been looking at a few different syncro's, advice please

[lloydy]

Ok, One i've been looking at is a 16" hightop ambulance still in camo colours. Has both diff locks and has the dj engine. I would obviously need to put a camping interior in, don't seem to see many for sale, does any body know a rough cost for interior [westfalia]. Also has anyone fitted a top bunk into one of these, or is the roof to low?
The next option would to be to buy a fully converted 14" which is very nice, rear diff lock 1.6td, but would wipe me out money wise and i wouldn't be able to get my add ons like mefro's and lift kit ect.
Decisions, decisions. Both would end up costing me about the same amount of money i think. I do like camo but the camper is very nice.
What s the fuel economy like for a 16" hightop dj engine? Has anyone converted to subaru?
Sure i'll think of more questions! but thats it for now. Cheers, Lloyd

[jed the spread]

Get the diesel

Grey interior in good nick should be about a grand and a brown one £700ish. The old wood looking one maybe £500

jed

[lloydy]

Cheers, kinda thought that would be the price range, good to have it confirmed.
Another question i have thought of, Importing from belgium, can you just drive it home? or do you need to get export plates ect. Could ask the busman, but don't want to bother him to much until i have the money in my hands

[sandwedge]

My advice for getting your interior, is buy a westy with a poor body shell from germany, try to get one with the same engine as your syncro, then sell off the bits you dont use to help cover the cost of the interior.
IMO you wont get a complete good westy grey interior for much under £1800, that would be swivel front seats, cooker with working fridge, tap, wardrobe, tank unit and over head locker.
What would you want to use your syncro for, if its mostly camping and you have kids I would consider a window bus with a tin top so you can fit either a pop top high top of one of the weinsberg or sca pop high top.
If you want an off road mobile that you can sleep in then the choice is much bigger, panel vans high tops and so on.
Check rear seat belt anchors are fitted to any vehicle your interested in, its a pain in the a*** to fit them later as I found out.

Thats just my thoughts

[syncropaddy]

I agree with sandwedge on this. By buying the full vehicle you will get all the bits and pieces and you will know where they all go.

Did you look at this one on E Bay

[lloydy]

Did you look at this one on E Bay

About 5 mins before you posted

Would always worry, spending that much money for a van with no MOT,

I agree with sandwedge on this. By buying the full vehicle you will get all the bits and pieces and you will know where they all go

Hmm if i get the army ambulance i'll have about 2k to get it registered and converted, so could be a bit tight! Could make my own? Guess it would work out just as expensive, unless i go for the industrial look.

Sandwedge, i dont think you should spend all that money upgrading you van, Knock 3k off and it could be on my drive

[syncrosimon]

Easiest way of getting a Busman vehicle back here is to tow it and worry about the legalities another time.

Economy of the DJ 16" factory hightop goes anywhere between 20 and 25 mpg depending on headwind and speed. Doing 70 to 80 mph all day will give you about 21 to 23mpg, slower for more, and into a headwind and flat out and short journeys 20ish.

The factory hightop is low, we had a roof bed in there but with my oldest at 6'4" and 14 stone he does not want to be up there with his 11 year old brother anymore. They were happy enough a few years ago though, and it is perfect standing height for those below 6 foot, I have to stoop a bit. The boys now want to sleep away from mum and dad in their own tent, so problem solved.

The old diesel question must be down to preference. A 1.6 is going to feel slow compared to a DJ, but more economical. Converting to a bigger diesel is expensive as you will need a rebuilt box, but then you probably will with any second hand syncro at some point. You can see that you go around in circles.

At the end of the day it is going to cost you loads, so you must have what you want so as to stay in love with it. Many people have fallen by the wayside as the syncro has not fulfilled them as they expected, so just get the one you think you will want to keep the longest.

The serious off roadies all prefer the diesels for the stump pulling torque (though none of them have gone on a rolling road and shown us the beef). I prefer to blast along in my flat four with the window down enjoying the VW heritage flat four sound type thing. It's all the same thing at the end of the day, you are moving a big hulk of metal with an engine.

The diesel boys don't post on the forum when there engines go wrong (which they do) as much as the wbx crowd do, and you will be hounded by those in the know that only diesel will do, which does give a slightly distorted view of the wbx. Getting an engine from a mid nineties Golf and spending thousands getting it to work right and then comparing it to a 22 year old standard engine has always seemed a bit ridiculous to me.

Just make sure you get what you want, whatever that may be.

[sandwedge]

Lloydy

I know this is probably not ideal and it has a damgaed rear qtr, but if you have 2K to spend it could sort out the body work, you get a good usable conversion that should go up in value as you fix things.
I know its not ideal but it maybe a more cost effective option, get cost first for body repairs see if they fit within your budget.

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showD ... abNumber=1

[..lee..]

