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Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 3:55 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

markswagen wrote:
looking good, how is the interior shaping up.
what's your plan there.


Hey Mark, I’m thinking that the interior will be modelled along lines similar to the Westy, but probably without the cooktop as I don’t want the hassle of installing a propane tank. I’m just concentrating on getting it on the road at them moment just as a 2/4 seat van. Once mobile I will be taking it to a few places that specialise in bespoke camper interiors to get some ideas.

Cheers
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 2020 1:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Had a bit of a disaster the other day. I installed the Luggage rack after installing the wires for the LED light bar and as I was tightening down one of the outer nuts on the rear edge I noticed a hairline crack start to appear Running from the back edge and then slowly start to creep up the back of the rack. I quickly un-bolted it, unplugged the light bar and then removed the luggage rack to inspect. The crack had closed up again so I marked it with a Sharpie.

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I sanded everything back and then applied 3 coats of woven cloth over the entire back edge where the bolts go and then up the rear vertical surface of the luggage rack.

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Before I removed the luggage rack I noticed that the rear bolts were not in the centre of their holes so I marked where the offset was and the slightly elongated the holes in that direction just to take a bit of pressure off the rear area.

This is another problem that I have noticed for a while and is on the jobs list, I seem to have a small leak coming from the front of the thermostat.

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crazyvwvanman
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 2020 2:11 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

In case you weren't aware, the factory put some thick rubber washers between the luggage section and the roof sheet metal at each bolt hole along the back edge.
Sometimes they stacked 2 of them, large diameter black rubber washers.



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Mark
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 2020 6:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Bit of down time today, enjoying some spring sunshine

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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

crazyvwvanman wrote:
In case you weren't aware, the factory put some thick rubber washers between the luggage section and the roof sheet metal at each bolt hole along the back edge.
Sometimes they stacked 2 of them, large diameter black rubber washers.


Thanks Mark, I have an M6 bolt going through the roof from the underside with a rubber washer and SS washer, then a nut on the top side to clamp everything down, then another washer and then the rear of the luggage rack sits on that. The height of all this looks similar to what you have, ie level with the protruding trim panel in the roof. The repair looks to be holding up fine, the extra room I gave everything by slightly oversizing the holes allowed the luggage rack to fit a little easier.

Cheers
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 6:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Well its starting to look like a van should up front now.

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Just need to paint the wiper/light storks black, and either paint/cover the steering wheel, or track down a black one from a van with power steering.

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.

Pioneer head unit takes up very little space behind dash as it has no CD, just radio and BT to phone for your favourite tunes through Spotify, or your own music library. It has BT connection to phone with mike already installed in roof.

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Discreet little high range speakers on either side of dash make a big difference, combined with sub under the seat, and mid range in the doors, we have some nice sound.

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Jake de Villiers
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 9:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

OzzieJo wrote:
Well its starting to look like a van should up front now.

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Except for the steering wheel being on the wrong side!!! Shocked Very Happy
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:53 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Jake de Villiers wrote:

Except for the steering wheel being on the wrong side!!! Shocked Very Happy


Tough critics on this forum Very Happy
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Jake de Villiers
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 7:25 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

OzzieJo wrote:
Jake de Villiers wrote:

Except for the steering wheel being on the wrong side!!! Shocked Very Happy


Tough critics on this forum Very Happy
The van looks really good, Jo, inside and out!! Cool
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Jake de Villiers wrote:
OzzieJo wrote:
Jake de Villiers wrote:

Except for the steering wheel being on the wrong side!!! Shocked Very Happy


Tough critics on this forum Very Happy
The van looks really good, Jo, inside and out!! Cool


Thanks Jake, there is a lot of work behind the front seat to go with yet.
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 1:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

The panel behind the sliding door was never finished as not long after I hit it with 1500 grit my clutch slave cylinder went and I couldn’t move the van out of my shed to get to that side. I fixed the clutch slave cylinder months ago, but this just became one of those jobs that I was not looking forward to, anyway today was the day, this is what it started out like after 1500 grit wet sand....that scratch was my fault, thought I could squeeze the sliding door between the van and the wall Mad....most if it came out though in the end.

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Then again after some 2000 grit, not that much different but it did remove most of the scratch.

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Then again after 3000 grit, Scholl Concepts S2, S3, S20, then sealed with Wolfgangs Deep Gloss Paint Sealant.

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Here’s the gang

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The S2 with a medium cutting pad is pretty good at removing 1500 and above sanding marks, but leaves a slight “haze”, which is quickly removed with the S3, the S20 then removes everything else. I have got some S30 but didn’t feel that this job required it, the deep gloss sealant goes on pretty quick and is easy top remove and makes the paint “pop” nicely.
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Jake de Villiers
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Gorgeous! That's a beautiful shine. Very Happy
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2020 12:27 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Jake de Villiers wrote:
Gorgeous! That's a beautiful shine. Very Happy


Thanks Jake, although I had been putting this off for a while I do enjoy the end result.
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2020 2:06 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Today I tackled re-furbishing the sliding windows, I really don’t want to leave the frames in aluminium because they will stick out like a sore thumb so I needed to strip everything apart for cleaning before a re-spray. While the glass is out I will also be adding some tint.

First up I removed the latch mechanism by unscrewing the bolt located at the bottom of the latch, then tipped the frame back up and the bolt and spring just dropped out. With these out the latch just popped off.

