My Road Trip Westy build

[DAV!D]

I originally bought a 86 Syncro with the intentions of giving it a good work over and turning it into a road trip camper van. One thing lead to another during that process and I ended up with a 1984 .5 Westy that had a bad engine.

I picked up the van roughly one month ago as a side project while I waited for parts for the syncro, but I ended up making this van my priority and have decided it will be my long term Road Trip van and the Syncro project was put on hold until I get back home sometime before next winter.

I now had a 84 Westy that needed to be on the road ASAP so I could get it ready and leave on a cross country road trip sometime the beginning of March.. That's roughly 1.5 months after I bought it...

Lets get busy...

This is what it looked like the day I brought it home. The van has a auto transmission and a 1.9 wbx but the problem is they were in pieces sitting inside on the floor..

Among the loot inside the van, was a pair of brand new AMC heads, the 1.9, brand new std size jugs and pistons and a engine gasket kit. I needed to get everything.. from the van floor to the empty place in the trunk...

After a lot of going back and forth, I opted to use the short block from my Syncro. The 1.9 had been sitting open for quite a while and I didn't feel good about putting it back together with out checking the bottom end and I just didn't have time to wait for a bearing kit.

I knew my 2.1 was good but it suffered from a bad set of heads. I ended up putting the new AMC heads on the 2.1 and using the 1.9 cooling and fuel injection system.

This is the engine put back together and bolted up to the automatic and ready to be put in the van.

Two days later and lots of problem solving, the engine was in and running. I had to swap out the 1.9 ECU & fuel injection because something had gone bad and I couldn't get it running. Rather than trouble shoot and order stuff, I opted to use 2.1 ECU, harness, distributor and throttle body..

Roughly a week and a half after pulling the van to my dad's place and borrowing his shop, the Westy was running and had survived it's first 100 mile maiden voyage.

continued....
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86 Syncro Build - Ecotec Motor Swap - Pop Top Conversion - Camper Build & Syncro Conversion

[DAV!D]

After getting the van running, I had to take a week off the project to do some other things.. but lets take a look inside..

This van is very clean for a 1984 and being 30 years old. The original owner was from Pennsylvania from what I was told, but kept the van garaged during the winters. Meaning the only rust is at the body seam under the camping connections.

The under carriage is completely rust free, but she has a few dings and dents, but nothing that can't be fixed.

Inside I also found the original owners manuals as well as the factory warranty and maintenance log book. Among other things..

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86 Syncro Build - Ecotec Motor Swap - Pop Top Conversion - Camper Build & Syncro Conversion

[DAV!D]

By this time I've had the van roughly 3 and a half weeks and had been driving the van daily and working out little bugs here and there.

Last Monday I was able to get back to my dad's shop and get working on the van once again.. The first order was to install my solar system. I'm planning to live in this van on the road for at least 6 months maybe longer so I need off grid power.

I opted to install 2 x 100 watt panels hooked up to a Morningstar TR-45 charge controller with a Tri-metric RV-2025 battery monitor, tied into a pair of AGM group 31 deep cycle batteries hooked to a 1100 watt inverter.

I put it all together and it works! This is in the shade btw..

I mounted both panels onto twp pieces of 1.5 inch aluminum angle stock and then mounted that to the Westy roof using Z brackets and stainless storm shutter bolts with some decent size washers inside.

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86 Syncro Build - Ecotec Motor Swap - Pop Top Conversion - Camper Build & Syncro Conversion

[DAV!D]

Catching up to where I'm at and roughly having the van a full month. I'm now fine tuning to solar system and been working away little bugs here and there and driving the heck out of the van trying to break it in well.

Both yesterday and today I spent a good amount of time tinting the rear windows with some 02% limo black window tint. I wont be staying at many camp grounds during my trip, so the van has to be as stealth as I can make a Westphalia.

I still have to do the drivers side rear window, but I'm debating about just blacking it out as it's a useless window anyway with the rear closet.

This is pretty much up to date and I'm now trying to work out a few more bugs like the speedo not working and a small water leak, which likely means I'll have to pull the thermostat to fix.

