Shadetree's Wolfsburg Tintop

[shadetreetim]

Yeah, I bought LED bulbs for all interior and exterior lights, except headlights, from superbrightleds.com several years ago. The stop/tail/turn LED's are all multi-directional. We got out and about this evening, so I was able to see how well the new LED bulbs lit up in the City Light locations. Pretty good illumination. Better than I expected. This is without the headlight bulbs being on, just LED City Lights.

And then just because...

_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[Steve M.]

Not too shabby looking at all!

Early evening image, curious how they look from a distance in full daylight (not that you need to jump right out and get an image! Just curious!)

It looks as if I found might have some more time to work on mine, maybe all summer!

[shadetreetim]

[Bills85Westy]

Hey Tim!

Looks great! Where do you find the time? I am loving this and can't wait to see how the finished product turns out. What a great solution.

Bill
_________________
89 Tristar Syncro Doka - White
85 Westfalia Syncro (conversion)
SAH 1.8T Conversion - 2005 AWP
Engine Conversion Thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612144&highlight=
85 Doka L345 Grey - 1.9L

[TequilaSunSet]

You are a creative dude Tim... I like where this is going!
_________________
Don't harsh my mellow...
1985 Hightower Vanagon 1.8T- Gone
1972 Panel Bus- Gone
1967 Bug- Gone
1964 Euro Sunroof Bug- Gone
1969/72/63 Sunroof Bug- Gone
1975 Brazilian Bug in the Philippines 🇵🇭- New to me

[shadetreetim]

Making progress on the QuadLight Trim. Got both sides of the grille glassed in and started sanding it down. I kind of liked the textured look of the initial resin, and it would have hid multitude of imperfections, but I went ahead with smoothing it out.

Initial resin application held in place for inspiration.

My template is going on my garage wall in case I need to build another grille someday.

Got another coat of resin brushed on and initial sanding completed, then flipped over and added a layer of fiberglass on the back side for strength. Still need to clean up the inside of the openings. And yet another test fit.

After final modifications I'll move all the bulbs into their final locations. The inner bulbs need a little nudging, and the outer bulbs need to be moved quite a bit to fit correctly.

I have modified my thoughts many times while planning the build of these grille inserts. I wound up locating the transition seam in a place where I could hide it the best. What I had really wanted to do was transition seamlessly from the round bulbs to the square outer edge of the grille, but that would have put the transition seam right out in front. The advantage being, that design covered up the original adjuster cutouts for a cleaner look. But ultimately, I didn't have enough confidence I could get it to look good. I'm happy with the way this grille is turning out.
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[shadetreetim]

Between my family obligations and waiting for products to dry, it has taken a series of short activities this weekend to complete the QuadLight Grille. A lot of micro batches of bondo were used due to the tedious nature of the small work areas. Notice I eliminated all the original cutouts in the grille for the stock headlight adjusters.

Then a die grinder was utilized to shape those rough openings for the headlights. A steady hand and a critical eye were all I had to guide me. They aren't perfect, but they pass the 5 foot test.

After the openings were cleaned up it was time to adjust the headlight positions for a better fit. These Hella Headlights have adjusters with a lot of movement available. I was able to easily fine tune the bulbs up against the back of the grille. I contemplated cutting in access to the adjusters into the bulb openings, but after all that sanding and smoothing, I decided to keep a cleaner look and just remove the grille to adjust the lights. This modified grille is just as easy to remove as a stock grille.

The back side of the grille. The new sections are reinforced with layers of fiberglass so they should be pretty strong.

A coat of Satin Black paint shows every imperfection while wet.

And the newly finished product. There may be a spot or two I want to resand and touch up, but overall, I'm happy with it. Jetta Chrome Grille Emblem got a coat of wax before reinstall.

Out in public for the first time with the completed grille.

