Restoration story of My 1983 t25

[Mynameisnavo]

Hello my name is stefan also known as Navo

on the 21st of July 2017 I bought my first vw camper a 1983 2.0 Aircooled model that had sat in a field near Cannock for the best part of 10 years rotting away
My attention was raised to this van by a friend of mine who had passed it regularly and noticed it had not moved in years.... I decided I would go and take a look at this poor van and see what condition it was in.

Later that day I traveled over to see the van and this is what I saw waiting for me



After looking around the van it didn't take long to see its potential looking past the rusty surface and seeing the condition of the chassis barely any rust and any that was there was surface related not deep at all most of the chassis was still painted

Convinced that I would be able to turn this sorry forgotten van in to something I could call my own I set about finding the owner and after negotiating a price I took delivery of my very own t25 camper! Finally!!!






So this is where the story started so far a lot of work has taken place and I will be writing up the story so far hope you will stick around to see what happened I have been vlogging the process on my YouTube channel if any of you guys fancy a look let me know and I'll post the link to my channel


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[Mocki]

Welcome aboard, looks like you are going to be busy, but the rewards are worth it .....

[Mynameisnavo]

So first things first get all the interior out the van so I can easily see how much work needs doing




After that was all out I took the moment that the rain gave me to take apart the stove and sink and polish all the stainless steel and rebuild the leaking gas cooker



With it all taken apart it was quite easy to bring back to a stunning chrome look Finnish this should look right at home in the van in the coming months




On further inspection By spraying a mixture of washing up liquid and water on to the jets (brass behind the control knobs) I found 2 were leaking so I further striped down the fueling rail and the jets to find the rubber washers completely deteriorated



With a quick trip to my local diy shop I sourced some new gaskets slightly thicker but still fit nice and snug I re assembled the gas fittings and......

NO LEAKS!!! Woooooo

Feeling very proud indeed I decided it was time for a little reward and make the first brew in the van





Which soon turned in to I know let's just have dinner in the van so I started cooking





As I sat with the dog staring down my food it was nice to think that after this van has sat for so long forgotten and unloved it was finally being given a second life be it only a little work had been done it was still the most This ca had seen in many years

Can't wait for the rest of my adventure with the van


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[mshaw1980]

Welcome!

Currently restoring mine too, see my thread in the restoration forum too. Looks like you have the same work to do as me although yours is quite a bit rustier than mine. It's great though once you start putting the nice new metal on after cutting all the rust out. Such a shame that a lot of people see no value in fixing or restoring stuff anymore. I love taking things that have been neglected and making them fit for purpose again. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Mynameisnavo]

Welcome!

Currently restoring mine too, see my thread in the restoration forum too. Looks like you have the same work to do as me although yours is quite a bit rustier than mine. It's great though once you start putting the nice new metal on after cutting all the rust out. Such a shame that a lot of people see no value in fixing or restoring stuff anymore. I love taking things that have been neglected and making them fit for purpose again. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

I'll be sure to take a look at yours ! And thanks a lot has been done to it I just need to write up the thread as I've mainly been putting it all on YouTube but decided it was time to write a thread


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[Mynameisnavo]

So the rear fab work is started decided to blank the rusty rear window sections with new steel











Honestly quiet pleased with my self how well these rear window sections have turned out such a nice feeling to know that one more piece of rust is forbidden from the van for good !



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[bigbadbob76]

Thanks for posting Navo, I'll be watching your progress.
Good to see another one being saved from the scrap heap.

[Mynameisnavo]

Thanks for posting Navo, I'll be watching your progress.
Good to see another one being saved from the scrap heap.

Thanks mate more has been done just trying to organise the story in to a methodical pattern for on here


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[Mynameisnavo]

After hunting the web, searching breakers yards, calling panel stockists I found nothing on a new rail for my van.

Unfortunately for my poor van the rail has seen way better days and is completely rotten threw



As you may have noticed I have now cut the affected rail section out



Unable to source a replacement part and unwilling to give up with a bit of thinking I came up with this solution




I’ve fabricated my own rail (yes I know the welding is messy I’ve heard it all but it’s strong it works it can be smoothed down to look nice and most important of all it’s stopping this van ending up as a baked bean tin in a couple years)

I’m pleased to say this works very well rolls smooth and is strong very happy with the result a video can be found of this fabricated work on my YouTube channel

[Mynameisnavo]

I’ve also cut out the rot from the passenger seatbelt mount and welded in a nice new repair piece







So now even tho not yet pretty it’s safe ! And another piece of rust is removed

Little piece of advise for people if they attempt this
when you buy a repair panel from just campers for this seat belt section there is no bolt mounting on the under arch side to hold in place the evap tank
So you will have to tack in place mark up where one needs to be remove the plate and weld on a suitable bolt before you weld it all in


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[mshaw1980]

Have had a look at some of your videos on youtube and they are good however just got a question. On the new panels you have fitted you have used filler over the seam lines. Apparently the seams flex therefore there is a chance that the filler will crack, allowing water in which will cause seam corrosion again. Did you plug weld the panels from the inside or did you seam weld the outside of the panels together?

[waltraud]

Well done to you sir! You are s hard worker. My tip would be to read metal mickeys posts, years of experience there. Great job. Keep the seams and don’t forget to weld them inside and use liberal rust treatment on the inside and especially around the seams.


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