The horn is back to how it should be now.
I ended up ordering a coupling from both VW heritage and C&C:
Both of these couplers correctly isolate the bolt holes, compared to the one I originally put in which must’ve had a metal core:
Wiring all connected up:
And working like it originally would’ve:
A few further electrics tested this week.
Rear lights are working:
As are the indicators (front ones are yet to go in):
Not so much success on the horn front:
I’ve traced this down to a dodgy steering coupler. I’ve a new one on the way from heritage, and if that doesn’t work C&C have said theirs definitely will as it’s a copy of the original.
Steering wheel painted and ready to go back in:
And I’ve finished up my spare wheel carrier. It’s pretty solid, and looks the part to me.
Tubing bent to shape:
Top mounting plate welded to the tube:
Main plate welded to the tube to support the wheel studs:
And then studs welded to the plate. I just need to cut the threads into them:
And a test fit of the wheel. Wheels on the front are a bit of a love ‘em or hate ‘em item, I love the look personally:
Adventure ready!
Because I’m a careless moron the bottom third of the poptop was covered in grinding dust.
I couldn’t remove the dust with a fingernail so went over the affected areas with some wet and dry, followed by 3000 wet on the DA over the whole roof (first time I’ve been brave enough to machine colour sand, figuring the roof isn’t easily seen should I screw up):
After buffing and waxing it looks miles better:
With the help of some of the lads down the yard the poptop is now back on the van and out of the way:
Second corner now cut and polished, with both rear light clusters and engine lid seal in:
And before I forget, I put this stubborn little devil in. The fuel breather hose tucked up the left corner:
Hopping around jobs this weekend.
Stripped the steering wheel of its peeling paint job:
And gave it a coat of etch followed by a few coats of high build.
I’d repaired a few cracks in it with some epoxy putty. With some primer on, there are a few further hairline cracks I need to fill, before I can paint it.
Drilled the bumper to take my new hella lamps:
Made a start on my front wheel mount. Thus far I’ve fabricated the top mount which consists of a plate bolted to the airbox with a 10mm rod poking out of it (this needs cutting down to size, I’m not planning to impale any pedestrians!). This will support the top of the A frame, which I need to finish this week (one of the guys opposite has a tube bender I can use).
Started cleaning up the poptop to get it onto the van and out of the way:
And have started testing the electrics. This is a very good sign as it means I’m getting power to the cab, and to the engine (I heard the shutoff valve click so it’s getting to the coil).
A much overdue update! I’ve had three days off this week, following New Year’s, to try and get a move on with the van mechanicals.
First up a nice easy job, fitting the gear shifter. This is the Scat shifter I took out of the van, I’ve had the base powder coated (of course!) and the springs etc plated:
I then finished building up the engine. I’ve not changed anything substantial with the engine as it was running fine before the resto. It’s just had a good clean up, the original tinware powder coated, a proper SVDA dizzy (with pertronix ignition) to replace the 009, reinstated cooling flaps and thermostat, and a nice vintage speed exhaust! Looking pretty clean and tidy:
I also kept the original Bosch coil which was looking a bit tired with surface rust coming through, so gave it a clean up and paint with some left over ‘koni red’ paint:
With the engine pretty much built up it was time to get the gearbox and engine in!
First up, the gearbox. It’s had a good clean up and then a coat of Dynax UC (probably overkill but it can’t hurt):
Much grunting and swearing later, and the gearbox is in, plus the drive shafts:
At this point I realised I had a bit of a problem when I came to fit the clutch cable bowden tube. The steel tube under the van that it connects to was around 10cm too short, meaning the bowden tube wouldn’t fit! This must have snapped off at some point in the resto and I’d not realised. Keen to avoid having to weld under the van this late in the game, having spent a huge amount of time on it, my mind started churning for a neat workaround.
Cue the following day, and I scrounged a 15cm piece of thick wall stainless tube from Ali across the yard, with an OD thick enough to fit into the bowden tube. I then got the first 5cm of the tube turned down in a lathe to fit snuggly inside the tube that runs under the van:
And all installed under the van, problem solved. (the bowden tube may still need some washers at the other end yet, I’ll see how it goes):
And finally this morning’s job, the all important engine install! All ready to go with the van jacked up and engine on my manky old rug:
Much more grunting, sweating and longer than I’d care to admit and the engine is in (they’re doable on your own, but it’s a bit of a workout!):
Not too shabby:
I need to finish plumbing the engine in this week, fit the front brake calipers, bleed the brakes and finish some of the steering column and then I should be in a position to try and fire the engine up!
Brake calipers are pretty much ready to go, and of course got the koni red treatment (Max wanted the “Porsche” look!):
Starting to get the ol’ lawnmower engine ready to go back in the van. It’s just getting a tidy up and I’m reinstating some of the bits that were missing or wrong.
Thus far I’ve started to degrease the block, have fitted the cooling flaps to the fan housing (these were completely missing). and reattached the fan to the alternator and bolted into the fan housing.
Majority of the dash built up, and wiring reconnected.
The bits I sent off to the powder-coaters last week were ready to pick up yesterday. This included all of the engine tinware and a huge stack of bits for the cab. For the amount of stuff I sent to them it was great value for money and has saved lots of time:
I also have a box of bits at the platers to save me having to clean them up which are ready to collect tomorrow (striker plates etc). I’m now in a great position for building up the dash area, so here we go!
Powder-coated foot controls, plus a butty’s bits throttle linkage good to go:
Pedals bolted in:
I had a small meltdown over the throttle pedal not looking right. I finally realised what was wrong this evening. The new hinge I’d bought was substantially different to the original one I’d used when fitting the weld-nuts as it sat a lot lower to the floor (original on the pedal, new one in front):
With the original hinge fitted instead I’m happy with the position (I’ll leave this on for now, but will source a new one as this one is a little rusty):
Washer bottle back in with new hoses and powder-coated bracket:
Hanbrake lever back in:
After longer than I’d care to admit I got the lock housing back onto the steering column. The secret? Put the bush, washer and circlip in the lock housing, then slide it up the steering column rather than down (the top of the column is a larger diameter):
And finally started re-assembling the dash itself:
Powder-coat makes everything look brand new!
Last few cab bolt on bits into Neptune Blue tonight.
Steering box off the bench, and back onto the van:
Turning my attention to the cab and dashboard area as there’s a fair few bits that need painting before I can rebuild the cab. As seems quite common someone in the past has had a go of fitting a single DIN radio into the dash by persuading the aperture open with a club hammer:
I hammer and dollied the aperture back into it’s original shape as best I could:
And then carefully marked and cut the aperture properly to take my new Alpine stereo. It’s a nice tight fit:
Much better:
Cleaned up another batch of bolt on bits in the blast cabinet:
Everything epoxied and high build primed:
Every time I paint bits I have to push the van out into the yard. She’s definitely the cleanest thing there!