The headlights, bulbs, and sheetmetal cost about $200.00 total. I had the fiberglass, abs, etc already, but if I had to buy it, say another $20.00. Before I started I figured to convert my Stock Square Grille to the South Africa Grille would cost around $600.00. So by my way of figuring, I had to come up with something I liked for less than $600.00, or I should have just bought the SA Grille. Of course, as usual, I wouldn't ever count my time for any project on my own vehicle. I got to learn some new procedures, buy new tools, have the satisfaction of taking an idea to fruition, and in the end I have a unique looking grille that, hopefully , looks like a factory effort. Plus the fun I've had with this project is priceless.

But at the end of the day, in the dark of the night, this was about getting H4 bulbs into the van.
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[TequilaSunSet]

_________________
Don't harsh my mellow...
1985 Hightower Vanagon 1.8T- Gone
1972 Panel Bus- Gone
1967 Bug- Gone
1964 Euro Sunroof Bug- Gone
1969/72/63 Sunroof Bug- Gone
1975 Brazilian Bug in the Philippines 🇵🇭- New to me

[Chuey]

Very cool project, Tim. I hereby dub your grille the "Deep South" grille. We're about as far South as it gets in the USA so not South American grille - "South America" was taken.

One thing for sure, your grille is more rugged than the South African ones.

Shine on!

Chuey

[shadetreetim]

Nice one Chuey. As cool as the custom projects are though, sometimes you just have to do some general maintenance. One area I haven't paid much attention to is the wheel bearings. Oh, I tugged and shook and jiggled the wheels over the years, peered inside the grease caps, and replaced the front pads. But I had never pulled the rotors or the rear hubs in the 4 years I've been wrenching on this van. Seems neglectful in retrospect. All those shiny stuff projects had me distracted. New grease does not a pretty picture take.

I'd been making a mental list of the few things I haven't touched on the van yet, and then Abel Longoria's experience coming to Syncrofest got me to thinking; I didn't want to seize a bearing on a road trip. So after some research and deliberation I ordered new front bearings and seals, and rear seals only. I had a like new set of rotors I pulled off a van at the salvage a while back, and a new set of Porterfield shoes setting on the shelf. Might as well do it all. Servicing the rears are a pain in the butt, and I had read about the idea of adding grease zerks to the hubs. Which could theoretically delay needing to have to pull them again for a while, so I wanted to add those too.

As I am leaving on a family trip to Oklahoma next week, this Saturday was the day. Word to the wise, on really hot days, don't schedule so much.

Pulling the front bearings, they showed signs of wear. I cleaned everything with brake cleaner, packed the new bearings in Redline CV2 grease, and slapped it all back together.

Moving to the back, I had a rare chance to pull out the Bentley as I had never pulled a rear hub before. I opted to pull the hub off without unbolting the CV from either end, as the CV's were recently serviced. It all came apart reasonably well.

I drilled and tapped for the grease zerk on the rear of the hub, where the zerk is accessible behind the backing plate.

Packing the rears in the same Redline CV2 grease, I stuffed them back in. I hate pulling the rear axle nuts. I hope not to have to touch the rears for a while. The rear shoes were in great shape, but I had those new Porterfields I wanted to experience, so I cleaned all the brake parts, added tiny bits of grease to the adjusters, and put it back together.

By the time I tightened my last bolt, it was by flashlight. Tired but happy with what I had accomplished for the day. Or just happy to be done with it.

A funny thing happened while test driving. For a few months now, as I would come to a stop, I could hear a faint notchy, speed related, gear sound coming from the rear. How long has it been making that noise, I wondered? Is it getting louder? After coming home from Syncrofest I imagined it was slightly louder than when I left. Was it the 80-90 MPH blast over the Grapevine? I thought these turbo motors were easy on transmissions? Is the Ring and Pinion failing? Am I the next Jon Slider? I don't even do Bong Hits for Jesus. Will Vinnie do a Tranny? This trans rebuild is less than a year old.

