Author |
Message |
crobox Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2011 Posts: 56 Location: Taos, NM
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:42 am Post subject: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
I've always wanted a Vanagon Westfalia, and a few months ago, at the beginning of the summer, I had the opportunity to buy one cheap. The van had belonged to a friend of mine who died, and I bought it from his widow, also a good friend. The van had sat on the mesa out here west of Taos, New Mexico, for several years, and was in sorry shape.
The VW engine was 'blown' (details died with the owner), the interior needed help, the tires were crap (and 18 years old), and the van had apparently served as a metropolis for several colonies of mice. There were nests everywhere; they ate through the pop-top canvas and some of the upper mattress; and it took forever to get the smell out (actually it's still not totally out.)
The idea was to use this Vanagon for a summer road trip with my wife and 10-year old boy, so I had a lot of work ahead of me. My plan was to install a Subaru EJ25 and do everything else required to get the van ready for a trip in the second half of the summer. I originally budgeted 4-5 weeks.
Many years ago I did another engine swap, putting a Cummins 4BT diesel into a 1980 International Scout. That was such uncharted territory (things like machining my own transmission adapter to mate with a trans that no one ever uses with the Cummins, etc., etc., etc.) that I ran a pretty extensive build thread on a 4BT forum. With this Vanagon build, I felt that I would be just doing what many others had done before me, so there was no real need to maintain a build thread. Also, I didn't really feel like I had the time. But over the course of the build I did a small number of cool / original things, and that's what I'll post here.
Being a metal fabricator and machinist, and wanting to save money, I made my own engine mount, using some parts of the original mustache bar ...
and exhaust system, made from Subaru parts, motorcycle exhaust parts, and pre-bent sections from Summit Racing.
I also made all my own heat shields.
One of the cooler things I did was this little intermediate arm mechanism in the throttle cable system which allows the proper functioning of the automatic transmission kick-down. Basically, the two arms act as one because of a torsion spring sandwiched between them, until the arm which is cabled to the throttle shaft reached its hard stop. Then the other arm, cabled to the accelerator pedal, can move just a bit further, which enables the transmission kick-down. It works perfectly.
I also made a new sunroof (functional) and fabricated a quick roof rack from stainless steel, which certainly came in handy for removing the pop-top when it was time to replace the mouse-eaten canvas.
And a tow hitch...
I set up an air-to-oil transmission cooler, using JIC hydraulic hoses...
as well as an air duct / tunnel to forcefully direct the air coming through the gas tank "valley" over the cooler.
The spare tire carrier is too small for any of my tires, so I re-purposed that space to hold a jerry can.
And lastly, I added set screws into the wiper arms to keep them from moving around... which they otherwise wanted to do...
I did a handful of other things too, which were not very interesting to photograph, such as making custom high-pressure fittings for the power-steering system, and machining wheel spacers.
I received invaluable help from this forum on questions such as the cooling system and the turn signals. I also got fantastic service from a few vendors which serve this community, notably Mick from BUSARU, Christopher from T3Technique, and VanCafe (special thanks to Trevor).
Well that's about it. It actually took about 7 weeks to do all this, in part because the first EJ25 I installed turned out to be no good! I had to source and install a second engine in that time-frame! And there were other surprises along the way (like a badly leaking fuel tank). But the van is basically done now, running well, and we are finally leaving on a little trip tomorrow.
Cheers,
Christian |
|
Back to top |
|
|
dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16473 Location: Brookeville, MD
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Robw_z Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2007 Posts: 983
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 11:24 am Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
All that cool stuff and somehow my favorite is the set screws on the wiper arms. Good idea.
-Rob |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Steve M. Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013 Posts: 6798 Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:27 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Trying to save weight by using the Indy car starting system will leave you in a bind someday. _________________ This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.
There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Steve M. Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013 Posts: 6798 Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:29 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Robw_z wrote: |
All that cool stuff and somehow my favorite is the set screws on the wiper arms. Good idea.
-Rob |
Yep, why didn't I think of that!
_________________ This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.
There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
dabaron Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018 Posts: 2558 Location: Philly, mang
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:48 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Robw_z wrote: |
All that cool stuff and somehow my favorite is the set screws on the wiper arms. Good idea.
-Rob |
mod of the year/decade/century? it's pretty damn solid. _________________ 1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo
BiWerks Design, LLC |
|
Back to top |
|
|
9.5isCanadian Samba Member
Joined: September 16, 2017 Posts: 465 Location: In your blind spot.
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:59 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
crobox wrote: |
SNIP
And lastly, I added set screws into the wiper arms to keep them from moving around... which they otherwise wanted to do...
snip
Cheers,
Christian |
Robw_z wrote: |
All that cool stuff and somehow my favorite is the set screws on the wiper arms. Good idea.
-Rob |
Steve M. wrote: |
Yep, why didn't I think of that!
|
Add me to the list and thanks for the reminder and creative solution to our shared problem.
Any chance you'd be willing to share your build info for the hitch? It's on my list for this week actually. I'm road tripping on the 6th of Aug and wanted to take a small trailer along.
_________________ 9 1/2 - missing a few pieces.
1987 Getaway Hightop
1980 Sunroof Vanagon
2018 BMW R Nine T
2012 Golf tdi |
|
Back to top |
|
|
DanHoug Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016 Posts: 4715 Location: Bemidji, MN
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 1:20 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
congratulations on a great rescue! excellent fabrication skills, you and your van are worthy of each other!
