VW Syncro Westfalia - Build Log with Pics

[ian408]

Originally Posted by Hodakaguy

Yeah the fuel injection clamps are better than the screw clamps...unfortunately I couldn't find any fuel injection clamps small enough for the vapor line.

Hodakaguy

I've used a shitty pair of end cutters in a pinch. Just knock down the sharp edges.

[jdiaz]

Originally Posted by Hodakaguy

Yeah the fuel injection clamps are better than the screw clamps...unfortunately I couldn't find any fuel injection clamps small enough for the vapor line.

BMW uses tiny clamps inside their gas tanks on the breather hoses....I've also found my John Deere dealer has a decent selection of little clamps as well.

Great build!

[Hodakaguy]

Originally Posted by jdiaz

BMW uses tiny clamps inside their gas tanks on the breather hoses....I've also found my John Deere dealer has a decent selection of little clamps as well.

Great build!

Thanks, I'll have to check them out as well.

Hodakaguy

[Hodakaguy]

Today's progress

Started this am by installing the engine heat shield/exhaust hanger. Here I'm installing the stand offs for the heat shield.




Heat shield installed




Time to clean up the exhaust mounting surface. This is a 3M Roloc Bristle disk, these things are the ticket for cleaning up gasket surfaces!




Before....




After...




Installing the Rocky Mountain Westy Stainless Steel exhaust. The quality of this exhaust system in top notch, Everything fits perfectly with no binding anywhere. :-)








Nice thick flange..




The one small defect...whoever welded the muffler on the cat welded it with the "Magnaflow" upside down! The other side of the muffler has the logo printed the other way. Minor thing but....Grrr...




Time to clear out the interior to get ready for the harness/engine install. First up...remove the rear seat.




This is the cover for the OEM rear heater. The heater will be permanently removed and a Propex propane heater installed in it's place.




The factory heater unit. When I first purchased the bus the rear heater core was weeping, I removed the core and plugged the lines. Now it's time to remove the rest.




Here I marked the rear seat assy to be cut later for wire harness clearance.




Upon removing the rear seat the last bolt was froze solid. I ended up having to use a impact screw driver to remove the screw....which ended up tearing out the well nut on the underside of the bus, well that's just great. This will have to be fixed before proceeding.

Here's the damaged well nut. In this picture I drilled out the hole to be slightly over sized.




This is a Rivet Nut Setter tool. It works like a pop rivet but leaves a crimped nut on the underside that you don't need a backup on. Use can use steel or aluminum nuts.




Installed...




And the underside...you can see how it crimped itself in this pic.




Time to install the harness. I had the harness modified by Small Car Performance, since then I've read where a lot of people have had issues with them so I hope mine is done correctly.

This engine is a 06 which has the immobilizer built into it, since I won't be using the original key etc the ECU had to be tricked into thinking it has all the proper clearances to start.




The hole where the harness feeds into the body is small, the only way to get it through the hole is to disconnect everything on the ECU end. A couple of the relays are assembled into a large carrier that won't fit through the hole so I ended up having to remove individual wires. Here's my wire diagram I made up so I can get it back together again :-)




Disconnected and ready to feed through. I had to remove the insulation under the bus again to get clearance to push the harness through.




Wiring and grommet through the hole, the grommet is twice as big as the hole that it's needing to fit into and Small Car trimmed it in a weird way. For the price of the harness you think they could have supplied a correct size rubber boot.




The underside of the boot. This is as far as you can get it into the hole. A little further and it would fit like it's suppose to.




Black RTV/Sealant to make sure the boot stays in place and is waterproof.






I needed to work on something else while the sealant dried so it's time to test the fuel tank. I want to make sure there are no leaks on any of the new seals/sender before installing the fuel tank and having to remove the engine/trans to get to it again!

The jury rigged test setup :-). The wifes car is on empty so I will fill the tank with gas and test for leaks, then drain it back out and pour it into the car.






Tank is now full and no leaks! Once full I measured the resistance of the sending unit, then measured it several times while draining the tank. Wanted to make sure the new sender was working correctly....yep, working perfectly!




