable vehicles i own. i can be behind the wheel for days without issues
the other bitch i have with these is the gas pedal could be moved up a couple of inches along with the brake pedal to match.
other than finishing and installing the propane tank i've been on a mission to find a rear a/c setup which has proven to be about impossible.
once i figure out the best seating position i'll most likely get covers made for the front seats to match the rest of the interior, or go straight up brown, not sure yet. my OCD tells me i'll do the stripes though.
beyond that, it's been fun to drive....or as fun as a vanagon with an automatic can be.
couple of pix out in the wild
my windshields finally came in. huge shout out to 16cv's for the help. it was a bit of a circus getting them but when i get a chance i'm going to ditch that shitty tinted band glass. it's *ok* but that band is right thru the top edge of my sightline and it's very annoying _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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Xevin Samba Member
Joined: January 08, 2014 Posts: 7599
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:49 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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Skills said:
“Once i figure out the best seating position i'll most likely get covers made for the front seats to match the rest of the interior, or go straight up brown, not sure yet. my OCD tells me i'll do the stripes though.”
I love that OG interior. And because I said so, you must match the seat covers.
Most importantly, drive that bitch someplace cool with the family for fuck sake. Whip out the chairs and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Connecticut. I know where you live and you are close to a lot of cool places.
Seriously. Go now. Surprise your family and go. Right now. It’s only 5pm your time. Go!
Amazing build skills. These Vans are fun, different then the bays. But still fun.
Stop reading and go! _________________ Keep on Busin'
67rustavenger wrote: |
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo! |
Clatter wrote: |
Damn that Xevin... |
skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
I respect Xevin and he's a turd |
SGKent wrote: |
My God! Xevin and I 100% agree |
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TurtsMcSlow Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2015 Posts: 78 Location: Derby City, Cantuckee
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 3:26 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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Thanks for the update! |
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9517 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:18 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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I wish I could finish projects to look OEM but I get impatient at the end.
What a nice van. Cool that you 'saved' the original paint.
Assuan brown vans get so faded, but rise from the ashes like the Phoenix!
I think it's great for Thesamba that you document all this stuff and explain your reasoning.
The info helps new owners...for years and years.
Vanagons are saved from the crusher by this kind of public documentation.
Plus being able to write well, it helps a lot to get thru long build threads if the writing is enjoyable.
If I re-read my own posts after a month or so, my thought is 'dang....nobody's gonna slog thru this'.
======
Time for a drive across the US!
I have a nice driveway camp if you pass by Seattle. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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DuncanS Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2013 Posts: 4580 Location: New Hampshire
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Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:42 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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I love the cantilevered roof you hung out on the pop top. It looks like you have a wood stove too with the chimney.
Seriously, very nice work. |
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coqcitywesty Samba Member
Joined: February 20, 2018 Posts: 401 Location: Coquitlam, BC
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Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:37 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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Love the finished product and grateful that you have taken the time to post the progress - very inspirational and great reference material. _________________ 1991 Westfalia EJ251, 1972 Volvo 1800 ES |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:07 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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Sodo wrote: |
I wish I could finish projects to look OEM but I get impatient at the end.
What a nice van. Cool that you 'saved' the original paint.
Assuan brown vans get so faded, but rise from the ashes like the Phoenix!
Time for a drive across the US!
I have a nice driveway camp if you pass by Seattle. |
thank you! i really strive for perfection, and having a swap come out as close to OEM as possible is always the goal. nothing worse than a engine bay that looks like crap. many people label me an asshole, which i suppose isn't far from the truth. working on high end euro junk most of my life has made me a bit cantankerous and ornery to say the least.
i've always had the mindset if you're going to do it, do it right and just go all the way. i've learned over the years there is seldom any value in short cuts.
i'd love to pack up and roll out your way but the sad reality is between the shop and now running the family farm it's difficult to get to the other side of connecticut, let alone leave for any length of time but i do appreciate the offer.
DuncanS wrote: |
I love the cantilevered roof you hung out on the pop top. It looks like you have a wood stove too with the chimney.
Seriously, very nice work. |
took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about
thank you. i've worked on a few over the years but never got as in depth as this one. honestly, not many of them floating around here.
loaded up the family and hit up a local greasy spoon joint the other night. the neon lights on the building made for a pretty cool pic
we have been enjoying it and hope to do more camping soon _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 9:37 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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well, it's winter in sticksville and what better time to tie up the lift (which is a pain in the ass as I work from home so any time a job comes in...every day except weekends I have to kick this on skates and shove it to the back of the shop)
there have been a few nagging little issues I wanted to address after resurrecting this and driving it for a while. one this was the suspension. seeing it was built basically during the height of the wu-flu and parts were spotty at best I had to settle a bit.
