The things we MacGyver on our vans

[dabaron]

should i post the photos of all the duct tape "upgrades" i found on my Westy when i bought it?

my favorite adhoc Westy problem solving moment was this... why wait for a nice mounting bracket when you can send it with cardboard?

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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo

BiWerks Design, LLC

[Captain Pike]

Push button start
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LEARN TO SELF RESCUE
59 Panel bus, 1966 Single cab. 73' 181. 73 Westy. 91' H6 Vanagon 3.3L.
.....................All Current.......................

[dhaavers]

[Christopholi]

Does utilizing the wife to push start us all the way home from Syncrofest with a dead starter count?
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1988 Tintop Wolfsburg Special Edition - "Meatloaf"
RMW 2.5 Subaru, SubaruGears 5MT 4.44 w/LSD, Coast Mountain Hightop

[ZsZ]

In the first year on the first long trip I lost a front outer wheel bearing. In Albania, in the middle of nowhere.
The rollers just shattered and the whole wheel was wobbling.
Cleaned the debris, put in in reverse order so the big washer was making contact with the outer race. Filled with grease and was able to slowly get to the next town (~15kms) to a mechanic who put in new bearings.
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[syncroserge]

[DuncanS]

[Synergy Solutions]

https://www.busdepot.com/333000143
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Im a Mobile Aircooled VW mechanic, and work on old and new cars alike. Specialty in Camper busses/Vans, TDI, and FI diagnosis and repair.

(206) 841 7324

[16CVs]

I had the studs for the Alternator strip in the case. While waiting for the GW repair kit (which is excellent) I needed to keep driving my truck. So to keep the alternator in place I braced a 1x6 Between the Alternator and the body and it worked so well I almost didn't fix it.

Stacy

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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.

[djkeev]

[shadetreemech]

The Van didn't have a propane tank or regulator for the stove or a water tank, pump or faucet. For the sink, I bought a Shur-Flo faucet, a stainless steel submersible pump and some tubing made my own:

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'84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "MZDRTHY"

[DuncanS]

That's not MacGyvering. That's a great completion to an unfinished project.

Duncan

[dhaavers]

[DuncanS]

Among others, there are these two solutions. Rear dropdown opening window which has a screen. Because it's on the side opposite the exhaust--maybe--it doesn't get any into the car from the station wagon effect. Screened for night time sleeping.

And

Duncan

[juanb]

I haven’t posted here in a while, but I have two from our trip down to South America:

In Panama I was having the engine intermittently cut off, in what seemed an electrical issue. The van would sometimes start again, some times not. Eventually I found that the mount for the hall sensor next to the distributor had cracked and there was a short against the metal housing.

I had a spare distributor but no way to do timing and no confidence to eye ball it. So I fixed it with a latex glove and some zip ties. The fix worked with zero issues for over a month until I found a mechanic with a timing gun in Colombia.

The other one was more of a quality of life thing. We were carrying this heavy photo tripod with a quick release. In Mexico I had a welder build a plate that I could use to mount the front table to the tripod. Instant beach table that fits in the cutlery drawer 🙂

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1989 Westy AT, 2.2 GoWesty.
We drove it to Argentina: http://www.vanenvan.com

[Synergy Solutions]

[DuncanS]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=757604&highlight=

Duncan

[LobWedge]

First post here. Great forum!

I rigged up custom cupholders on my '91 Westy over the ashtray opening years ago, and just yesterday I did a rebuild of a front turn signal socket by removing the rusted blades and making replacments from heavy gauge sheet metal.
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'91 Westy