Well now seems a good time for a serious update. The van has been in pretty much daily use since I bought it and no problems experienced
I set on a path of getting it upgraded which has been costly but will see it turn into something quite special soon.
Here is what has been happening with the mechanicals:
Up to yet I have bought this little lot.
Bushes
Bearings
Washers
Bolts
Nuts
Balljoints
Seals
Oil, air & fuel filters
Rocker covers and gaskets
Accelerator cable
Spark plugs and HT leads
Distributor cap and rotor arm
2wd 'HD' green front springs
Syncro Services 20mm rear suspension lift spacers
As well as this I have had the front hubs refurbished and painted (new bearings and seals fitted from above) and extended studs. The rear trailing arms were refurbished and part of the inner flange sectioned, flattened down and seam welded to allow for greater tyre clearance. Extended studs have also been fitted there too.
Rear end lift on stock wheels and tyres
The new rear shafts, engine servicing and front suspension will be fitted over the next few days.
Inside I have been working on prepping the interior to take a full early Westfalia setup and removed the Kombi benches and floor panels. I've had the old boltholes welded up so the floor is now sealed. The interior seams were cleaned up with a wire brush attachment where needed and copious amounts of Vactan and a sealing coat of paint used to prevent future rot.
Using child labour (I call it education) to remove the old flooring.
Rust in the usual spot being attended to. Thankfully only on the surface!
Other jobs have included the fitting of a genuine Westfalia swivel seat, Vauxhall (waits for the swear filter!) Astra GTE Recaro seats on modified VW bases, Flashband sound deadening (loads) and B&Q's insulation (3 rolls up to yet) of the silver screen style.
Flashband and paint.
Sleek Recaros fitted
I managed to strip down the early Westfalia interior and remove the Fablon, old brown edge trim and get the hobs working again. At the moment the fridge is upside down in the hope it will get it running once more.
I've also picked up a genuine optional Westfalia water tank for under the R&R bed (rare for this interior as they normally got a water carrier arrangement in the gas cabinet). As the cabinet itself will be empty (due to a genuine Westfalia LPG tank being used) it will be retained for storing small objects.
Outside the van has had the horrid reflective stripe removed, some rust cleaned back and a general tidy. I will be flatting it back and attending to any panel issues this week as a friend has offered to paint it (professional job for the cost of the paint) inside and out if I do what I can to get it ready. I found one hole along the seam between battery box floor and side panel which now been cut out and welded properly. I've been told it is common for the snorkel and rainwater to cause this particular nasty hole.
Snorkel drip hole (now fixed!).
Kids can do power tools too
Stripped back
The colour of choice is RAL 2009 (Verkehrsorange) or 'Traffic Orange' in english - very bright and almost reflective. There is a sneak preview of the colour on a wheel at the bottom of this post and by clicking here >>>
http://allral.com/view.php?id=2009.
I might do the bumpers and lower panels in either black or grey stonechip to go with the interior scheme.
Other progress has been limited to the fitment of a solid tailgate (no glass/wiper etc) which is 50% lighter and offers the privacy we wanted. Brackets for the Ortec spare wheel carrier are on but I won't be fitting it for a while due to some modifications to the actual carrier frame being underway.
Tailgate makes it look a bit like a Hummvee in this colour
Once the suspension is finished the 16" Penta wheels and 235/70R16MT Bronco Grizzly tyres will be fitted - making it look like it means business at last.
Can't wait to get these bad boys on.
That's it for now. It's having bits done as I type but I feel lost stuck at home when I can't work on it
