Building the (im)perfect beast: The Saline Build

[joetiger]

Congratulations on the new project! I'm sure it'll turn out every bit as detailed and beautiful as your Westy did.

I dig those old rocker decals too. I really like these also:

https://www.vintagestickerfactory.com/en/westfalia-original-stickers/869-side-stripe-t3-syncro.html


_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[tschroeder0]

JOE! hey, thanks for saying hi and thanks for the link!! That may be the way I go, so cool.

[tschroeder0]

Hey everyone,

So at last post we were just getting the headliner in shape and fleshing out the trim pieces...the old tired engine had been pulled and the tranny out also...

MY goal was to use some of the existing Adv wagen pieces for trim as they were already made to be there, this has worked out very well I think...also a long day was spent polishing the inside of the old tired Adv wagen top, it came out like new!

Ethan dove into getting the newly sourced fully rebuilt 2.1 cleaned up(it has about 15k on the clock) new fuel lines, the mustache bar had to be removed and swapped for the correct one too. I was lucky enough to get a hold of the builder in California and have a good conversation...a little piece of mind at least...at some point it will get a subi, but this made good sense for now.

Next was a 2.5 hr drive down to Canyon City to see Greg at Mr Gas, how lucky am I to have him so close...a super informative, friendly guy who gave us a quick look around his shop

after a few more days the engine started looking nice!

the whole top was sanded and the interlux adventure began, after some boat forum reading and video watching I finally learned the correct roll and tip method to get the long sides of the top to look smooth...more pics to come on this

we then glued, silicone and screwed the top down...its tight!

in the mean time the adhesive from the side had to be completely removed. Paint or no paint it had to come off, Theresa spent an entire day working it with lacquer thinner, simple green, heat...urghhh...but she won!

She also made the 30 y.o. engine compartment look like new again!!

in the mean time the dirty kitchen was disassembled and cleaned and repainted...and finally some test fitting began...and the propane tank(thanks Dave) was degreased, sanded, painted and hung.

holes finally cut out for drain and propane

Finally a full test fit, really starting to take shape! ***Note the resprayed headliner***

Well, about 300hrs in at this point this week, lots more to come but it is starting to feel like it will be out there in the wild where it belongs soon...

[tschroeder0]

On my last post I left out a big step completed- the entire headliner, front to back, was re sprayed with SEM White, the panels will be re sprayed with SEM Medium Gray a bit later...it really makes things look new again

If you look closely you can see the old yellowed headliner compared to areas next to it that have been re sprayed.

And just for fun, another close up of the hell that was the previous sticker adhesive-

[uberaudi]

Excellent build!

I'm in the process of refurbishing my AW windows...what a pain! So much sticky black butyl that doesn't want to come off! I have the earlier version with the always leaky angled awning windows so now I'm just going to seal them shut and install a Maxxair fan in the top for ventilation.

What kind of screw strip did you use on the outside to hold your top on? This is one more thing I need to tackle while the vans out for paint.

[tschroeder0]

[dobryan]

Todd,

Just awesome!!!!

Makes me smile.
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[pnwkayaker]

Great build, lots of work, turning out beautifully!

This last post is actually touching on something that I've had in my mind for a while, to refresh the interior of my Syncro - when you say "re sprayed" do you mean using something like the following?

https://www.amazon.com/SEM-15103-Super-White-Color/dp/B000PL24O4

If so, how many cans did you use?

[tschroeder0]

pnwkayaker-

Yes thats the stuff, SEM is really high quality flexible paint that lays down really well. I would say the headliner takes 3 cans, of course it is really important to tape everything off, the mist of the paint will cover everything uncovered. several light coats are much better than fewer heavier. You can find it at most auto paint shops in stock and also they can give you a color chart so you can get the correct color.
thanks!
Todd

[outwesty]

This has got to be one of the driest vans I have ever seen. I can't wait for the shake down meet up in a month or so. I'm stoked you decided to come back to the van scene. This will all be worth it very soon when we're parked in the middle of nowhere.

