The Projects

The 1969 bay window was the first new toy to arrive in October 2006, after the blue Beetle was finished & sold. It was supposed to be all up together, just needing a quick MOT & registering, then off to a show or random camping. Well I got it MOT'd easy enough & after some grief from the insurance got it registered a bit quick! So all was well.

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Enlarge This is how it looked when I first went to see it. All in all a good honest van. The front tyres were flat & it had a few battle scars. There were a few bits I didn't like & I already had a few loose plans in my head. It came from Arizona, USA, so had very little rust anywhere. It has been in my garage tucked up nice & warm since...
The interior in the front was in fairly good condition. The front seats had been rearmed at some point. & The dash is nice too. The cab floors are in great condition & don't need any repairs at all.
The original Westfalia interior in the back was mostly complete, I think it was only the tap on the sink that didn't work. I was undecided as to what to do about it as some of the laminate was peeling off & it was generally in a bit of a poor way. It was also awkward to drive due to the wardrobe being in the way of vision when approaching junctions. Some thought would need to go into this one.

The engine was the stock 1600 single port motor. It ran fine & pulled OK, but I had another engine waiting for it already. This unit was pulled out & sold soon after it was mot'd.

You can see the reversing lights & over riders. Both of which were not to my liking. Some people were upset when I removed them, but that's the way I like it. The Volkswagen script on the tail gate was removed also, as they often get damaged.
There are a few additions that the Americans have fitted to their vans as standard, some people like them, some people don't. Over riders might look like a good idea, but the can damage the front panel in a minor shunt. Mine was like this & need to be repaired. I just couldn't bring myself to drive it with dents in it! I removed both front & rear over riders.
I made some nice little plates to butt weld in to the old reverse light hole. I fully seam welded them in place. You can see that the rear lenses are now European spec with the amber indicator. I had to trim down the new lens to make the original SWF chrome rim fit as the US lenses are a different size.
There was a 110v mains hook up in the van as standard. That's not any use at all in the UK, so I removed that & welded it up too. If I want a 240v hook up, I will place it under the van out of site. I want a smooth clean look on the body.
You can see how bad the front panel really was in this picture. There is damage from the over rider on the lower panel & damage from where the spare wheel was. There were a few too many stone chips for my liking too & I was worried about rust forming. This picture does give a clue of how straight the van is though.
This picture gives the overall state of the front end. It doesn't look too bad but it's a bit wobbly. There is no rust in there at all which is a good thing. I had to rewire the front lights to UK spec & fit RHD head lights. I upgraded them to Halogen H4 at the same time. Note the top tint windscreen, a nice touch.
I welded up the holes for the spare wheel mounting and straighten out the dented panels as best I could. With a bit of panel beating & a little grinding it doesn't look so bad.
A quick dust over with some white primer made it look a whole lot better. I fitted the front end together to make sure it all fitted & worked OK. I could have used it like this but I don't like cars that look untidy. The interior was not too clever to use either.
I thought I better stick an engine in as it was heavy to keep pushing around. I had a nice 1641 with twin Weber 40 carbs to go in. I had the tinware powdercoated gloss black. It ran a merged stainless steel header & full flow oil system. I had to fabricate a whole now engine brace bar to make it fit.
So, with the engine in I fitted the rear bumper & offered up the turbo muffler silencer. No chance of that fitting at all. I had to extend the flange to get it to sit right.
With the engine in & exhaust fitted, it was time to fit the carbs & linkage. I set the valve clearances, mounted the oil filter, set the ignition timing & balanced the carbs. It ran fine with plenty of power.
Once the welds were ground down flush, I used a bit of white primer to protect it. I managed to straighten the tailgate out a bit too as there was a nasty dent in the middle of it. It this stage I still hadn't used any body filler. I was getting it as good as I could first.
It was all back together so it could be used, after a road test it was clear that the brakes & handling were not very good. I was always going to lower it, but was not sure about the brakes.
