Left for Dead...The Resurrection Story....(AWD EE-20)

[lucianosanchez]

Bookmarked. Cant wait to see more!
_________________
1983.5 Aussan Brown Westfalia | 2016 to 2020
1983.5 Beige Westfalia | 2019 to Current

[0cean]

[0cean]

Part two of the extra storage area.

Need a little power of the sliding door.

Next is the switches for lights, compressor, etc. I mounted them vertically to save some space on the inside. Don't need all the wires getting banged up moving stuff in and out.

_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[Zeitgeist 13]

Where did you source those slider door contacts?
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[0cean]

[0cean]

Next comes the good stuff... The pop-top and basket... I wanted solar, yet having it out of the way is a must. A roof rack that was permanent and kind of no fuss also was needed. And finally a new vent system that would prevent my surfboards from getting a Chinese wax job... all sideways and melted. (No that was not politically correct, yet I don't care..)

Lot of sanding and cleaning up to do. The vent was moved back behind the pop-top lift bar so I wont bang my head on it as much. The problem with the vent I chose was its mounting depth is a lot, so the thing sits low on the inside of the van. This was a give and take because its an automatic temperature sensing vent. AKA, stop the melted wax.

More sanding....

The roofs flocking looks to be flocked. That will be addressed soon enough.

At least it fits.

Here is the first layer of carbon fiber tissue paper. This is what I use to make surfboards. Good stuff.... Also the Rhino Racks tracks have been laid and roof cut to except them.
_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[0cean]

Here is the layout for the top.

There would be a problem with wind noise because the vent sticks up way to much. So, I used some extra EPS surfboard foam to shape a wing for air flow over the vent.

I don't have any pictures of the sides around the vent, but they are made from the same surfboard material and epoxied down.

Next the second layer of carbon fiber was added. In total its really strong.

Added more surfboard foam to get rid of the old vent indention. Also took the opportunity to carbon fiber all the corners for strength.
_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[erste]

Very slick.

I'm loving your build, so many details.

Who makes the panel? It's incredibly thin.

[0cean]

[0cean]

A lot of carbon fiber whent into the pop-top. There is to much flex with the older staple in style roofs for my taste. Now its strong and can handle a load.

Sand, Sand, Sand, Sand

More Sanding, Sand, Sand, Sand, Sand and more Sand.

After priming with epoxy primer. Almost ready for some paint... or something like that.
_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[0cean]

Ok, everything was going smooth until I applied monsterliner with the custom tint from a local paint shop. The directions from monsterliner are clear, yet the type of PPG product monsterliner requires has a filler in the formula that is not obvious and hidden. Any filler will cause the mix to kick off very quickly. I will post more about this on the monsterliner thread later. Anyways, the result was the monsterliners pot life was reduced from 1.5 hours to less then 20 mins.

As I was spraying the monsterliner and it started to harden like crazy. First I stoped spraying and then used a roller to try to save the poptop. That ended in failure and I had a mess of a paint job and lost one full gallon of product. I was pissed!! : :2gunfire: :2gunfire:

_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[0cean]

So after the monsterliner failure, I called PPG to find out what happened. They told me there is a active ingredient in the mixture that does not state its a filler. The mixture recipe calls it Clear and its the only thing that is not a tint. STAY AWAY FROM THE CLEAR if you use this product. Well after a lot of sanding and a new batch of tint, I was back in business. Finally!!

Over a gallon of product was lost because of a bad mix.

The roller disintegrated leaving pieces of it all over the pop-top

A lot of sanding to get ride of all the air bubbles and the parts of the roller that was left.

In the end, this is the texture with sprayed monster liner. Its really nice and not all crazy bed liner looking.
_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[0cean]

Now for the hard part, the underside of the pop-top. Of course the flocking looked horrible and was just as bad as a 80's Freddy Cougar movie, so it was removed with a wire wheel and sanding.

Now a little more carbon fiber was need because of some bowing that was happening in the middle and for more strength.
_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[0cean]

Working on the top was a messy time consuming process, yet it was worth it.

I sprayed a light layer of lizard skin for a little sound dampening.

Flocking.... well it's about a three person job really. The reason is because it's very time sensitive as the glue drys in 10 mins. Not a lot of working time. The other reason is because your spray gun will jam all the time preventing flocking from coming out. Last but not least, the flocking has to be sifted because the strands bunch up and clog the gun. It's not easy at all.

If you try this at home, one person rolls the glue, the second sifts the flocking and fills the canisters, and the last person sprays the flocking. Keep the gun real close to the glue and put a ton of it on.

Sprayed the outside edges with normal automotive paint. Love the Toyota quick sand color.

Its Christmas!!! Unwrapping the pop top present!
_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[0cean]

Time to give the basket some love. Its in rough shape, yet very fixable.

Drilled all the rivets out.

I will have two GPS devices; One for the speedometer and one for Siri/XM. Guess that's only one GPS and one Satellite receiver thing. Well, what ever. Anyways its going in the basket out of the way.

I added some small metal plates for the GPS receivers to attach to.

Little carbon fiber for strength.
_________________
I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the internet

Cluster Rebuild:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569920&highlight=

Left for Dead the Resurrection Story Build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=613669
(Number of Different Donor VW Vans Body Parts Used: 12)
(Number of completely different vehicles parts used: 3)

[E1]

Great thread, compliments to your build!

As my Brit friends in the F1 world would say, you have "very large attachments" to tackle this mammoth project as you have...

Awesome, keep it goin' on!!!

[Bills85Westy]

Loving this! Making great progress and some improvements that I hadn't thought of. I really like strengthening the top with carbon fiber. I carefully walk on my top (have done this for years and years) but like how you've modernized it with the racks and vent.

Can't wait to see what's next.
_________________
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

[figborg]

Loving this too! I'm following this thread. Thanks for sharing.
_________________
-- PF
Providence, RI
1986.5 Westy camper (G year code, grey interior), 2WD, manual transmission, Subaru conversion by Vanaru. Spoiled rotten.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662374

[Steve M.]

Dare I ask if your going to call this one "Phoenix"?
_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[0cean]