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Here is some stuff of my 1984.5  VW Westfalia Vanagon , and other crap. It is still a work in progress.

(The site or the van...take your pick.......)

Getting prepped for a road trip

My Bizarre-O Logic:

I had a Camper 10 + years before I got this one; another 84 old school two-tone. You either love em or hate with that color, and I missed it, but I hated the motor, and dealing with the dealer was your only option where I lived at the time, where else could you go then and it was also before the internet for accurate information. I had been lurking on www.vanagon.com  awhile, and the itch was getting too great, I had to get another one, I was getting back into camping, and my logic, was that a Westfalia® money pit was better than a $20.00 K-mart tent, yeah I know bad thinking on my part. But when it's raining, away from home, and cold outside they can't be beat. So when I found out there were engine conversions out there and the wealth of information from the list…What the hell, here I go again with another money pit. The two best days for a Westfalia owner; the day he buys his van, and the day he gets rid of it.

History:

I bought the van in 2002 from a buy-here/pay here car-lot on E-bay in Nashville, Tennessee. I was excited to get her (The van seems to have a female” butch” personality, yeah weird I know, but it seems the more gifts I buy her the more she likes it, but to a point). But  anywho. I was excited to get her, VW® Campers in the south are harder to find than hen’s teeth (Whatever in the hell that means). I went to go pick it up with a car trailer. 350 miles later, and a blown trailer tire. When I got there I knew why I got it so cheap for $2200. tax included. They had taken pictures of all the good angles, and none of the pictures told the whole picture or the truth, out of scale 1-10, it was 4.0. The canvas was shot, body work was horrible, (seam rust), the tables were missing, half the door handles were missing, rear hatch would knock your head off when left open, carpet was so black I didn’t know they were brown until I pressure washed them later, hardly anything worked, tires were bald, you name it, it looked like and smelled like a turd. I knew that I wanted one to fix up, and I wanted one that needed a conversion, (and found out later the # 3 exhaust valve was burnt , and stuck open) but damn the bad luck. I got screwed paying what I did....but no one held a gun to my head...........time marches on.....

I took it home, installed tin-foil in the windows to stop UV damage, and it sat in the backyard until I could get to it. I looked on E-bay and only got bargains, and passed if they weren't, and just kept storing parts. A year later; I slowing started working on it, I had been working out of state on a job that seem it wouldn’t ever complete. So I finally got time and got home, between being a part time dad, and a full time job, family needs and also needing a kayak fix on weekends, the following has been done to the camper. My goal is to take my kids on a trip out west to Yellowstone National Park in the camper. Ahhhh, ain’t that sweet, a nice Walden’s John-boy /Hallmark moment there, think I'm gonna puke.

 On a trip earning her keep....

Minor things I have done: (But didn't seem minor at the time)

I installed a Digitool from Darrell Boehler at www.loam.org  I love the tool. Darrell does a great service for the Vanagon community. He is a patient man. Darrell also installed a capacitor in-line with AFM to help cure the highway hiccup problems with Digifant Vanagon. With the Jetta or Wasserboxer motor in a Vanagon it doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to this problem. I think it might be the position of where the AFM is being bounced, and then sending the signal to the ECU.

I went through the whole front end, and got the parts from www.busboys.com  with upper and lower ball joints replaced. They were so shot the driver’s wheel was ready to give up the ghost.

Rebuilt the gas tank with a www.vanagain.com gas tank kit. Man did help Ken me out of with my old van with his kit, nice man, and nice web site. Before the fix, don’t even think about going for a full tank of gas especially if you smoke….KA-BOOM!

****** site update I'm having to go back, and re-seal we had MTBE in our summer blend gas here and it ruined some seals, no it is outlawed *******

I got the following big ticket items off E-bay vendors:

4 new tires made in Holland for VW ®Campers for 88 bucks each.

(Used)2 tables for the ones that were missing.

(Used) Front curtain and moon roof curtain.

(Used) Rear hatch shocks, no more headaches.

(Used) Front and rear bumpers, strips and caps, the others had the crushed beer can look.

(Used) Front towing hitch, for when I need to tow it home when I have a breakdown.

(Used) Rear Trailer Hitch, that I modified, with a 2” receiver, I carry a platform to carry firewood, and a little propane grill. Installed tail/brake lights on the platform for added safety.

***** I have now made a true class III hitch that is welded internally to the factory tow hook brackets******

And about a million other small items it seems…….

 Coming back from Nashvegas and being unloaded off the trailer

 Even more stuff…..