Some people would be happy with the van looking like this. I had found a set of EMPI 5 spokes that I stripped & repainted. All the tyres were good. I could have just lowered it & started to use it.
It didn't look too bad, if it was lower it might not have been a bit better. I kept looking at the patches of primer I had put on. Although 100 times better than the grey primer, I just couldn't live with it.
It wasn't long before the grinder came out & a spread of filler was in the front panel. This was probably the worst part of the van. I could have maybe got away with trying to blend in the front panel, but I carried on with the prep on the doors.
I managed to score a set of Porsche 911 Design 90 rims that had just been refurbished. I had a set of tyres to go on & bought some adapters.
What I did next will have a few people getting upset. I pulled the original front beam out complete with the drum brakes & fitted a later type beam with disc brakes. This may sound a bit mad, but the discs are much easier to maintain & repair as well as being a whole lot better at stopping.
The beam has adjusters fitted to fine tune the ride height. This is useful if you change wheel and tyre combo's.
I bought the rear end to match so I could run the 2 piece drums. It makes it a lot easier to work on the rear brakes if you don't have to take the big hub nut off. The adapters bolt on simply & the Porsche rims sit perfectly.
The next step was to get the windows out & get some primer on the front panel. It looks very straight now, only a flat back with some guide coat will tell. The Porsche rims went walkabout onto the T3 multi van. Steels were fitted to the bay for paint. The interior was removed & sold as it wasn't really that useful. I have some ideas on how it would work better.
I flatted the primer off, It was pretty straight now. There were a couple of low spots, so a tiny spread of filler has sorted that out. I still need to flat those off. I will re-prime the front & doors again soon & maybe squirt some pearl white on to protect it.
This is where I am now. There is a crease quite low down on the long side panel, it's not very deep, but still needs sorting. There were other areas too, like where I removed the 110v hook up. It was better just to put a large spread to filler in. I will end up rubbing most of it out, just to leave a tiny skim. I need to buy a longer rubbing down block next week so I can make some progress.
There are a few other bits that will need prepping for paint. The roof is one of them. It is fiber glass & is flaking in places. I am not looking forward to working on that bit. I will remove the roof rack bars & luggage ties to get them powdercoated.
So, why another engine? Well the Girlfriend decided it would be a good idea to buy a 1954 Oval window bug. It had no engine so she swiped the one from the camper! I have been collecting parts for a while now to replace it. I have found a 1600 twinport motor. I have stripped the top end down & fitted new barrels & pistons. It has had all new gaskets & seals. The tinware has come back from the powder coaters now, so I can start building it up...
The engine is more or more or less complete now. There are a few essential bits missing, but they are easily sourced. I am unsure as what to do about an exhaust yet. I have a twin quick pack rear box but no header as yet. I have an old standard exhaust I could use, but it needs the tailpipe welding on.
I thought I better paint the engine bay before I fitted the new engine as it would only have to come out again. I cheated a bit by using stone chip then painting over it with 2 pac gloss white. It's not the best job I have done, but it's ok for the engine bay.
I fitted the engine today. I took this photo just as I was finishing up, or so I thought. I still had a bit of time left so cobbled together an exhaust so I could run it. I had to rewire in the voltage regulator as I had an alternator in there before. I filled it up with fresh oil & it started. It seems to run quite smooth which is a good start. The proof will be in the driving. I can now turn the van round & carry on with the bodywork where I left off...
As the D90's have been used on the T25 van, I thought I better get something to replace them. A pair of 6x15" & 7x15" Cookie Cutters came up. I have had them stripped & powder coated black. Tyres are 175/55 up front & 205/60 out back. I will need another set of adapters to fit them, so will have to wait to see what they look like.
I re-primed the front of the van as it had suffered a bit while sitting in the garage for so long. I flatted that off again & sprayed some of the original colour paint, pearl white on to protect it.
Normally I would just prep the whole van & paint it in one go. As you can see I am limited on space & can only safely paint a small bit at a time. My plan is to get the hole thing in white paint, then flat it all off & get it painted in a spray bake oven.
