CaveVan Forum
Pictures and tall tales!! => Show off your projects here! => Topic started by: Cole on June 27, 2015, 09:26:48 am
-
I just started some work on a great low mileage(56k) 2003 Eurovan Westfalia weekender for a cool guy named Bob.
Despite being a low mile van it still needs a little cleaning up and some custom bits to truly make is "Bob's van" and not just another generic Eurovan.
Bob also has a 71 Bus but wanted something a bit more modern no powerful to travel in.
Every cool van deserves a nick name. When Bob dropped off this van it has a pile of Bob Dylan CDs in the front seat. So what better name for the van than Dylan? ;)
Here is the van the day he dropped it off!
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/273/18902408348_0a5b0bd73d_o_d.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/333/19018732918_3c9df0208e_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/457/18585744123_6c44b8c81b_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/517/19020184379_111b5656eb_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/530/19018746508_c4288d395a_b.jpg)
I know most people don't car or notice stuff like this but the complete lack of paint on the two hooks drives me nuts. So I'll be touching up all the little details like this that I can .
(https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3679/19180190126_24e314ea76_b.jpg)
Top seal is coming off. This is pretty typical of these vans. The seal dries up and the glue loses its stick.
(https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3858/19209962671_55a166673b_b.jpg)
-
While we are waiting for some parts to arrive I stated the clean up process and fixing the little things like this missing rear hatch emblem.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/308/19018672640_cc98f4606c_b.jpg)
The front seat bases and rear bed supports came out yesterday for some custom work.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/474/19018659790_556ebc373c_b.jpg)
Trailer hitch is here and ready to go on!
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/467/19206316615_0bea0945ff_b.jpg)
-
How did you get the third bolt on the drivers side for the htich in?
Drill an access hole?
Remove muffler heat Guard?
-
How did you get the third bolt on the drivers side for the htich in?
Drill an access hole?
Remove muffler heat Guard?
Haven't done it yet :P. Last one I did I removed the heat shield.
Here is a paint teaser on the seta bases.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/354/19202521432_d7103606e5_z_d.jpg)
-
Right on! Love these build threads!
-
Cole,
Where did you get the rear emblem? My dealer in town says they're no longer available.
Shawn
-
Fun stuff! I'll be interested to see how you do with those small paint divots / scratches. I've got a several spots on my EV that are similar and on my list for attention.
I've been thinking about a new rear emblem too - can't seem to get all of the IA road dust off and back to dark black but going to take a cut and paint before replacement. You can get them here : http://europarts-sd.com/emblem-rearchromevw.asp (http://europarts-sd.com/emblem-rearchromevw.asp)
-
Cole,
Where did you get the rear emblem? My dealer in town says they're no longer available.
Shawn
Fortunately it came with the van ;) As did the original broken one. Which I find interesting. I've seen 6-7 vans with the emblem missing on the hatch, all of them were inside the van though ??? Which would lead you to believe they get knocked off while cleaning the van and don't just fall off going down the road.
-
I know this seems like watching paint dry at this point! Mostly because that is what I've been doing. ;)
The hitch and trans cooler are ready to go in. I started on the hitch today but needed to clean up some bolt holes to make it fit well, so that will provide some pictures soon!
-
Cole,
Where did you get the rear emblem? My dealer in town says they're no longer available.
Shawn
The part number in question is: 701853601F
You can buy them at various online dealers, and GoWesty (although GoWesty is about double the price).
I'm not 100% sure if that badge/part number fits the short nose vans, though. YMMV.
-
Thanks! Everyone that needed that emblem part number should vote up Christian's karma on the left ;)(in case you hadn't noticed the Karma system)
Making progress on Dylan today.
Hitch installed....
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/363/18682725293_bdbd911acf_k_d.jpg)
Notice that in the process I also repainted the tow loop since the paint had worn off from the road.
To those curious how to get the third bolt in the driver's side. Just drill out this one rivet and you can move the heat shield out of the way to get a wrench up in there. I'll rivet it back together when done so it will be just like factory.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3949/19277250626_b13d613a62_k_d.jpg)
Then you can slide this up in there to put a bolt up in there.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/327/19117184949_6fb1263834_k_d.jpg)
Almost every Eurovan I've taken apart has had a spare tire so rusty it wasn't safe or useable.
The one in this 54k mile 2003 is just barely showing signs of rust, but it's there!
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/327/18682722403_d47345ce29_z_d.jpg)
For comparison I pulled this out of a 1999 just a few days ago.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/342/19115674540_bd4e293abf_z_d.jpg)
I've replaced the spare in several of these vans. The one from this van is still good, so I put a couple of coats of wheel paint on it before putting it back. This should keep it in good safe condition for a bit longer.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3722/18680809574_aa2a2c71ee_z_d.jpg)
The rest of today is dedicated to installing the aux transmission cooler and some more coats of clear on the seat bases.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3683/19307775951_1873c999f1_z_d.jpg)
-
I still need to polish out the paint and add the side pockets. So this is just a teaser.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/281/19305404085_47c9ff5af7_z.jpg)
-
Finished up the hitch. If you remember from the first step I drilled out the rivet holding the muffler heat shield in place. Well today I replaced that rivet and added another new one a bit further back by the hitch to make sure the heat shield doesn't rattle by the hitch. Nothing more annoying than an exhaust rattle!
