Club 80-90 Forums

Hi
After being a smartmaniac & owning a site for quite some time
www.smartmaniacs.co.uk I've finally been bitten by another bug!

Yesterday I collected a 1981, Panel Van with a
1970cc Aircooled petrol engine. It's a true "passion wagon" (its owner had converted it into a scooby doo mobile but then after some legal issues had to take all the graphics off).

http://www.smartmaniacs.co.uk/forums/at ... 1153864192

ANYWAY - (before you all nod off)
After getting it home from Swindon yesterday we had a good visual
check and the following needs doing.

1) The loading door will do for now but needs replacing
(lots of filler at bottom) if possible I'd like a loading door with a window in...could I just do a straight swap? If I can &
if anyone has one in good nick I'd be interested in
buying it .

2) The strip that holds the seal in at the corner of the loading door
needs replacing (rust monster) but a local fellow has been booked to do that

3) While looking at the broken tailpipe on the exhaust (up on the ramp)
I checked for the rust monster....
It had two small rusty bits underneath the arches in each corner
(same fellow could also sort that - apart from that it seems relatively rust free. Would it be worth sealing the floor pan area - if so what's the best stuff to do it with ?

4) Needs new (re-claimed?) exhaust (have put an ad in the wanted section here)

5) The fuel guage doesn't work properly (does full to 3/4 resonably accurately but then goes straight to empty)

6) The heater blasts hot air to my feet and I can't turn it off.
Any suggestions?


I'm sure they'll be other stuff but any help would be greatly appreciated
(even names of people to try!)

Cheers
Vlad x

Hi and welcome, have you tried the Wiki link at the top of the page? GSF are good for parts and club members get 10% discount. Sorry I cant help more, the techy guys must be away camping at the mo. Good luck.

Your early sliding door can be replaced by another pre-84 early sliding door from any T25 IIRC

It's a 20 year old van, they tend to have foibles all of their own - the filler gauge may be something you have to live with or spend months/£££££'s trying to fix, or it could just be a loose connection. Fill up, take your mileage, drive a bit and re-fill then you'll have a rough idea of your mpg in the meantime.

The heater pods rust away to nothing well within 20 years, and the second easiest thing to do is to cobble something together so that they vent the hot air forward permanently (the easiest would be to freeze to death all winter) or it could be that the controls are naffed.....

Cheers for the help guys n gals
sounds like I have the cobbled together heater solution
seem to remember the seller saying the guy who owned
it before had done something like that to the heater...

Will soon find out though as it's in the garage next week to
see if they can sort it out
Vladx