It's not perfect by any means. It would take for ever to get every slight crease or dent out of every panel. I don't know how straight it would be from the factory. I want the van to be a good usable camper, not a show car that I am scared to use. There is still plenty to do, but at least I am making some progress. Seeing fresh white paint is very inspiring as you can see that something is done at last...
I bought another engine lid as the one on the van was damaged on the inside. This one is rust free but had a few dents in it. It is not as bad as the existing one & I have straightened most of it out. I bare metalled the front & will put a skim of filler in soon. I have bought some new sanding paper & long rubbing block, so it should make work a bit easier. It is still a long process & I don't seem to be getting anywhere!
I removed the tail gate to make it easier to prep. I had some help for the day from a good friend, he used to be a panel beater & still is on the ball. He has reshaped a damaged section on the swage line & started the filler work. It still needs a fair amount of work, you can hardly see the damage from the picture, but a rub over by hand reveals some nasty's!
This is the before shot. It is not too bad at all. There is no rust at all to deal with, there are some small creases from some poor driving, but not much else. There is some crazing paint on the rear quarter that will need to be sorted out. All of the glass is removed now & solid non opening ones will refitted after.
Here is the man himself, on a mission for me. We both spent the whole day prepping, but didn't get as much done as we had hoped. These things always take longer than you think. We had a nice day for it though. We have made good progress & I can prime some sections now.
Not the best photo, but you can see the hard to fix areas were in perfect condition. This is the advantage of a dry bus. Having spent all of it's life in the sun there is hardly any rust. It makes the project a whole lot easier.

There was some paint cracking on the rear quarter panel, on closer inspection it revealed some previous damage repair. It doesn't look too bad. We got all of the paint off so we can start again.

That's it for now until I can get on with more rubbing down.

There is yet another set of wheels here now. A set of repro Porsche Gas Burner wheels with the correct stud pattern. I will get some tyres soon & trial fit them. They should bolt straight on. I will use the center caps from the cookie cutters too.
This is about as far as I got. I have realised I have no time to get on & finish the prep work. I have stripped all of the doors off and unbolted the pop top. I have decided to give it to the painter to work his magic. It's not the cheapest way to get it done, but could be the best. I know the quality of work will be spot on!
The van is now in for paint at AE Coachworks. John has done some work for me before and I am looking forward to seeing the end result. Thanks to Steve Warne for the transport, if you need a vehicle shifted, give him a call: 07876 171030.
The van is now back from paint. It has come out fantastic. John & his team have done a great job. I am very happy with the result. I have fitted the new wheels, they were a tight squeeze on the back. I don't really know why the are made with such a poor offset. I have fitted the lights & indicators already, now the long process of fitting up can continue. The other panels are to follow as & when they are done.
I have managed to refit the top tin front screen on my own! I don't quite know how I managed it as it normally takes a few hands to get it in. I tried to fit a side window using a new rubber but that just won't go. I will need help with the other I think. Progress is slow as the weather is bad & the panels are still at paint.
Most of the panels are back from paint now. The front doors, tail gate & engine lid are now fitted & lined up. All the door gaps are good & open & close nicely. I have the sliding door back now too & will be fitted soon.
The pop top & roof rack section were painted in Mercedes Arctic white No1. It gives a nice contrast to the pearl white on the body. I had the roof rack bars & tie bars powder coated in gloss black.
I have now fully fitted the pop top along with replacement rubber seals. The canvas is secured now too. The canvas is in very good condition, it was replaced just before I bought it.
It is really starting to come together now. There is still a lot of fitting up to do. The front doors will take a while as they are fiddley with lots of parts. I have all new rubbers & trims for these too...
Both the front doors are now fitted up. I still need to fit the door seals & will do these soon. The reproduction parts are not the best fit & takes time & patients to get it all to work right. Hopefully they won't leak water. It all looks ok for now.
I had problems with the new rear window rubbers from Just Kampers, they just wouldn't go in the hole! I tried a few different things, but have bought new rubbers from Custom & Commercial. These ones fit ok.