Tomorrow though I will likely pull the old fridge and see if I can figure out how to fit the 12 volt fridge I bought for my Syncro.
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86 Syncro Build - Ecotec Motor Swap - Pop Top Conversion - Camper Build & Syncro Conversion

[rubbachicken]

paint your poptop white though, it's a heat trap like it is.
nice to see it coming along
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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

[morymob]

[Steve M.]

[Steve M.]

Do the headlight mod where you install a relay for each headlight and if the budget allows get the H4 headlights with better bulbs. It is a world of difference and will ease the strain of night driving after a long day. It's safer.

[DAV!D]

Yea, the black top is not my favorite thing about the van. I don't have time to paint it before I go on this trip, so it will have to do. The luggage rack is also a little damaged and needs a bit of fiberglass work before it gets reprinted, so that stuff will have to wait until I get back and then I'll just pain the entire van.

The headlight mod is also something on the wish list for both vans. I can't do it before I leave, but something like that is easy enough to do on the road. I'll be carrying lots of tools with me and a few spare parts.


Mornymob, I think you forgot to add your post,,
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86 Syncro Build - Ecotec Motor Swap - Pop Top Conversion - Camper Build & Syncro Conversion

[dobryan]

[Steve M.]

[Steve M.]

Dave, I just noticed you were in Central Florida. I have a 84 Westy in Daytona Beach I'm stripping for parts. I think I still have the white pop top left. Are you interested. I pretty much have it stripped of everything, but I'm going to be there this weekend pulling the engine and tranny and everything else I haven't taken yet! Are you interested?

[/img]

[DAV!D]

[DAV!D]

Time for another update. .

I took the Westy back to my dad's place on Tuesday and started the mad dash of getting things done. I had a few things I needed to resolve, the headlights were no longer working, the speedometer cable needed to be replaced and I needed to sort out how I would install the 12v fridge.

The speedo was basic enough and I replaced the cable with a new unit from Gowesty. The headlights took a bit of figuring out, but in the end after checking everything possible I realized the lights were actually burnt out..

How both lights burnt out at the same time is beyond me, but for now they work and if they burn out again it will mean something else is causing it.

As for the fridge I'll cover that in my next post as I'm still working on it, but I did do some other fun stuff.. I decided to put my all terrain tires and CLK rims from the Syncro on the Westy as a temp solution I used some 7mm spacers on the front with none in the rear.

Everything fits ok, but I can't put the center caps on and it sags a bit in the rear. I had some polyurethane board and started cutting some doughnuts. Six of them to be exact.

The installation took about a hour and a half. Instead of loosening the trailing arms as I've seen others do, I opted to remove the shocks and unbolt one half of the CV axle. This allowed the trailing arm to lower enough to get the spring out and the doughnut spacers in.

After everything was back together the van was looking much better and the ride height was evened out and presto almost instant pre runner..

I'll follow up with some pictures of the fridge unit once it's completed, but things are getting down to the wire, I'm planning to hit the road either Monday or Tuesday so I'll be doing some work to wrap things up while on the road.

This has been a pretty fast build for me, but the van has come a long way and about a month and a half.
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86 Syncro Build - Ecotec Motor Swap - Pop Top Conversion - Camper Build & Syncro Conversion

[Steve M.]

What's your clearance on the front tire and the front of the fender? Looks close, but it's all black background to see.

[DAV!D]

[DAV!D]

The build isn't 100% finished, but I hit the road today regardless. The van still has a few "quirks" but overall It's doing ok.. One problem though is the brand new speedo cable I just installed has already stopped working.

The clip at the front wheel hub is still in place and I unhooked it at the dash and put it back on to make sure it didn't just unclip, but didn't seem to help.

Anyway I stopped off in Gainesville here i FL and plan to see the Devils Mill Hopper before I head over to the left side of the state, to enjoy some white sandy beaches..
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86 Syncro Build - Ecotec Motor Swap - Pop Top Conversion - Camper Build & Syncro Conversion

[hdenter]

Enjoying your thread and hope your trip goes well. Could you share the tire size on your CLKs

Thanks

Hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[hdenter]

Enjoying your thread and hope your trip goes well. Could you share the tire size on your CLKs

Thanks

Hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[DAV!D]