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Next I removed the felt channel that runs across the top and down the front channel of the window. I started with the window fully open then pulled it away from the front edge and then carefully pulled it up to where the window was, then I closed the windows and pulled the felt down from the other side, opened the window again and pulled the felt through.

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The next step was easily the hardest part of the whole exercise, removing the two little black inserts that the slider glides on when opening and closing. These are located at each end of of a channel section at the bottom of the slider. For those attempting this at home be prepared to break these pieces but take heart GoWesty is your saviour, and you might as well order up one of their “furry seal” replacement kits as well .... unfortunately I was not able to find a suitable replacement for the felt channel. OK here is the part in question.

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There are two on each window, the trouble is they have a small “barb” on each side just up near the end that locks into a hole in the channel that they sit in, I guess it stops them sliding out accidentally ....or on purpose. You might just be able to see the barbs in the photo below, they are just about either side of the opening.

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I tried everything I could think of to get these things out without damaging them, the net score was: 1 totally destroyed, 2 reasonable but the end caps were left hanging by only one strand, and one that could go back in. Of course the last one out was the best one and this is what I ended up doing. I had a small thin (approx 2mm) aluminium straight edge that I was able to insert into the channel behind the plastic piece, I chocked the window open and then tapped on the edge of the straight edge with a rubber mallet and the plastic insert just popped out.

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The image above/below shows where I put the straight edge, the plastic insert sits to the left of the straight edge.

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With the inserts out of the way you are home and hosed.....well not really, but if you have made it this far and haven’t broken anything other than a plastic insert then you are doing well. Next I lifted up the window as far as it would go in the frame and then used some icy pole sticks to sit under the bottom of each end of the slider, I think about four did the trick. On the end closest to the fixed frame the aluminium channel goes all the way to the edge of the glass so I just fitted the icy pole sticks about 5mm in from this edge, at the other end the channel is a fair way from the glass and this didn’t matter that much (it will become clearer in the next step).

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With the window frame sitting upright on the bench I used a block of wood to rest on the edge of the channel that the inserts where in and then starting at the open end I tapped the wood down against the channel with a rubber mallet. As the channel is pushed down I moved further back toward the fixed frame end until I was up at the end where the icy pole sticks were. By this stage the channel was loose enough that I could pull it toward the open end of the window and then get it out. With the channel out of the way the sliding portion of the window came out quite easily from the top edge first. The image below shows the piece of wood I used sitting on the edge of the channel at the “open end
“.

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Next task was to remove the sliding wind lock channel, once again I used the piece of wood and rubber mallet to gently (well as gentle as you can with a rubber mallet) knock this section of channel down and out of the frame.

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With the slider lock channel out of the way the centre channel was pretty easily removed (wood/mallet again).

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Now I just had to get the fixed pane out. To do this I used some more bits of wood to close the gap up to the top of the frame and then another piece to lever the frame apart.

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You would think that at this point it would be smooth sailing to the line, but Mr Man at the factory used a heap of silicon to keep the fixed pane in place so it takes a bit of pulling/pushing to break the seal. I found that by using a glass carrier I could get a bit of grip on the pane and then pull it free of the seal.

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Voila ... one sliding window completely stripped ready for cleaning and painting.

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Don’t ask me how it goes back together ...... I will be giving that a try in a couple of weeks after the frames have been painted black and the glass has been tinted.

Just on the frames I thought that I saw someone on the samba who had success with powder coating them, if you are out there I would be interested to hear how that worked out. I don’t feel confident to powder coat because of the tight tolerances in the frame and I would think that you would have a hell of a time putting it all back together again .... thoughts ??
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2020 6:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

I noticed last night that the lift channels on my front windows have some significant areas of rust, in some places they have been eaten right through. With this in mind I have ordered some new ones ..... can anyone let me in on the trick to get the old ones off, they seem to be stuck fast.

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bajaleo Premium Member
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:09 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

I just did this. I lightly tapped them off with a small hammer. And I put new channel seals in with vaseline.

OzzieJo wrote:
I noticed last night that the lift channels on my front windows have some significant areas of rust, in some places they have been eaten right through. With this in mind I have ordered some new ones ..... can anyone let me in on the trick to get the old ones off, they seem to be stuck fast.

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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

bajaleo wrote:
I just did this. I lightly tapped them off with a small hammer. And I put new channel seals in with vaseline.

OzzieJo wrote:
I noticed last night that the lift channels on my front windows have some significant areas of rust, in some places they have been eaten right through. With this in mind I have ordered some new ones ..... can anyone let me in on the trick to get the old ones off, they seem to be stuck fast.


Thanks Leo, got them off last night by lightly tapping the top of the channel with a piece of wood and rubber mallet.

Cheers
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GreggK
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 4:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Hey OzzieJo great build thread! I'm so NOT used to seeing the steering wheel on the right side, ha ha...
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OzzieJo
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:57 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

GreggK wrote:
Hey OzzieJo great build thread! I'm so NOT used to seeing the steering wheel on the right side, ha ha...


Thanks Gregg, I plan on cleaning all of the glass this weekend before handing it over to get the tint put on. Hopefully I will also get a chance to clean up the slider frames so that I can get them off to be powder coated. Thanks for the advice....stay safe
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:21 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread: Aussie Westfalia Conversion Reply with quote

Somehow just stumbled on this thread. Love the work!
nate
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