Date: Thu, 21 Sep 95 20:54:31 UT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Scott Allred" <Scott_Allred@msn.com>
Subject: '71 Westy
First, greetings to all!
I have been following the group for a few weeks
now and am enjoying following all the various projects, trips and tips.
I
have been the proud owner of a '71 Westy for 4 years now. This is my third
Type II. Previously I've owned a '64 Deluxe and '67 Sunroof (many years ago
though, the '67 was 5 years old when I purchased it. Yea, yea, if I had only
hung on to it -- 20/20 hindsight etc. ...)
My Westy, the "Wayback
Machine", has gone through many mini-projects. I followed many of the
suggestions in Hot VW's "Westfalia Project" that was completed several years
ago.
I'd like to share what the "Wayback" has been through since I've
owned her.
1. Fixed a right rear corner ding, crease along sliding door,
and rust under front window then painted the original egg shell white (from
brown and light yellow)
2. Replaced battery tray area with replacement from
JC Whitney.
3. Replaced right and left mirrors
4. New front windshield
and seal. New front doors, sliding door, and cargo door seals.
5. Tinted
all windows
6. The interior stripped out and wall to wall carpeting put in
- wiped out about a 9x12 piece
7. Sheep skins on the front seats. And on
the rear seat and Z-bed we sewed up some new covers out of some sheep skin
look-a-like material. Lots of snaps to replace!
8. Re-paneled the interior,
doors, headliner, kick panels with door skins stained to match the wood
grained "Westy" pieces. Added grab handles on doors, and here and there in
appropriate places using teak sailboat grab handles.
9. Replaced original
seat belts with new style retractable models.
10. Replaced sun visors and
clips - both new from JC Whitney
11. Replaced turn signal unit - great to
have high beams again
12. New interior lighting - 6" round RV style
replacing front, middle and added one in the back over the spare tire.
13.
Added third brake light kit to inside upper rear window area
14. Replaced
broken speedometer with a '72 model (nice black face), replaced the gas gauge
(black), and put a tach in the clock area. Added Oil temp and pressure gauges
under the radio (Blaupunkt Laguna w/CD player).
15. Added an in-line heat
duct fan for cooler times.
16. Also got new heat exchangers - big
difference!
17. Replaced heater control cables
18. Added an electric
windshield washer fluid pump, with a momentary toggle next to the wiper
switch.
19. Installed a EMPI lock out shifter.
20. Since my wife and I
tend to get off the beaten path when camping I have installed 27x8.50 BFG
All-Terrain tires all around.
21. Bilstien gas shocks all around.
22.
Replaced bent tie rod. (big rock - ouch - out over our heads off-roading)
23. Complete set of new brake hardware all 4 corners and new master
cylinder/servo assy. Replaced all of the old vacuum line from the servo to
the engine.
24. Bosch driving lights.
The engine is a GEX 1835
with a full flow cooler and filter, 009 distributor with a Compu-Fire point
conversion kit installed. For fuel delivery I started with a set of Kadron's
which worked well except at smog certificate time. Nevada is once per year
and not quite as strict as California - no requirement to be stock - just
don't pollute. So I had been reverting to a stock carb setup which barely ran
but did pass smog.
To replace the Kadron's I purchased a fuel injection
kit put together by CB Performance. It is based on GM's DFI system. The ECU
comes from an Izusu and most of the other parts (Oxygen sensor, MAP sensor,
etc.) are of GM origin. Installed it looks for all the world like dual
Dellorto's. Cross throttle linkage, Dellorto manifolds with Lucas injectors
and 48mm throttle bodies topped off with Dellorto air cleaners.
After the
initial installation I ended up developing a gas tank leak - the FI system is
full flow, gas is continually returned to the tank. I originally used the
tank vent (no canister was hooked up) - but it developed too much internal
pressure in the tank and caused a crack top form. After the tank was fixed -
engine pulled again - I added a return to the filler neck and replaced all
the hidden hose (vent and filler neck) before buttoning the tank back up. I
bought a new charcoal canister from the local VW dealer (not cheap - $70.00)
and got a substituted P/N from some year Rabbit. So the gas tank ventilation
system is now back to the original working order.
It runs super strong.
Mileage is about 17-18 around town. I haven't been on an extended trip yet so
not sure about highway mileage. And the best news is that smog checks are a
piece of cake.
My next project is CV joints. I have one bad boot so
I'll probably just do them all. While I was checking them the other day I
noticed that the transaxle is leaking pretty good (quarter size drop on the
floor at night) where the axle attaches at the differential. Is this from a
seal that can be replaced while the transaxle is in the vehicle or is a
removal in store?
Scott