[brokengun]

[Bicycle019]

Sweet project, glad you are making tons of progress on it. Saw you mention Mblotz earlier, looks like you live around the corner from his old place before he took off to the Great White North?

Hope to see this thing rolling around the Front Range soon.
_________________
'89 Vanagon Whitestar
'84 Jetta GLI - built 2.0 ABA
'16 GTI Performance Pack
'17 Golf AllTrack (wife)

[tschroeder0]

[tschroeder0]

[tschroeder0]

Well, the work has not stopped haha...

more fitment and final bolting down of the galley, closets etc...along with more sanding of all the metal pieces and painting. Later on these will all get powder coated, but for now this will do just fine.

The p.o. had installed speakers in the rear and of course one was right where the cabinet went, I decided to keep it and just fit the speaker cover...

I had a hard time sourcing a water tank but finally found one and then had to pull the water cabinet back out and cut the hole...but now it was coming together.

I was fortunate to find that the wiring in the hightop was actually working, after a bit of trial and error I had lights!!

Another hard find were some correct hinges for the bed, once they arrived I got to work on getting the wood cut out and the hinges mounted up.

Hinges painted/mounted, wood sanded and some clear poly applied and bolted in!

Next up was the rehab of the fuel tank...maybe the worst possible job ever, after about 3 hours of sweat, grime, dirt, swearing constantly...it was out.

the tabs that hold the vent lines broke off but other than that all was good, I was able to get the sender unbolted and removed pretty easily with some pb blaster and finesse.

next up was getting the brackets into shape, they were rusty but had a lot of solid metal there yet, so I decided to use them.

afterward, I cleaned the entire area where the tank sits, wire brushed everything, repainted it and then sprayed it with 3M Cavity Wax.

Waxed

More to come...

[Bicycle019]

[jimf909]

Holy cow. That looks like 1,000 hours worth of photos. Thanks for posting all this work. Yeeehawwww.
_________________
- Jim

[tschroeder0]

[tschroeder0]

[tschroeder0]

Another week of work and another post...this one is a bit schizophrenic but in a way it seems, that's the way you have to work when everything is apart and parts arrive at different times...

The fuel tank fun continues; after getting the tank cleaned up( I kept the insulation in place as it was not in too bad of shape and I planned on covering it in metal heat tape.
All fuel and vent lines were replaced, as was the sender and gaskets...I decided to zip tie the broken inserts for the vent lines up in the compartment as I believe they will be just fine and it may even allow for a bit more flexibility when fitting the tank...which was as expected a tough job

After removing the old filler tube it becomes pretty obvious why there are fill issues on a syncro...I ordered up a fancy new formed one:)

A jumble of old fuel and vent lines

Test fitting the tank...sooo unbelievably tight!

Tank in heat, metal tape applied

After removing the old filler tube it becomes pretty obvious why there are fill issues with Syncros...a new fancy formed one should help!

In the mean time a galley harness was installed and a propane line fitted, it was a little adventure to figure out the wiring harness but in the end there was success!!

There is a never ending amount of taping,gluing, painting and trimming to try to make the interior as nice as possible...slowly it is looking pretty dang good!

I finally found the correct high density foam for the skylight and tore into getting as nice as possible, the hinges needed a lot of cleaning and lube
the impossible to find skylight needed a broken piece fixed, slowly it Is getting there, still a bit more to do, to make it last and look good.

Next up was building the front 930 cv axles and getting them ready for install, a bit daunting to me, not sure why, and I needed a couple of questions answered...amazing guy that Burley...he actually answers the phone and cares about giving you the right information! So Cool.

A couple more pics of bringing the skylight back to life...

In case you were wondering haha

Well, we are getting there, but it's time for some much deserved fun...so without a van, its bike time, heading for NM to the Luna Mystica Hotel, check it out...a very cool place in the days of social distancing...see you soon