I'm running H&R's which many say they don't like. they aren't bad, but the Bilstein's make it a bit 'cut the springs on my civic yo' and although I don't mind it, it is a bit annoying.
so, Christopher at T3 hooked me up with some Spax which will go in soon. according to him they are the hot ticket for these springs and if the guy told me to eat rubber and shit a bushing, I'd believe him. he has yet to steer me wrong when it comes to suspension so whatever he says goes.
I also wanted to try and get the "rake" out of the van. i'm running 225-60-17's in the rear and 215-50-17's in the front. reason for that is to futz with the gearing seeing it's an automatic and at the time of the rebuild, Matt Steedle wasn't a fan of the R&P's for the auto's.
so, thinking about all of this and how do i take the 80's el camino mullet look out of it i though about dropping the ass a bit more, but that would have been a pain. again, Christopher to the rescue and he supplied me with lift shims for the front. these should go a long way in leveling out the van
the other issues that were bugging me were a couple of rust spots and seam rust just starting on the drivers rocker. oddly, it really wasn't that bad but i wanted to get after it before it was too late. the other rust spots were from a goofy dent on the rear 1/4 and a spot on the step box
ok, enough bullshitting....
this has been a couple 3 weeks in the making here. this panel had a rust spot that was essentially a hole with the factory undercoating goop plugging it up
the odd color touch up was there when i got it. looks to me that something evil got flung from the tire, or wrapped around the wheel well as the dent is OUTWARD. very odd.
the primer spot is another thing on the hitlist. when my buddy from DentWizard popped out some dents he warned me it may split the paint. it was a very DEEP sharp dent....like someone took a punch to it.
once I cleaned the undercoating off you can see how big the hole was
the problem with the "fender" or wheel well is it goes in DEEP, it's as wide as the dogleg where you slide you ass in and out of the van. the rear 1/4 pane has a short L flange that is spot welded to the wheel well. had it been the opposite, this repair would have been tits. but no...no tits for me
this is a cross section of that panel. you can see the wheel well goes DEEP and the 1/4 is just a thin 3/4" flange spot welded to the well
snip snip cut cut
now that's out of the way
how to reattach it.... good question. after much thinking what I did was cut the patch so it too had a L flange on it about 1/2 the size of the 1/4 panel. basically i was able to cut down the middle of the width of the 1/4 panel L flange just on the ragged edge of the factory spot welds. thankfully the flange on the 1/4 panel was perfect
went full send on welding it. i was able to plug weld thru my flange and i sand blasted the lip on the repair panel and the van so it was a perfect opportunity to weld in in place and use panel bond
after all of the panel bond cured i went and ground it back so i could use legit seam sealer in there. porked on the epoxy and went about the step box
pulled the step pad to see how ugly this was gonna be. the only seedy part was in the seal channel and come to think of it there was a clump of nasty old "i sat around outside too long" poo in there when i got the van
out with the old
in with the new
all ground down
epoxied
i won't bore everyone with the seam rust, it's been covered to death and back, twice.
that got epoxied and some high build lay on it 'wet on wet' so I could hit it with some 600 grit and feather it out before paint.
speaking of paint...
i fooled around with my gun somewhat which i don't normally do. i set pressure, do a spray out and roll with it. it comes out like glass, or dam near but i wanted to match that "i got pained with a roller" peel the rest of the van has. it's dam near the same level of peel which is cool.
don't know how good it will show, but here is the factory peel on the drivers side long wall
and what I just sprayed
so overall i'm pretty happy with how it laid out.
now some may ask why i didn't just spray the whole arch and that would have been the way to go except i just didn't want to. it has a couple dings further down on the arch and i'm really trying to keep as much original paint as possible. she's an honest van and wears her dings and scars with pride.
anyway, I'll unbag it in a day or so once the paint kicks. singe stage takes forever to dry... _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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danfromsyr Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2004 Posts: 15129 Location: Syracuse, NY
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Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:51 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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cool, thanks for keeping us updated. helps those of use w/o a good heated shop get through the winter blues..
I'm tearing the 1940s kitchen out of my 1800s farm house..
chasing drafts, mice and rot out..
giving it a coat of lipstick and some spanks calling her sweetie.
would be more fun working on the camper. _________________
Abscate wrote: |
These are the reasons we have words like “wanker” |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:41 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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danfromsyr wrote: |
cool, thanks for keeping us updated. helps those of use w/o a good heated shop get through the winter blues..
