1980 Tin-Top Chronological PIC Build Thread ~Karmann Vandiego~

[captmatthew1]

Good evening from the PNW!

I thought I would spend some time making a thread to show the chronological progress of our Vanagon.

My Vanagon was purchased by my father when it was about 1 year old. I grew up riding in this van. I learned to drive in this van. I possibly came home from the hospital after my birth in this van. It served as his family hauler for 297k miles before being layed to rest in the back of his property in the late 90s / Early 2000s.

In 2014 I drove from my home near the Oregon Coast, back to the Santa Cruz Mountains, to revive the old van and call it back to service.

Dad parked it after a head failure. I removed the engine and installed new pistons, cylinders, and cylinder heads. Dad always ran full synthetic and everything inside the case still looked brand new.

With the engine freshened up and reinstalled, I hooked it up to the pickup and towed the old van North!

With the Vanagon safely home in Oregon, we started using it immediately. From the time I was a child, I dreamed of the time that I would be behind the drivers seat with my children as the passengers. I'm not going to lie, I still get that feeling, and I hope it never goes away.

During a trip to a local creek, it became evident that the old 14" tires were aged and not up to the task of our demanding behavior. It took 45 minutes to leave this picturesque scene (uphill, slick, in reverse). The tired tires were unable to get any traction.

A craigslist search scored us a set of 16" wheels and tires from a VW Tiguan. A friend who owed me a favor bored the centers out to fit over the grease caps. I ordered new lug hardware from T3technique and the rest is history.

With all of the driving we were doing with the kids, I decided that we needed a roof rack for when we had extra cargo. This was the first version that I came up with.

The rack worked very well, and the ladder made access much easier. There were certainly areas that one could improve, but the concept came to realization quickly, and it worked.
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[captmatthew1]

After 300k miles of driving, the front seats had broken down pretty badly. I didn't want to replace them with factory replacements, but I also didn't want to go main stream and do the same as everyone else. At the time, I was doing an engine conversion in a 2004 Honda Civic. The parts car had an decent set of seats, and the tracks are the same width as the factory Vanagon seats. After some fiddling, this is what I ended up with.

The rear bumper was pretty badly beat up from years of California parking lots, so I started building a new bumper for it. The project stalled shortly after these pictures, and this is the form it took for a few years.

After the days started getting shorter that first winter, I decided I needed some better forward lighting. I upgraded the headlights to LED lamps and added a small light bar for off-highway use on forest service roads.

At the same time, I decided to upgrade the mirrors to increase rearward visibility. The upgrade was well worth it, in my opinion, and remains one of my most valued modifications.

During some internet scrounging, I found a fellow van owner in Portland that was giving away an awning with a broken leg. I toted it home, repaired the damaged leg, and put it to use! Still working awesome to this day!

With the constant exploring on forest service roads, I sourced a Panasonic Toughbook and vehicle mount from a retired police cruiser and installed it in the van. Panasonic Toughbooks often come equipped with GPS and Cellular Internet. Loaded up with the right mapping software, this became a very powerful off-highway tool.
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[captmatthew1]

After a couple years of ownership, I spent tons of time in the Oregon wilderness exploring, and letting our children run wild. I began hanging with a local(ish) VW group around this time, and heard of Descend on Bend for the first time.

We began to be invited out on outings with other owners, and we decided to finally join in...

During this first outing, I got a real taste of what VW camping was all about. Everybody showed up prepared to camp out. We brought a tent. This was the start of a whole new direction.

It was around this time that I learned about Descend on Bend for the first time.

I showed up to DoB with a mattress thrown in the back, and the Mr. Buddy heater blazing. I froze. This is when I realized things needed to change. It would be a while anything changed though.

After remodeling our 5th wheel trailer, I had removed the folding couch. I decided that if I shortened the folding couch, I could use it in place of the rear seat.

The theory worked out perfectly. Proud of the work I had accomplished, I wrapped up the project. We never slept on it in this configuration. Shortly after installing, the worn fabric started to break apart badly. We removed the folding bed, and put the original rear seat in.

After last winter we decided to plan a road trip for summer. With only a couple months, we decided we would convert the van as much as we could, for as cheap as we could.

I began by tracing out the floor. I cut out a sub-floor out of plywood and then adhered laminate wood flooring to it in the exact footprint of the floor. I then re-installed the folding bed frame.

I installed a couple of outlets into the kick panel, and then planned the electrical wiring. On the drivers side is a shore power plug that is directly hooked to an exterior inlet. On the passenger side is an outlet that is basically an extension cord from the inverter.

I selected a power inlet from the local RV supply store, and installed it in the side of the van. I made sure to put it right where an unsightly dent was, this way I could say that I started on body work.
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[captmatthew1]

I picked up a cheap diesel heater to install under the bench to keep us warm. Then picked up a deep cycle battery for aux. power. I already had the continuous duty solenoid and the inverter on hand.

