TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:48 pm

How do.
Seeing as I've been posting here a little bit lately, I thought it would make sense for you to have a look at my ride, then I realised that I never take any pictures of it!

Anyway, it's a model of van you lot didn't get so i just copied and pasted some info first about the model then theres a bit about my van at the end.
:)

So, If you went to a VW dealership in Europe, and asked for a campervan/wohnmobile then you would get a Westfalia.
VW made the basic van, then it was sent to Westfaliawerke to be finished off, Westfalia made the interior conversion.
Up 'till sometime in '88 you would get a "Joker" or a "Club Joker", the Joker being the normal camper, the Club Joker being the higher spec camper, the biggest noticeable difference being the double glazed windows in the rear (Identified as they are plastic and bubble out)
After '88 you would get either basic "California" or the slightly higher spec "Atlantic", Both available in pop top or high top form.
Conversions after '88 all had grey interiors.
You could still buy a Joker or Club Joker from other sources (Westfalia themselves?) but from VW then it was the California or Atlantic.
Both conversions are badged as "Vanagon"
Both the conversions came with the following.
As far as I know there are NO Right Hand Drive California or Atlantic models.

Spec common to both models

Onboard Gastank.
fridge, 45l gas, 12v or 220v
2 burner hob, but no toaster!
Rock and roll double bed.
Captains chairs, both drivers and passenger seats.
Power steering.
Mains hook up.
Split charge system.
Battery charger (when connected to mains the charger will charge the auxiliary battery)
Onboard 55l water supply.
Onboard 20l waste water tank.
Choice of petrol or Diesel engines.
Choice of High top or Pop top roofs.
Opening 1/4 windows.
Steel wheels with wheel trims.
GRP "Big" bumpers.
Padded dash, Black for California, Grey for Atlantic.
Rev counter.
Rectangular headlamps.

The "California" is the basic camper and sports the following...

Grey velour seats and trim.("Hellgrau" interior code - GC)
GRP bumpers, but not side planks.
Rear wash wipe.
Heated rear screen.
Available in Pastel White (R1R1), or Marsala Red (H3H3).
Chrome trim around the windows.
Sliding windows behind cooker, and in sliding door.
Green tinted glass.

The "Atlantic" came with the following over the common items.

Double glazed "bonoflex" acrylic double glazed windows.
Opening window behind cooker.
Electrically operated, and heated mirrors in body colour.(hence heated rear screen switch, but no heated rear screen!)
Side planks (Body kit)
Different upholstery in grey/red/blue check. (code - 46)
Eberspaecher heater with digital timer.
Rear flap lock (where the number plate drops down, well, it's lockable)
More insulation in the engine bay.
Choice of Alpine white (9018), Calypso green metallic (9963) or Kirsche rot (9312)
90A alternator.
Green tinted cab glass.
Options. On all models
Alloy wheels.
Air conditioning.
Central locking.
Colour coded bumpers and side planks.
Choice of audio systems.

All the pop top models have the later style “aerodynamic” cap on the cab with no luggage rack (leaf catcher)

I have not found any official proof but I believe somewhere in the region of 20000 California models were made, and around 950 Atlantic models, 500 of the Atlantics being pop tops (sorry 16” syncro owners, there is a more exclusive club!!)

My Atlantic.

Okay, Summer 2006, first child on it's way time to buy a proper van! Looking around on e-bay we spot a Westy in Kassel, Germany, we bids, we buys I dispatch my buddy with a pocket full of cash to go fetch!
We gets back a reasonably Westy, not amazing, not terrible just an honest van with a couple of scabby bits and a few mechanical foibles, but hey, I run a workshop specialising in these things so no probs!
It came with a factory 1.6TD “JX” motor, usual case, valve clearances not set for years, pump timing a mile off blah di blah so initially it had a good dose of catch up work doing all the things the Germans couldn't be bothered to do and the van runs well and does what it's meant to do.
Doing what I do (fix T3's and T4's day in and day out) it got to a point where I was having small batches of parts made and I need something to try them on, so here we have Brickwerks mobile test bed!
Things carry on like this for the rest of it's life with steady improvements up to present day.
The van is no way in showroom condition, it's a family van, it gets used through the summer now, it comes off the road through the winter, I've intentionally not made it perfect as my girls are nearly 3 and 5 so there's usually a mess when they get out, if it was a show van there's no way it would get used and kind of negates the whole concept of having a camper van.

So, spec to date, forgive me if I add to this later as my memory is goldfish like.

1990 Model year VW T3 Westfalia Atlantic.

Engine
1.9TD “AAZ” engine.
2.5” Stainless steel straight through silencer.
1.9D “normally aspirated” inlet manifold (long runners) from 1Y engine with necessary modifications to inner wing.
Alternative boost pin.
Air to water barrel charge cooler.
Hybrid turbo running at 1.5 bar.
25 row oil cooler with thermostatic take off.