The next option would to be to buy a fully converted 14" which is very nice, rear diff lock 1.6td, but would wipe me out money wise and i wouldn't be able to get my add ons like mefro's and lift kit ect.


any syncro will wipe you out money wise if you love it.

only thing i can add is with syncro`s and vw vans in general if you by cheap and build up yourself you`ll end up with lots more money in it in the end. its more cost effective i think to buy the best you can afford.

[syncropaddy]

The serious off roadies all prefer the diesels for the stump pulling torque (though none of them have gone on a rolling road and shown us the beef)

This from Busmanmight help .....

Diesels do have the advantage of not having to worry about drowning out while deep wading ..... but like Simon says choose whichever does it for you. If you do big miles go for a diesel if not go for a petrol.

[lloydy]

Lloydy

I know this is probably not ideal and it has a damgaed rear qtr, but if you have 2K to spend it could sort out the body work, you get a good usable conversion that should go up in value as you fix things.
I know its not ideal but it maybe a more cost effective option, get cost first for body repairs see if they fit within your budget.

Emailed him last week with a low offer, he is one of the ones i will ring when i have the money in my hand

Easiest way of getting a Busman vehicle back here is to tow it and worry about the legalities another time.

Economy of the DJ 16" factory hightop goes anywhere between 20 and 25 mpg depending on headwind and speed. Doing 70 to 80 mph all day will give you about 21 to 23mpg, slower for more, and into a headwind and flat out and short journeys 20ish.

The factory hightop is low, we had a roof bed in there but with my oldest at 6'4" and 14 stone he does not want to be up there with his 11 year old brother anymore. They were happy enough a few years ago though, and it is perfect standing height for those below 6 foot, I have to stoop a bit. The boys now want to sleep away from mum and dad in their own tent, so problem solved.

The old diesel question must be down to preference. A 1.6 is going to feel slow compared to a DJ, but more economical. Converting to a bigger diesel is expensive as you will need a rebuilt box, but then you probably will with any second hand syncro at some point. You can see that you go around in circles.

At the end of the day it is going to cost you loads, so you must have what you want so as to stay in love with it. Many people have fallen by the wayside as the syncro has not fulfilled them as they expected, so just get the one you think you will want to keep the longest.

The serious off roadies all prefer the diesels for the stump pulling torque (though none of them have gone on a rolling road and shown us the beef). I prefer to blast along in my flat four with the window down enjoying the VW heritage flat four sound type thing. It's all the same thing at the end of the day, you are moving a big hulk of metal with an engine.

The diesel boys don't post on the forum when there engines go wrong (which they do) as much as the wbx crowd do, and you will be hounded by those in the know that only diesel will do, which does give a slightly distorted view of the wbx. Getting an engine from a mid nineties Golf and spending thousands getting it to work right and then comparing it to a 22 year old standard engine has always seemed a bit ridiculous to me.

Just make sure you get what you want, whatever that may be

.


Some good thought there

[syncropaddy]

Lloydy

I know this is probably not ideal and it has a damgaed rear qtr, but if you have 2K to spend it could sort out the body work, you get a good usable conversion that should go up in value as you fix things.
I know its not ideal but it maybe a more cost effective option, get cost first for body repairs see if they fit within your budget.

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showD ... abNumber=1

That bus has everything and looks like a damn good place to start

[lloydy]

I would imagine it would be a rare van being a club joker and a high top.
That damage would worry me, doesn't a car need a TUV to export from germany?
Do you not think it's too much money? If so what would be a fair price?
Cheers for all this by the way

[sandwedge]

Lloydy

TUV is the German MOT so you wont need it to export, you will need it if your thinking of driving it home.
You could get Mike (busman) to have a look at it for you, I think he also offers a collection service.
As for it being a fair price, it all depends on its body and mechanical condition, if the diff, gearbox, engine, drive shafts are goosed then its probably too much money, also worth noting, check its an original factory built westy. If all the mechanicals are in need of work/replacement then around 4K euros would probably be more realistic.
This ones been up for sale for a while now so if your thinking of talking money with the seller be cheeky and go in very low.

As I said though if Mikes cost aren't that high get him to take a look, he will be able to give you an honest and educated appraisal of its overall condition.

[peasant]

I think that yoke has a few more issues than "just" the accident damage

- no vehicle cert, just copies
- mismatched wheels (why ??) with very poor tyres
- rust on the kitchen seam and jacking point (which could potentially be very serious and expensive) and water and electrical connector. It also means you will have to rip out that lovely interior anyway in order to fix it
- a Club joker sticker doesn't mean it left the factory as one ...something looks fishy to me there (but I could be wrong)
- 260k km is pretty much end of life for the 1.6TD ...you'd have to factor in a new engine soon

And yes, in order to drive that yoke out of Germany it would need TUV, because without it you can't get your export plates and insurance. Don't know what the story would be if you trailered it home.