Well after a fresh slathering of grease across those apparently noisy, used OEM bearings, the growl is now silenced. That old grease around the bearings was looking kind of crusty. Not a lot of fresh grease was left in there. Interestingly, the tire didn't wobble in either direction when checked, even right before I pulled it Saturday. I love it when a mystery is solved.
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[backyard_cnc]

Nice job on the headlights Tim, it looks like a good first project for a commercial thermoforming machine I am currently building. Forming those surrounds from 6mm ABS would be ideal! Now if I could just get the machine finished

Too many projects!
_________________
Gerald

Check out my Classified Ads for neat stuff:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2364358

[shadetreetim]

[rubbachicken]

nice job on the bearings tim, i add a zerc at the bottom

it's under where the bottom of the back plate bolts to the hub.
always in the same place, one thing i have found using the zerc, be careful greasing them up, i've had one pop the seal out, i had thought the when it was full, it's just push a little grease past the seal job done
nope i pushed the seal out, luckily it was the seal i could see, and not the one inside the trailing arm, that would have been much more of a bastard

that was the first time in 8 rear wheel bearing swap outs.
i figure to stop that as possibility grease them before doing up the 46mm nut, i can watch the grease move the drum mount.
_________________
lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

meet 'burni'


markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182

[shadetreetim]

Our weather here in Riverside has been unusually cool for summertime this year. On beautiful days like we have been having, I prefer to roll down the windows and let the breeze flow. Last summer I had charged the system with Redtek after the motor swap, but was a little shy on product. The AC needed to be fine tuned. With winter around the corner I didn’t pursue it. This year, as we moved into July I thought it was time. I ordered a new trinary switch as the pressure switch on mine was faulty. Had some more Redtek shipped in. Oh, this is going to be great. AC finally 100% complete. The challenge is, I am far from an AC expert. I only know what I read, and I only read about AC when I need to. Apparently I needed to this time, but I didn’t realize what I didn’t know. In a moment of uninformed ignorance, I dumped liquid Redtek in the Low side of the compressor. Why do my gauges show the High side so low now? Because I destroyed the compressor, that’s why. Moron! Now I have to flush the system, replace the dryer, purchase another compressor, and more Redtek. I have everything ordered, just waiting on it all to come in. Hopefully, this is the last time I have to touch the AC for a long time.

While I was ordering stuff, I decided to experiment on my cooling system too. When I had swapped in the 1.8t, I had installed a new 190 degree thermostat, and a new water pump. In previous projects I had already replaced the radiator, fan switch, baffles, the front hoses, and swapped to SS supply lines. So the system should be in great shape. And the motor has displayed very consistent temps over the past 10K miles of running the 1.8t. Once it has reached operating temperature, it takes a mile or so to reach, I typically see one of three temperatures from my OBD2 supplied temp gauge. Side note: an advantage of the 1.8t in a Vanagon, the thermostat is situated for easy service from under the passenger back corner, just in front of the muffler.

190 degree thermostat
Normal temps - a rock solid 210 degrees
Under heavy load in 4th, or idling for over 5 minutes on a hot day- 215 degrees. Drops quickly back to normal.
RPMs above 4500 RPM in 3rd gear, load or not - 206 degrees.

I wondered if a 180 degree thermostat would drop those temps a little? So I ordered one, and put it in this week, then drove it 20 miles around town. Here are the results:

180 degree thermostat
Under heavy load in 4th, SOMETIMES it reached as high as 194 degrees, usually less. I had to lug it pretty hard up a steep hill in 4th to get that high.
Reducing load, downshifting or slowing down, temps come back down fast.
Normal driving the temps fluctuated between 174 and 180, highly dependent on load / speed.
At idle, temps consistently climbed to 186 degrees.
As soon as I’m rolling through the intersection, it drops to 174 degrees, and then may climb up to 180, wholly dependent on my right foot.


