Build thread - My (love it & hate it) hightop westy project

[Alaskaberrys]

Amazing work! An inspiration - thank you for the detailed posts. But really looking forward to seeing your project out camping. Rooting for you!
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'91 Westfalia, Bordeaux Red Pearl 2.1L 2wd Auto
'91 T3 Syncro Doka, Escorial Green 1.9L TD AAZ “Gremian” (to provoke, irritate, exasperate, vex...)

[erste]

I've probably already said it, but the attention to detail it outstanding. This is such an amazing thread. I've learned about 4 things my T3 is missing just on the last page.

[xellex]

Thanks guys! I really love working on this bus. So much that I often ask myself what I will do after the project is done. But on the other hand, I don't think it will ever be really finished... I already have a separate "to do" list, which I entitled "stage 2"
In the Mercedes world, all things are good.. I've been out again. This time in a different formula. A friend of mine bought the Westfalia LT from my ex business partner, so that means it's going to be used more. It has been sitting in the garage for alot of time.

To make things even nicer we had a bulgarian neighbor with a t3. And much further back there was a hightop 4x4 LT mk1.

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[xellex]

And back to my t3, some more parts arrived, and this allowed me to finally try to install the syncro fuel tank.

I had to use this tank support brace because the one I cut from the donor syncro was badly rusted. I used pop rivets because I really don't want to weld on the bus unless it's the only way...

I changed the fuel tank level sender mounting ring and gasket with the stainless version, but kept the original VDO sender for now, as I tested it and it was ok.

I used the original sound deadening mats behind the tank. Some will say it's a bad choice, I have no argument, but it was my personal choice

And the tank is in for the first time ever in that place:

After the tank, I installed the syncro radiator piping and hoses:

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[xellex]

Then I decided to spend some more time under the bus, so I refurbished the shifter linkage:

Check out how it looks where it sat inside the syncro protection tube: It's amazing! I wish I could go back in time and see a brand new westy off the production line!

linkage meets shifter:

And the syncro protection tubes in place:

The large tube has a bracket that gets bolted to the driveshaft protection frame, so I have to figure out a way to keep it in place until I turn it into full syncro. That's sort of a different stage, planned for next spring.

And with the last parts order, I added something interesting to the basket: Stainless steel parts to replace the old and worn cardboard radiator baffles:

They come with no instructions, but it wasn't too hard to get them on.

AAAAAAND the front end looks complete for the first time in a very very long time!!!!

I think I sat and just looked at the bus for the whole remainder of that day
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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[bobbyblack]

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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[dobryan]

Love it!

BTW I also sit and admire my bus too. You are in good company.
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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

[xellex]

Yeah. I often sit and wonder if this is love or obsession. The only thing that makes me think I'm "normal" is all of you guys here and all the other specific forums.
Back to my story, just a couple more posts and I will finally be up to date so here goes:
After finishing the front end, I spent a few good hours cleaning the spare wheel carrier:

And in position. This is is only temporary, because I want to switch to syncro setup in the front too, but I'm planning to make the bus functional in 2wd mode (hopefully this summer), pass the technical inspection and do at least ONE short trip this way.

Trying to shorten my "to do" list, I did a few more small details.
The front cup holders:

The original porta potty box I managed to get on ebay last year:
Also something that you can barely see in this picture is a floor protective cover I came up with. I wanted something that keeps the original aspect but protects the vinyl floor and keeps the dirt away from those beige rails. And it came to me one night! An Ikea transparent plastic floor protector that is used under the office desk chairs.

The box got a very good clean after these pictures. I had to change the lid holder which was incomplete. And the 2 straps which were completely missing.

And I finally finished sewing my passenger seat base:

This is the final product: Pretty happy with it. One more to go...

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[xellex]

And finally sitting in it's place: Sorry for the mess

Next on my list was trying to set up the engine bay, so I started with the snorkel and the original cyclone air intake that I had.

I didn't drill the lower hole in the sheet metal as I'm not 100% sure this will be the final setup.

