Oli's 1981 Vanagon Westfalia TDI Build

[OlisGarage]

It definitely has taken longer than anticipated…but that’s part of the fun sometimes.

Cooling did seem to be just fine when I was driving it around. On really hot days driving up longer hills on the highway would result in a bit of a raise of the coolant temperature, but not much. Just 4 or 5 degrees. I also want to install and oil to air cooler in addition to the oil to water cooler.

The transmission was rebuilt and regeared. That was an expensive item. If I could do it over again, I would’ve not spent that money and instead bought a Passat transmission to flip upside down.
4.57 R&P and .70 straight cut 4th from gears (guard transaxle).

Here is a picture of the theoretical rpm for each gear. I’m currently running the slightly larger tires as well. So the green line is the accurate one.

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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[AndyBees]

With the same RPMs, the resulting MPH for each gear is the same as my spreadsheet shows. So, you must have 215/75/15 tires or something very similar (27.7" diameter).

I think you'll like the DK transmission. As you've touched on, change the oil in it several times early on during the break-in. Seems I changed the oil in mine three or four times during the first 2500-3000k miles.

Does the Rad Fan kick-in as it should? Once my engine is fully warmed up, the Fan will cycle while the Van is idling.
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'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[OlisGarage]

Yup that’s exactly what I have! I went with some falken all terrains. I actually only replaced the two rear wheels. I still need to buy three more so that I can replace all of the tires. But that will happen after I align the van again.

So far the gap between 2nd and 3rd is a bit large, but I’ve gotten used to it.

What boost are you running when going ~65-70 on the flat parts? I’ve been getting 5-7psi and I just feel like that’s super high. My ALH jetta at the same speeds pushes 1-2psi of boost.

I can’t remember what the radiator fan does at idle. It does not come on very often though, similar to my Jetta. I used the stock vanagon temp switch and just relayed that to a derale fan. Eventually I want to get the high powered three speed fan and shroud from a later vanagon, but for now I just have the derale fan and flat shroud that I built.
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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[AndyBees]

Yeah, the skip from 2 to 3rd gear is noticeable, even with stock gearing. As you, I've got used to as well. I really pay little attention unless I'm going up hill changing gears while pulling the popup camper. But, never a serious situation at all.

My boost is like yours on the flat with no head wind. I think it is because the engine is pushing a square brick down the road at a higher RPM due to the gearing. I've not had an issue with excessively high Exhaust Gas Temperatures either. The EGTs hang between 550f and 750f on the flats with no head wind. I've seen 1200f going upgrade pulling the camper a few times. Drive your Jetta TDI in 4th gear up to 65 to 70 MPH. You'll likely see the same boost level.

Return coolant from the heater can cause the Thermostat to tend to not open fully. The return coolant from the oil cooler, expansion tank, and the heater/EGR cooler on the Jetta/Golf/New Beetle all converge at the water pump housing below the Injection Pump. That's also the location of the Thermostat. The hot returning coolant is what opens the T-stat. Also, I've read that this is somewhat the same thing the Subie guys have experienced. It's worth observing.
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'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[OlisGarage]

Good to know that nothing weird is going on with the boost.
I've seen 1100F just going up a hill if I try to accelerate from 65 to 70, but I guess that wouldn't be too unexpected. Currently I believe that I have a stage 2 tune on the ecu..that's how the project came to me. I want to get a stock tune on it so that I can see how it runs stock before messing with a tune.
I've been driving it like a baby though. Trying to keep the transmission happy.

Oooohhhh that now makes sense with the thermostat. Currently I actually have the flow through the radiator opposite of how it was stock...(into the top of the radiator first then to the bottom) but I don't think that causes any issues.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=739028
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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[OlisGarage]

With the side panel and associated rust cut out, it was time to repair it all!


First I tacked in the panel. I am using the 'cut-n-but' technique as shared by fitzee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u31t13QO6A&t=1s for those who want to watch his video.

Here is my panel tacked in:

And here it is all ground down and in place!!

I made a floor patch piece from the extra repair panel that I didn't use:

Here I am making the vertical piece for the floor. I don't have a metal brake, so I am using a set of tines instead...it worked very well!

With the two floor pieces complete, it was time to get them all lined up inside the van.

Here I am holding the pieces and I made a sharpie mark just to the right of my finger to mark where the two pieces align. I also traced the vertical piece on the horizontal.

If you weld two pieces of metal together, you want to paint between the welded pieces FIRST. This is what weld through primer is made for. Here I am spraying it. Note the tape. I taped off exactly where I wanted the primer, no other places. This stuff is not as strong of a primer as an epoxy, but it works fantastically well for welds.

Spot welded together. If you look closely on the left side of the spot welded piece, you can see a tiny strip of weld through primer.

Seam sealer over the welds is in progress. I am seam sealing the back side just in case of any pin holes or such.

seam sealer complete! I also painted the inside of the rocker and the panel with epoxy primer. I won't be able to paint the back and underside of it very well after it is welded in, so I painted it before hand. You can also see the holes that I drilled for the few plug welds.

Another shot

Welded in place. I did not weld every inch. That just burns off a ton of paint. This is strong enough.

The welds are seam sealed and primed. Tamco epoxy primer.

And painted! Tamco L567 Ivory single stage. Not a perfect match, but good enough!!

