Finally Done! Late Westy Interior in 75 Transporter

[RIOMX]

I bought my 1975 Transporter with the intention of going camping, so it only made sense that we added a camper interior.

Thanks to pb24ss, I got a complete late Westfalia interior, including foldout bed, closet, headbanger, cooler, armrest and sink. We didn't install everything right now, because we want to take advantage of the warm weather instead of spending weekends working on the bus, so it was only a partial installation.

My truly amazing and supportive wife helped me through it all, and I definitely owe her big time. I'm a really lucky guy.

Anyway, we didn't want to keep the crappy and heavy carpeting, plyboard and foam flooring that the previous owners installed, so we got to ripping everything out first:

We thought it would be pretty easy to remove the old floor, but we got sandbagged by a horribly sticky layer of tar paper. It took a very long time to scrape off, and we lost a lot of time because of it:

There were signs of someone having installed a camper interior at some point, including a hole in the pan with a screw with a spring attached:

The hinges were very rusty, so I pulled them off, cleaned the rust off, painted and re-oiled them (no after pics, sorry):

I ripped out a bunch of fiberglass insulation behind the panels and replaced it with reflectix instead (had to use 4 layers to get the right thickness). I still have to do the headliner, sliding door and front of the bus, but I can take care of that later.

The floor was the biggest nightmare, and took many trips to Home Depot and Lowe's to get it right. We got the right size of thin plywood as the subfloor, but we got laminate that wasn't the right size and ended up being too short (luckily, we only paid $0.02, no joke). After laying down a few layers of flooring foam, we kept the plywood as the main support.

I kept trying to find durable rubber that I could cut instead of doing laminate, but no place seemed to carry it and Lowe's only offered it as a special order. Instead, we opted for durable outdoor carpeting and fit it over the plywood. It ended up being much lighter than the floor the previous owner had laid down, but just about as sturdy.

This is what the end result looks like:

Here's me and the wife. I was too tired from all the work over the past week and 2 weekends to shave

EDIT: pic removed by wife's request.

Because everything took so long (2 weekends, 1 week every day for a few hours after work) and we didn't finish in time, we missed out on the VW Summer Campout we had already paid for. We were very bummed, but when we finally had everything finished and took some time to lay in the back of the bus and look at the stars, we knew it had all been worth it. It's one of the memories that will last a lifetime and we'll tell our kids about

We ran into a lot of snags with measurement, and I was also very indecisive about flooring, since it was the first time I did it and I wanted to do it right. In the end I found out that you just have to let go and improvise, and make the best out of what you have around.

Also, though I had much of the bed hardware, there were many pieces missing that I had to keep going back to the hardware store to replace with something comparable.

Oh...and I had to buy lots of tools I didn't already have, including a drill, jigsaw, rubber mallet, drill bits, hand saw, etc. I was glad, but I'm definitely feeling the hole in my pocket after all was said and done.

Future plans include re-laminating the cabinets and bed with something more durable and that we won't mind scuffing, replacing the cushions and covers with more durable cloth, and eventually installing the sink.

Now I probably won't get many fans for doing this, but because I've been offered a non-parasitic, electric compressor for the AC for free, I'm considering reviving the unit and using it. That would mean I'd have to cut a part of the sink cabinet out so it would fit in the corner behind the driver's side. First though, I have to hear back from the guy that offered it...

Anyway, I'm extremely thankful for all of the helpful info posted here and that I found through search, and HUGELY grateful to EZ Gruv for his "How To Remove A Late Westy Interior" thread. Without all of those photos and instructions, I would have been hopelessly lost while installing every piece.

Last, but not least, thanks to pb24ss (Dan) for the interior and also letting me drop by his place and take photos of his Westy to compare to EZ Gruv's thread. Nothing like having an actual Westy to look at when converting your Transporter.

Thanks and if anyone ever has questions about doing this conversion, please feel free to send a PM.

- Joe

[enjoispammy8]

that looks really good
_________________
1969 Westy, 1690cc. montana red and cloud white.
1969 Standard Beetle [sold]
Watch My Movies: https://www.youtube.com/user/taylorlikesacdc

[mackmix]

There is nothing like a westy! Go campin and enjoy!
_________________
1971 Westy (The Mean Tangerine)
1969 Lambretta GP 200
Lambretta Race Bike #14 RIP
Find yourself!

[Oside72]

Lookin good man!!

[pb24ss]

Looking good Joe. Sorry you missed the camping trip. I missed it too. I'm going to try and go the weekend of the 28th. Maybe head up to golden gate state park. let me know if you're interested.

dan

[camit34]

Looks great! I saw you drving into the bug-in on sunday while my wife and I were on our way out. Enjoy it!!!
_________________
In search of a Vanagon
1971 Westy (SOLD)
1971 Deluxe (SOLD)
1967 Freedom Camper (SOLD)

[EZ Gruv]

Atta boy. Looking good!
_________________
Eric
1977 Deluxe Westfalia - 2.0L FI Type IV, Completely Original
Photographer for HotVWs, VolksWorld, AirMighty, VW Camper & Commercial, Hayburner, and more.
My Photography Page.

[RIOMX]

[camit34]

[Klaussinator]

Hey guys!

Great to see you're on your way to some camping adventures! Great job - it looks really nice.

Gotta ask- what did you use for the headliner? Looks shiny and clean, like it won't mark-up. I like that!

-Klauss
_________________
I have taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money!
____________________________________________
the Klaussinator - `73 hardtop Bay custom-built camper

[RIOMX]

[aliennetwork]

Looks good, man!
_________________
M-Plate

[Brett0424]

Looks awesome. Also, I'm in Denver and go camping at least every other weekend. Let me know if you're ever interested.

[vw76westy]

now pull this t-mold off
spray some 3m 77 or 90 adheisive in the groove
then use a hot air gun on the t-mold to stretch as you
hammer it (use a mallet) back on

for long lasting results...
put a pin nail or staple at the very top & bottom

[RIOMX]

[RIOMX]

[pb24ss]

[RIOMX]

The sink is in! Unfortunately, it does not yet work. We're going to do a dual tank, clean water/grey water solution, but that will come later. For now, we are just enjoying the storage.

I didn't do it perfectly - unfortunately, I didn't align one of the screw holes correctly for the metal piece that connects the sink and seat together, and the lower wood that doesn't show is a bit crooked.

At some point in the future, I'll try and correct it, but I was reluctant to make any more holes in the sink or the seat backing. Since it had to come forward a few inches because of my A/C cables, it didn't align with the hole to the cooler. Also, I have yet to secure it to the floor.

[Lucas Grams]

Rubbercal.com

Rubber flooring options

http://rubbercal.com/Custom_Cut_Flooring.html

[RIOMX]