I have fitted a few more parts now too. I am liking the the Euro rear end. It has now got a clean look. The bumpers should be back from the painter any day now.
All of the windows are now fitted. It took a bit of doing as I was on my own for most of it. I have fitted a side step from Just Kampers, this was a straight forward fit too. I am liking the look.
I have painted sliding door hinge in satin black. I have seen too many vans that have had doors painted without being fully stripped out first. It is the details that make a car.
The bumpers are back from the paint shop now & the front one will be fitted soon. I might have to pull the engine again to sort out a leaky flywheel oil seal. I have done it once already, so there maybe a hidden problem.

All in all, looking good. It will look a whole lot better when the front bumper is on. I had it painted in 3 bits, so have bought new seals & coach bolts to put it back together.
This is a great shot, It shows how straight this bus really is. There wasn't a massive amount of prep work to do for paint, but A E Coachworks have made a fantastic job. That shine is straight out of the gun. It has not been flat & polished & has yet to be waxed. Not bad ay? I was impressed & I am fussy!
The front bumper is now fitted. It was a bit of a game to assemble it, but not too bad. I have mounted the front number plate just with double sided tape as I am unsure to its final position & style yet.

I had a bit of extra time, so I started to fit the interior panels. I had bought a cab floor carpet a little while ago, so have just laid that in. I have fitted the kick panels in the front & both front door cards. I will fit the resto of the interior panels soon.
The weather was ok, so I pulled the van out to do some more work on it. I thought I would get some better pictures before I put it away again.
I will buy new bumper step rubber from a swap meet this week end, the originals have seemed to have shrunk over the years & I am struggling to get them back on. New ones will finish it off a bit nicer too.
The front cab area is now fully trimmed. Both door cards, kick panels & carpet are in place. It is looking quite good in there now.
The rear still needs a bit of love. I have fitted the door cards except for the long side & tailgate. I have loosely fitted up the rock & roll bed. I need to weld in a fixing for the bed as the fuel tank is behind the panel. I would have to remove the engine & fuel tank just to fit a nut. A fixing panel will make things a lot easier for the future too. It needs a good clean in there too. That brown stuff is Arizona dust!
The van is looking good now. It seems to sit just right. I haven't cleaned or polished any of it yet, it is how it came from the paint shop. I will give it a good going over when I get a nice dry day.
I have taken a few more photo's. You can see how straight the van is from here. The step looks cool tool. You can see how solid the under side is too.
The van is now taxed & MOT'd. It seems to drive very nice I have fitted the front door rubbers now, so it is really coming together.
The rear wheels look like they could be trouble to get on & off with the lowered ride height, but when it is jacked up the spring plate drops down enough for easy access. I don't think I will go any lower on the ride height just yet. It might drop down a bit when the interior is in.
I fitted a new standard exhaust, and fitted the rear panel & bumper. I quite like the look without the rear bumper, but is better to have it on in case of a minor knock.
It is nearly ready to go. All it really needs is the rear interior finishing off...
The cab floor only had a little bit of surface rust. I didn't know weather to bother doing anything with it or not. It was all original paint.
I thought it best just to get some paint on it to protect it. It will be covered by the carpet anyway, so won't be seen. It should stop it getting any worse anyway.
The rear loading area floor was in a similar way to the cab floor. I thought I might as well paint that too. It will be covered over too with a laminate wood flooring, so won't be seen either. It should hold any rust back for years to come.
I had some paint mixed up at Automotive paints in Aldershot. They supply me with most of my paint & prepping materials. I just brushed it on for a nice smooth finish.
I have been thinking about the interior, I went to Homebase today & picked out a nice birch laminate floor with a matching work top. I am waiting for some advice on kitchen units. A suggestion has been made to colour code the cupboard doors to the body paint colour. With the use of chrome door handles, might work really well.
I have fitted the floor and it looks really nice. I have welded in a captive nut for the fold out bed & secured the frame to the floor. I have the bed foam now too which will need to be trimmed. The cabinets should be being made next week end all being well.