Transaxle
“AAR” code 5 speed box, longest factory gears with factory LSD.
Lightened TDI flywheel with 228mm clutch.
Porsche CV joints

Suspension.
Eibach pro kit (-40mm springs)
AVO short adjustable rear dampers.
Bilstein B4 front dampers.
Powerflex poly bushes to front end.
Brickwerks camper levelling shims to left hand side of the van.
Brickwerks camber correction shims to the rear.
Rear factory anti roll bar set up using brand new Krankenwagen trailing arms, 21mm bar.

Brakes
Stainless steel braided brake hoses.
Rear disc brake conversion. (much prefer drums though, they stop better and feel nicer)
Fast road brake pads to the front.
I have the larger brake servo to fit yet, had it years but I've never had the time to pull the dash out!

Wheels
Porsche Boxter 17” Sport classics
7” front, 8.5” rear.
15mm H&R adapters to rear, cheap shit steel ones to the front.

Body
Headlamp washer system added.
Carat tail light blenders.
Smoked rear lenses.
Clear front indicators.
Paulchen stainless bike rack.
T3 Tuning aero aluminium fuel filler conversion.
Hella Comet 450 front fog lamps on stainless brackets.

Interior.
Aluminium beauty rings to instruments.
Westy bog box (had to buy that, it must have had one but it wasn't there when I got the van!)
Westy cab bunk (still to fit, grr)
Westfalia bed guard (stop the kids falling out!)
Westy wiring mod to get the interior lights and radio to work from the leisure battery.

Check out the "Trailer Trash" :wink:

Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:04 pm

Like..f##kn wow man!
very cool

Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:52 am

Post more pics... specifically of these items:

Aluminium beauty rings to instruments.
Westy bog box
Westy cab bunk
Westfalia bed guard

Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:15 am

=P~

wow. I'd like to see more pics too..any interior shots?

Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:18 pm

Luckily still at work (Polyurethane suspension parts rep just been) so I've taken a couple of snaps.
I'll post them when I get home later.
:)

Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:31 pm

sweetness of the nature :vw:

Wed Mar 23, 2011 3:11 pm

more info on the exhuast.

Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:18 pm

Dash rings.

Bog Box.

Bed guard, sorry for poor light, was dark when I took it and the light on my phone isn't the best!

info on exhaust here. <<click>>

Westy on the ramp this evening, just doing the annoying little jobs that never get done! Plumbers leaky tap and all that..

I forgot the plastic wheel arch liners and the textured vinyl sticker below the windscreen., I will update the spec above.

Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:21 pm

heh, that's what you get for trying something new, I'll do it the old way and put them on the webshop webspace instead of Picasa....
back in a bit.

Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:58 pm

That's a really beautiful van.

Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:39 am

All legal, taxed yesterday, been out for a nice run to get a feel for it again.
Eibachs feel nice, loving them.
I got a 80ah leisure battery to fit, car battery sized so it will fit under the seat, going to use some sound deadening under the front seats while they are out.
8)
Might have to sleep in the van on the driveway, like a kid with a new toy!

Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:50 pm

Brickwerks wrote: Rear factory anti roll bar set up using brand new Krankenwagen trailing arms, 21mm bar. id love to see some pics of the rear suspension :o also, whats the switch and display atop the steering column garnish webasto?

Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:49 pm

Display is just the broken factory clock.
I don't need the clock, I just know I'm always late, seeing the clock would just bug me!
:lol:
Not a switch, it's the mic for the bluetooth handfree thats built into the head unit.

Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:01 am

What is the BRICKWERKS Logo on the exhaust? Is is part of the muffler or some sort of
surround? Can you post pics of that as well?

Also on the website when looking at shipping, nothing is mention about overseas freight.
Do you ship to the USA? I'd really like to see one of those Thermal Poptop Screens.

Fri Apr 01, 2011 6:34 am

It's a cover, from the factory.
RE: selling to the US, there is no shipping option, I just got my insurance renewal, if I want to sell to the US/canada then my premium doubles :lol:
And then, if there is a claim the I would have a £5000 excess!
I have an intermediary who I sell parts to who will post onto the US, but he won't do small orders as it's just not worth it especially after the last one he did it cost him £15 in bank charges to recieve the money, then to find the customer had paid in Euro rather than GBP so it then cost him another £15 to recieve the payment again, so all profit from the order was gone and not worth the hassle.

Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:19 am

I'd like to know more about the bike rack. Where from, how much, how heavy a load will it take? Do you know the Cdn distributor? or I suppose I could look for it in the States as well.

Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:36 pm

Just off the shelf in Germany, know overly special. Standard it holds 2 but you can get an extension for it to Hold 4.
Not sure if they Still make them or not.
Google broke in your house?
:D

Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:54 pm

sorry I asked. As I am specifically interested in THAT one, do you have a brand name?

Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:53 pm

Paulchen.
depends on who you speak to as to how that's pronounced!

What you need is a Real Cliff German to tell you that!

Pol shen or pol ken, you decided!

Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:56 pm

Dunt you just hate predictive text!

Real life German that was meant to say!