I have also gotten a lot of new parts for the camper from www.gowesty.com  GoWesty! Was another reason for me wanting another camper. They are a little pricey, but they are so much better than say the dealer (if you can get em), and their interior parts are of high quality, and they usually have what you need. Their website is first class, reminds me of looking at the old Sear’s catalog for Christmas toys when I was a kid.  I have replaced 20% of the wallpaper, installed their 3-sided pop-up Sunbrella canvas, boy does it make a big difference in the summer. I also installed their 3-point rear seat belt kits for the kids, and a GoWesty! aux. battery kit, and numerous other small ticket items. Also rebuilt the sink ,frig, and propane system using their parts. All items have been first rate. I have installed all luxury circuits to the aux. battery, only things necessary for the running and starting the van are tied into the main battery. Now I can run the frig, lights, radio and not worry about the camper not starting. I have a cigarette plug on top of the dash , that ties into the main battery, so if I want to use a solar battery charger, it can charge the main battery, all other cigarette receptacles are tied into the auxiliary battery, and I can charge the battery with a solar charger. I have also gone with their Frig. upgrade kit, with it the check valve and fan were upgraded. Now it lights on propane. My next thing I want to do next is install a propane gauge to the tank so I won't have to guess how much propane I have left.

Another camping mod I have done is install an interior frig fan, and I have a lessoned learned for someone. I installed too big of a fan I installed a 4" CPU fan, it had way too much air flow and wouldn't cool enough, it would only cool 20 degrees difference between outside and inside temp, I swapped it out for a Camping World interior Refrig.fan, runs on two D batteries forever, it seems anything bigger and the frig just doesn't want to cool. Now it holds at 38 degrees no matter how hot or cold. I installed also a ON-OFF-ON switch to run the fan on A/C or D/C that powers a fan located on the side grill of cabinet, this helps remove unwanted heat from the back of the Refrig. I wired in a 12volt transformer, to power the AC portion. I also installed a 12 volt L.E.D light to let me know the fan is being powered. I am kicking around taking the old high output fan that was too big and installing it in the back, and tie in to the switch I installed to let me have more control on removing heat off the rear fins, it should help increase the efficiency up to 40% on the frig, but the trade off will the be battery life of the second battery . I also installed a GoWesty retro pump upgrade with new fan in the back. Also I replaced the Green L.E.D indicator light with a blue high intensity lamp from RadioShack part# 276-316. This is help me see the light in the sunlight better to let me know the frig has lit. Besides the clear lamp that turns blue looks cool at night. I also installed a wireless Thermometer, I have the display on the dash to let me know how the frig is cooling. Some other things to note, when it is on 12 volt, once the outside temp goes above 86 degrees, the frig goes into defrost mode, when above 86 .I switch to propane, even if I am going down the road, and will turn it off when refueling . I also have a little foot pump that I use to help inject air into the drain tube, this helps me light the frig on the first time when trying to start it up on propane. The little factory pump is for some who has patience.

I also installed a shower, I had a spare in-tank water pump, same as the stock 12volt pump, I got the shower head attachment from Coleman, then I cut in a switch, on the back of the closet door, facing the outside, it is the same type of wall switch you would have in your home, the bakelite color matched the 84 interior perfect. Turn the switch on and presto you have water, granted it's cold water, but hey it's better than what I had. Just raise the hatch for the shower area. I use magnets and vinyl shower curtains to make a privacy area, and attach it to the hatch. It works like a charm.

To know more of the shower mod CLICK HERE

A shot of the dash when it was a stick, its now an Automatic

Some other stuff I have installed is Terry K’s. Products at http://community-2.webtv.net/VanStuff/VanagonWestfalia/  (you might have to copy and paste this to work on your toolbar) I have installed his step assist step that mounts in the front table leg. I have installed his alarm clock/thermometer. Makes it nice to know how cool it is outside so I know how to gear up for kayaking the creeks, or what kind of clothes I need to dig out for the children. I have also gotten his window unit that mounts in the passenger front window. Works like a champ. The AC ROCKS if you car RV park camp, it keeps you cool and cuts down all the noise from all the Bubbas talking and laughing late at night.  I might later look for a little Honda generator to power the A/C unit, time for payback for all the nights I have heard generators running.

I also added rubber coil spacers for the back springs to get rid of the Westy lean and sag. It added 1.5" of rear lift. I got the spacers from J.C. Whip Me .They were very easy to install. I have seen a lot of different solutions for the sag and lean. but this was quick and painless, and I think the rubber help smooth out the ride too. Just compress the springs and place the rubber coil on the bottom and your are done.