I cleaned and installed the power steering reservoir and the coolant tank.

And what can't be easily observed is that I changed that monster battery (200AH) to a much smaller one (110AH) to make room for the syncro tank filler pipe. I hate it because it seemed such a great idea, and it got flushed. More on this later.

Then I remembered about some parts that I ordered a very long time ago. Some aftermarket under fender protectors.

Tried them on. 3 of them were prety nice. One seemed to be from a totally different car. I played a little with a heat gun and made it stay in place, but I decided I don't want to drill any hole to make them stay put. And for now I don't see any other way. So they went back into storage....

And since I removed the battery, I decided to finish the diesel tank install. So I started a job that I postponed a hundred times.... Cutting into my beautiful bus

I didn't want to do any welding at this point so this is my way of doing it:
Hole cut:

Put the piece in from the rear, glued with some sika body adhesive, and then pop riveted in place:

Tried to paint the edges a little but the paint shop messed the colour.... This is really stupid. I did work with a paint mixer and never made a wrong color mix. But as a base protective layer it's ok...

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[xellex]

That part is going to stay metallic brown, because it has a nice history behind. It was the only part I got my hands on from a very rare and special bus, with a horrible destiny. A syncro T3 Liberty Van.
I can't eaven find a good picture of one but it looked like this at some point years ago:

And I was enthusiastic to see it all complete so I put the cap on just for fun:

Then I took apart all my previous electrical setup, and decided to move the house battery all together. If I can't fit my large 200Ah battery in the engine bay, I won't do it at all. So the next place will be under the back seat. This is my chosen place considering I will switch to lithium in the future and it's a nice and warm place back there.

And new setup with the 110Ah battery under the ctek devices. That size is going to be enough for a decent amount of LiFePo Ah's. And only half the space under the bench is occupied.

And in the rear all I have now is the switch for the engine battery, which I can access from under the car, and use as an anti theft device if needed. The free space stays that way for now. Maybe for an oil cooler or an intercooler or both.

I installed a gas leak alarm system inside the sink cabinet:

And moved back to my tank filler setup:
I glued the pipe to the sheet metal with JB Weld on the rear, and Sika on the outside.

and finally the filler neck in place

Some finishing touches and Job done!

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[dobryan]

Love it!
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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

[xellex]

Hi guys, it's time for an update!
I've been out alot this summer with my other camper. The longest trip was in Greece for a couple of weeks. That was an awesome adventure!
But I've also been working hard on my t3. I really feel exhausted but happy with the results.
So back to my timeline:

I installed the original syncro diesel spacers under my rear springs, considering it will be a bit more heavy with the fuel tank in the rear.

I refurbished an old clutch slave cylinder and installed a new flexible line

Then I did some reverse engineering on the very nice Gowesty water filler point. This way I can use it where there's no possibility of a hose attachment:

And one more sticker

Most of my summer days were consumed by sewing on the upholstery, but I did some more progress on the driver's seat:

And then I found something: The rear right wheel was turning hard by hand and doing a weird squealing sound. At first I thought it was a brake shoe.. But a bearing cage exploded! I think it was my mistake. I was over zealous with a newly aquired press. So I had to replace that bearing:

And after finishing that job, I remembered I wanted to spray some cavity wax inside the rear trailing arms, so I depleted one tube on each side:

And I filled the brake circuit with brake fluid, and bleeded the system:

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[dobryan]

Great progress!
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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

[xellex]

Thanks! There's much more!
You're so quick at replying that it makes me feel bad for not doing the same in your thread

So, by the end of summer, I was finally able to finish sewing, and the driver's seat was done:

I had some leftover fabric, so I used it for the buddy seat pillow, which was red when I bought it.

Then I test fitted the rest of the curtains, and installed some more press studs where needed

And I had a very big surprise! A few years ago, I ordered a few parts from a couple of thesamba USA members, and sent them all to a cousin in New Jersey. They visited back home, so I was very lucky to get my parts!