The under side of the van is in pretty good condition. It was unwelded when I got it & has only needed the battery tray doing. There was some very light surface rust underneath but nothing to worry about at all.
I though I better underseal the van. The salt on our UK roads won't do the bare floor any good what so ever. It was a dirty job, but worth doing. The 3M Schutz is a good quality product & should keep the moisture out.
I had been saving a few hides of leather for a few years waiting for the right vehicle to use it on. The colour was just right for the van, so I had the rock n roll bed foam trimmed in it. Ian is just starting out in his new venture, his website should be up & running soon. Contact me if you would like any trimming done.
The cabinets have now been made to measure for the van. A stepped unit was made to clear the seat but house the sink & hob unit. There is still work to be done but is looking very good.
I painted the cabinet in the same colour as the van body. It was a bit of a gamble as I wasn't sure what it would look like. I think it has come out well though & gives a clean modern look. It will be very useable too with the gas hob, electric tap & space for a large gas bottle & water containers. There is a separate space for the leisure battery to live along with a second fuse box.
I was very impressed with the trimming of the bed, I thought I better have the front seats to match. I pretty much left Ian to his own devices on this, but he has done a fantastic job. At a casual glance the seats just look stock, but at closer inspection you can see the work that has gone in to stitching the leather. I also bought new rubber under seat mats as mine had gone brittle & were past it. Custom & Commercial came up with the good again.
I have made a buddy seat, I have managed to hide this 15" sub in there & still have a bit of storage space. I have the best of both worlds now. It should give a good sound too.
I have bought water containers & a large gas bottle. I have nearly finished plumbing everything in. I want to leave a gas pipe to make fitting a Propex gas heater simple. One water container is for fresh water with a submersible pump & the other is to catch the waste water.
I have allocated a section of the cupboard space to house the auxiliary electric's. There will be a second battery & some of the stereo gear in there. I have added a small fuse box for the interior lights, 12v sockets & the tap.
I bought some foam, cut to size from Herbert's in Aldershot, I am having them trimmed in leather to match the rest of the seats. I Have chosen some fabric for the curtains so will get that on order soon too.
I have decided to finish off both sides of the buddy seat with left over vinyl from the unused door cards behind the cabinets. I carefully removed the vinyl & sponge liner, made new shaped cards & retrimmed them. The panel is just stuck on with double sided tape. It looks a whole lot better now. I am going to trim a couple of other parts of the cabinets too.
The buddy seat has been trimmed now in the leather too. It really does look good. I have wire up the sub to test it & it seems pretty good. I have made an infill panel to go between the edge of the sliding door & the buddy seat. This just finishes it off a bit better. I bought a contrasting door matt for it too.
I have made another trim panel to finish off the corner of the main unit. There was some left over door cards that were not used behind the cabinet. I carefully removed the vinyl & recycled it. It will help protect the edge of the unit too.
I couldn't resist putting some LED lighting under the unit. It is quick & easy to do, uses hardly any power & will be cool when we are chilling out at shows.
Another trimmed panel finishes the rear end of the unit off. I have painted the back of the rock n roll bed in black to tone it down a little. It just looked rough & unfinished in the bare ply wood.
I have fitted a pair of 12v power sockets under the bed too. These are fitted to high quality luxury cars including Porsche & Bentley. They carry a VAG part number too: 4B0925071A, although not cheep, they are a touch of class!
The last trim panel to be made was a swab against the main unit, this is to protect the unit from scuffs & make the seating a little more comfortable.
I have done a fair bit more work, but most of it can't be seen. I have wired in the stereo with some JBL mid range & tweeters up the front. These sound really crisp even just off the head unit. I have made a kick board trimmed in leather for the buddy seat too.
I needed to do something with the kick board under the bed. I wanted speakers in there for when I am chilling out in the back. I have fitted the 12v power sockets & added a pair of spot lights. They have their own switches, so can be used on their own.