I've been waiting on parts to do some of the things to this van. So some of the projects have been slow.
I did address the flaking paint on the slider door rail. Some times its the little things like this that can make an otherwise nice van look really bad.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3720/19319216408_9e51b10796_b.jpg)
After sanding down the rail, prepping and painting it. Here is the new rail.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/301/19319211690_ff220a7896_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/462/18886305973_7f7a5433fc_b.jpg)
It's amazing how even a low mileage van can have such road tattered parts sometimes.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/510/19511340721_4b770df2b5_b.jpg)
I made some 3/4" lift spacers and lifted the van with new Bilstein HD shocks. I only got the rear shocks installed today because only one front shock arrived...hmm...
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3698/19511345881_62d8ce5477_b.jpg)
After adjusting the front end upward to match the rear. There is still a slight forward rake so that the rear will level out when loaded.
Will look better once the new tires are installed.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/276/19500542912_05d5989dfe_b.jpg)
All 4 wheel center caps were replaced with brand new ones today. Old one on the left, new one on the right.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/352/18884637604_faf0115370_b.jpg)
I got this Aux in cable to add an aux port to the existing stereo. Come to find out that even though its the right part, and all the settings are right....it just doesn't work! After talking to Bob about it today we decided to step up to a much more modern stereo that has Bluetooth and other useful features.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/497/19500535592_a0194439c0_b.jpg)
-
I've got to redo the sliding door rail on mine too.. that old anodizing or whatever it is has worn away over the years
-
The new top fabric and the new stereo arrived last night.
I was ready to jump out of bed this morning and crank them out but woke up feeling like someone had kit my ankle with a sledge hammer :'(
So here is a teaser picture this morning. Maybe after some coffee and computer time I'll go get some good stuff finished on this van this week.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/255/19502145728_06063654bd_c.jpg)
-
Got a whole bunch of parts this week.......and then hurt my ankle somehow! DOH! That really slows things down. Hopefully it will be better in a few days!
In the meantime I soldered the stereo wiring harness together. There is nothing more annoying than a short or loose wire in a stereo.
Here you can see the old stereo on the left and the two huge satellite radio modules that go with it. Also notice the crimp connectors on the old harness.
The new stereo has a much smaller satellite module and a cleaner soldered harness now.
The old antenna was in the middle of the plastic dash. I'll this one in a more appropriate spot outside the van.
The old stereo was actually pretty nice but was missing many modern features. This new one has bluetooth, USB and headphone jack on the front, and the light colors can be programmed to match the factory colors.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/271/19720234215_60c3917d20_b.jpg)
-
Today was window tint day!
Unfortunately I got shorted on the tint so didn't have enough to do the two rear quarter windows.
These were done in a light 50% ceramic tint. Nice subtle tint that will be easy to see out of in the dark for years to come. But with the heat reduction properties of the ceramic tint!
I pulled the window screens to do the tint and discovered one of them was coming undone. I glued all this back down before installing it! Now there are functional screens.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/416/19776398412_f792de324f_k_d.jpg)
Here you can see how light this tint is. Take a look at the curtain behind it!
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/404/19597076209_022c1622c5_k_d.jpg)
-
Getting closer!
Front Bilstein HDs arrived and installed.
Before
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/493/19277835564_71d080327f_k_d.jpg)
After
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/446/19874253806_c1d795d97a_k_d.jpg)
Despite the low miles the rockers on this van were taking a beating from rocks, road debris and grime.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/514/19500548492_4c05eb6813_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/489/19712469650_9f7b55efbc_z_d.jpg)
The rear bumper also had some big chips and scratches.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/296/19277842124_d16e0d4c5b_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/497/19900480155_afa0c38f5d_z_d.jpg)
To protect these areas and protect them from future damage we decided to use some Monstaliner bed liner. The color isn't an exact match, but was worth a try to see how it looked. Bob will have to decide if he loves it or not.
New rear bumper step. Brought just far enough over the edge to get rid of the previous damage.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/306/19712460840_28d59c650e_z_d.jpg)
Rockers and front door steps.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/331/19900484885_5099e74895_z_d.jpg)
I also painted the rear bed supports body color then put bed liner on the tops of them for durability and to keep the rear board rattles quiet.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3720/19277845064_d9bc826706_z_d.jpg)
-
Nice !!!
What kind of paint did you use on the door rail? I need to redo mine too (2002 MV Weekender)
Thanks
Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
-
Nice !!!