These new temps are a little cooler than I hoped to be. I suppose I should test my old 190 degree thermostat and see if it was opening at the correct temperature.
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[Christopher Schimke]

One thing that I learned about my AEB is that 206º to 210º is a normal temp to be reading off a Scangauge or similar. The temp that the Scangauge reads is the coolant temp coming right out of the head when it is its hottest. The coolant that the thermostat reads is a combination of coolant coming from the radiator (chilled), heater circuit (temp varies) and the oil cooler (hot). The thermostat is supposed to open at 190º, but that doesn't mean that the coolant temp coming out the engine is 190º since the coolant picks up heat as it travels through the engine. I have talked to several Audi techs and enthusiast and all report the coolant temps coming out of the head as in that low 200ºish range with most seeing nothing higher than about 210º.
_________________
"Sometimes you have to build a box to think outside of." - Bruce (not Springsteen)

*Custom wheel hardware for Audi/VW, Porsche and Mercedes wheels - Urethane Suspension Bushings*
T3Technique.com or contact me at [email protected]

[shadetreetim]

Well that is good to hear. Sounds like I need to put the 190 back in and forget about it. Thanks.
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[shadetreetim]

The theme for today’s post is COOL!

We start with the thermostat I tried earlier this week. The bad part about Christopher’s post above? I had heard it before. From several people. Exactly a year ago when I was wondering if my temps were okay on my new swap. But, I slowly forgot, and then started wondering if I could get it to run cooler. Man, if I could only remember everything I see and hear…

Then there is the AC. It is currently not cool. So I drained the system this afternoon. The sludge coming out was not pretty. Still waiting on the dryer and expansion valve to show up. Prepped the new compressor this afternoon, and filled with oil. Looking up the spec for the stock Passat compressor, it holds 6.5 ounces of oil. The plan is to flush the hoses, replace the dryer and expansion valve, and add 2 ounces of oil to the high side of the hose before closing up the system.
The sludge:

The 3rd COOL topic is something I’ve been dreaming of doing for quite a while. Ever since Goffoz posted those plans for the Super Cool Aluminum Scoops, I’ve wanted a set. The plans look deceptively simple. The challenge is, I don’t have any experience in building something like this from scratch. And it is highly visible where it is located. But that has never stopped me before. What I wanted to find out first is, how much would it help? I picked up some 0.032” 5052 aluminum sheet to experiment with. This afternoon I transferred Goffoz’s plans to the aluminum and started bending. Here is the first fitting (ignore the markings in the scoop, they were my first attempt to lay it out, then I turned it over)

As I was trying to make it fit better, I straightened and re-bent a few areas. Unfortunately, everything I did made it fit worse. And I was struggling to cut the product cleanly. My dreams of building a product even close in quality to the ones Goffoz made is turning into a nightmare. But I screwed it into place anyway and went for a test drive, since the purpose of today’s build was to test the cooling ability of the scoop.

My SAAB 900 Intercooler is located just outside the passenger rear pillar, with block off plates ensuring that all air coming down the pillar has to exit through it into the engine compartment. I have a shrouded fan pushing air through it, relayed off the alternator tickler wire, meaning it runs anytime the engine is. It is pretty consistent temp wise. At freeway speeds with my regular setup, normal IAT temps are typically 38-40 degrees hotter than ambient. With this scoop today, cruising down the freeway at 75 MPH in 90 degree weather, my IAT was 110-112, only 20-22 degrees hotter than ambient. That is a substantial drop. I only did a twenty mile trip, so it will be interesting to leave it on for a while to gather more data.

Meanwhile, my metalcrafting needs to substantially improve, and quickly. After today's results I don’t want to take a step backwards and pull the scoop off. But it is sure ugly the way it is.
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[newfisher]

Somebody just needs to make a good looking set here in the states at an affordable price. Good on you to start cutting up and bending. I still have the plans trimmed out and the sheet stock in the garage.

[Zeitgeist 13]

Tim, I really appreciate your no bullshit approach to projects; This is what I did, and this is how it did or didn't meet my expectations. That's authentic, and it's admirable. Respect.

[shadetreetim]

Well thanks. No bullshit, I don't enjoy metalwork. And I don't think I have a snowballs chance in hell to build these scoops to the standard Goffoz has exhibited. Anything less will just look like crap stuck on the side, in full view of everyone. A candidate for the Wall of Shame thread.

But someone in the U.S. does market a good looking, affordable scoop. T3Techniques now carries the Bullihutzen Scoops. Check out his website to see them. So I've ordered the T3 scoops and will post my experiences installing them in due course.

Maybe I should have checked out T3's site BEFORE drilling those small holes...
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5