Also I found a local body shop that would paint my ride for $1500 cash only, so I did some minor work on it, and brought the van to him. All the seam rust was ground out and the seams were re-chalked by the shop. I also went with a clear coat on the fiberglass to cut down on the oxidation that occurs with the top. New chrome and stickers were installed from GoWesty! No Wolfsburg emblems were installed; I ain’t paying what they want for them.

that said to see more body work click here

 Made a hitch that welds internally on the factory tow hook brackets

MAIN  UPGRADES:

Stereo:

I upgraded the Stereo system, there wasn't one when I got the van.  I replaced the door and rear speakers with Pioneers, and installed bass blockers to keep from frying the small speakers. They were installed by removing the original speaker grill and cutting off the hub on the back of the original, to make flush mount grills for the Pioneer speakers. No need to mod the crank handles when installed like that. Then I installed a Pioneer XM unit in the dash, behind the glove box www.xmradio.com  , connected with an IP BUS cable that controls the unit to a Pioneer XM ready head unit. The head unit comes with a remote , which makes it nice when it bed and you want to listen to music. The XM antenna was installed on the luggage rack and not under it.  In the rear seat compartment area. I installed two 8" woofers and a 500 watt Kenwood amp. Using a remote amp kit. I got the head unit from Wal-mart, the Pioneer Speakers from www.BestBuy.com . The XM unit I found used for a song on E-bay. The Amp and Woofers, and kit I found at the local flea market and they were also used. The system sounds great for less than $300.00 bucks. If you have been thinking about XM, I have been a customer (I was customer 10302 ) from almost day one. My CD buying has stopped I have actually saved money by going with them. I love it with no complaints…and will never go back to “regular” radio.

Exterior Lighting

I also upgraded wiring to the front headlights. I got the 30 amp relay kits from J.C. Whitney, with the plug-n-wire harness. (You splice/make your wires into their harness) I mounted the relays behind the passenger headlight. I RTV the connections to make them water proof and labeled them for the lights that they control. Ran 10 awg. Straight from the battery, used the existing headlight wiring and switch to drive the relays for switching. I also installed BMW auxiliary headlights from a wreck from a local Pull-a-Part, mounted with nuts and all-thread, and tapped the firewall. I also mounted the relay behind the passenger headlight. The switch for the BMW lights is floor mounted. I got the switch out of a 1981 Ford Panel van. I added a fuse block underneath the factory fuse panel and it uses AGC- type fuses, which are very common. The lights are a lot brighter now. One of the best mods I’ve done. I like this approach better than the kits you see where you “Plug-n-Play” into the fuse box…..forget that….sounds like too much work. Pulling that fuse panel is scary enough. I avoided that all together.

I have installed a Bright Light kit for the rear taillights, also bright lights were installed where the fog taillight section was abandoned by the factory. Also I installed D.O.T. reflective on the corners of the rear glass and the trailer hitch. Reflective tape was also installed on the bottom of the hatch, that way when the hatch is open, on the side of the road it will make it easier for a drunk to see me a night, so he can hit me. I also installed a third L.E.D. brake light from J.C.Whitney. The light was installed on the rear shelf; black rtv was used for the adhesive for installation. I mainly did this so when I am hit and I have my crap on the rear hitch platform. I can do “I TOLD YA SO”, and point to the third light.

At the locust fork races in Alabama

Air Conditioning:

The A/C in the Westy SUCKS…I have done the following to help somewhat on the cooling. I don’t mind going without the A/C mind you; I mean you know you are going camping. But on long trips /fighting traffic/two kids/significant other/riding in the slow lane ,it does help to keep you “fresh” when you get there. So far, I installed a small cheap thermometer , mounted on the outside of the blower housing to see how cool the air is blowing out, installed new foam around the vents to help close some of the air leaks. Air was blowing into the closet. I cut some filter material for the back coil to help keep the coil clean. I closed off the two small round vents to help make the air stronger. I also sealed all the gaps up, and got a dremel tool and opened up the main vents.  Also the drain hoses were extended and run through the body work  going past the engine compartment, to help fight seam rust.I heated the hoses and slightly crimped the end the help keep air from blowing up into the evaporator pan. . I had water escaping and soaking all the gear in back, the new drain lines fixed all that. Also a cheap fan was installed behind the driver’s head up front, to help push more air up in the cab. I also drive with the upper bed folded out, this forces more air to the front and not up in the pop-top area. The extra fan is powered by the auxiliary battery, and can be turned around to blow on the campers when sleeping and parked. The system was flushed, 134a installed with a new dryer by www.theautobahnsociety.com  (I miss R-12) The biggest thing was replacing the refrigerant hoses. VW went with some cheap ass hoses on the van. On the outside, they look good, on the inside, they come apart and clog the expansion valve, and the expansion valve was replaced. At least VW got it right by going with the valve instead of capillary tubes. I also tinted the back and side windows with 5% smoke limo window tint, and went with 35% on the front passenger, driver's and front windshield. The tint has made a big difference. You can now touch the steering wheel when it is parked all day in the Shopping Mall parking lot. Needless to say the AC ,I think this will always be a work in progress. While I was there I also installed a pet divider to stop all the crap, we have packed from flying forward and giving the kids a concussion when panic stops occur.

*****Site update *****