What kind of paint did you use on the door rail? I need to redo mine too (2002 MV Weekender)
Thanks
Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
I just use Duplicolor "Wheel paint". You can get it at any auto parts store and it's designed to put up with the elements of road use (salt/mag chloride/sun/rocks/rain/etc)
It also lays down easy and has a factory like satin finish. They have high gloss clear for it if you want it shiny.
-
Almost done!
Today I finished up the new stereo install.
If you look closely you can see the remains of the glue on the dash where the old satellite radio antenna was mounted. Not only should that antenna been outside the van on a steel surface, it should never have been stuck to the plastic dash.
I'll be cleaning up the dash later.
The hood isn't the ideal location on a car but it's about the beat the Eurovan has to offer with a bit fiberglass roof.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/542/20030720962_f062e66c37_z_d.jpg)
The new stereo had Blutooth calling no streaming, USB charging on the front, Satellite radio, remote, Pandora and Siri control, and programmable colors to make it match the color scheme of the dash and the stock radio. This is a big step up from what was in the van!
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/473/19851883569_32760a85b6_z_d.jpg)
Fortunately VW left several nice grommets to run the wires through from a nice clean install.
This stuff drives me nuts! This is what the underside of the dash looked like when I started. There were several zip ties on this and it's still hanging down. There was NOTHING broken here!!! It just needed installed properly!
Before
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/488/19180186536_79ae6d32fe_z_d.jpg)
After:
All I did was remove the excess zip ties and install this the way it is suppose to be. (No fuse cover)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/434/19850448988_93eae6c856_z_d.jpg)
The stock battery is just a normal car battery. This one looks like it was original so we replaced it with a larger proper Marine deep cycle battery. A battery that was also slightly shorter to help facilitate using a seat swivel on the driver's side seat. Ultimately I had to custom lower the stock battery tray to make it all work together.
This set up should power Bon's ARB fridge much better than the stock unit.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/523/19415904484_8d026f00b1_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/510/20043827511_1b6b6fe379_z_d.jpg)
The stock top wasn't in horrible shape but it wasn't great either. A new 3 window will replace the old 2 window.
Original.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/258/20038532425_d5025a4996_z_d.jpg)
New top half installed. There is a tie down losing the top partially closed to give slack for the top to be installed.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/296/20030729192_ea659124c2_z_d.jpg)
The new reclaimed beetle kill pine table was finished and installed. Pictures really don't do the table justice!
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/333/19853667608_a765a8d3cb_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/473/20047034021_72c86156ae_z_d.jpg)
Just waiting on some more window tint to finish the rear windows and this van will be ready to clean up and be done!
-
Nice work cleaning up that rats nest of wiring. FWIW -- mine looks just as awful with things all bunched up -- fingers crossed I can comb it out. :D
-
That three window tent looks different than the other 3 window tents you have been installing.... trying a new supplier? I like the looks of this one from the outside but the big "v" side windows on the other tents might be nice from the inside. I'm going to need to be purchasing a new tent soon so I'm just looking at the options.
-
That three window tent looks different than the other 3 window tents you have been installing.... trying a new supplier? I like the looks of this one from the outside but the big "v" side windows on the other tents might be nice from the inside. I'm going to need to be purchasing a new tent soon so I'm just looking at the options.
Same company. This is for a 1999-2003. The ones with the big triangle windows are for the 1993 vans.
No idea why they are different. This is the tent that both GoWesty and BusDepot sell.
I called them both to ask some questions and they just B.S.ed the way through (I asked what the difference was and was told "dimensions", that's it. )
Having installed a bunch of these (mostly the 1993 version). There are some definite issues with them. For example the rope around the top/bottom is 2x as thick as the stock stuff. Making the install way more difficult than it should be. Also the corner seems are too thick on some of them to fit in the rail with the rubber seal.
I get the impression that few people have actually installed these.
I've tried many times to contact the manufacturer to set up an account and ask some questions and make some suggestions.
Nobody ever returns my inquiry!
-
Weird that they have such different styles. Also disappointing to hear that the fitment is so frustrating. Thanks for the info, back to the regularly schedule Dylan build. :-)
-
Bob picked up his Eurovan today!! He was very excited about it.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/388/20099802435_4ca8a224ac_b.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/291/19912192110_3362ca5c5f_b.jpg)
-
Realized that there are many pictures missing from this thread.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3818/19913486679_223d67158c_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/395/20105648801_428f774c51_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/424/19479196313_1295e7be7f_z_d.jpg)
-
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/562/20100198385_5b0209f0c7_z_d.jpg)
Color matched stereo lighting.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/485/19913477159_856951742e_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/501/20100209975_20fb1e3ec5_z_d.jpg)
-
Hey Cole - I am putting in my Sirius XM receiver tonight. I was curious how you were able to run it through to the exterior hood. Any tips or tricks?
-
Take the vent off, take all the under hood trip offf.
That is the best tip I can give. Sorry it can’t be more detailed.