I'm tearing the 1940s kitchen out of my 1800s farm house..
chasing drafts, mice and rot out..
giving it a coat of lipstick and some spanks calling her sweetie.
would be more fun working on the camper. |
working on a house while you're living in it kinda sucks. when i bought my first house before i moved in one fork i wish i did everything i wanted to before living there. i did a bathroom remodel and holy shit....the sheetrock dust was just everywhere despite taping/bagging everything off.
speaking of bagging, i pulled the bag off of the van and gave the repair a 100mph buff.
color hue is funny depending on the light... it could use a touch more red to tone it down but it's pretty close. the van needs a good wash and another buff but i think i can get it to mellow out some over time
if you look at it dead on it blends well with the rest of the arch
i'll see what i can do. either way, it's better than a rust hole that was going to do nothing but grow.
i also grabbed a late parking brake handle. the early ones are just plain flimsy which has been well documented so i think it will be a nice upgrade. _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16474 Location: Brookeville, MD
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skemems Samba Member
Joined: February 23, 2017 Posts: 200 Location: Portland
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:16 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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[quote="skills@eurocarsplus"]
Nice work, looks good and way better than a rust hole.
Are those H&R lowering springs? Whats the ride height with those and
how is the ride quality? _________________ 87 VW Westfalia - EJ25
86 VW Westfalia - EJ22
85 VW Westfalia - WBX 2.1 project |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:45 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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skemems wrote: |
Nice work, looks good and way better than a rust hole.
Are those H&R lowering springs? Whats the ride height with those and
how is the ride quality? |
thanks. yes, they are H&R's
they lower a stock westy quite a bit. i forget what they are spec'd for but i'd say a solid 2.5-3" if memory serves.
ride quality is *ok* but i'm running Billsteins now and it's a bit harsh....not horrid but not waterbed smooth either.
at the time of the build everything was out of stock. i just recently got a set of SPAX i will be trying out and will report back when i get it all together. _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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Crankey Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2004 Posts: 2652
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 11:37 am Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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Glad you pointed out your build on the Weitech spring thread, your setup looks great.
I've always wanted to try the next step lower spring from carats. Thanks for all your info and pics.
I would like to see your oil pan ground clearance and your engine mount design.
If you could show your rear end at ground level and a picture of your mount someday that would be sweet. I'm already locked in to my setup but still I like seeing how others have done it, especially the DIY vs off shelf and concidering how clean your install is I'm sure you did a nice job with it. 👍 |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 12:10 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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will do
it's literally up in the air now. i had a grocery list of shit i wanted to do and one of them was rewire the fridge relay. the subaru alternator doesn't have enough sack to close the relay when the alternator spools up so the warning light stays lit.
i just disconnected the wire at the relay when i got it running. easy enough fix, just have to put the trigger wire to a load reduction circuit. having it up on the lift keeps me from folding like a jack knife and i can just open the door and have the fuse box at eye level.
not sure if i mentioned it or not but my OCD got the best of me and i called sewfine to have them make matching covers for the front seats. the original seats were ok, but the non camper seats with the arm rests are just way better, at least for me.
anyway, sewfine was like 8,000 weeks out so i got in their conga line. only 7,995 weeks to go before they turn up _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 5:27 pm Post subject: Re: Saving the '84 |
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well now
Sewfine order came WAY earlier than i thought. got these last week and have been picking at them
decided that the tops were in great shape but wanted to do the bottom foam. glad i did
tossed seat heaters in while i was there. i'll wire them in at some point but there was no going back once the covers were on
doing the armrests SUCK. got them all done, just waiting on the new plastic trim to roll in
and in the never ending 'since you're there' i decided i hated the way the brown carpet drifted to pink....so...
it all got ripped out and re dyed
there was a cigarette burn or 2 on the drivers dogleg carpet, so i took care of that too
much better now
now we're getting somewhere
seeing i was going from the stock non armrest seats to late van seats the armrests on the doors would have left holes as they need to be removed for the seats with armrests
I scored these panels pretty cheap, under 200 bux shipped. really wasn't a fan of the chrome but that's how they came. it is what it is
this is the first time dealing with brown carpet. it was trippy... you move it one way ot the other and the tone changes...even worse when you vacuum it. all in all i'm pretty happy the way it came out.
had to color up all the faded spots then blend it all in. bit of a pain in the ass but really didn't want to buy new carpet. after seeing how the new kits looked i wanted to salvage the original stuff.
now to put it all back together _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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