I got a fridge door, unfortunately grey but at the time it seemed impossible to find a beige one...

And an extra wardrobe door. The mirror didn't survive all those thousands of kilometers

And with more parts of my own, I could make something:

I covered that huge hole that was cut by a previous owner:

And I made the wardrobe more accesible... a very frequent mod here on thesamba:

Yes, I know it's grey )

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[xellex]

Opened up some more boxes:

This one I ordered in 2019 and opened in 2021

It is a beautiful reproduction piece, but if I was just a little bit more slow, I wouldn't need it anymore.
I'm saying this because my child was born about 6 months before I started this restoration. And now he's 5 and more than a half... But still falling from his bed from time to time )

A few more press studs, and the sliding door mosquito net was in place:

I changed the fabric on it a few years ago, at a profesional uphoslterer but I'm not happy with the results...

How long is it since I last said "stickers"?

And by this fall, I started something more serious:
I mounted the engine to the syncro gearbox, changed the fluids in both of them:

I didn't do much to the engine, because I'm planning a swap later on.
So new filters, adjusted the valves, replaced the injector nozzles, replaced all the belts and adjusted the cam and pump timing, installed the power steering pump, took a compression test, bolted the syncro starter instead of my old one, installed a starter relay, new exhaust, changed engine mounts, etc.

And It was finally in it's place:

It was time to lower the bus from those wooden blocks it stood on all year long:

This is where I spent alot of long nights this year: Inside and under it...
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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[xellex]

By that time I was so eager to see it moving under it's own power! A friend told me it would be nice to paint the drive axles before packing them up, and I could't wait another second! So this idea came to my mind: Profesional adhesive backed shrink tubing! What could go wrong?

New joints and boots, and they turned out great!

Then I had to swap some small boots on the gearbox... man I wish I had done this when I had the gearbox next to the car!

More unwrapping: This one came from Belgium.

Unfortunately it interferes with the exhaust pipe. I don't think there ever was a syncro with a NA diesel engine... So it has to wait for now.

Installed a fire extinguisher: (and another one inside a cabinet)

Torqued the rear hub nuts:

And I did the first few meters on it's own wheels, under it's own power. Feels good!

Put some hubcaps on: I have 2 NOS and 2 good old ones.

And it's almost almost done!

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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[xellex]

That was some time last week. And after I made my appointment to the technical inspection (ITP/ITV/MOT/TUV/whatever), I had some more time to do stuff...

I took advantage of some work the previous owner had done to the buddy seat:

And made an easy to set-up raised support for the porta potti. This way it can be used without cutting a large hole in the westfalia box.

Connected the engine to the syncro fuel tank, after doing a (2 dose) liqui moly diesel flush, filled the tank and checked the fuel gauge accuracy

And I brush painted all the small chips and scratches I had found on the body.

Bought 2 of the brightest led bulbs I could find:

And the difference is night and day!
I also got a brand new deep cycle battery, because the older one was dead... Next one is definately going to be lithium!

Got an interesting tire inflator. A little too big but decent quality and noise level:

Cleaned the car inside-out:

And today was the biggest day of all days! I've driven it for the first time in years on the roads, and passed my technical inspection, so I'm good for 2 years starting today.

The car drives perfect. I still have to do the alignment front and back, and fill my propane tank, but that's it for this year! I'm good to go!
Too bad winter is knocking on our doors....

So I finally managed to bring my topic up to date. Everything else I will be doing to the bus shall be known as "stage 2".
Hope you guys will enjoy my story.
Cheers!
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1973 GL 1303s, 1983 high top westfalia t3, 1989 mk1 golf cabriolet

[4Gears4Tires]

Hey man, that is fantastic! Congrats. It looks amazing too.
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'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[SteveMc]

Wow! Very nice work and it turned out great.
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1986 Transporter Single Cab Syncro

[Jake de Villiers]

Your van turned out really well!! Congratulations on sticking with it to the end.
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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 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com