I also reglued the inner panel supports with 3m 560. I saw it recommended here somewhere for that.

That's it for now. Next steps are finishing the cabinets, installing insulation, and getting the cabinets in.
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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[OlisGarage]

Making progress. Worked on it some more during the eclipse that passed right over the house! This is during totality. It was actually much darker; the phone just went into night mode and brightened it up a bit.

Figured I'd share!
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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[4Gears4Tires]

That's some talent with welding, you've definitely put in a lot of practice. Great looking repair.
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'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[OlisGarage]

[OlisGarage]

With the side of the van at least close to done, I figured it was time to fix the front windshield rust. The van has been without a windshield now for a while and slowly all of the other stuff is coming together!

Here is a picture of the previous repair. Just a patch welded over the metal. Now, I am actually happy that this is how it was repaired in the past. This allowed me to use the old metal to shape my repair patch.

Metal patch being formed. I don't care that it is too long and doesn't line up. That is easy to fix. The shape is the important part.

Old metal cut out AFTER the patch piece is made.

Here is the patch piece I made for the corner. This one turned out super well.

Both pieces next to each other covering the hole. Now just to weld them in!

Can't forget weld through primer!!! This is a very important step. I tape off the areas I don't want overspray on. Paint only the parts that you won't be able to get to again.

Welded in

Starting a little bit of filler.

Doing the seams with seam sealer.

And I decided to redo the seams on both sides all the way down. They needed it (as does the rest of the van)

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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[OlisGarage]

Seams all complete on both sides!

Now it was time to paint everything with epoxy primer. Here I sanded it a bit to get rid of any dust that made its way into the curing paint and to promote adhesion for the high build primer that's next.

Spraying high build primer from summit.

High build primer is sanded wet with 500 grit

And after a lot of work that isn't captured in photos, here it is. The paint isn't a perfect match. I don't care. I can say with much confidence that I have NO rust under my front windshield now.

Finally, did you think about the back side of your weld?! Don't forget to paint that as well. I used a brush and some epoxy primer.

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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[OlisGarage]

There was a little bit of rust creeping out from underneath a window seal. If I just fixed the windshield, I can't just let this go. Rust is like an iceberg, it's always worse than it looks. Might as well fix it now before I need to cut and weld.

All sandblasted! the pitting wasn't even bad. Not even going to have to weld. Probably won't even use body filler. It's right on the edge and I don't care if it's not 100% perfect.

Do we think there is rust lurking behind the rear most side window?!
OF COURSE THERE IS! because that's how life goes! Looks like the seals were replaced and in the process the paint was damaged causing rust.

Some more sandblasting.

For those of you who are tired of looking at van pictures, here is a helicopter that delayed some van progress.

Let's shift gears a little bit to the interior.

All of the seams were sprayed with 3m cavity wax from the inside.

A little bit of sound deadening stuff was applied. You don't need much. A little goes a long way. This stuff is also really heavy, so you don't want a ton. This just stops the panels from vibrating.

3M thinsulate was installed.

Insulation in a vanagon is an especially heated debate. I chose to insulate it. Carl from Westyventures has mentioned multiple times how it helps. I will also be installing a vapor barrier over the back panels. That's this weekends project.
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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)

[Synergy Solutions]

Look into lambs wool. New vanlife hotness. Cheap, effective and easy to install and remove, and safe with water stuff.

https://shop.havelockwool.com/
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Im a Mobile Aircooled VW mechanic, and work on old and new cars alike. Specialty in Camper busses/Vans, TDI, and FI diagnosis and repair.

(206) 841 7324

[OlisGarage]

[Synergy Solutions]

[OlisGarage]

[scirocco_crazy]

Great job on your build. looks like your making great progress. As my Socal friend mentioned, the wool option is a great one. Economical and decent R-factor. Not perfect but for this application is does the job well. I was able to do the entire bay window with one $150 kit and two bottles of spray glue. I opted to not do the vapor barrier as i want it to dry easily during winter camping. As some of you know in the winter your exhaling breath puts out a ton of moisture throughout the night. Keep the progress going and feel free to reach out with any questions. One Hoosier to another.

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Current Build 1976 VW Bus Subaru with EZ36 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9443081#9443081
Second Current Build 1979 Porsche 911SC
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10117349#10117349
Previous Builds 78 Westy with matching trailer
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=589790&highlight=westy
78 Bay with Acura 3.2 Type S engine
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516038&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[OlisGarage]

[OlisGarage]

Here I installed my vapor barrier - I just used reflectix taped down with aluminum tape. The picture is a still from a Timelapse, thus the poor quality.

I also reinstalled the rear window now that the rust was all repaired!

Time to get some interior panels installed. This is really happening; the interior is going back in!

And the rear cabinet!!!

Underneath the cabinet and bench seat I decided to insulate the ribs of the floor. I just cut up some thin styrofoam insulation that I had laying around. Three layers glued in with a few dabs of hot glue do the job.

I also insulated around the water tank with two layers of this stuff. Just trying to keep some of the really cold outside off of the tank.

And the second cabinet is in!

All cabinets were installed, including the kitchen. No photos because we were so busy working..we didn't stop to admire the work. More will come this weekend when we make some more progress. Hoping to have the dash in by the end of the weekend.
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1981 VW Vangagon TDI (in progress)
1984 VW Rabbit Convertible (daily)
2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (recovering from a hit and run)