I ran into somebody this weekend, who suggested, that I register here and introduce myself. My name in real life is Martin, but most people call me Marlow anyhow. I live in Athlone, in the Republic of Ireland, but am originally from Denmark.
While I'm not a T3 (T25) owner, I am still a Syncronaut.
I'm actually one of the few loonatics, that went and build or converted their own Syncro, as what I wanted wasn't easily available on the market anyhow.
In the past, I've had a few ex-ESB T4 Syncros, but about 3 years ago, I went and bought this LHD T4 Caravelle.
You'd ask: "Why on earth would you do that ?". As I'm originally danish, so I don't mind it being LHD. When you sit high, it doesn't really matter if you sit on the left anyhow. And this particular Caravelle was cheap, 100% service history, 1 owner and had full Climatronic, which is very very rare, even in T4's.
There is another advantage to having a LHD T4: The availability of parts on the market.
Also, with the extremely introduction of the Syncro Panamericana, the amount of 16" T4 Syncros is limited. Actually .. that's an understatement.
I've since gone and started my Multivan/Campervan/Syncro conversion.
On the outside, the bus looks like this:
I've done a good bit to the exterior, only missing a few bits now.
Two sunroofs where fit: A tilt/slide Hollandia Vermeulen Onyx 860 sunroof in the front, which tilts and the slides back above the roof. This avoided cutting the carrier behind the cab. In the back, a solar sunroof (25W) from an Audi A8/S8 then was fit. One carrier in the centre was cut but replaced with a steel bar in front of the sunroof. This sunroof tilts or it can slide underneath the roof. It also trickle charges my leasure batteries on site.
A few cosmetic things were done, like painting the b- and c-pillar black so it looks like a long window opposed than multiple, sidebars were fitted, color coded wing mirrors, US spec indicators to break up the black and white theme a bit and a few other things.
The interiour has been replaced with a german Multivan II Highline interior. Front seats have been replaced with leather recaros from a BMW M5 and fitted with swivel plates. The center seats are the Multivan II Highline captains chairs in rails, that can turn 360 degrees. In the back I have a Reimo 3 seater rock and roll Veriotech bench. So essentially my "Multivelle" has stayed a full 7-seater while becoming a campervan.
A few other things have been done like 2 x 100Ah leasure batteries, one on each side for better weight distribution and 2 stationary Eberspächer Diesel heaters were installed.
The engine, originally being the 75kW/102 bhp and 250 Nm TDI engine has been fitted with a bigger intercooler and 111kW/150 bhp injectors. It was then chipped/remapped and runs now 140 bhp and 320 Nm torque.
Then the task was tackled to retrofit the Syncro drivetrain. At least here, VW has learned a lot from the T3 Syncros. The T4 came with a unified chassis and even more unified bits after '95, so the conversion of my '99 T4 was comparable painless.
The oilsump (yep .. it's not the same with Syncro and FWD until '00), gearbox, transferbox, propshaft, all hangers, toolbars to mount the rear diff, the rear diff and the rear drive shafts were all I needed.
There are a few snatches though. There are different rear differentials and driveshafts if you have ABS or not. My donor was an ex-ESB T4 which all have no ABS. My german Caravelle however has ABS. Also, all ex-ESB T4's are LWB, my Caravelle is SWB. So I had to go on the hunt for parts and found a lot of that via forums and the likes.
The drivetrain is essentially the same principle as the T3, just in reverse. So viscous couple full mechanical syncro mesh, but with the T4 being FWD, the primary drive is on the front wheels and the viscous coupling is to the rear.
With the syncro conversion, I also had to loose my sparewheel under the bus. And I certainly didn't want it in the boot of the bus and take space up there. Hence I've retrofitted the VW Syncro sparewheel carrier, that was an option for the T4's.
I have a few things left now. Some bits, that I already have knocking about and some, that I still need to source.
- 6t electrical winch, on a portable tray, to be connected with Anderson connector on front or rear and hooked into a mount, that yet has to be manufactured. By having it as a portable tray, I can use it both front and back. I also won't expose the winch to dirt and weather constantly. Another advantage is, that it doesn't affect the handling of my bus, when driving. When I don't use it, it'll be stowed away in the boot.
- fridge/cooker/etc. These will be installed in the boot accessable from the rear. That way I still stand in the dry, when cooking, but I don't have the cooking smell in the bus.
- ventilation. My plan is to fit a heat recovery system, like it's used in houses, that circulates outside air into the bus, but uses the heat of the outgoing air to heat up the incoming air.
- suspension. I've found somebody that has military grade suspension for the T4. In the front, it's no problem, as that's a torsion bar suspension, so I can raise or lower that, as I see fit. For the rear, these springs will give me a 7cm raise. That's twice of what the Seikel solution does.
- wheels. I've got a set of 16" wheels, that I'm going to fit with oversize A/T tyres. Just haven't got around to it yet.
- rear differential. I'm still on the hunt for one with rear diff lock. My syncro conversion was completed end of January, but I had to settle for a diff without diff lock until I can afford one that has the diff lock. (of one pops up at the right price).
I work on mast sites with radio transmission gear and I'm also an avid camper, so my T4 gets plenty of off road use.
Happy trails and I hope ye don't mind me snooping around.
/M
but you missed a certain blonde haired girl stating she wasn't drunk then falling out of the door of my camper 
... men så ville det jo også være kedeligt.