1987 Wolfsburg Weekender Hardtop Rehabilitation Project

[Kopasz]

THe headliners back from the upholsterer and it looks great. Not installed yet, but it looks great. I cleaned up all the old nasty insulation from the ceiling and sanded down the adhesive residue so I could install the sound deadening material. I need to figure out a good insulation material now--thinking of going with a two part foam froth pack and flashing the ceiling with 1-1.5". That should provide some good r-value and added sound deadening.

I also decided that the marmoleum floor I had previously installed to replace the old carpet is too slippery for the dog while driving, so I a, going to go with a cork floor, hopefully in a grey tone to match the rest of the interior.

Anybody ever add an overhead light above the passenger door? I need help with the wiring of that if anybody has done that before.
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adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[LittleMicroCars]

I just now looked at all your involvement with your van.... Nice work by the way.I have friends in Budapest. and I have made the trip from Vienna to visit some friends who own a body shop and specialize in Fiat 500 and Steyr Puch 500 ......the food is fabulous.. Leonardo
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Importer of Steyr Puch rally cars, military Jeeps, and air cooled parts Vienna, Austria

[Kopasz]

I love Hungarian food. I was lucky to grow up with it. My cholesterol has suffered due to it however. My American born wife has learned how to cook Hungarian foods and has learned to keep a jar of goose fat in the fridge for true bold Hungarian flavor. I digress.....

The Van:
So before installing the headliner, I wanted to sound deaden and insulate the roof. Before I could do that, I wanted to run and hide a few electrical lines for some upgrades:
- XM satellite antenna for my new Kenwood head unit
- new passenger dome light above door
- bluetooth mic for head unit
- Bostig MIL (check engine) light wire and subsequent dash light install

I decided not to go with the two part froth pack because of the inconsistency of the surface of it after it cured. Would have been great to fill all the dips and ridges, but more of a pain than I am ready to deal with. In place of the froth pack, I installed 1/2" r-max polyiso insulation over the front and mid cabins. Need to do rear section of roof next. I need to figure out of I can fit another 1/2" layer to make a total of 1" installation, which would give a total thermal protection of r-6.4. Not the best, but certainly better than the crap fiberglass insulation that was there before (which was about an r-2 maybe).

One thing I have to watch out for is to keep room for the tension poles that will keep the headliner up and taught. To do that, I need to keep a gap in between the panels of insulation, otherwise the poles do not arche properly and will make the headliner look funky and droopy.

I also picked up 26sf of grey pergo-like wood flooring to replace the marmoleum I had installed previously. Ran high grade speaker wire from drivers seat pedestal to rear bench for future amp and subwoofer.

Anything else anybody can recommend while the headliner is still out?

Also, any suggestions on how to repair the damaged/broken a/c duct mounting points? JB weld? Fiberglass patch? Metal sheet good? Combination?

Pictures to follow as soon as I get them uploaded to the hosting site.
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adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[LittleMicroCars]

I use furnace chimney tape... its spectacular ... shrunken thick aluminum on one side so you can make bends and curves with it.. and the other side is the stickeyest black rubberized stuff known to man. the hotter it gets the better it sticks. I have it on the inner roof of my super beetle..and on a hot day its never gets even warm on the inside. its called crack and peel furnace duct tape .. lowles and home depot have it... about 15 buck a roll and worth every penny. Leo
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Importer of Steyr Puch rally cars, military Jeeps, and air cooled parts Vienna, Austria

[Kopasz]

Thanks Leo. I can't find that stuff online; is there another name? Is it mastic tape you are using?

Here are some pictures of the passenger light wiring, bluetooth mic, and damaged AC ducting:

I picked up a new fish wire that helped with the wiring projects tremendously. I still need to figure out the best way to fix the cracked AC ducts--any suggestions, links to threads that have documented this would be great.

I need to get the show on the road because the van has a date with Justin Hall at Streamline Audio June 11 in Vancouver to do the stereo and interior panel work. He'll definitely do it better than I could. That work will include:

- Stereo install
- Amp and sub pre-wire
- Auxiliary battery
- Transformer
- New door panels and upholstery all around
- Main dome light switch at dash
- Hook-up seat heaters, install switches at dash

Before that can happen, I need to complete the following:

- Finish insulating roof
- Install headliner, trim rail
- Repair and Install AC duct
- Install front seats and rear bench
_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[LittleMicroCars]

http://www.amazon.com/Protecto-Wrap-8425X06100SW-W...=8-2-fkmr0 here is the link to the flashing tape.... (window tape) 6" x 75ft rolls... its about an 1/8 " thick or more... have fun with it . its great sound deaden-er . Leo
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Importer of Steyr Puch rally cars, military Jeeps, and air cooled parts Vienna, Austria

[Kopasz]

Alright, so the Van is back from Streamline Audio in Vancouver. Wow. Justin put in a nice amp and sub combo that really gives some bump. I'll probably have to turn it off when my wife is in the van because it really does provide some 'oomph' , even on the low setting.

Seat heaters, rear speakers, front speakers, sub, amp, new starter battery, new aux battery, and 1000W (2000W peak) inverter installed. I picked it up today and I have happily had need to use all the items already. Okay, not the seat heaters because it is finally warm out in the PNW, but I tried them out anyway. They work very well.