My father helping drain the fuel tank :-)




Time to install the urethane bushings in the drivers side trailing arm.




Just about done...




Done




Well that's it for the day.....more tomorrow.

Hodakaguy

[MasterMarine]

Every time I look at this thread, it makes me wish I would have bought your bike!

Looks awesome! I can't wait to go camping!

[Dusty_Bottoms]

Originally Posted by Hodakaguy

Thanks, yeah I'm actually using quite a bit of their parts in my build .

Hodakaguy

Excellent.
I just sold a turbo diesel Westy conversion they built after enjoying it for 5 years. I miss it already.

[SpeedoJosh]

What brand/company bushings did you end up going with? T3 techniques, Burley, or other?

Been researching those a little myself for future projects.
Also looking at full airbag suspension for the rear to help heave around the two-fiddy.
And, and , and............. Just never ends.

Looking good, can't wait to see the final product.


-Josh

[ducnut]

That exhaust looks amazing. But, yeah, I get the frustration with the muffler and grommet. Some people just don't care about details. Details make the difference in quality of something done; just like this project.

[Dudley]

Originally Posted by ducnut

That exhaust looks amazing. But, yeah, I get the frustration with the muffler and grommet. Some people just don't care about details. Details make the difference in quality of something done; just like this project.

Perhaps the upside down exhaust has to do with inlet/outlet issues...
Dudley

[Hodakaguy]

Originally Posted by MasterMarine

Every time I look at this thread, it makes me wish I would have bought your bike!

Looks awesome! I can't wait to go camping!

Sounds like fun! I have a little work to go before I'm ready though

Hodakaguy

[Hodakaguy]

Originally Posted by Dusty_Bottoms

Excellent.
I just sold a turbo diesel Westy conversion they built after enjoying it for 5 years. I miss it already.

Turbo diesel would be nice! No westy now?

Hodakaguy

[Hodakaguy]

Originally Posted by Dudley

Perhaps the upside down exhaust has to do with inlet/outlet issues...
Dudley

If they would have rotated the muffler 180 before welding it it would have been fine, the "Magnaflow" is printed the other way on the other side so it can mount in any orientation. Not a huge deal...stuff like that just kinda bugs me

Hodakaguy

[hahmule]

Been lurking and admiring the work. I didn't know about the 3 M bristle disk, and I thought rivet nuts were limited to the rubber type on wind screens. Very cool, and very handy information. Thanks for posting.

[Hodakaguy]

Originally Posted by SpeedoJosh

What brand/company bushings did you end up going with? T3 techniques, Burley, or other?

Been researching those a little myself for future projects.
Also looking at full airbag suspension for the rear to help heave around the two-fiddy.
And, and , and............. Just never ends.

Looking good, can't wait to see the final product.


-Josh

I went with the T3 Techniques for the entire bus, I've read a lot of positive reviews for these bushings!

Start a build thread when you get going on yours, I'd love to follow along

Hodakaguy

[Hodakaguy]

Got a late start on the build today....and re-installing the fuel tank took a LOT longer than expected.

The fuel tank is a TIGHT fit. You have to use pry bars to remove it from the bus and you need them to re-install it as well. Going back in with the tank you have new hoses and a new sending unit to worry about so that slows it down some more. We finally eased the tank into position then couldn't find the hardware for the straps....another trip to the store :-)

Finally the fuel tank is installed :-)






A custom tweak to the sheet metal for more fuel hose supply/return clearance.




Suspension starting to take shape. New GW 2" Lift Spring in place.




Before I can finish assembly on the suspension I need to install the metal fuel tank filler pipe. Some how this part had slipped past me when I was doing media blasting, a quick inspection showed rust bubbles on the back side of the tube so it will need attention before assy. Since the pipe sticks into the tank and is in direct contact with fuel I decided to leave the OEM coating (which is in good cond in that area) where it enters the tank. I will paint the rest of this piece since I'm not sure what the oven temps for powder coating would do to the factory coating.

Blasted (Ends covered so I can keep the OEM coating in those spots).




Primed and painted a textured black






Picked up some new hardened hardware for the shocks today as well :-)



Hodaskgauy