What did YOU do to your van today?

[mcarlson_sb]

Also, my wife and I both have a hobby of retro electronics.
I do a lot with early computers. She's into LED art.

We took a look at the film circuit board when we had the cluster out.
My wife wants to design a replacement PCB that can be sent away and fabricated for a few dollars.

She measured the resistors and mapped out the traces this afternoon.
Making a cheap replacement should be fun.

[BCE56]

"My wife wants to design a replacement PCB that can be sent away and fabricated for a few dollars.

She measured the resistors and mapped out the traces this afternoon.
Making a cheap replacement should be fun."

^^ A worthwhile project. I've been keeping an eye on these if the need should arise:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2367183
(See link to FB page)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1913691
_________________
=BCE56=

'86 Syncro tintop
EJ22, OBD II early SC adapter plate conversion

Side project: '69 Frankenbug "It's alive!"

[shadetreemech]

Got the replacement windshield installed after encountering a rock on our road trip a coupla weeks ago:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=744529&highlight=rubber

The insurance company pointed me to the national franchise, "Replace-Deface". After 3 cancellations and "Bring it in and leave it", I told 'em to take a hike and found a local guy in Ontario, Calif. I bought the seal from VanCafe (RMW), windshield installed while I waited, $205 out the door.

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

[leecat]

We picked up a beautiful as-new ARB side tent from some lovely Sambanistas in our local town...super excited, they've been out of stock forever at GoWesty so a lucky find for us!

Now I just need to finish a van to attach it to.

I got no van to drive, but MAN do I got a massive pile of van parts!!!

[Vanlife Geek]

I upgraded my Rocky Mountain Westy swing-away tire carrier with their "switch back upper rack" and the lower shelf. This allowed me to move my spare up higher to allow for the tray. My tray now holds my suitcase generator, two FuelPax 3.5 gallon cans and my tool kit. I still have my Trasharoo "clone" on the spare with a few molle attachment bags. Trying to make the most of the space while keeping everything gas related outside of the van.

Before:

After: Note the fading of the "trasharoo"

A locking cable goes through the handles of both the generator and tool kit and routes through the Westy cutout of the tray, which allows for the cover to fit over both

The generously sized weatherproof generator cover fits over both the generator and tool kit

And a ratchet strap to hold it all in nice and tight, plus a cable and lock for the cans

_________________
Vanlife Geek
Current:
1986 Syncro Westy
Previous:
1983 Westy
1981 Westy
1972 Bug (Last year you could buy a new one for under $2,000)
1965/66 Bug (2 bugs from a junk yard combined to make 1 functional bug)
1959 Bug (Pre Gas Gauge Era)

[vanis13]

[Vanlife Geek]

[mcarlson_sb]

I'm slowly going around the van and replacing all the seals.
Yesterday was the rear hatch. Easy and fast

[mcarlson_sb]

Today was cleaning.

I removed the body panel that covers the sliding door mechanism (possibly for the first time since 1980).
I sprayed out the accumulated gunk with Simple Green, wiped years worth of built up crud off the mechanism and channel, and used a little silicone grease to lube the rail.
The door now slides smoothly.

I finally fixed the windshield wipers (blown fuse)
Then found and filled the windshield wiper fluid (seems like I would have done that at least once in the last four years, but hey - better late than never)
That allowed me to adjust aim of the jets to actually hit the windshield rather spray up in the air like fountains.

Finally I covered the driveway with cardboard and some sacrificial rags then sprayed the engine and transmission with Simple Green and carefully rinsed it with a hose. It's been covered in a thick layer of grime as long as we've owned it.
I've mostly left it alone until now. However, the more time I spend under the van the more I want to avoid chunks of grime falling in my face and mouth.
That, and if there are leaks I want to find and fix them.

