Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 22:17:54 -0600
Reply-To: Anthony Kimmons <akimmons@HOUSTON.RR.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Anthony Kimmons <akimmons@HOUSTON.RR.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagon Customization
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x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"
87 GL Vanagon Weekender.
I'm in the middle of a complete interior re-do. Re-built the engine last year.
I've pulled everything out of the back. Hand scrubbed the seats and carpets.
Sandblasted and repainted the seat and bed frames in back.
Still have some stains on the carpet and am looking for a source for new carpets.
The seats are in good shape, but there are a few tiny (seed) holes I would like to
get fixed.
Bought one of the front mats from Wet Westies not too long ago. Real happy with
that.
Looks and fits good as a mat, but I would still like to replace the whole carpet
underneath.
This past weekend I tore out my headliner and the old insulation/padding on the
roof.
Replaced with foil backed insulation from JC Whitney. I've already done this on all
the walls,
topping the foil back insulation with some regular R-11 from Home Depot. I spray
mounted a
plastic vapor barier on top of that before replacing the side panels.
(It gets damn hot here in Texas and I wanted to spend a lot of time and money on
insulation.)
This has also made the van somewhat quieter...I wish I could have afforded the stick
on sound
dampening pads that JC sells...They are pretty steep though. I plan on putting the
foil back insulation on the floor also.
For the front carpet pad...Mine was starting to crack and didn't look like it would
last a lot longer, so I coated the
backside of it with plastic roofing cement and fiberglass tape, then, while it was
still tacky, I burnished aluminum foil
onto it for insulation. I don't know how this will hold up, but it made the carpet
pad much more sturdy feeling.
I don't know if I will do this in back or not...I may just used the foil backed roll
insulation...
I'm now thinking about replacing the headliner completely, although I've never done
this type of work.
I'm going to put some poly fill between the new headliner and foil insulation to add
some more cushion and insulation.
I've seen a plain black cotton canvas material that is used in some new beetles that
I like...we'll see about the cost though...
This is all new to me...
Other interior work planed is:
New metal fleck window film. (Anyone know a source for top quality window film
on line? I'm gonna have to pop the windows out for the headliner anyway...might as
well do this myself...)
Removed entire A/C inside. Will be purchasing many new parts and switching over
to the 134. Also want this to be in
top shape for next summer...I've figured I can purchase all the parts and tools I
need to do the work myself for less than the $1000 dollars it cost me to have it
fixed 2 years ago...when all they did was replace a hose and refill the freon.
Possibly (depending on the price) recovering the wall panels and maybe cutting
out new panels altogether...
New speakers for sure...
2nd battery and inverter perhaps...
I may be adding some new or more interior lights also, and maybe a curtain...
Always looking for ideas and sources of cool things for the inside, if you know of
any.
thanks
-Tony
TieDye wrote:
> Hello Listmembers...
> I see a lot of mechanical/technical talk on the list, and hate to bombard
> the list with customization mails. I've been slowly working on building an
> interior of my own liking in my vanagon. I'd like to find some others who
> are doing interior construction, or even just interior work. Are there any
> mailing lists of this type out there? Would anyone be interesting in taking
> part in a list of this sort if I were to set one up?
>
> TieDye
> VW Vanagon GL (1.9) Owner - Mooshi
> Server Administrator - IRC.WEBTREK.ORG
>
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