I'll get some photos up soon.......
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adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[Kopasz]

So it's been a while since I have posted, but the van has been up and running for a few weeks now, just been busy enjoying it and working on last minute items (like the door panels, which still aren't installed), minor tweaks, and random things that my father-in-law has broken.....

Here are some images of the headliner install. The guys at Beaverton Auto Upholstery are nice guys and do great work. They have had a pretty busy schedule so I installed the headliner myself, but I think it turned out nearly as well as it would have if they completed the install.

The added passenger side light about the door:

I'll put up some pictures of the stereo work in a post this evening....
_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[romesz]

[ZsZ]

huge progress since my last visit, love that headliner fabric

a rendszámtábláknak meg majd utánanézek

[romesz]

[Kopasz]

[Kburns737]

Really nice job with the headliner - its good to see that one can do a bang up job like that on one's own given enough attention to detail. Did you end up figuring something out for the a/c ducting? Such a shame how that seems to be a chronic condition on many of these vans. I took mine down since it was disintegrating and have been reluctant to even try fixing it, it almost seems easier to build a new in dash unit. Keep up the good work!

[Kopasz]

Thanks KBurns. THe headliner was a bitch and there are small areas that did not turn out as well as I had hoped, but really very unnoticeable.

I have not tacked the AC duct yet, but with the 90 degree weather we have been having here in Portland lately, it has been on my mind more and more. I was planning on using JB Weld to repair the broken mounting areas of the ducts, but need some sort of backing or mould to apply the mixture and keep it in place while it cures.

I was thinking of using fiberglass swatches to do that and maybe utilize the force of gravity (by inverting the ducts to keep the mixture from drooping while it cures) and then building upon that with multiple layers of JB Weld. In fact, It just occurred to me to use sheet metal and cut and form it to the contours of the duct and apply the JB weld to that. I'll look further into that. Maybe instead of solid sheet metal, I can use perforated sheet metal so that the jb weld mixture intertwines with the mesh, hopefully adding strength, like re-bar in concrete.
_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[Kopasz]

Romesz,

Here are the images that I promised. They are from a few years ago since the van is in the shop due to near brake failure yesterday...bummer. Waiting for the VC big brake kit to arrive friday so we can get those installed.....and of course, "while we're in there" I plan on having the shop do the H&R lowering springs, Koni's, and burley upper control arms for lowered vans.

Anyway, onto the photos of the engine compartment.

Bostig engine compartment from above:

Engine from below with original muffler and HC oil pan from Bostig:

New muffler set up (with glass pack) to make way for AC compressor:

_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[romesz]

[Kopasz]

So the big brake kit from Van Cafe arrived today and I'm driving them over to the shop this afternoon.

H&R Sport springs and Koni adjustable are on order and I dropped the Burley upper control arms for lowered vans yesterday.....

Can't wait to see how it looks when it's all complete, how it drives, and most importantly, how it stops.
_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[Kopasz]

I got the van back from HM Motorsports last week and it's awesome. I posted the below in another thread and thought I'd just transplant it here:

My stock height, measured from center of hub to bottom of fender lip was:
Front Left: 15.5"
Front Right: 15.75"
Rear Left: 15.75"
Rear Right: 15.5"

I don't know what sjhocks I had, but when I went over tracks, a bump in the road, or some sort of dramatic and sudden elevation change in the road, the front of the van bounced quite a bit for a few times after the bump. Now it just moves a little bit up and down, mush less range of motion, and with more of a thump.

When I started doing my research, I was concerned about ride comfort, but knew that I would deal with it if I got the desired ride height (visually). Also, nobody could give me an accurate answer as to what final ride height I would achieve with any of the springs out there (Weitec, CIP1, H&R, etc.). I bit the bullet and went with the H&Rs and I am very happy.

I had the shop put in H&R sport springs and adjustable Koni's when they were upgrading the brakes last week. I love it. Definitely an improvement, but also definitely a more firm ride. Unfortunately, I do not know what the shop tech dialed the koni adjuster to, but they did whatever was recommended.

Ride height after H&R sport springs and adjustable Koni's:
Front Left: 14"
Front Right: 14"
Rear Left: 14.5"
Rear Right: 14.5"

Pictures to come shortly.....
_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[Kopasz]

Here are the pictures of the electronics installed by Justin at Streamline Audio.

New starter battery with 1100W inverter:

Auxiliary battery with 1000W amp for sub:

Seat warmer switch and main dome light switch:

I can't get a good picture of the sub and sub enclosure right now because my daughter's car seat is latched into place on the rear bench. The sub enclosure is under the rear bench on the driver side and makes a lot of thump.....good think I sound deadend the van so much....no rattles at all.
_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024

[Kopasz]

Here are some before and after pictures of the suspension set up. I forgot to mention the Burley Upper Control Arms for lowered vans were also installed by HM Mostorsports. Sorry the before pictures are not identical to the afters, but you should be able to see the difference.

Before:

After:

Close-up of set-up:

_________________
adam

'87 Wolfsburg Weekender, Bostig Zetec

The rehabilitation of my Van can be found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5949024#5949024