I've been trying to do a little each day. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

[jlrftype7]

Just oil and filter change today. Tomorrow is new turn signal lens for both fronts. I have a crack in the drivers side that started taking out the new bulb socket I installed 2 years ago. Only discovered the corrosion and rust when I needed to tap into the turn signals and park bulb circuit for the new headlights I just installed. So I bought 2 new lens to match , and new sockets since the lens come with the European single bulb set-up.
_________________
'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

[Igeo]

[mcarlson_sb]

[shagginwagon83]

Cleaned my engine grounds. Upon tightening the transaxle ground cable, I found the hole was stripped. So drilled and tapped it to m10.

In the engine bay one of the small ground cables showed a lot of corrosion. Cut and put an open barrel ring terminal on it.

My 1.9L no longer stalls at idle during cold. Damn why didn't I do this sooner.

Edit: I actually did this like 4 years ago. This time I used dielectric grease
_________________
Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[revolution337]

Added some skateboard grip tape to the rear table leg clamp, to help keep it from moving around while driving. Worked out very well, simple, effective. No longer do I need to use Hulk strength to tighten the knob.

Before:

After:

[mcarlson_sb]

New 3d printed drawer sorter. We used the spool of bright green transparent PLA because "what else would you use it for?!?"
This is version 1.0 and the walls are pretty thin. If they end up breaking we'll print it with thicker walls for v2

(older mods that are visible in the picture)
The switches you can see are:
- route solar to either the aux or main battery
- turn on over kitchen led lights
And a homemade battery level indicator for the starter battery.
The stock one on the panel is routed to the aux batteries

I've also installed an inexpensive dash cam.
Since I've been driving around in the van more I've had several times where police run my plates and follow me. Adding a $25 digital dash cam seems like a very reasonable upgrade.

Cheers,
Matthew

[andy52]

finished interior front part

[fishgo]

What year is the van and what materials groups are those? Carpet, floor, door panels, etc. Looks sharp!

[mcarlson_sb]

My clean(er) engine

The air cooled engine after being sprayed down with Simple Green and a light ri se with the garden hose. I didn't use a brush or anything that would have really cleaned it. Just a minimal job to get the worst off.
It was all covered in years and years worth of oil and grime.
Now I can at least see where one part end and the next starts

Cheers,
Matthew

[dhaavers]

^^^ Already looks less dusty than mine, any day of the year... (d@mn forest roads...)



- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[Vanlife Geek]

I purchased a Verizon 8800L MiFi off eBay which gives me unlimited data with no throttling and no caps (it has special "mojo"!). This gives me the ability to stream video (assuming I have a decent cell signal), so I thought I'd get a Roku unit for my existing TV. While I was at it, since my 12V TV only has one HDMI input, I added a small HDMI switch so I can switch between the RoKu and my laptop by simply pushing a button. Since my existing broadcast antenna and the RoKu both need USB power and the TV only has one USB port, I also added a tiny USB hub which I already had. It's all semi-neatly mounted on the back of the TV and is hidden from view. It worked out really well. The TV speakers suck, as is to be expected, so I've routed the audio to a small Anker speaker, which has way better quality. I have a decent movie collection on an external hard drive for when I don't have cell coverage. I know many of you will question why I want that many entertainment options in a camper when I should be enjoying nature, but I will be moving into the van full-time in January and will want some "home comforts", plus I'm just sort of a geek that way. Although most of my time will be spent hiking through the high mountain forests and desert (depending on time of the year) taking pictures and making videos, I'll still want to keep up with the news and "Netflix & Chill". Plus I'll be uploading videos to YouTube and don't really want to depend on Starbucks, McDonald's, etc. for WiFi, although I do have an external, amplified WiFi antenna and router just in case. Next is probably a cell booster antenna, but that's another post.

Note the MiFi velcro'd next to the cup holder above some charging ports in the above image. The TV is hardwired and is controlled by a switch, which also activates the USB ports, a 12v port and a voltmeter.

_________________
Vanlife Geek
Current:
1986 Syncro Westy
Previous:
1983 Westy
1981 Westy
1972 Bug (Last year you could buy a new one for under $2,000)
1965/66 Bug (2 bugs from a junk yard combined to make 1 functional bug)
1959 Bug (Pre Gas Gauge Era)