The front is more or less sorted now, I want to add a 12v socket in the front somewhere but not too sure where it's going to go yet. The dash board still needs a good clean!
I realised there weren't any pictures of the finished engine bay. I have wired in the split charge system now, so the second battery can be charged while I am driving. I want to fit a proper leisure battery soon too.
I have fitted another front beam, this one is 4" narrower then the old one. It tucks the wheels nicely in the arch to keep the tyres away from the lip. I think to get it any lower I will need to use dropped spindles.
I have fitted a Propex heater now. These little gas heaters are great. They run off propane gas the same as the cooker & give out loads of heat. There is a thermostat for the temperature so it can be left on low at night keeping me toasty warn until I get up. They take a few hours to fit but are well worth the effort.
I needed to put the hot air vents near the heater. Under the bed is the ideal place for the unit. I have fitted the hinges to the work top now, so it is all nearly done. I need to fix down the hob & wire in the ignitor switch. I might actually get to use it soon.
I have been doing loads of little jobs to the van, most can't be seen. I have been working on the front suspension to get the van to ride nice. I have raised the front ride height up & fitted new KYB shocks. It is a lot smoother now. I have had the tracking done done which is a massive improvement. I have changed the steering idler pin too to take out any play in the steering.
I got fed up with the old noisy gearbox, it jumped out of 4th gear every so often too. I thought I might be able to do a DK, T25 2.0L air cooled gearbox conversion, I was a bit out of my depth & was unprepared. As a result I fitted a later CE box from an early 70's bay. It got me to Big Bang show at Santa Pod & back, so it has done it's job.

I dropped off the DK box & a later bay window box to a man that can. As I am in a rush to get it fitted before the Plymfest show, he has rebuilt a hybrid box in record time! This box has the high 4th gear from the late bay & the diff from the 2.0L T25. The result should be a low revving engine with a nice cruising speed. I will get this fitted ASAP closely followed by the 2007cc engine out of the Trekker. I will run it on carburettors for now until I get the rest of the parts for the EFI setup...
The 2007cc is in. It made it to the Plymfest show without too many problems. It does seem to get hot if you hold it at speed for any length of time. Oil pressure seems to drop off at idle which is a worry.
I have fitted a deep sump & a 72 row oil cooler with fan. This really should keep things cool. I am going to replace the deep sump with a thinner one at some point as I am worried about ground clearance.
I have bought a turbo, A Garret T2 which has just been rebuilt. I have a whole load of EFI parts to go the fuel injection route soon. It will be a big job but should give a massive increase in power. I am looking for torque rather than big horse power. It pulls very well going up hills at the moment, so I am looking forward to the end result. This will be a mini project all of its own.
I thought it was about time I had another change of wheels. The van must have done 500 miles now, so is about due for a set! A replica set of Fuchs from American Eagle have come my way. They are 6x15 & will be bolted to adapters I have already.
The wheels didn't always look so good. These came from a friend of mine & he has neglected them for a few years. It takes a few hours of hard polishing to get them up like this. I detailed them by hand to the style I like. They are not the same detail as a genuine Fuchs wheel. This is hard work, so don't ask me to do yours!
A long last the wheels are on. I have used 175/70x15 rear tyres which is an unusual choice. It gives a good all round size for clearance without being too low. The front are 175/55x15 which is a bit lower. The van has got a raked stance now & looks good.
The van is coming together as I want it now. I have fitted another amp in for the stereo which is blasting now. I am off to a VW show in Holland soon, so it should be a good party bus...
All good things must come to an end. Someone wanted to love my bus more than I do, so they now own it. It is now sporting a fresh built 1600 twin port with new crank & crank case. I built up the rest from the last 1600 unit I put together, so has all the nice powder coated tin. The stock exhaust is back on along with the gas burner wheels. I changed the discs, pads & calipers to rectify an annoying squeak. Hopefully the bus is ready to roll for many care free miles. I am going to miss this one, but my heart was never in it. Now it should get the love (& use) it truly deserves.
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