I will post more in the morning.
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[danfromsyr]

nice I've always had a sweet spot for the 2tone yellow

~300k miles and you call that an 'unsightly dent'

[captmatthew1]

With the interior conversion usable, we went on a test run trip up the Oregon Coast to Astoria. Spent several days at Ft. Stevens. The conversion was a success! My wife, our son, and I slept in the rear bed, while the two older girls slept on the front seats, that now conveniently fold completely flat.

The trip was an excellent time, and we finally understood the comfort of sleeping inside of the van. One problem that plagued this family of 5 though, was cargo space.

While trying to squeeze everything inside of the Vanagon for this first trip, it became immediately obvious that we needed a new roof rack. If we were going to plan a long trip, we needed more cargo capacity.

With a new footprint tack welded together, I scrambled to design and build the new rack, just one week before joining the Airhead Parts Treffen Cruise.

_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[captmatthew1]

With a completed roof rack, I moved on to a new ladder to go with it. Improving upon my original design, I made it MUCH wider and with the rungs further away from the body. The result was a much easier climb on top of the van. I also added grip tape to each rung to avoid any slippage during our wet PNW winters.

We were just about ready to leave for the cruise when I decided I needed to finally finish up the rear bumper I had started years prior. With a section of an old band saw blade, I put a skin on the skeleton I had created.

_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[captmatthew1]

With the new rack built, we were unable to use the original brackets to hold the awning to the rain gutter. As a quick solution, I cut the brackets down and bolted them directly to the side of the new roof rack. The result was an even more usable awning, since it was now mounted high enough for me to stand under (I'm 6'4").

I needed a way to monitor the charge of the auxiliary battery. Using a small piece of stainless steel, I cut out a rectangle for the display. I intentionally left extra space on the panel for future expansion.

It was now time for the long trip we had been anticipating all spring. We joined the Treffen Cruise when they stopped in Coos Bay, and headed south. We stuck with the cruise for a few days until we reached Santa Cruz. We branched off from the cruise there, and headed to dad's house where this whole adventure began. Then we would head North on a 4k mile journey through 6 states and every national park we drove by.

The end of our trip would coincide with Descend on Bend, where we would win a raffle for a brand new CVT roof tent. It wasn't long after we got home that I had it installed on the roof rack of the van. The placement was perfect. It took up the same footprint as the van, and the side ladder was able to act as an entrance ladder. I built a small porch on top, to make entry/exit easier.

_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[mikemtnbike]

What an awesome reward for your hard work!! Serendipity strikes again!
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual

[Squidfish]

Great story, keep it forever.
Love that you won the tent in the end too!
_________________
1985.5 - Vanagon Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg Edition - LH8U - "Penny"
- 2.6i 5-Cylinder 10v (2004)

[captmatthew1]

Winning the tent in the end was truly a surprise. My wife and I have never won anything! The cross bars that were supplied with the tent were nearly the exact width of the roof rack!

Right now, the Vanagon sits with a worn out master cylinder, and a few small oil leaks that need to be repaired. During the course of my summer journey, I acquired the majority of a Tiico conversion, that I will be working towards getting ready to swap in.
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[Marshj]

By far one of the best threads, stories, everything on the samba thus far. Your van is awesome and so is your family. You’re making me fall in love with my tin top again. Thanks for inspiring

[Scottn59c]

Awesome job! And how cool that it was a van that got a new intergenerational lease on life! That's the ultimate vantasy
_________________
Farfignewton!

[captmatthew1]

Thanks for the kind words! I always dreamed of owning my dad's van. It's radical to see that my kids also feel the same way.

We have used the Vanagon as our primary form of transportation since I brought it home to Oregon in 2014, and have put nearly 40k miles on it since.

It has been important to me in a sentimental way to keep the old van a tin-top. As my decal says:

Sometimes it seems like the obvious solution would be a hightop...but every childhood memory of the old yellow tin-top, stops those thoughts dead in their tracks.
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[mikemtnbike]

The best thing I've done to my van was despoiling it's tin-top status with a hole-only pop-top conversion, but the whole time I was reading your thread, I was thinking about your history with it and how that probably wasn't a choice for you.

That's what I mean about serendipity with the roof-top tent; literally the best option for your and your tribe, given and earned through karma.
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual

[Jake de Villiers]

That's a terrific story Matt - thanks for sharing it!
_________________
'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

[captmatthew1]

[eleven]

Beautiful.

Thanks for posting!

[captmatthew1]

Karmann Vandiego is officially 40 years old this month.

So many milestones I have gotten to share with this old yellow box!
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion

[captmatthew1]

I just recently took a job that will have me staying in the city 2 nights a week.

Time to fridge. I found a decent used 12v fridge on the cheap, and built a cheap cabinet for it.

It isn't as clean of an install as I would like, but it only took a couple of hours, and I remind myself every time I look at it that it is temporary.

Now I have a place for some cold drinks and lunch meat while I am in the city.
_________________
Matthew Alig
1980 VW Vanagon Tin-Top Camper Conversion