-dan _________________ -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 |
|
Back to top |
|
|
bobbyblack Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2015 Posts: 4332 Location: United States, Iowa
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:34 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Impressed! But, the mod to the wiper has me a little confused. It seems that indeed, the wiper problem exists and I have indeed had it happen multiple times. The issue with doing the shown mod is that the arm is actually designed to be the thing that gets wonky, strips, whatever --- and thus saving the rest of the wipers system that are extremely difficult to repair. An arm is super easy to replace compared to pulling the dash to replace the other bits. No? _________________ '87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Merian Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2014 Posts: 5212 Location: Orygun
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:04 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Right. The wiper arm is the failsafe to protect the splined motor drive ah.. thingie, which is very hard to replace.
You pick out the brass or Al that is smudged in the grooves between the ridges on the motor shaft thingie, put new arms on, and everything is groovey.
hard to tell but his may already be worn/damaged... so if he has to tear into it again the motor will have to be replaced if the set screws are tight enough
I might have posted pics w.r.t. para. 2 above on here... _________________ .... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
crobox Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2011 Posts: 56 Location: Taos, NM
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
9.5isCanadian:
Happy to post pics & info about hitch design when I get a chance... packing for trip now! Basically, in words, I used the tow loops AND made an arm that goes under the bumper and then goes back up to utilize the holes for the original engine mount / mustache bar.
All the folks with concerns about the wiper mounts:
Actually it did occur to me that the splined cone might be something like a "slip joint", protecting the rest of the system. I initially did a very good job of picking out the grooves, but the wipers didn't stay put for long. So... I decided to risk it with the set screw design. I'm aware there is a risk. Consider me a test case for this concept! I will update with results when they are available!
Cheers |
|
Back to top |
|
|
16CVs Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2004 Posts: 4020 Location: Redwood City, California
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:01 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Interesting mod on the wiper arm. MIne were going funky and I cut the top off and drilled and threaded a bolt down into it. Works a charm. That one van has the wipers switched . the foils should be on the drivers blade.
You started with my type of van, dead from the start. I always like to deag or tow my cars home when I buy them.
Stacy _________________ 1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Robw_z Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2007 Posts: 983
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:38 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
bobbyblack wrote: |
Impressed! But, the mod to the wiper has me a little confused. It seems that indeed, the wiper problem exists and I have indeed had it happen multiple times. The issue with doing the shown mod is that the arm is actually designed to be the thing that gets wonky, strips, whatever --- and thus saving the rest of the wipers system that are extremely difficult to repair. An arm is super easy to replace compared to pulling the dash to replace the other bits. No? |
Let 'em rip. I've been through too much crap with these. I've picked the splines clean, I've used Loctite, spring washers with proper torque... the day still comes when this alleged "failsafe" proves itself too eager to prove its function.
-Rob |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Merian Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2014 Posts: 5212 Location: Orygun
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
crobox wrote: |
Actually it did occur to me that the splined cone might be something like a "slip joint", protecting the rest of the system. I initially did a very good job of picking out the grooves, but the wipers didn't stay put for long. So... I decided to risk it with the set screw design. I'm aware there is a risk. Consider me a test case for this concept! I will update with results when they are available!
Cheers |
if you own a macro lens, you might want to take pics of the cones
or just inspect carefully with a magnifier - my bet is they are worn
I dunno if you can buy new ones sep. from the whole motor, but even if so the labor to get the thing out of there is so huge that mere money will seem negligible in comparison _________________ .... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Gnarlodious Samba Member
Joined: September 28, 2013 Posts: 2312 Location: Adobe Jungle USA
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 8:39 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Happened to me, I had to buy new wiper arms the cones were so worn out.
Nice shop, are you in Taos? _________________ Vanagon ’83 diesel AAZ w/Giles injection, 5spd 4.57R&P+TBD and a '78 diesel Rabbit |
|
Back to top |
|
|
crobox Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2011 Posts: 56 Location: Taos, NM
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 8:52 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Gnarlodious wrote: |
Nice shop, are you in Taos? |
Yep |
|
Back to top |
|
|
crobox Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2011 Posts: 56 Location: Taos, NM
|
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:02 pm Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
Detail pix of bumper attachments:
The van... almost ready for takeoff!
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22568 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
|
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:54 am Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
crobox wrote: |
9.5isCanadian:
Happy to post pics & info about hitch design when I get a chance... packing for trip now! Basically, in words, I used the tow loops AND made an arm that goes under the bumper and then goes back up to utilize the holes for the original engine mount / mustache bar.
All the folks with concerns about the wiper mounts:
Actually it did occur to me that the splined cone might be something like a "slip joint", protecting the rest of the system. I initially did a very good job of picking out the grooves, but the wipers didn't stay put for long. So... I decided to risk it with the set screw design. I'm aware there is a risk. Consider me a test case for this concept! I will update with results when they are available!
Cheers |
Maybe go with a nylon set screw to provide fsilsafe function ? _________________ .ssS! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
9.5isCanadian Samba Member
Joined: September 16, 2017 Posts: 465 Location: In your blind spot.
|
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:47 am Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
crobox wrote: |
Detail pix of bumper attachments:
|
Van looks fantastic
Thanks for the hitch pic. I can figure it out from there.
Post up on your travels.
Owen _________________ 9 1/2 - missing a few pieces.
1987 Getaway Hightop
1980 Sunroof Vanagon
2018 BMW R Nine T
2012 Golf tdi |
|
Back to top |
|
|
danfromsyr Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2004 Posts: 15129 Location: Syracuse, NY
|
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 8:52 am Post subject: Re: A few neat things I did on my Vanagon build... |
|
|
just an FYI, and I know you are all set up and leaving.
but you are running a 2wd. you can put a normal sized spare in the clamshell.
consider it a doughnut it'll be fine to get you around/down the road.
worse case is to put it on the pass front and move that tire to the blown out tire.
it may be just me, but i'm not a fan of strapping a tire to the fiberglass rack. _________________
Abscate wrote: |
These are the reasons we have words like “wanker” |
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
|