Club 80-90 Forums

Hello all, i'm new, to the forum and the world of Syncro!!

I'm a Mk2 Golf man normally but work at a Vw dealer and after 10 years of admiring a blue Syncro every year it came in for service i finally got mt hands on it'sowner decided to get a 4-Motion T5!!

Thing is, i've always wanted a camper and i've always wanted this van. I'm planning to camper convert it (been planning for 10 years!!) but dont know whether it would be a bit of a travesty, As a Mk2 Golf man i appreciate standard dubs and i only really want a camper van to carry spares to track days with the Golfs and a bit of light camping. The more i find out about the syncros the more i think it should be left as it is and used properly!

It is..

1991 H
RHD 4 Speed (+ Galande!) ,
England dealer supplied.
2.1 Petrol,
80,000 miles.
Twin side doors.
one owner (other than me!)
Impeccable service history! (I've done most of it!)
Completely standard. LW/MW Radio and just the one original dash speaker etc!!

It has a few knocks here and there on the body and has never been boarded out so is scratched and dented inside but other than that it is how it was when in left the factory. I've spent a load of time and money fixing a wiring problem and it now runs faultless. I love the sound of the engine!

I love it to bits and have been waiting for years to get my hands on it but i dont know if its more than what i need. I'm new to the big wide world of the vans, i have no idea how much it is worth, how much a camper conversion is or anything!

It has been suggested i sell it and buy a camper. I've been told to convert it as it's the best base van to start a conversion. I've also been told to get rid of it as it's ugly, but that's only from the missus!

What do you think?

[IMG:800:600]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/ ... vanb-1.jpg[/img]

[IMG:800:600]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/ ... C01788.jpg[/img]

[IMG:800:600]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/ ... C00011.jpg[/img]

[IMG:800:600]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/ ... C00012.jpg[/img]

[IMG:800:600]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/ ... C00009.jpg[/img]

Ive removed the roof rack and the bit of plastic on the dash and given the inside of the cab a damn good clean!!!

'Gelande' is the low/'off road' gear , as in the merc G(elande) wagon - translates to 'overland' IIRC , you selling the roof rack ? oh , and welcome!!

Well ..with two sliding doors and RHd it's pretty rare. Judging by the pictures it also seems to be pretty rust free.

So ...a panel van without rust and two sliders (and two difflocks!) ...give it a few more well cared for years and it will be one of the last survivers of its kind. Would be a bit of a sacrilege to "camperize" it, in my opinion.

Make the campering reversible and don't make holes in the panels ...that's what I would do.

I've also been told to get rid of it as it's ugly, but that's only from the missus!

After a comment like that, i know which one id be getting rid of...

First syncro I ever sat in was the one I'd bought without seeing it. So keep it & learn to love it!!!

So keep it & learn to love it!!!

what the wife?
Hi there and welcome, twin sliders dont tend to be converted to campers as you lose access to the other side door if you put in units/fridges/cookers etc, that said it has been done.

Keep it stock with roof rack. Don't cut holes in it. It's a good base for an expedition van that carries all your camping gear and awning in. Could put a few things inside as a surfer van and be able to park up wherever. People can't tell it's a camper that way.

Like Bob said, it's not a good base for a camper... twin sliders, bulkhead from front seats to back, etc. Best base for camper is a camper. Sorry, but doing a full conversion is as expensive as buying a camper in first place. Campers in reasonable condition start around £3000 and go up to as much as you want to pay. Seen some at £25000 and more.

i agree with what`s been said. when i had my twin door i spent weeks and weeks trying to design a camping interior which left the twin doors useable and never found anything acceptable.

i resorted to having removable cooker and sink that could be pulled in and out easily and put in the awning, was quite good really and only had to fit them when camping, drove around without them normally.

dont cut it about, i think you`ll regreat it, keep it really nice and if you want a proper camper you`ll probally sell yours for good money.

ps great colour.

lee.

Well done nabbing that, a nice one there...

Clean it, polish it, put some 15's on it and it'll look so much better the missus will then like it..

Even join the Syncronauts and come and off-road it a bit... ?

PS. .. and get between your spares shelves pronto and make them a (silly) offer for every Syncro part you can find- anything half interesting - let us know

mk2madman

In case you want to go down the full camper route and are considering selling the van, let me know.

There is someone in Germany who might be interested.

peasant wrote:mk2madman

In case you want to go down the full camper route and are considering selling the van, let me know.

There is someone in Germany who might be interested.

Would have thought someone in Germany would want LHD. Is he a collector? I've been watching some sales and forum sites over there and been amazed at some of the deals. Some real nice rigs for reasonable prices.

Need to find someone over there to help me when I get all my money together. Shouldn't be too much longer.

I didn't inquire as towards their motivation ...

But I'd guess that a RHD Syncro with two sliders would be the only one in Germany ...some people like exclusivity. (And with two sliders it's still very usable, even in a LHD environement)

Keep it standard and get rid of the wife...........

You could turn it into a basic day van, by putitng a full width metal frame rock and roll bed in the back, lining the walls and roof with plywood covered in carpet and covering the floor with laminate floorboards. All of it can be pulled out at a moments notice, depending on how careful you are when putting it in, it wont bastardise the van and it will stay light. You could even put a TV on the bulkhead and a decent stereo in and store a basin and portable gas cooker and a cool box under the rock and roll bed and on top of the engine bay under the bed put your camping table and chairs in there. A couple of flourescent striplights along each side of the roof or even stock lights that you would find in the back of a caravelle would be enough there. Pull up at your destination, throw both the sliding doors open and the back hatch and it would be nice and bright and you only need a curtain on your hatch for night time. I'm telling you, it would be the mutts nuts and totally useable offroad.

Keep it a pannel van, thats getting a bit exclusive in the world of type 2's in genral, and the syncro pannel van was the rarest in the UK, especally twin sliders.

Converting the inside into a camper isn't hard and in my mind doesn't wreck the vehicle, its just giving it a perpouse which all vehicles should have anyway, campers are also easyer to insure.

If you find it a bit gloomy inside and want some windows (also very useful on the left for junctions) then fit a Caravelle slider, being a twinslider you could do that to both sides if you like. Its a totally reverseable mod and it'll still be a 100% VW quality job with perfect finish unlike 99% of vans with windows cut in - thats just not right DON'T DO IT!

Personly I like the plain pannel van look best but have a velle door as it kind of makes it more useable (plus it was like that when I bought it, if it wasn't I might have tryed living with it as a van.)

DOes the van have a bulkhead behind the cab seats? If it does you could fit some units across that which would still work well with 2 doors. Could then get a full width bed behind that.